12 Christmas lenses: from super-fast f/1 glass to super-affordable $160 optics!

On the occasion of the 12 Days of Christmas, we look back at the 12 months of 2024 and the lenses associated with them. February is over today…

Think of wide-angle lenses for full-frame cameras and you probably think of big, heavy, and expensive things. Launched in February, the Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 restores balance in every way. It’s surprisingly compact and light, despite its relatively high aperture of f/2.8 – and was announced with a price tag of under $160. As an autofocus lens for Nikon Z and Sony E cameras, it is extremely affordable.

Adding more options to your gear bag, Viltrox also announced the addition of equally affordable AF 40mm f/2.5 and AF 56mm f/1.7 APS-C format prime lenses in Fujifilm full-frame compatible options Laboratory lenses AF 16 mm f/1.8 and AF 135 mm f/1.8 for Nikon Z and Sony E cameras.

Other esoteric offerings announced in February included the super-fast Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1 Aspherical Prime for Sony E cameras. Phew, f/1… how racy is that? Later in the month, Cosina announced that it was also working on several other new Voigtlander lenses.

Then there were two new Laowa Nanomorph 28-55mm and 50-100mm, which were said to be the world’s first “affordable anamorphic zooms”, as well as a new Lensbaby Sweet 22, which delivered the company’s smallest “sweet spot” to date. Meanwhile, there was talk of an SG-Image 25mm f/1.8 lens for APS-C format mirrorless cameras that would cost just $40.

The big news was the not-so-big Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS | Sport. Redesigned from the ground up for Sony E and L-mount mirrorless cameras, it takes miniaturization to the extreme and is much easier to use – and more affordable – than Sigma’s previous 500mm prime lens for DSLRs.

Speaking of downsizing, Sony also announced a new lightweight package with the Sony FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G. Aided by its relatively modest zoom range, this new zoom brings a constant f/2.8 aperture into a compact design.

In fact, downsizing seemed to be all the rage in February, and Panasonic also joined the party, announcing its new Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm f/4-7.1 Macro OIS.

February’s exam schedule can be summed up in one word: hectic. When there was really a lot of activity, we started with polar opposites in the form of the Sigma 15mm f/1.4 DG DN Diagonal Fisheye | Art and Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS | Sport, before we turn to the reduced zoom lenses Panasonic Lumix S 28-200 mm f/4-7.1 Macro OIS and Sony FE 24-50 mm f/2.8 G.