My name is Matija Vincek and I’m a street photographer from Zagreb in Croatia. My deepest passion lies in connecting with individuals from every corner of the globe. I find unparalleled happiness in capturing their essence through photographs on the streets, where they are most genuine and true to themselves. I’m also very excited by the technology that helps me achieve this goal, and these two passions are the very fuel that ignites my life’s energy.

When Sony asked me to test the new FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G, I wanted to use it doing what I love best, so I grabbed my Alpha 7CR and headed off to shoot the streets of London.

My first impression of the lens was that it felt like a G Master model with a G badge! It’s very small, very light, but feels solid and well made. Pairing it with the Alpha 7CR made for a well-balanced and comfortable combo.

My usual go-to lens is the 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II and this lens feels like a similar build quality and has the same comfortable grip and manual aperture ring. One interesting feature is that the lens extends slightly as the focal length decreases, so it’s actually at its shortest at the 50mm end. For me this is perfect, as a lot of my shots are taken at this focal length. If I needed a slightly longer range, I simply switched to APS-C mode on the camera and I effectively had a 75mm frame.

I prioritise autofocus in my street photography because if the camera and lens combination cannot keep up with my pace and ideas, then I cannot use it. Out-of-focus shots are useless to me. Regarding the AF performance of the lens, I can confidently say that during my tests, I didn’t have to think about it at all, which means it worked flawlessly. The Eye AF feature is especially impressive; it almost feels like cheating because it’s that good, and I didn’t notice any difference in AF performance compared to the 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II.

What surprised me the most was the edge-to-edge sharpness and lack of distortion throughout the entire focal range, even at f/2.8. When I stopped down to f/5.6, everything became tack sharp with plenty of resolution, even on the Alpha 7CR sensor. Since I tend to crop my photos, I need plenty of detail, and this lens/ camera combination provides just that.

My work usually focuses on one main subject and the story around it. That’s why I took most of the shots at f/2.8 and was happy to see that the out-of-focus areas are creamy and satisfying to look at.

The lens weighs approximately 450g, which is quite light considering its capabilities. You really have to try it out to appreciate it fully. When paired with a small camera like the Alpha 7CR, it makes for a very comfortable, high-quality set-up.

You could argue that a compromise is the fact that the lens is limited to 24-50mm, which may not be enough for an all-purpose lens. However, if you pair it with a camera like the Alpha 7CR, you don’t have to make any compromises. With just a touch of a button, you can switch to APS-C mode and get a sharp 26-megapixel image with a 75mm field-of-view.

For my street work, a lens like this is ideal. The focal length covers a lot of what I shoot and with the quality as good as it is, I’ll be using it a lot in the future.