The 7 sharpest 24mm lenses...ever made?
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- Опубліковано 14 лип 2024
- This year, instead of making videos about the sharpest lens I’ve ever tested, I’m going to break them down into categories - I thought that might be more interesting :) with the arrival of a bunch of new 24mm lenses recently...let's get on with those.
I don't know what I'm more excited about, by the way: how many fanboys of various camera systems get infuriated by this video, or how many people try to convince me that this video is rubbish because such-and-such a lens has 'Better Microcontrast and 3D-Pop' etc, hehe.
Follow the links below for full reviews and Amazon affiliate links, which go towards supporting this channel!
0:00 Introduction
01:45 Sigma 24mm f/3.5 DG DN 'C' ($550 / £480)
Full review: • Sigma 24mm f/3.5 DG DN...
Find it here: geni.us/F1VwS
02:34 Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S ($1,000 / £900)
Full review: • Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S l...
Find it here: geni.us/nikonz24mm18
03:09 Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 ($1,300 / £1,030)
Full review: • Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 l...
Find it here: geni.us/zeissbatis25mmf2
03:45 Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 ($250 / £240)
Full-review: • Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di I...
Find it here: geni.us/kownx
04:34 Samyang AF 24mm f/1.8 FE ($500 / £460)
Full review: • Samyang AF 24mm f/1.8 ...
Find it here: geni.us/Samyang24mm18FE
05:15 Sigma 24mm f/2 DG DN 'C' ($639 / £549)
Full review: • Sigma 24mm f/2 DG DN '...
06:08 Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM ($1,400 / £1,300)
Full review: • Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM ...
Find it here: geni.us/SonyFE24mmGM
All pictures taken by me on all kinds of different cameras. If you've found this video helpful, please consider supporting the channel on Patreon! / christopherfrost
Music: 'Sidewalk Shade', Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 - Навчання та стиль
I'm monitoring the comments section for fanboy comments 24/7 ;-)
what you think of panasonic lens ? thinking about switching from fuji to pana s5
@@amadei2 i would say you have more variety on fuji lens wise the selection is pretty slim on panasonic consider that before going in
And I thought YOU were the fanboy? ;)
"You jerk! Why didn't you include MY lens!?!!!" ;)
(Rok 1.4 manual everything.)
the 24GM is one of those "pry it out of my cold dead hands" lenses -- I love it. Lately, my favorite focal length has been 135mm. The 24 GM's bigger 135 GM brother has been mounted to my camera a surprising amount of time.
Thanks for all your work Chris, maybe you could continue this sharpest of series with other focal ranges.
A very informative video Christopher. Many thanks for all the time you’ve taken to produce this.
As always a very pleasant review to watch 🙂
It would be very interesting to see how the older generation (on SLRs) compares, like the Nikon's and Canon's F/2.8 and F/1.4
Samyang is making amazing glass lately.. i'm using 18mm 2.8, 35mm 1.8 and 75mm 1.8. All three combined costs less then 1000e and all 3 are very very good. So small and light, perfect for sony a7c.
I use the same three lenses but i'm still stuck on a A6300 but i already future proofed myself flr Full Frame with the Samyang Lenses
18 2.8, 24 1.8 and 75 1.8 user here, sold all my other lenses... With one of these attached to the camera and the other two in each pocket I have a focal range and image quality surpassing the most expensive zooms. Samyang are killing it with the Tiny Series.
I really wanted the Sony 24mm f1.4 but I couldn't justify the price. After seeing your review and Dustin's of the Sigma 24mm f2 I decided to get this lens. It is built like a tank very similar to my vintage lenses and the optical quality is superb. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos they really do help, cheers.
I've bought a second hand Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG HSM Art Lens which I currently use at a Canon APS-C camera. I've watched your review on that and because it's not only a extremly sharp lens, but also has a very usable focal length on a ff camera. It was a safe bet and I love it! thanks for that!
Thanks Chris for this lovely video. Please continue to such videoos once in while.
For me it's quite an easy decision to make. There's only $50 difference between #2 and #3, and $850 between #1 and #2. My next lens would definitely be Sigma 24mm f/2....
Wow! 6 out of 7 of those brilliant lenses are for E-mount! What a happy time to be an e-mount user! Specially when you remember you were scratching your head just a few years ago to find a light and sharp 24mm! I'm rather happy for Nikon Z mount users as they have one solid option, though a bit big and pricy. But choosing between all these great options for e-mount is not easy man! I add to the list the tiny Sony G 2.8 but I think I'll end up with one of the sigmas....wish me luck!
yeah - but the drawback with e-mount is: you must use a sony camera.
All these lenses can be used on a Nikon Z body with a Techart autofocus adaptor
I have and use the Sigma 24 f3.5 on my A7 Mk3 and it is a thing of beauty. On a par with a [admittedly brighter] Leica Summilux 28 f1.7 for aesthetics and indeed sharpness. It also has a very very short minimum focus distance.
My favourite focal length however is 35mm on a 35mm sensor or a 19mm on M4/3.
Beautiful outdoor environmental portrait at 0:25 - more of these when reviewing images please! Bokeh highlights from background trees in outdoor portraits is one of my primary concerns for a lens's bokeh qualities - the bokeh highlights through the leaves at portrait distances tends often end up in the tricky 'transition zone' for bokeh where it's not completely blown out like a macro shot, so it exposes the shape and colour fringing really well. Thanks again for another great review!
Currently, I'm not interested in buying a new lens in this focal length, but I like watching your sophisticated reviews. The more interesting thing is theses views you choose and perfectly compose.
Good work, keep it up please, and I would like to see a video fir current macro lenses for Nikon.
Much blessings & joy for you and your family.
I think you nailed it 👌🏼
As far as the most inspiring to shoot with, the Sigma f2 and Sony gm 1.4 for sure take the price. The GM is my most used lens for about 2 years now, but I love 35mm. If I had to stick with one focal length… don’t know. I’d be happy at either 24 or 35.
Thanks for all your work on lens reviews. I would love to see a sharpest super wide (12mm-18mm) lens video.
Thank you for answering the age old question asked by all those brainy philosophers. Those philosophers are highly appreciative and grateful for your efforts.
The sigma 24mm 3.5 has definitely been my primary driver. I don't open it up that often, so the speed doesn't bother me too much. It's compact build is definitely a plus.
I agree. The only drawback to that lens is its f3.5 maximum appiture; everything else about it is great. That lens would be awesome for landscape work, where a tripod could be used and the lens stopped down to between f5.6 and f11 in order to get more depth of field.
What shocks me the most about the Sony 24mm GM is just how light and small it is for its specifications
omg hi i didnt know you watch this channel
Favorite focal lengths for a 'desert island' scenario are (in order): 40, 28-31, 35, 50-65. So 40 if I had to choose just one, but I could do with some substitutes if the hypothetical drop off vehicle only had a few others!
can't wait to see more of these! great video!
After recently learning about the existance of Sony's 20mm F1.8, I would be interested in seeing how that (and other 20mm lenses) stack up against these ones, if you were to crop in to make the focal length match :D
I might make a video one day about the sharpest 20mm lenses around :-)
I've been interestdd in the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 for M4/3. I wonder how those two compare.
@@christopherfrost I would love that. I prefer 20mm than 24mm for landscape. Anyway, great review as always
@@davebellamy4867 I have that lens and use it on my Olympus OMD EM5 and it's a very sharp lens and I've taken some of my favorite photos with it but it gives you a 40mm FOV on M4/3 and in terms of build quality it doesn't compare to any on this list in my opinion.
Loving these brief summary videos! Personally I prefer compact lenses and sadly this focal length requires bigger lenses. (Unless you go with a manual). So I recently picked the Sony 16mm 2.8, which translates to 24mm on FF. It’s not very sharp, but is compact enough that I actually have my camera on me to take a shot lol. So like you said, sharpness isn’t everything. FYI I think there’s a typo @ the 0.48 second mark, where the tamron shows as f/3.5.
I have this Tamron and I am absolutely blown away. I compared it over the course of 30 days to the Sony G 24mm 2.8. The Tamron is way, way better in picture quality. Sony only beat it in head to head match in autofocus speed and quieter autofocus. But man, this Tamron is the best value I've ever seen in a lens.
I agree. the tam is better than the sony G in terms of optics
What about the wild barrel distortion thst comes with the Tamron? How do you deal with that?
@@Cthames123 I don't think the barrel distortion is much worse than any 24mm at this price range or a tier higher. But Lightroom corrects it easily.
Wasn't expecting to see the Tamron here, got it for $200 USD and couldn't resist for that price.
Considering how good at high ISO are the cameras nowadays, and with the help of ibis, for static subjects, I can't justify buying a F1,4 instead of an F1,8 or f2, especially since the modern f2 are so high quality...
bokeh
Nice review Chris 👍 my prime of choice is 35mm and for that I love my tamron G2 paired with my D750
My wife loves her Nikon 20mm s on her Z6 and agree that this is superior to the 24mm s. I look forward to trying the 20mm s on the Z fc crop 😀 the Sony 24 1.4 is outstanding 👍
i was waiting on this video because we’ve recently had some new 24mm’s hit the market we just got the samyang 24mm f1.8 & now we have the new sigma 24mm f2 and i still have my eyes on the sony GM 24mm so i can’t wait to finish the video see what makes #1 😁
Why do you have 3? Im happy for you, just wondering!
@@gregorybeale no i was saying we as in the community any sony shooter we have more great 24mm options it’s nice to see i am 100% decided on the sigma f2 though i just can’t flex the $1500 right now
First of all, Great job as always! I am very surprised dough about Samyang that came on 3rd place. I own it just for one day and send it back to Amazon. Maybe mine was a bad copy, it was hunting focus in video. It grabs the focus and than it goes out of focus and so on like it was pulsing every second. I agreed about the GM came 1st! Best regards,
Great overview. Which test chart do you use for your lens reviews?
Oh my favourite focal length is 28mm which is very unfashionable at the moment.
Yes, your Top 4 are the Best! Also note the cheap Tamron is nearly a 22mm Lens and i love this for that spectacular price! It is my go to Landscape Lens on my Sony A7R4!
What a great choice of high quality 24mm lenses for the RF mount! 🙃
Haha yes Canon need to get to work on that!
I love 35mm on a full frame camera. My lens of choice is the Tamron 35mm f/1.4. I always love the results.
Think option 2 & 3 would make great travel lenses. They are small, lower cost and perform really well. Save the Sony GM for special occasions/projects :)
Lol imagine buy the Gm just to replace it with the sigma or samyang for every day use. These aren’t handbags lol. The Sony is very small and light especially for its speed and quality.
@@mrwashur1991 lol imagine comparing lenses to handbags.
Again, thank you so much for these videos. Without, I'd spending hours and hours researching each lens 😆
Omg! I was just looking for something like this!
surprised to see the Sigma 24 3.5 in the list but not the 24 1.4 Art lens.
The Art 24mm should have been included.
great colour and micro contrast on Batis 25
I would have liked to see the comparison with the 16mm lens on APSC ☺️
Samyang 18 2.8, 24 1.8 and 75 1.8 prime user here, sold all my other lenses... With one of these attached to the camera and the other two in each pocket I have a focal length range, speed and image quality surpassing the most expensive zooms, while still being really portable and lightweight. Samyang are killing it with the Tiny Series!
One of thest closing arguments ever!
I believe mine would be 35mm for all around lens. Been using it since D90 years. Never had the chance and money to purchase or use 24mm yet. Might be my next best choice lens probably.
Loved the collage at 1:25ish :D
Thank you Chris. I wish Loxia 25mm was in your review too. Have you had a chance to play with that anytime? It has good colours and contrast and I wonder how it stacked against the new Sigma f2.
I'm using a Sigma ART 24 1.4 on an EOS 5D and a 5D MK2, the lens is superb and damn sharp even wide open
I recently purchased the samyang. The Sony is the gold standard but I love the samyang value. No regrets
Would be interesting to see how the new version of the Sigma 24mm f1.4 stacks up.
Chris you should make a lens roundup video for the best lens at every common focal length featuring both a wide aperture (f2.0/f1.4) and high image quality at close focus.
Literally just purchased the Samyang f/1.8 due to your recommendation! Should arrive tomorrow c:
You won't be disappointed, it's a very good little lens. Too bad it's made of plastic !
@@pascal6707 Not disappointed at all, its already given me one of my fav portraits… but yeah wtf with the build quality!
Nice video, but I would have preferred that you compared “24mm equiv” lenses. That way you could include 16mm APSC, such as Fuji’s popular f/1.4, and also perhaps some medium format lenses. 24 equiv is my favorite focal length. My tiny Fuji 16/2.8 lives on my camera, even though I have lots of other lenses that get temporarily mounted. Anyway, I love your reviews. They are a goto resource for me.
How about the SIGMA 24mm f1.4 art lens ?
Thank you for saying bright instead of fast. Makes way more sense.
I love the 105mm focal length especially the sigma 105mm f1.4 and the macro f2.8
I love my Sony 24mm 1.4 GM on my Sony A7RIV, but the 24mm are only my second choice, my favorite Lens number one are an analog manual 60mm 2.8 Macro Lens which I use most of the time, in third place are my Sony 135mm 1.8 and then comes my other Lenses.
Thanks for the videos, and please do a review of Laowa 14mm f/4 Zero D DSLR preferably the nikon mount version.
Hope that new Samyang will come to the RF mount soon as well! (probably branded as Rokinon then)
If I only had one, it would be Sony 35mm f/1.8. Samyang 24mm broke in less than a month. Got a deal on Sigma 24mm f2 for $499 on Amazon. Expecting it in a couple of days to test and see if it will be a keeper.
Ill take a good sharp fast 50mm any day. I feel like its wide enough but you can still get in there for compression and the distortion is mainly minor. 50mm to me the default prime for versatility.
Got my new 20mm Sigma f2 DG DN for Sony E and it's really great
Do you think the $850 bump in price is worth going from the Sigma f/2 to the Sony?
Not for me personally
@@christopherfrost Glad we're in agreement. Sony lent me the 24mm awhile back, and though it was a great lens, not sure if I want to drop that kind of money on it with options like this.
@@phucmapvlog I own it and it stays on my camera more than any lens I have ever owned. If you enjoy shooting at 24mm and do it often, I highly recommend it.
@@justinhoward6755 Which one are you referring to? thanks.
I like a bit longer focal lengths... For some reason I get uninspired by wider views. So far my Sigma 135 mm is my favourite (🙄 despite it being gigantic and a pain to bring in my bag) but I have high hopes for the new Sigma 90mm. 😬 Have ordered it and is impatiently waiting.
How would these lenses compare to for example an old Olympus OM system Zuiko 24mm f/2.8?
Mr. Frost, you tested the Sigma art 24 a number of years ago, but would you reckon a retest would land it in your top 7?
Based on your previous full test of the lens I think the Sony 24 f2.8 FE does have some glaring weakness (at least when compared to the other 24s): Chromatic aberration. It is visible in the center of the frame at f1.4 though the sharpness and contrast are excellent there. Only when stopped down it disappears in the center but it still exists in the corner down to the medium apertures. In still photography this may not matter much as it can be corrected in post but in video this will cause the "localized color cast" throughout the entire footage, the contrastier or the brighter the scene or background the more noticeable it will be. Correcting it would require quite a hefty and time consuming work in post to get it to look close to neutral.
I don’t remember seeing the Sony, 24mm, f2.8 on the list. Are you referring to the f1.4, GM?
@@Cthames123 Oh, yes. Obviously incorrect!
Do you have any experience using the Sony ZV-E10 with the Samyang 24mm f1.8? Would that camera and lens be great for videography? Any thoughts?
Another great video Christopher! As a Nikon Z user I must admit, that the Sony 24 1.4 GM is a gem in the Sony-E System. If I were a Sony-Guy the 24mm 1.4 GM would be my wide prime lens. It's sharp, has lovely bokeh and is quite compact for a 1.4 lens. 👍 Similar is my Nikon Z 20mm 1.8 S though, lovely bokeh and even sharper but quite big for a 1.8. The latter is due focus-breathing correction though. :)
You can always adapt it lol
Thank you so much
For those of us that started with a Nikon F in the 70,s, modern lenses seem to break all the rules, in the old days faster always meant better but with modern sensors in Top cameras performing Flawlessly at 3200iso the need for absolute speed seems moot, the size & weight of Sigmas 24/2 proving a tempting proposition but challenging all the things you were ever taught, sensors appear to out resolve film in respect of depth of field at wide aperture s , I would love to see an in depth analysis of Old vs New so us Old buggers can get our heads around modern performance
For me, the f number almost always means: depth of field. For me, the quality of the lens only means: I can use any f-number that the lens has.
Hi Chris, thanks for your reviews - they're great. In this comparison of sharpness, you marked the Sigma 24/3.5 down because of its modest maximum aperture. That leaves us a bit uncertain how it really compared in terms of sharpness. For those of us who hike, climb, cycle etc, light weight is a big plus and maximum aperture isn't such a critical factor. How did it actually compare in sharpness at shared apertures with the Sigma 24/2, Samyang or Sony?
Chris has reviewed both versions of the Sigma 24mm lens. The f3.5 version has less distortion than its f2 counter part. The f2 makes sense in low-light situations, where the camera will be handheld or where there might be subject motion. Also, a faster 24mm might be able to create more attractive bokeh.
Can you test the Tokina SZX 400mm f/8 Reflex MF Lens for Sony E mount?
It’s the Fuji XF 16 1.4(24 equivalent )
As a Fuji X-T3 user I have to say, not quite. The f1.4 refers only to how much light the lens will allow through. When it comes to the degree of out of focus background, bokeh etc., Fuji or any APS-C lens at f1.4 is equivalent to full frame f2.1 (the times approx 1.5 factor) There’s nothing quite like the full frame look of separating the subject from the background imho.
35mm is my favorite focal length, followed by 16mm.
I would have loved to hear about how the lenses performed for video auto focus.
you should get 16-35 zoom lenses
@@four-kings I prefer primes. Although primes seemed to make a much bigger difference when using film on a 35mm rangefinder. The Hologon and Biogon designs don't really work well on digital sensors.
Hi Christopher, great video again. Can you also compare 24 mm prime lenses vs zoom lenses ? Thanks )
I have the 24GM, it is excellent.
I have the tamron 24/2.8 since it first came out and its an incredibly sharp lens - also at 1:2 mfd macro. Its excellent for museum work. I was curious abut the sigma 3.5 as it also had a similar mfd & beautiful design but my feeling is that the optics for the macro range are better on the tamron. I talked to a tamron technical person who explained a little bit about the science of this & the focus of the af motor though slow and not quite silent is very precise. I was also abe to test the samyang briefly and its a gem of a lens whereas the newer sigma has that excellent I series design. The zeiss I feel is heaviy overpriced. There was not much competition and sony mirrorless was not where it is today. The sony gm lens brought out a lighter design at 1.4 but now with so many good compact lenses it is a question whether one wants to pay that extra for the Fe/E mount.
I have the Tamron, consider it the best value I've ever seen in a lens. It's incredible in terms of picture quality -- what matters most!
Why not the Viltrox in these tests?
Hello Christopher ! Can you please remake this comparison with the new Sigma 24mm f/1.4 please ? 🙏
Thanks a lot for the share !
Intrigued: I understand the Sigma ranked higher than the Samyang because it's a purely sharpness-based ranking... But would you rank it as an all-around better lens? My appreciation is that, considering the Samyang is almost as sharp, while also being brighter, focusing closer, having less focus breathing, less distortion, better weather sealing, a cool customizable button with the infinity focus feature (and while still managing to be smaller, lighter, and cheaper), gives it the upper hand as a better all-arounder.
It's a sharpness only list :-)
@@christopherfrost Hmm...if that were the case, then maximum appiture would be irrelevant, right?
Looking forward to seeing more. Love it! Btw, can you make the 85 also
I go back and forth between 35mm and 50mm as my do-everything lens. More often than not, I reach for 35mm.
35mm is my bread and butter lens. Can we get a comparo on those? Thanks Chris!
For a lot of pros and hobbyists, price under a certain threadhold is called affordable, difference between two affordable prices doesn't matter all that much. E.g if I want to spend up to $1500 on a prime lens, I wouldn't care saving $400or $650 at purchase, the economy is mostly false at time of resale, Sigma/Samyang are probably going to lose more money than 24GM. Or if I really like 24mm focal length prime, keep my purchase for a decade or longer, who remembers the money saved?
Favorite focal length is 35mm hands down. I do like 80mm as well but it’s less versatile
A 35mm video is coming too hehe :-) right after I test the new Sony G-Master...
Christopher, it's 35mm f1.4 on a full frame! Should we wait for the same comparison regarding this focal length?
You should consider the voigtlander 24mm 1.4mm. It’s on par, if not sharper than the sony 24mm G master lens
Hi Christopher, and the best for Canon, I didn't see any option for Canon, what's the best for us?
How does the Samyang 24mm V-AF T.1.9 compare to the F1.8 in terms of sharpness?
Did you ever get to shoot with the Sony G f/2.8 version?
Fuji fanboy here. The 16mm 1.4 is the greatest lens of all time! 24mm ff equivalent.. .
That is an amazing lens I agree
thank you chris, what about the sony 24mm 2.8 G? i'am looking for the smallest 24mm - like the zm 2.8/35
I am planning on buying the Samyang 24mm soon.
Hello
Is Sigma 24 1.4 Art very bad against these lenses?
Please review the new Fujifilm 23mm f1.4 LM WR lens
Maybe test the Fujinon 16mm f/1.4 as the 24mm FF equivilent on APS-C Fuji cameras or is this review only tailored to those stuck with the "full frame is best" syndrome ?
Hii sir i want to ask if what should i choose sigma 24mm f2 contemporary or the 24mm f2.8g lens of sony? Since i am going to shoot using an apsc sensor, and i am going to shoot indoors, and i havent consider the 35mm since i think the place is to tight for a 50mm equivalent thankyouu
For APS-C, Sigma 16mm f/1.4 is the best FF 24mm equivalent, especially if you plan to shoot indoors, although it is relatively big and heavy. Out of the lens you've mentioned, Sigma 24mm f/2 seems to be sharper than Sony 24mm f/2.8. Do note that using FF lenses on APS-C sensor you're pushing them to their limits because of higher pixel density so any lens that is not exceedingly sharp will perform worse than a 'native' APS-C lens (to get good results on APS-C the lens has to be capable of resolving FF 61 MP of A7RIV that has roughly the same pixel density as 24 MP APS-C).
@@Cfyzium i will take note on that thankyou so much sir
Where would you rank the Sony 24mm f2.8 G?
I love my 24GM!
where does the viltrox 24mm f1.8 sit in this ranking?
I was thinking of the Sigma F/2 but noticed B&H has the Tamron F/2.8 for $199 US
That lens is a bargain indeed!
If you are okay with slow AF and noise and f/2.8