As I’ve done for years with whatever wide lens happened to be in the arsenal, I headed to Asoke intersection this morning to photograph it, this time with a Sony 24mm f2.8 G lens.

It can be stated with confidence that this lens, stopped down to f/5.6, is biting sharp all over the frame, rendering the finest of details even in the extreme corners. Less favorable comments regarding this lens may be made with equal confidence, one being that it is incapable of producing straight lines, either peripherally or internally, in architectural photos—even after in-camera corrections are applied.

Some years back it seemed to me that Sony was designing lenses not to take great photos but to score well on DXOmark’s tests, particularly in the sharpness category. In more recent times, Sony’s done a good job of trimming weight from their lens lineup, sometimes at the expense of performance.

The 24mm f2.8 G lens appears to be a victim of both pursuits. Even so, if you’re taking pictures of evenly-lit swathes of wilderness, the lens is capable of very good imagery. Reportage with a foliage background? Superb.

Any other subject matter? Pick another lens. Feels like I’m coming down with red dot fever again . . .

a7rV/24mm f2.8 G . . .