Sony unveils the FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM, a high-performance, flagship ultra-wide angle full-frame lens
posted Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 9:00 AM EST
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Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM Hands-on First Impressions
For Sony photographers and video creators looking for the ultimate in wide-angle lenses, look no further than the just-announced Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master lens. The latest member of Sony's high-end, "spared no expense" G Master lens series, the new 12-24mm f/2.8 lens offers shooters a unique combination: a fast, constant f/2.8 aperture and the ability to zoom out to a super-wide 12mm. For those keeping score across the camera world, this new ultra-wide-angle zoom lens is the world's first full-frame format 12-24mm lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture.
Much like Sony's other G Master series lenses, the new FE 12-24mm GM lens is designed with a "no compromise" philosophy. This premium lens is packed with all sorts of exotic lens elements, flagship performance features and premium build quality with the goal of high-resolution image quality and beautiful bokeh, as well as responsive and fast AF speeds. The optical design is fairly complex, comprising of 17 total elements, including 3 XA lens elements, 1 aspherical element, 2 Super ED element and 3 ED glass elements. Sony also needed to create an all-new Nano AF Coating II specifically for the all-new, super-large XA front lens element. Autofocus is powered by four XD Linear Motors split into pairs -- the lens uses two smaller focusing groups that operate independently; a setup that offers both super-fast AF speed as well as super-quiet focusing.
Despite its full-frame design and bright aperture, the Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM lens is also surprisingly compact, all things considered. Even though it has a wider 12mm focal length, the 12-24mm f/2.8 is fairly lightweight at 847g and has similar physical dimensions to other ultra-wise FF lenses that don't zoom out as wide.
Of course, all these exotic lens elements, weather-sealed build quality and top-of-the-line image quality performance come at a fairly steep price. The Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM rings up with a retail price of $2,999.99 (or CAD$ 3,999.99).
We were fortunate to get some hands-on shooting time with the new Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM lens ahead of the announcement time. For a deeper, more in-depth look at the design, handling and shooting experience of this new premium full-frame zoom -- in addition to a selection of real-world gallery images (with JPEGs and RAW for download) -- head over to our Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM Hands-on First Impressions.