Sony's latest lens has made a splash in the industry, with initial reviews being very favorable indeed. Now there's a decision to be made if you're looking for a wide prime lens. Is the NEX-7 one of the best 35mm lenses you can buy?

No, not in this price range.

24mm f/1.4 L IS is not absolutely magnificent, but it's darn good. It is f/1.4, which is a perfectly usable (for practically any level) frameline as long as you want to use filters.

The camera is sensitive enough to those filters to actually make me consider NOT using them. CMI Filter Baffle is $19 at BH. CIR Filters are $40 via Cooke, which by the way is superior. It'd be really stupid to sell an expensive DSLR during these cold weather months without really having an idea how to deal with winter exposure, wouldn't it?

When you turn on the "Color Temperature" switch on the camera's body, you'll notice a sudden change in lighting until you reset the counter. Each camera performs differently, and some in-camera corrections (e.g., white balance when in auto) affect the look of images in different ways.

Depending on how much you've already paid for your lenses, you may not really want a wide angle lens for the NEX-7: If you're already making good use of these lenses and want to maximize their potential, you would want a longer focal length. Jackdor's 25mm f/1.8 Di Macro Zeiss is something I've largely been avoiding lately.

With the NEX-7, I'm relieved that not all focal lengths will feel like 20″, 25″, or 30″ pancake protrusions filling my morning schedule. I'll surely have to share the street with even a 50mm f/1.8 almost at times. To my way of thinking, though, a 24mm will work very nicely. The cast edges at the edges are very smooth anyway, and I know my eyes will not get tired, unlike everyone else, when shooting at that desirable 135mm f/2.8 "sweet spot" or something similar for landscapes. Do people really sit up and take notice on crowded streets once they turn their head toward my eyes during a shot?

Here's the unit with two existing manual focus lenses, both f/1.4:

I revisited the compensation knob for these lenses. See that "+1" mark? That's the FG disadvantage. The camera unlike others has a mechanism which will allow you to "vote with your feet" frequently
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