Sony has just announced its latest lens – the Sony FE 28-70 f/2 GM – which takes the standard zoom and gives it a prime lens rivaling aperture, but in a size that is actually practical for professional photographers who might otherwise choose a 24-70mm f/2.8.
Wide-aperture standard zoom lenses to rival prime lenses have long been the dream of photographers and engineers alike, and there are some compelling options out there – Sigma’s 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art achieves a prime rivaling f/1.8 but at the sacrifice of focal length, or Tamron’s 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD has a big range, but can’t quite maintain the maximum aperture. Canon has perhaps come close a few years ago with its RF 28-70mm f/2 USM lens – although that was a monster of a lens. But the Sony 28-70mm might actually be the first lens to pull off the triple threat of focal range, large aperture, and practical size.
Although lets not get carried away – the Sony 28-70mm still weighs in at 918g, which is certainly not light and is a lot weightier than the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8, which itself weighs not insignificant 695g. However, against the only other 28-70mm f/2 currently out there – the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 – the Sony version is practically featherweight with a huge 512g difference, with the Canon coming in at a colossal 1,430g.
It's not just weight saving though where Sony’s team has pulled off an engineering coup, the lens is also 92.9mm x 139.8mm, which again comparing it to the Canon lens is 10.9mm narrower in width, although both lenses are interestingly identical lengths.
The Sony 28-70mm has a floating focus mechanism powered by four XD linear motors, which enable focus tracking up to 120fps in video and optically suppresses focus breathing as well as working with Sony’s in-camera focus breathing corrections. For close-up capabilities, the 28-70mm can focus down to 0.38m with a 0.23x magnification.
The zoom mechanism is external but only extends around 15mm from the camera at 70mm – which should help with balancing the camera in rigs or on tripods.
In the traditional Sony G Master style, the lens is fully sealed for dust and moisture resistance and the front 86mm element has a fluorine coating on the front to repel grease and grime, and a Nano AR II coating to reduce flare and ghosting.
The lens has two customizable focus hold buttons, a focus switch to flick between manual and auto, an iris ring with a lock switch to stop it from slipping in or auto of auto, and a zoom smoothness switch if you prefer a loose smooth zoom for video or a tight zoom for precise control.
Internally the lens has an 11-bladed aperture for rounded bokeh. The structure is made up of three Super ED extra-low dispersion and one ED element to reduce chromatic aberrations, as well as three aspherical elements and three extreme aspherical (XA) elements to reduce onion ring effects in bokeh – which Sony claims should produce image quality that is comparable to a prime lens.
This addition to the Sony lineup brings the total number of Sony E-mount lenses up to 77. The Sony FE 28-70mm f/2 GM is available to preorder right now and will be appearing in stores in December. Buckle up for the price though, the lens is eye-wateringly expensive, launching at $2,899.99 / £3,199.99 / AU$5,299 – start saving now.
For more on all things Sony – check out our guides to the best Sony camera and the best Sony lenses.
