Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G Ultra-Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Images

Sony’s FE 12-24mm f/4 G lens is an ultra-wide-angle zoom lens designed for their full-frame cameras. For an unusually wide lens, it’s remarkably true and sharp and doesn’t suffer from the usual optical flaws you’d expect.

Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens header image
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The Sony FE 12-24mm Æ’/4 G wide-angle zoom lens is an unusually wide lens. Its widest focal lengths are down into the territory usually reserved for fisheye lenses, but in this case, you get the wide view without that distinctive fisheye look. That’s thanks to the four aspherical elements that work to keep lines straight and minimize distortion. On most super-wide-angle lenses, you can expect some pretty dramatic softening at the corners, but while you get definite stretching with this lens, it remains remarkably sharp from corner to corner.

Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G Ultra-Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
  • G Lens design for corner-to-corner high resolution
  • Maximum magnification ratio (x) :0.14.Premium Optics; 4 aspherical, 1 Super ED, 3 ED glass elements

This lens is in Sony’s FE range and is designed for full-frame cameras like the Sony a7R IV that I’ve been using it on, but you can also use it with an APS-C crop camera. In that case, you’ll multiply the practical focal length by 1.5x, making it effectively an 18-36mm zoom lens.

Sony FE 12-24mm G f/4 Lens mounted on a Sony a7R IV body

I’ve posted a detailed hands-on review of the Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G lens separately, but here I’m focusing on some sample images to give some practical examples from real-world shooting.

In shooting and selecting the images here, I’ve put the emphasis on ones that play to the lens’s dramatic wide-angle perspective and also ones that are likely to illustrate any optical flaws, such as distortion, soft edges, and chromatic aberration. All of these were originally shot in RAW. They’ve been processed in Lightroom, but I haven’t applied any of Lightroom’s lens correction tools to these shots.

You can click on each image to open a full-size version if you’d like a closer look.

Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/5.6. Despite the dramatic angles created by the ultra-wide-angle perspective, the lines of the columns are still very straight.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/7.1.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. Testing out lines, sharpness at the corners, and chromatic aberration. Overall, it comes through with flying colors.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 15mm and with an aperture of Æ’/11. The lens is coated with Sony Nano AR Coating, but it’s still possible to provoke some pretty dramatic lens flare when you try to. You can see the rings at the right of this shot with the lens pointed almost directly head-on to the sun.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/5.6. The drama of the wide-angle doesn’t suit everything. In this case, for example, you can see the people appear stretched out at left.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 15mm and with an aperture of Æ’/7.1.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 17mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. With a maximum aperture of Æ’/4, it’s not really an ideal lens for low-light shots, but on a camera like the Sony a7R IV, which is incredibly forgiving even at a high ISOs, you can get away with a lot more than you might otherwise.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 18mm and with an aperture of Æ’/5.6.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 16mm and with an aperture of Æ’/7.1.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 24mm and with an aperture of Æ’/14. Some pretty significant lens flare again, but it is pointed directly at the sun, after all and is the worst possible angle if trying to prevent lens flare.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. You can again see the stretching of perspective at the corners, which is especially noticeable with subjects like people.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 24mm and with an aperture of Æ’/7.1.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. Lots of detail in this shot, including at the corners, making it a good test of sharpness throughout the frame.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 24mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 15mm and with an aperture of Æ’/11.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/8.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 16mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. It’s not a tilt-shift lens, as would be a traditional choice in architectural interiors, but you can still get nice straight verticals (I haven’t corrected for tilt in post—this is as-shot).
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. Another shot that is pretty much guaranteed to show up any issues with chromatic aberration. But there’s remarkably little (I haven’t corrected for it in post).
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. This is a scene I often test cameras and lenses with. It’s a good test of multiple things: sharpness, low-light performance, distortion, and chromatic aberration.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 23mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/16. The flag poles from each corner are at dramatic angles, but they’re still straight lines.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 24mm and with an aperture of Æ’/5.6. Some smaller light sources directly at the lens, but no issues in this case with lens flare.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 24mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 18mm and with an aperture of Æ’/5.6.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. You can get some dramatic perspectives, but the lines remain remarkably straight.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 13mm and with an aperture of Æ’/11.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4. I shot this primarily to try to provoke some chromatic aberration in the skylight at the top, but there’s really not much to complain about here.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 12mm and with an aperture of Æ’/8.
Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Image
Photo taken with a Sony FE 12-24mm F4 G wide-angle zoom Lens on a Sony a7R IV zoomed to 16mm and with an aperture of Æ’/4.

Optical Correction Tools

I deliberately haven’t applied extensive corrections to these images. And the general rule of thumb in photography is that it’s better to get the shot right at the time of capture rather than trying to fix it after. That’s a great aspiration, but it’s not always possible to do if you’re bumping up against limitations or flaws in gear, conditions, or technique.

But it’s worth mentioning that there are some excellent tools available to help address common issues with lenses, such as distortion, chromatic aberration, and lens vignetting when editing the images. All-round image processing apps like Lightroom Classic and Capture One have solid tools built in already that often cater to specific lens profiles (or you can make your own).

Some more specialized tools can take it even further. DxO, in particular, sets the gold standard. Their software is built on the foundation of their incredibly deep archive of data from their extensive lab testing of the optical performance of lenses and cameras. But there are some other excellent specialized tools available. These are well worth a look (and have free trials):

  • DxO Pure RAW (for a suite of automatic RAW file corrections enhancement)
  • DxO ViewPoint (correcting for distortion and geometry)
  • Topaz Labs Sharpen AI (in addition to standard unsharp tools, includes focus correction and shake reduction)

Price & Availability of the Sony FE 12-24mm F/4 G Lens

Check the current price and availability of the Sony FE 12-24mm G lens at:

B&H also has a version that includes an accessory kit that makes for good value—you can find it here.

Sony - FE 12-24mm F4 G Wide-Angle Zoom Lens (SEL1224G),Black
  • G Lens design for corner-to-corner high resolution
  • Maximum magnification ratio (x) :0.14.Premium Optics; 4 aspherical, 1 Super ED, 3 ED glass elements

You can rent them from BorrowLenses and LensProtoGo.

If you’re in the market for a used copy, you can sometimes find them at KEH.

Accessories for the Sony FE 12-24mm F/4 G Lens

Filters. Because of the dramatically curved front element, the Sony FE 12-24mm Æ’/4 G lens doesn’t take regular screw-on filters on the front. Instead, it has a filter slot at the other (or rear) end. You can use filters like these. Alternatively, you can add a 150mm filter holder for plate filters on the front, like this one.

Lens Caps. It takes a regular Sony ALC-R1EM rear end cap.

Lens Hood. The lens hood is part of the camera and can’t be removed. While it does help a little with lens flare, in practice, the effect of that is minimal with an ultra-wide-angle lens like this. Rather, its most important role is in adding some protection to the large glass dome that is the front element.

Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-06-05 at 22:52. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

David Coleman / Photographer

David Coleman

I'm a professional freelance travel photographer based in Washington DC. Seven continents, up mountains, underwater, and a bunch of places in between. My images have appeared in numerous publications, and you can check out some of my travel photography here. More »

2 thoughts on “Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G Ultra-Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Sample Images”

  1. Hey! Love what you do here.

    A few quick things: I am a noob shooter. I have a sony a6300 and I am a realtor in NYC.

    I wanted to ask if you would recommend this lens over the Sony 10-18mm for real estate photography.

    Thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • While I haven’t used the 10-18mm personally, it’s a more natural choice for the a6300. And even though 2mm doesn’t sound like much, at those kinds of extreme wide-angle focal lengths it can make quite a difference.

      Reply

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