- Employs the legendary "Sonnar" optical design for standout image dimensionality and presence.
- Seven aperture blades form a near circle, which results in a pleasing defocused effect on the background of your image when the aperture is set wide open.
- Allows for 1/4 macro shooting with accurate focus as close as 6.2 inches (16cm).
- Direct Manual Focus (DMF) allows for direct manual focusing after autofocus lock-on without having to switch modes.
- Lens operation is fast but at the same time smooth and quiet, minimizing noise and image jitter when shooting movies.
Product Description
-------------------
This is the first Carl Zeiss lens to be released in the Sony
E- lineup, employing the legendary “Sonnar” optical design
for standout image dimensionality and presence. A spherical
lenses located on either side of the aperture effectively
compensate for distortion, while an ED element suppresses
chromatic aberration. The overall result is excellent
corner-to-corner sharpness even with the aperture wide open, for
impressive overall resolution. This high-performance Carl Zeiss
wide-angle prime lens delivers superior corner-to-corner
sharpness even at the maximum F1.8 aperture. It also focuses as
close as 16cm providing an unusual combination of close focus and
wide-angle perspective. The 24mm focal length is an excellent
choice for general shooting. When changing your aperture to
defocus the background, the light sources appear blurred. This
‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred background can be enhanced with
circular aperture blades used in this lens. Conventional aperture
blades have flat sides creating unappealing polygonal shaped
defocussed points of light. α lenses overcome this problem
through a unique design that keeps the aperture almost perfectly
circular from its wide-open setting to when it is closed by 2
stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing can be obtained as a
result. As focal lengths get longer, lenses built with
conventional optical glass have difficulties with chromatic
aberration, and as a result images suffer from lower contrast,
lower color quality, and lower resolution. ED glass dramatically
reduces chromatic aberration at telephoto ranges, and provides
superior contrast across the entire image, even at large aperture
settings. Super ED glass provides enhanced compensation for
chromatic aberration. Aspherical lens design dramatically reduces
spherical aberration while also reducing lens size and weight.
Spherical aberration is a slight misalignment of the light rays
projected on the image plane. This is caused by differences in
refraction at different points on conventional spherical lenses
which degrade image quality in large-aperture lenses. Specially
shaped “aspherical” elements near the diaphragm restore alignment
of light rays at the image plane, maintaining high sharpness and
contrast even at maximum aperture and can also be used at other
points in the optical path to reduce distortion. Well-designed
aspherical elements can reduce the total number of elements
required in the lens, thus reducing overall size and weight.
Advanced Aspherical (AA) elements are an evolved variant,
featuring an extremely high thickness ratio between the center
and periphery. AA elements are exceedingly difficult to produce,
relying on the most advanced molding technology to consistently
and precisely achieve the required shape and surface accuracy,
resulting in significantly improved image accuracy and quality.
Coated optics were pioneered by Carl Zeiss - and this superb lens
features the Carl Zeiss T* (T-Star) coating that virtually
eliminates lens flare, internal reflection and light scattering
that can otherwise occur at glass-to-air surfaces. The T* coating
contributes to outstanding image quality, with high contrast and
uniformly excellent resolution right out to the image edges. Not
simply applied to any lens - the T* symbol only appears on
multi-element lenses in which the required performance has been
achieved throughout the entire optical path, therefore
guaranteeing the highest quality. Only the middle groups of the
optical system move to achieve focus, so the overall length of
the lens does not change. Other important benefits include fast
autofocusing and a short minimum focusing distance. Also, the
filter thread at the front of the lens does not rotate, which is
convenient if you’re using a polarizing filter. 2011 Sony
Electronics All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part
without written permission is prohibited. Sony is not responsible
for typographic and photographic errors. Features and
specifications are subject to change without notice. Sony and
Optical Steady are trademarks of Sony. All other trademarks
are trademarks of their respective owners.
From the Manufacturer
---------------------
Sonnar T* E 24mm F1.8 ZA Wide-Angle Prime Lens
----------------------------------------------
This high-performance Carl Zeiss wide-angle prime lens delivers
superior corner-to-corner sharpness even at the maximum F1.8
aperture. It also focuses as close as 16cm providing an unusual
combination of close focus and wide-angle perspective. The 24mm
focal length is an excellent choice for general shooting.
Technology
----------
Circular Aperture
-----------------
When changing your aperture to defocus the background, the light
sources appear blurred. This ‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred
background can be enhanced with circular aperture blades used in
this lens. Conventional aperture blades have flat sides creating
unappealing polygonal shaped defocussed points of light. α lenses
overcome this problem through a unique design that keeps the
aperture almost perfectly circular from its wide-open setting to
when it is closed by 2 stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing
can be obtained as a result.
ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass
-------------------------------
As focal lengths get longer, lenses built with conventional
optical glass have difficulties with chromatic aberration, and as
a result images suffer from lower contrast, lower color quality,
and lower resolution. ED glass dramatically reduces chromatic
aberration at telephoto ranges, and provides superior contrast
across the entire image, even at large aperture settings. Super
ED glass provides enhanced compensation for chromatic aberration.
Aspherical lens elements
------------------------
Aspherical lens design dramatically reduces spherical aberration
while also reducing lens size and weight. Spherical aberration is
a slight misalignment of the light rays projected on the image
plane. This is caused by differences in refraction at different
points on conventional spherical lenses which degrade image
quality in large-aperture lenses. Specially shaped “aspherical”
elements near the diaphragm restore alignment of light rays at
the image plane, maintaining high sharpness and contrast even at
maximum aperture and can also be used at other points in the
optical path to reduce distortion. Well-designed aspherical
elements can reduce the total number of elements required in the
lens, thus reducing overall size and weight. Advanced Aspherical
(AA) elements are an evolved variant, featuring an extremely high
thickness ratio between the center and periphery. AA elements are
exceedingly difficult to produce, relying on the most advanced
molding technology to consistently and precisely achieve the
required shape and surface accuracy, resulting in significantly
improved image accuracy and quality.
Carl Zeiss T* (T-star) coating
------------------------------
Coated optics were pioneered by Carl Zeiss - and this superb lens
features the Carl Zeiss T* (T-Star) coating that virtually
eliminates lens flare, internal reflection and light scattering
that can otherwise occur at glass-to-air surfaces. The T* coating
contributes to outstanding image quality, with high contrast and
uniformly excellent resolution right out to the image edges. Not
simply applied to any lens - the T* symbol only appears on
multi-element lenses in which the required performance has been
achieved throughout the entire optical path, therefore
guaranteeing the highest quality.
Additional Features
-------------------
Internal focusing
-----------------
Only the middle groups of the optical system move to achieve
focus, so the overall length of the lens does not change. Other
important benefits include fast autofocusing and a short minimum
focusing distance. Also, the filter thread at the front of the
lens does not rotate, which is convenient if you’re using a
polarizing filter.
2011 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in
whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Sony
is not responsible for typographic and photographic errors.
Features and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Sony and Optical Steady are trademarks of Sony. All other
trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.