Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G

Is Sony’s new lens for full-frame mirrorless Alpha 7-series and Alpha 9 cameras the ultimate ultra-wideangle zoom? Andy Westlake takes the broad view

- Andy Westlake

Not so long ago, when we talked about Sony’s Alpha 7 full-frame mirrorless system, we had to start with the same caveat – the cameras were innovative and impressive, but the lens system lacked the depth to take best advantage. Now, though, four years after the launch of the Alpha 7, the situation has changed. Sony has most of the basics covered, with a full set of both f/4 and f/2.8 zooms, alongside a series of stellar f/1.4 primes backed up by more affordable, smaller aperture primes. Now, the company is looking to extend its FE lens line-up with some more extreme specialist optics.

This accounts for the appearance of the Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G. Launched in May alongside the faster FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM, this £1,700 lens expands Sony’s full-frame system into ultra-wideangle territory. With a diagonal angle of view of 122°, it’s one of the widest rectilinear zooms ever made for full-frame cameras, surpassed only by Canon’s EF 11-24mm f/4L USM, which costs £1,000 more. But it’s in comparison to that superb lens, and the £1,400 Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM Art, that the Sony must be judged – and it comes out well.

Features

To achieve such a huge angle of view, Sony has employed a complex optical formula with 17 elements in 13 groups that includes four aspherical elements, three crafted from extra-low dispersion (ED) glass and one of Super-ED glass. The aim is to achieve excellent corner-to-corner sharpness and resolution while minimising chromatic aberration. Sony’s Nano AR coating is employed to suppress flare and ghosting, which can be a serious problem with lenses this wide.