Sony FE 12-24mm REVIEW | Ultra Wide Angle Lens for Sony a7 & a9 

Thank you so much Krishnendu, glad you've found this helpful! 🙏

Glad you've enjoyed the review Irina! ☺️ It was though to pack so many info in one video, so I hope they were all relevant for you :) Thanks for commenting!

Hey Omar, glad you've appreciated the review!! 🙏 As for the accent , too bad I don't do haircuts other than to myself 😂

Thank you so much David, I really appreciate your comment! 🙏🙏🙏 It indeed took a long time, and that's why I haven't done other reviews here 🙈 I gotta try to find the sweet spot between quality & consistency🤞 Have a great week!

Thanks a lot Vero! I highly recommend it :D Stay tuned for the NYC vids ;)

Thanks a lot for your comment, I really appreciate it! :) As usual, it all comes down to our preferences & usage. For what I do, having that extra reach from 24mm to 35mm can be very handy to push-in a bit without having to change lens, and in general, I feel that for a beginner the 16-35mm would be a better solution to practice with landscape photography. For sure it'd be also possible to start off with the 12-24mm, it'd just take a bit more time to get used to it, but then indeed the extreme wide angle possibilities would be a plus especially for some shooters. So yes, if there's the budget (and the person is interested into really wide angle shots) it could definitely make sense to go with the 12-24mm, 24-70 or 24-105mm and then a couple of primes in between! 🙂 For my own self, I've seen on my Lightroom statistics that I can often shoot between 24 to 35, as well as around 16 to 20mm; so I've decided to stick to the 16-35mm for landscapes. Thanks again for your insight and happy Sunday!

Thank you for your thoughtful reply!

Anytime! Have a good one 🙂👋✨

Hey Zack, it's my pleasure! Thank you so much for letting me know, I really appreciated you taking the time for it :) Have a good one!

Hey Mohamed, thank you so much! I am really glad to hear you've appreciated the review :) Busy times over here, but I'm working on the review of the Sony 24-105mm too 😁 Thanks again and have a good one!

Thanks a lot for your appreciation and for checking out my website! As you might have seen from my videos I definitely am a filter person, so I totally relate to your point. That's why as much as I like the 12-24m, I stick to the 16-35mm for travel purposes. I think Sony really did their best, but the "problem" is that such an extreme wide-angle zoom lens has its own limitations as the lens configuration must be like that. Otherwise, the only solution would be opting for something like the Laowa 15mm f/2, which should have an easier filter placement, even though it's not as versatile. Thanks for stopping by and have a great Sunday!

Thanks a lot bud! I was so looking forward to photographing The Oculus, so I'm really glad to have gotten the shot :) Stay tuned for the NYC episode, lots of cool stuff coming soon 😊

Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know your thoughts, much appreciated! 🙏 Have a great one! :)

Thanks a ton Bruce for your comment and for the sub! Stay tuned for more and Happy Light :)

Thanks a lot for your kind feedback Andrew, much appreciated!! Have a great evening and happy shootings 🙂📷

Thank you so much for your kind comment, I appreciate it! I hope the review was useful 😊 have a great weekend! ✨

Dovtographie absolutely was. You too my friend :)

Thank you man! ✌️✨

Thank you so much for your kind comment Cary, I really appreciate it! RU-vid takes time so I just have to post more and be patient :) Thanks again and happy light!

Hey Achilleas, Thank you for your comment and insight, I appreciate it! I agree on your point, as I stated in the written review Sony cameras (as other mirrorless cameras) have an internal correction of the distortions, so what we see in Lightroom is an already corrected image. I am sure that without the in-camera correction the distortion would be much more, but isn't the result that matters? :) I think that Sony and Canon simply had different goals here: Canon wanted to create the highest-end ultra-wide angle lens, while Sony wanted to create the best ultra-wide angle lens for its own system: what's the point of having a 600g camera with a 1.4kg lens on it? 1 year ago I tried the 1DX Mk2 with the 11-24mm, and I can tell you that after 1h I just wanted to take it off my neck, while I could see myself shooting with the Sony combo for much more. At the end of the day, it all comes down to what suits our needs the best :) Thanks again for your opinion and have a great day!

Alessandro Carpentiero very valuable info. Thanks

Anytime Achilleas! Thanks for the insight and have a great weekend!

you sure about that? www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Lens-Distortion.aspx?Lens=1209&FLI=0&LensComp=977&FLIComp=1&Camera=1175&CameraComp=453

Thanks a lot for your kind comment man, much appreciated! 🙂🙏 Enjoy the weekend 👋✨

Hey Dee, thanks a lot for your kind comment! I'm glad to hear you've found my review useful, and thanks for subscribing :) I'm not uploading since really a lot due to personal events, but I am planning to get back soon here ;) Regarding the lens, I have used it extensively but it was a test unit given to me from Sony, so I can't answer to your question unfortunately as I don't have it anymore. I have decided not to get it as I would really use it rarely (it's too extreme for what I do), instead I got the Laowa 12mm and the magic shift converter so I can use it as a 12mm when I really need it, or as a 17mm shift lens with the converter. I've put together a pretty long article where I discuss all the gear I use and why, maybe it could be useful to you [there I talk more about this 12mm I use]! You can find it here www.alessandrocarpentiero.com/travel-photography-gear-guide-2019-what-gear-do-i-use/ Anyway, I'll try to answer to your question as if I'd have the lens :D Based on my style and usage, I wouldn't really need to have extra light on such lens. IF I would be shooting nightscapes/stars or events, then I would definitely like to have a 2.8 lens. Thanks again for your time, and happy shootings!

Thanks for sharing your opinion Ducky and sorry for the late reply! I appreciate your suggestion as it helps to improve what I do here, so I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future 😊 I don't know if you took a look at the written review on my website; there you can find a few more shots -> www.alessandrocarpentiero.com/sony-fe-12-24mm-review-ultra-wide-angle-lens-sony-a7-a9/ Thanks and have a great day!

Thanks a lot man! Really appreciate you taking the time to comment 🙂 have a good one! 👋✨

Thanks a lot for leaving a comment Simon, much appreciated! Sorry for the late reply but I just saw it :) Have a great Sunday!

Alessandro Carpentiero thanks, great Sunday for you too 😊

Hey Gerald, thanks for joining the conversation! You are correct, if the budget is tight the 10-18mm can definitely be an interesting solution :) I know that it works OK on the a7 series, but struggles with resolving the very high dense sensor (especially the corners) of the a7RII/III. As usual, it depends on the photographer's style & needs, and it's nice knowing that there's a choice. Thanks again for your comment and have a great day! Alessandro P.S. talking about APS-C lenses, lately I'm playing around with the 35mm f/1.8 (which I got for the a6300) on the a7RII. Quite interesting results!

Hi Alessandro I have used the 10-18mm with my A7RII and A7RIII for large group shots during weddings and the quality has been fine. Yes it may be better suited to my A6500 and my A7III which are 24 megapixels. However, I know other pros also using it on their 42 megapixel A7RII and A7RIII. Cheers

Hey Richard, thanks a lot for your comment! Surely, that Tokina can be a nice option for those who don't need crazy fast Auto-Focus and want to be able to use screw-on filters. Still, I believe that's a lens made for APS-C sensors, isn't it? How are the results when mounted on a full-frame Sony? I would expect it to have a strong vignetting at 12mm. Thanks again for commenting, and happy shootings!

Hey Felix! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 I think selling the Canon 11-24 and getting the Sony 12-24 instead, would just give you advantages :) MUCH lighter (I tried the 11-24 for one morning and it was really too much heavy to use while walking around), no adapters, and in general better performances as indeed it's a native lens. The only drawback is that 1mm less (not a massive difference), and the lack of the distance meter, which is pretty useful for hyperfocal stuff :) Also, I think Canon's resistance to elements is slightly better. In any case, I'd definitely go for the Sony lens ;) Have a great day!

@@AlessandroCarpentiero I got the lens much lighter than the canon. The canon edges were sharper but the sony edges have much less or no purple fringing. I'm happy with the purchase overall.

Hey Felix, hope you had a great weekend!🍻 Thanks for sharing your thoughs here, much appreciated 🙏🏻 I think given the weight advantage, a bit less sharpness can be accepted 🤓 Have a great evening! ✨

Hey Janis! Thank you so much for your comment, I appreciate it! 🙏 You're surely right about the resolution, I'll try to film everything in 4K from now on, just it takes so much space 😅 If you want to take a proper look at the samples, feel free to check out the written review here www.alessandrocarpentiero.com/sony-fe-12-24mm-review-ultra-wide-angle-lens-sony-a7-a9/ where I've uploaded 100% crops 🤓 Thanks and have a great weekend! ✨

Glad you've enjoyed the review! :) Thanks for commenting!

Thanks for your comment Charlie, glad to hear you've liked this 🙂 have a great day!

Thanks for your kind comment Joe, I appreciate it! Have a great day & happy shootings :)

Hey Thomas, thanks a lot for your kind comment, I much appreciate it 🙂 The a7III truly is an awesome camera, so if you're into ultra wide views, I can definitely suggest you getting the 12-24mm 😎 Regarding videos, the FOV is so wide that the edges are evidently stretched especially at the wider focal lengths, so I wouldn't film with it until about 16mm. As per the stabilization, the on-sensor one of our cameras does already a pretty good job, plus the slight movements are less noticeable at such extreme values. In any case I highly doubt they'll release a stabilized version, otherwise it'd be really massive 😅 Thanks again and have a good one!

It depends what kind of videos you would like to shoot. In my experience you better get a lense with 85mm or similar since you‘re able to better catch close action or emotion (face expression, detailed shots of what you wanna show in your vids). But if you are more into wide angle shots (catching city skylines, big buildings, landscapes etc. you can go for a wide angle lense). Nevertheless, going for a lense with e.g. 85mm makes it easier to create a cinematic look (also because of the lower f stop number)

Hey Ay! I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you earlier, but I just saw your comment 🥺 Both choices are very good ones :) It all comes down to your budget (Full Frame lenses are in general more expensive), and to your kind of photography (a6500 is great for sport/fast moving subjects). Which one did you get? :) Do let me know if you need anything! Have an awesome 2020! 🎉

Hey Aviral! Thanks a lot for your comment, I'm happy to help you out 😊 YES, this is a full-frame lens 📷 But, you can also use it on a cropped sensor such as the one on the a6000 series; in that case though, the field of view will be tighter, as the real focal length will be 18-36mm 🤓

@@AlessandroCarpentiero thanks

@@aviralshukla15 happy to help! Have a great Sunday! ✨

Hey Pierre, thanks a lot for your comment, I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed this review :) That tripod is the Sirui N-2204X; you can find my written review of it here: www.alessandrocarpentiero.com/sirui-n-2204x-review-medium-size-carbon-fiber-tripod/ Now there's a newer version, the N-2204SK. By the way, you can find all the gear I use here: www.alessandrocarpentiero.com/travel-photography-gear-guide-2019-what-gear-do-i-use/ P.S. I'm a Sirui Ambassador, so feel free to ask any question shall you need :) Have a great Sunday!

Hey Alessandro, thanks for your comment, I appreciate it! In order to give you a proper answer, can you let me know what kind of photography you are more interested in? And also what other lenses do you have? For my kind of photography, I ended up preferring the 16-35mm, as the 12-24 can be too extreme on several occasions, forcing you to change lens when maybe it's not possible. But again, it's all a matter of preferences and needs. Right now my "minimum" travel combo is the 16-35 together with the 24-105; yes they do overlap between 24 and 35mm, but in my experience, this is what I need. Plus, I can mount my NiSi filter holder easily on both of them ;) This doesn't absolutely mean that this is the best choice, but it's simply the choice that suits my needs best :)

Hey, thanks for commenting! On my website, you can see the 100% crops of the raw files; I thought they were enough and easier to handle. But well, Christmas is close so here you go --> www.dropbox.com/sh/phdagl4iel04o2g/AABgOuhLu9hOWNSkXrrsy8D6a?dl=0 Have a great Holiday Season ;)

@@AlessandroCarpentiero Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate this very much cause I can't decide between this lens combined with the Sigma 24 1.4 or the 16-35 gm alone.

Anytime, glad I could help! Well that's not an easy choice indeed :) There's no really a right answer, as it strongly depends on your photography style, and also on what other gear you have. This 12-24 is a great lens, but it's also very specific; the times I need the range between 12mm and 16mm are pretty rare (I was shooting ultra-wide more often in the past). So now my go-to kit for landscapes is the 16-35 and 24-105. Are your doubts also related to the difference in aperture? Feel free to share your point of view, I'd be glad to give you my thoughts in it 😉

@@AlessandroCarpentiero For me it doesn't depend on the aperture. When i was shooting stars i stopped down to F4 on other wideangles too. I prefer having a focal length above 20mm to shoot the milky way and that's why i go for the 24 1.4. On the other hand i like extreme wideangles, so 16mm seems a bit boring. Also i shoot startrails more often than before and there is also no F2.8 needed. I fear a bad behavior in sunlight with the 12-24, but I would keep using it at F8 or F11. I have the a7iii paired with the 24-105 and 100-400 and primes Mitakon 50 0,95 and Sigma 135 1.8. You can check my instagram, its mainly portraits, stars and a bit travel: instagram.com/martinw_fotografie/ - but yeah, I'm just a hobbyist.

Cool pics Martin, thanks for sharing! From how you put it, I see you're more inclined towards the 12-24, and you'd probably take more advantage of its ultra wide field of view than you would with a more regular 16-35 focal length. As you have the 24-105, I think it could make perfect sense getting the 12-24 so that you would have a wider range available and you wouldn't have redundancy. The 24 1.4 definitely sounds great for Astro work, and you have a pretty great kit with you! As per the behavior of the 12-24 during the day, I really wouldn't worry about it as it's pretty darn good, just be mindful about the hyperfocal distance especially when shooting between 12 and 14 milliliters. Lastly, the 16-35 GM has an edge in image quality and sharpness, but they're meant for different usages and still, it's not a night and day difference. Long story short, based on what you say I think the 12-24 is what you should be getting 👌

Hey Matters, thanks for proposing this, it's a pretty cool idea! 🤓 Unfortunately, I'm an Android user (OnePlus), but I'll see if I can somehow make this happen 🙏 Have an awesome 2020! ✨

Glad you've found it useful Oscar, and thanks for your comment :)

Ciao Ata, grazie mille per il commento! Perdona il ritardo ma ho visto solamente ora :) Che tipo di foto fai/vorresti fare? Se vuoi una pancake c'è il 20mm f/2.8 (bit.ly/2J9a8WA), altrimenti per ottiche zoom ci sono molte alternative :)

Ti ho risposto su Intstagram.

Hello Val, For sure having an f/2.8 would really help with astrophotography. Still, cameras nowadays can handle high ISO pretty well. But,if you are looking for really high-end and deep-sky astrophotography, you're probably better off with the 16-35mm GM. In any case, the 12-24mm reacts very well to COMA and astigmatism, so if you have a capable camera at high ISO you can definitely use it for astro ;)

Hey. thanks for your comment and so sorry if I never replied!! Were you able to get a wide angle zoom after all? I would have recommended the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 to start out with :) Sorry again for the 2-year delay, and have a great one!

Hey man, thank you so much for your kind words, much appreciated!! Honestly, I haven't tried the Sigma, so I can't give you a on-the-field feedback. However, I'd say: - SIGMA: go for it if you really need that f/2.8 (such as weddings, etc). - SONY: go for it if you need those 2 mm less (the difference between 12mm and 14mm is not that little) and if you want a lighter lens. I hope this helps :) Have a great Holiday Season!

​@@AlessandroCarpentiero Hey ​ Alessandro, I ended up cancelling my order for Sigma 14-24 and ordering the Sony 12-24 instead. For me, the extra wide angle is more important, also the fact that is is a native Sony lens. I think it overweights the Sigma's f/2.8, at least for me. I currently shoot Canon EF-S 10-18 (considering the 1.6 crop factor) and Samsung Note 10+ in ultra wide (which is similar to 12 mm in AOV). So I am really looking forward to 12-24 f4 on my A7R3!

Grazie mille del commento Corrado!! :) Puoi trovare la recensione scritta in italiano nella descrizione 😇 per il video però nada per ora 😬 Grazie ancora e buon weekend!

Grazie per la risposta, mi sfuggirà ma non la vedo quella in italiano 😔😔

Di nulla figurati! Se non ti si carica in italiano basta che clicchi sulla bandiera italiana nel menu :) in ogni caso ecco il link diretto www.alessandrocarpentiero.com/it/recensione-sony-fe-12-24mm-grandangolo-estremo-per-sony-a7-a9/ Ciao!

Letto direttamente dal sito, ottima recensione ... sempre più convinto di affiancarla al mio nuovo 24-105mm del quale sono molto contento ( con A7RII ) ...

Hey Marilyin! Please pardon my late response, I didn't see your comment 🥺 This one surely is a great lens for Real Estate, but bear in mind that 12mm and 13mm are really extreme focal lengths, so don't abuse of them in your RE work :) Otherwise, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN Art might also interest you. Have a great Holiday Season! 🎄

I use a commlite adapter (specifically the ENF-E1 PRO), my 11-16mm Tokina works on my sony A7iii. Plus my other Nikon lenses work on it too, like my 105mm Macro etc.

Well, for sure Sony did invest quite some money on R&D to create all their new lenses :) Plus it's a native lens and one of the few solutions, hence the hefty price.

Ciao Gabriele, ti ringrazio davvero per il tuo commento!! Il 12-24 è un'ottica molto interessante, ed una scelta ad occhi chiusi per chi sa cosa farne ;) Per il resto provo a fare del mio meglio, pensando di essere uno spettatore anche io di quello che faccio, grazie mille! Sono stato un po' fermo con i video per problemi personali, ma a breve tornerò, spero il più costantemente possibile. Grazie ancora e buone foto!!

Hey ZhaoHui, thanks for sharing your opinion! I'm sorry if the background music seemed too loud in some parts 🥺 does this happen also with earphones? It's something very important to me, as I also hate when background music is too loud; so I'll make sure to triple check it for the next videos. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, and have a great Sunday! ☀️📷

Thanks for the comment, Luc, and sorry for replying so late! It's indeed quite an expensive lens, but now that there's more options and that Sony has released the f/2.8 version, I'm sure it can be found at a lower price :) Thanks again for stopping by and be safe! ✨

Got mine on eBay for 900

Sounds like a great deal Michael! 👌

Hello Howard, with gear there's not an "absolute best", but there's always the piece of gear that suits your needs best ;) As I said in the video, in my personal opinion the Sony is a better choice thanks to its reduced dimensions & reduced weight. Of course, you're free to use the Sigma if you prefer it, or you could even get the Canon 11-24mm and adapt it to your Sony. No one is forcing you to stick to native lenses :)

As long as it gives something to the viewer, I am happy with it! So, I'm glad you've found something funny in it 🙂👋✨