Sony E Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 24mm F/1.8 ZA SEL24F18Z

This Carl Zeiss Sonnar prime gives Sony E shooters a fixed 24mm view. On the APS-C sensor it produces a near-normal perspective. It suits street photography, travel and everyday pictures, including work indoors.

The f/1.8 maximum aperture is bright for this class of lens, so it also works in dim rooms and evening streets. Sony introduced it in 2011 and still builds it today, which makes it a long-running, proven design rather than a new release.

The trade-off is a short list of extras. Stabilisation and sealing are both absent, and the Features section explains what that means in use.

The lens weighs 7.9 oz (225 g) and runs 2.6 in (66 mm) long with a 2.48 in (63 mm) body. It is light for a bright prime, so it sits comfortably on a small APS-C camera.

Filters screw into a 49mm thread, so any screw-in filter you buy must match that diameter.

The fixed 24mm focal length gives a wide frame that takes in street scenes, tight interiors and groups in small rooms. On APS-C it frames like a near-standard lens on full frame. You can include surroundings for context while keeping a subject a clear part of the picture.

The f/1.8 maximum aperture is the lens's main working strength. It passes much more light than a typical zoom at this focal length, so you can keep ISO settings low indoors and after dark. It also blurs a busy background behind a portrait or a market stall. That gives the subject separation a small sensor rarely delivers at wide angles.

Close work is another real option. The minimum focus distance is 0.5 ft (16 cm), which lets you fill the frame with food, flowers or texture detail. The maximum magnification of 0.25x suits records of small objects and tight street details.

A seven-blade aperture keeps out-of-focus highlights rounder when you stop down, which helps evening scenes with lamps and neon. Its optics score is 82.

There is no image stabilisation, so sharp handheld results depend on your technique and your camera body. The wide 24mm view helps, because it tolerates slower handheld shutter speeds than a telephoto would.

There is no weather sealing either. Keep the lens out of rain and dust rather than trusting it in poor conditions. No fluorine coating is fitted, so the front element needs ordinary cleaning care.

Its features score is 19. None of these gaps stops daily use, but they limit flexibility in worse conditions.

The optical unit holds 8 elements in 7 groups, including aspherical elements. Their specially shaped surfaces help correct distortion and spherical aberration. Distortion can curve straight edges, so this correction matters for buildings and interiors.

Low-dispersion glass is also used. It helps reduce chromatic aberration, the coloured fringes that can appear along high-contrast edges in backlit or evening scenes. Internal focusing keeps the overall length fixed while you focus.