Best 24mm lenses for Sony mirrorless cameras

Even though I’ve been shooting with a Canon DSLR for years, I’m writing this article at a time when I’m in the middle of a transition. I’ve decided to switch to a full-frame Sony mirrorless camera to photograph the tropical landscapes I love so much. During this transition, I spent a lot of time searching, reading, comparing, and analyzing all Sony FE lenses. I wanted to share the results of that research with you, as it also helped me personally choose my own lenses!

After taking a detailed look at what I consider to be the best Sony wide-angle lens options, I now want to focus on the best Sony 24mm lenses. You may be wondering: why 24mm in particular? This focal length is well known in photography. It remains an ideal choice in many situations, especially when you want to highlight a detail while still including context.

On a full-frame camera, 24mm is a true wide-angle focal length. Of course, you won’t get the extra-wide field of view you would have with a 16-35mm or 14-24mm lens, but a 24mm still lets you include a lot in the frame and gives you a wide angle of view. It is often used for landscape photography, weddings, photojournalism, street photography, and environmental portraits, which makes it a fairly versatile lens. In practice, 24mm lets you shoot wide while still including some background. Unlike a 50mm or a telephoto lens (85mm or longer), which tends to frame tighter and blur the background more easily, a 24mm lens keeps more of the surrounding elements in the image. Even though many 24mm lenses offer a large maximum aperture (usually from f/1.4 to f/2.8), this focal length does not usually create very blurred backgrounds, which fits the kind of images it is often used for. Finally, most 24mm lenses with a large constant maximum aperture, especially around f/1.4, also make it easier to shoot in low light.

If you want a narrower field of view and a lens better suited to portraits or street photography, feel free to check out our complete guide to the best Sony 35mm lenses.

Here are the seven autofocus 24mm lenses I consider the best at the time of writing. Click on the links below to jump directly to each lens.

1. Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM
2. Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
3. Samyang 24mm f/1.8 FE AF
4. Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2
5. Sigma 24mm f/2 DG DN I C
6. Sigma 24mm f/3.5 DG DN I C
7. Sony 24mm f/2.8 G FE

Of course, as you can imagine, this is a subjective ranking, but it reflects my own research and analysis, while also taking price into account, since it is an important factor in your choice. If you want to compare these lenses directly, you can go straight to the comparison table below. And for those wondering, none of the 24mm lenses mentioned above has a curved front element, so you can use classic screw-in filters.

The table below summarizes the main characteristics of the lenses detailed later in the article.

Visual

Lens

Features

Best price

Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM

• Still the strongest option
• Very bright lens
• High-end build quality
• Aperture ring available
• Exceptional sharpness
• Excellent AF/Bokeh

Amazon
B&H

Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art.

• Modern mirrorless design
• Very bright lens
• Great build quality
• Aperture ring available
• Excellent sharpness
• Strong value versus Sony

Amazon
B&H

Samyang 24mm f/1.8 FE AF

• Bright lens
• Lightweight/compact lens
• Weather-sealed construction
• Very good sharpness
• Limited optical flaws
• Excellent value for money

Amazon
B&H

Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2

• More limited aperture
• Close-up possibilities (1:2)
• Excellent sharpness
• AF a little slow
• Optical flaws handled quite well
• Very affordable lens

Amazon
B&H

Sigma 24mm f/2 DG DN I C

• Great construction
• Aperture ring
• Weather-sealed construction
• Very good sharpness
• Very good alternative to Sony
• Fair price

Amazon
B&H

Sigma 24mm f/3.5 DG DN I C

• Very good build quality
• Compact/lightweight
• 1:2 magnification ratio
• Excellent sharpness
• Optical flaws well managed
• Fair price

Amazon
B&H

Sony 24mm f/2.8 G FE

• Great build quality
• Lightweight/compact lens
• Aperture ring
• Very good image quality
• Edge sharpness slightly behind
• Average price in my opinion

Amazon
B&H

You can also check out our guide to Sony’s pancake lens range, perfect for staying discreet on the street or when traveling!

You can look wherever you want: the Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM remains one of the benchmark 24mm lenses for the Sony FE mount. It belongs to the very high end of Sony’s range, the “GM” (G Master) line. It offers a very large maximum aperture of f/1.4, while the older Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, originally designed for DSLR cameras and then adapted for mirrorless, remains a much larger and heavier option. Sigma has since released a dedicated mirrorless 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, which I detail just below. The Sony is therefore no longer the only modern f/1.4 option, but it still stands out for its compact size, weight, autofocus, and overall balance.

Sony pulled it off impressively here, offering a very bright 24mm in a light (445g), compact, weather-sealed, and robust body, mainly made of metal and high-quality plastic. The optical quality is truly superb. It is also worth noting that the lens has a de-clickable aperture ring, which is useful depending on whether you shoot photos or video. This 24mm is not stabilized, but you can take advantage of stabilization in Sony camera bodies, as well as the f/1.4 aperture, which also helps in low light.

In terms of image quality, the lens (sold with a lens hood) is exceptional in the center of the frame right from maximum aperture, and Sony has also managed to deliver very good quality on the edges and corners, which is rare for a wide-angle lens of this type. Stop down to f/2 and then f/2.8, and image quality on the edges and in the extreme corners becomes truly excellent.

There is very little distortion or chromatic aberration, but vignetting is very strong at maximum aperture, even though the camera’s automatic correction handles it relatively well. Finally, the bokeh produced by this 24mm is considered very good, and the autofocus is fast and completely silent. In short, this is a very high-quality lens, with an obviously high price. It may be the best, but it is certainly not the one everyone will actually be able to afford. The Sigma, Tamron, and Samyang options below remain very strong alternatives, each with its own balance between price, size, and performance!

The Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art is the lens that now makes the comparison with the Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM much more interesting. Unlike the older Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, this version was designed directly for mirrorless cameras, including the Sony E mount. It keeps the large f/1.4 aperture, but in a more compact and better-balanced body for a full-frame hybrid camera. The Sony version weighs 510g, measures just under 10cm long, accepts 72mm front filters, and offers a minimum focusing distance of 25cm.

Optically, this Sigma is a very serious lens, with a 17-element design in 14 groups, 11 rounded diaphragm blades, and strong correction of sagittal coma, which makes it especially interesting for astrophotography, night scenes, landscapes, travel, and environmental portraits. It also includes a dust- and splash-resistant construction, an aperture ring with a click switch, an AFL button, and a Manual Focus Lock switch, which can be useful at night. It is not as light as the Sony GM, but it is very well built and usually more affordable, making it one of the strongest 24mm f/1.4 alternatives for Sony FE today.

Released in April 2021, the Samyang 24mm f/1.8 FE AF arrived in an already fairly crowded 24mm market. Lightweight (230g) and very compact, in the same spirit as the Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2, this Samyang is a bright prime lens that is especially well suited to landscape and astrophotography.

With a maximum aperture of f/1.8, brighter than the Tamron, this lens (sold with a lens hood) offers good build quality in reinforced polycarbonate, weather sealing with five seals, and a “Custom Switch” that lets you control the aperture through the focus ring. Another custom function also helps you hold focus and, with the help of an LED, set the default focus position to infinity, although it can also be set to another distance, such as the hyperfocal distance. The minimum focusing distance is short (19cm), and you can get pleasing bokeh, even if that is rarely the main reason to buy a 24mm lens. Early reviews also point to very good autofocus performance.

Image quality appears to be very good in the center right from maximum aperture, and more than decent on the edges. It improves again between f/2 and f/4, where it becomes excellent. There are some chromatic aberrations and distortion, but they remain quite acceptable and can largely be corrected automatically by the camera.

To conclude, you get a well-built, bright lens with very good autofocus, low weight, compact dimensions, and excellent sharpness. At around €500, it is clearly very good value for money!

Released in October 2019, this Tamron quickly attracted attention. Obviously, we are not in the same range as the Sony mentioned above. This Tamron offers an aperture of “only” f/2.8, but it comes in a very light package, about half the weight of the Sony above, and in a compact format.

Tamron uses the word “Macro” for this lens because it offers a minimum focusing distance of 12cm, which is useful for close-up photography. It is not stabilized and is sold with a petal lens hood. The body is mainly made of good-quality plastic. There is only one manual focus ring, and the autofocus is also said to be decent, although a little slow in some situations according to reviews.

Image quality from this Tamron is excellent right from maximum aperture at f/2.8, and very good on the edges and in the extreme corners. At the same aperture, it almost rivals the Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM. Stop down to f/4, and the quality becomes superb across the whole image, on a level with the Sony 24mm. Optically, there is some vignetting at maximum aperture. Chromatic aberrations and distortion are present, but the camera’s automatic correction handles them without any issue.

In conclusion, Tamron’s lens is a superb option, at a price roughly five times lower than the Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM. Of course, it is not as bright, but at an affordable price (around €400 new at the time of writing), it is clearly a very good alternative to the Sony 24mm E-mount lens, especially if you don’t need such a large aperture.

If you want to know more, we also wrote a full review of this Tamron 24mm f/2.8 FE.

I decided to update this article after Sigma released another lens for the Sony E mount: the Sigma 24mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary from the I series. Sigma had already released another 24mm in this same I series, the Sigma 24mm f/3.5 DG DN I C, which I detail below.

This Sigma 24mm f/2 is heavier and larger than the f/3.5 version, while still remaining fairly compact. Note that unlike the f/3.5 version, which offers a 1:2 ratio for close-up work, this one has a longer minimum focusing distance of 24.5cm.

In terms of image quality, this Sigma performs better than the f/3.5 version. Sharpness is already excellent at maximum aperture, and even better if you stop down by one stop. The build is solid, as with all I series lenses. The lens includes an AF/MF switch, a non-removable aperture ring, and weather-sealed construction. There are very few optical flaws with this lens, and they can be corrected easily in post-processing.

Available for around €600 at the time of writing, I think it is very fairly priced. It is certainly more expensive than the Samyang, which offers a larger f/1.8 aperture, but it is much better built. It is also a very appealing alternative to the Sony 24mm f/1.4, which is much more expensive, while offering very similar image quality. It’s one of the best 24mm lenses for Sony E-mount.

This Sigma lens is part of Sigma’s “I” series, which offers high-quality lenses in a very compact format. Built from metal alloys, even down to the lens hood, it is widely considered a very nice and solid lens. It is also extremely compact and lightweight, measuring 5cm long and weighing 230g. Note the presence of a manual aperture ring, as well as a switch to move between autofocus and manual focus.

It is important to note that this lens has a 1:2 magnification ratio, making it interesting for close-up photography, much like the Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2, with a very short minimum focusing distance of 11cm. The autofocus is considered very good, although focusing can sometimes be more difficult in low light, especially because of the relatively small maximum aperture of f/3.5, which is unusual for a 24mm lens.

In terms of image quality, it is excellent across the frame right from its maximum aperture of f/3.5. Optical flaws seem to be relatively well controlled, despite strong vignetting at maximum aperture.

It would be easy to see this small Sigma 24mm as a budget lens, but Sigma actually offers a very nice lens here, both optically and in terms of build and image quality. If you do not need a large aperture for your photography, this 24mm could be a very good choice. In my opinion, the price is still a bit high, especially compared to the cheaper Tamron, which offers better image quality and more creative possibilities thanks to its f/2.8 aperture.

Released in March 2021, this Sony lens also attracted attention. Mainly built from metal, it comes in a very compact package: 6cm long and only 162g. It is sold with a circular lens hood and includes a classic manual focus ring, a manual aperture ring, and a button to switch between AF and MF.

Image quality is said to be very good in the center, but a little weaker on the edges and corners. Stopping down to f/4-f/5.6 improves image homogeneity. However, distortion and vignetting are significant, although they can be managed in post-processing or automatically by the camera. Chromatic aberrations are not a major issue, and autofocus is very good. To some extent, if you get close to your subject and open the aperture, you can also achieve nice background bokeh.

To conclude, this Sony 24mm lens offers very good image quality in a compact and extremely light package. However, its price is disappointing, as it is much higher than the Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2 or the Samyang 24mm f/1.8 FE AF.

The characteristics of the seven lenses mentioned above are summarized in the table below. As a reminder, you can sort them according to the criteria that matter most to you by clicking on the desired column.

I won’t go into as much detail about these four autofocus lenses, which I consider alternatives and therefore less interesting in my view. You can compare them in the summary table.

First, I would mention the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, which is basically a DSLR lens adapted for Sony mirrorless cameras. Despite its very serious build quality (although it is not weather sealed) and very good image quality in the center at maximum aperture, the edges and extreme corners lag behind. The lens also remains heavy (665g) and quite large. In my opinion, compared to the other lenses mentioned above, it is not worth it. Sigma has since released the 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, designed specifically for mirrorless cameras, so if you want a Sigma 24mm f/1.4 today, that newer version is the one to consider instead of the older DG HSM model. Moreover, the older lens remains quite expensive.

Another alternative is the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 STM FE. Its weight and size are close to those of the Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G. The Viltrox offers very good image quality at maximum aperture, but it really falls short, and even performs poorly, in the extreme corners. Once you stop down, things improve greatly, especially on the edges. In my opinion, at the announced price (around €450), the Samyang 24mm f/1.8 FE AF would be a much better choice.

I also have to mention another lens worth considering if you are looking for a 24mm: the Samyang 24mm f/2.8 FE AF. This pancake lens is really small, at 6cm long and only 96g on the scale. However, its mostly plastic build quality and image quality, which is clearly below all the lenses mentioned above, make it less interesting in my opinion. You will need to stop down to f/5.6 to get decent quality, especially on the edges. Autofocus is also known to be relatively slow on this lens. Still, it does have one advantage: its low price, around €250 at the time of writing.

Finally, the last 24mm, or rather 25mm in this case, that can be used with a full-frame Sony sensor is the Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Distagon T*. This lens is not stabilized, but it is superbly built, as most Zeiss lenses are, has weather sealing, and remains relatively compact at 9cm long and 335g. As on all Zeiss Batis lenses, there is also an OLED screen on the lens that provides information such as focusing distance and depth of field. Autofocus works well, but it can sometimes be quite slow in certain situations. Image quality is good in the center, but deteriorates in the corners. Still, this remains a quality lens, well built and offering great creative possibilities thanks to its relatively large f/2 aperture. The only drawback, in my opinion, is its price, which is very high compared to the other alternatives mentioned above.

Here are the characteristics of the four alternative lenses summarized below.

There are also some manual-focus 24mm lenses. I won’t go into detail here, as I generally find them less interesting. I’m not saying that some of the lenses mentioned below are not good, but considering their price, I think it is a shame to give up autofocus, especially if you plan to use this 24mm for street photography, reportage, or environmental portraits.

Here are the manual-focus 24mm lenses I found. Feel free to let me know if you think I’ve missed any lenses that should be included in the list.

Before talking about what I consider the best 24mm lenses for Sony cameras, I thought it was worth going over the main elements to consider so you can make a well-informed choice. I will not repeat here all the elements you should consider when choosing a lens, but you can refer to the link above for a good overall view of the subject. For a 24mm lens, here are the main criteria to keep in mind.

In my opinion, this is the first thing to think about when buying a 24mm lens. Even though most 24mm lenses offer fairly large apertures, you still need to decide how important this is for your own use. As a reminder, the aperture is the number that comes after “f/”. The smaller the number, the larger the aperture, and the more light your sensor can capture. A larger aperture allows you to:

• Get more pronounced blur in the background (or foreground),
• Use faster shutter speeds (each time you open the aperture by one stop, you can capture movement twice as fast),
• Limit how much you need to increase ISO (the two are linked).

Of course, whether or not you choose a larger aperture will depend on your needs, the type of images you shoot, the look you want, and, of course, your budget. Remember that, in general, the larger the aperture, the heavier and bigger the lens will be. It is up to you to decide whether this matters for your use. This brings me to another important criterion.

Everything depends on the type of images you plan to take. If, for example, you only want to shoot landscapes, choosing a 24mm with a very large aperture may be less important, since you will often use smaller apertures, such as f/5.6 or f/8, to keep the whole image sharp.

On the other hand, if you plan to use your 24mm in many situations, including street photography, weddings, reportage, travel, and so on, there is a good chance you will want to make certain subjects stand out. In that case, a lens with a large aperture is always a plus, as it helps you isolate your subject more easily. If you shoot fairly close to the scene in front of you, for example at a market, a wedding, or indoors, and especially if your subject is moving, a large aperture will also help you freeze the action faster without pushing ISO too high.

Another interesting point to consider is the focusing distance of some 24mm lenses. You will see in the list below that some models offer a very short focusing distance, around 10/11cm, and a 1:2 magnification ratio, which some brands describe as “macro.” This can be very interesting if you enjoy close-up photography or even food photography, since the wide 24mm angle lets you include context in the image. Being able to get very close to your subject, combined with a large aperture, also makes it possible to get nice background bokeh.

Finally, thanks to the large aperture available on many 24mm lenses, you can work much more easily in low light, as it greatly limits the need to raise ISO or use shutter speeds that are too slow, reducing the risk of blurry images.

This is a question I personally asked myself during my research. Many classic zooms, such as 24-70mm, 17-28mm, and 16-35mm lenses, let you shoot at 24mm. So why choose a prime lens instead?

The days when zoom lenses were always worse than primes are over, and you can now certainly find zooms that offer image quality as good as a 24mm prime, or even better. However, few zooms offer a maximum aperture as large as what you can get on a 24mm prime, such as f/1.8, and even fewer reach f/1.4. The creative possibilities are therefore not the same. Also, don’t forget that a classic zoom lens covering 24mm will generally be much heavier and more imposing than a 24mm prime lens.

For example, I considered buying the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD wide-angle zoom. It does include the 24mm focal length, opens “only” to f/2.8, weighs 420g, and is 10cm long. By the way, we also published our review of the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8, an interesting wide-angle zoom to consider if you are looking for a quality, versatile lens. By comparison, I also looked at the Samyang 24mm f/1.8 FE AF, which weighs only 230g, is 7cm long, and opens to f/1.8.

Most 24mm lenses do not offer stabilization. On wide-angle and bright lenses, the benefit is actually relatively limited. In addition, these lenses can take advantage of stabilization in Sony bodies, at least on full-frame mirrorless cameras. On APS-C, only certain Sony cameras offer stabilization, such as the A6600.

This is another element to consider when making your choice, and it can also influence the price of the lens to some extent. It depends on how important it is for your own use. If you shoot in difficult conditions, such as rain, snow, or cold weather, this may matter, as some 24mm lenses include seals to help limit the risks.

For many people, this is an important criterion. Not all 24mm lenses are equal in this respect, and some, usually those with the largest aperture, will be heavier and longer. I’d say it depends on your use. If you mainly use your lens for landscape photography on a tripod, for example, compactness will probably matter less than if you use it for weddings, travel, or reportage, where weight and discretion become much more important.

This is a question worth asking, although it is secondary in my opinion. The manual-focus options mentioned at the end of this article can be just as expensive, or even more expensive, than autofocus lenses. Choosing a manual-focus lens and giving up autofocus does not seem particularly useful to me. Still, you will find a list of 24mm MF lenses at the end of the article, summarized in a table.

One last point. There are plenty of 24mm choices, but not all lenses are equal. Sony offers what I still consider one of the best 24mm lenses for a full-frame mirrorless camera, the Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM, but at a high price. Not everyone will be able to afford this lens, and third-party brands clearly offer excellent alternatives that can cost two to three times less, or even more. I’m thinking in particular of the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, which is a serious f/1.4 alternative to the Sony GM, and the Samyang 24mm f/1.8 FE AF, which was available for less than €500 at the time of writing and offers excellent image quality with a large f/1.8 aperture.

That brings us to the end of this article about the best 24mm lenses for Sony mirrorless cameras. I hope you found these tips useful, as putting them together required a lot of research and comparison work. If you want to support our work and our blog, you can use the links in the article when making your purchase. We earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, and it helps us keep the blog independent, without relying on advertising, for example.

More articles about Sony lenses will follow as my research progresses. In the meantime, feel free to take a look at our page dedicated to Sony FE lenses for full-frame mirrorless cameras. We have listed all the lenses available for this mount, both from Sony and third-party brands, including excellent alternatives that often cost much less.

See you soon and, as always, don’t hesitate to tell me what you thought of this article.

See you soon,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I've been passionate about photography since 2010, learning as I went along. Today, I dedicate myself to guiding others in their choice of camera gear and sharing a variety of tips to improve their photography skills.

Despite our care, a mistake may have slipped into this article. If you find any, please don't hesitate to let us know so we can correct it as soon as possible and keep our information up-to-date!