Rollei’s New 24mm f/1.8 Lens

credits: Rollei

Rollei has announced its new AF 24mm f/1.8 lens for Sony E-mount full-frame cameras, arriving just days after the company introduced its 35mm sibling. From a technical standpoint, this is a fairly conventional modern wide-angle prime, built around an 11-element, 14-group optical design. That layout suggests an emphasis on controlling aberrations, especially toward the edges of the frame. The maximum aperture is f/1.8, stopping down to f/16, and the diaphragm uses 11 blades, which should help keep out-of-focus highlights round as the lens is stopped down.

Autofocus is driven by an STM motor, which should give you quiet and smooth focus transitions. This makes sense given the lens supports face and eye AF on Sony bodies and is intended to work equally well for stills and video. Focusing is internal, so the physical length does not change and the front element does not rotate. Minimum focusing distance is 32 cm, allowing for relatively tight framing for a 24mm lens, though maximum magnification remains modest, as expected for this focal length. The lens also includes electronic contacts for full EXIF data, in-camera corrections, and firmware updates via a built-in USB-C port.

Physically, the lens uses a metal housing and weighs about 477 grams, which puts it on the heavier side compared to some compact 24mm primes. Dimensions come in at roughly 9.2 × 8 × 8 cm, and it uses a 62mm filter thread. The angle of view is approximately 84 degrees on full frame. An aperture ring is included for direct exposure control. The Rollei AF 24mm f/1.8 is priced at $325.