Sony 12–24 f/2.8 G Master lens announced
Wide, crisp, and pricy
Sony has an all-new lens that’s sure to make your heart flutter and your wallet lighter — a 12–24mm f2/8 G Master lens. While wide lenses are nothing new, typically they’re offered at 14–24mm, making this new lens a unique beast. Sony calls it “the world’s widest full-frame zoom with a constant f/2.8 aperture.”
Priced at $3,000 ($4,000 CAD), this new lens isn’t for the faint of heart, but if your craft IS photography with a focus on landscapes, astrophotography, and architecture, three areas Sony claims this glass is perfect for it, the 12–24 f/2.8 G Master lens (SEL1224GM) could offer you a unique vantage point that ultimately pays for itself.
Now, a promotional video with overly epic music fitting of a straight-to-DVD Lord of the Rings ripoff.
DL Cade gets into more details over at PetaPixel:
Optically, the new G Master lens is made up of 17 glass elements in 14 groups, including a slew of specialized lenses and a new coating for addressing aberration, distortion, flare, and ghosting.
These include: 3 Extreme Aspherical (XA) elements, 1 regular aspherical element, 3 Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) elements, 2 Super ED elements, and a brand new “Nano AR Coating II” that’s being used for the first time in this lens. Together, all of these technologies promise to deliver “outstanding corner-to-corner image quality throughout the entire zoom range.”
In terms of autofocus, a special “floating focus” design uses two focusing groups that are powered by four of Sony’s “high-speed, high-thrust” Extreme Dynamic (XD) XD linear motors. This delivers a constant minimum focusing distance of just 11 inches (28 cm) without compromising speed or precision.
Weighing at ‘just’ 1.87 lbs (847g), for what it is and compared to other lenses on the market, like the Sigma 14–24mm (795g), it’s remarkable how light-weight Sony was able to make this lens. The G Master series has never been for everyday photographers, and this lens doubles down on that notion by pushing the notion of what a lens offers and what you’ll pay to get it.
Will many people buy this lens? At $3K, I doubt it, but with it, Sony has once again loudly proclaimed their commitment to the photography world that will benefit from its existence through other means, like photo rental houses.
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