A Light-er Lens At the End Of The Tunnel

And let us praise Sony for their design department. I often suggest simplicity to photo enthusiasts when they start to get complexes about complexity. Ditto when it comes to frugality. And the third part of the good-idea trilogy is lightness. Very often we are carrying enough weight in our photo gear to hurt by the end of the day - and a lot of professional days go a lot longer than 24 hours! Anything we can do to cut the burden is a good idea. The new FE 24-70 mm f:2.8 GM lens from Sony carries a Mk II designation on the barrel, but it is easy to see the differences from the outside - the lens now has a dedicated aperture ring and is considerably shorter that the Mk I version. That, and the complete redesign inside with new lens configurations and materials, make it 200 grams lighter than the first type. It is now notably sharper and faster as well, and has conquered the bugbear of chromatic aberration. The first version was a continuation of a DSLR design, but this new 24-70 is a dedicated mirror-less design. The lens elements inside are exceptionally advanced - some 5 aspherical types as well as the other ones move inside under the influence of linear motors. These move the glass fast enough to give a true 30 frames per second with full autofocus. The video shooters - and I can now appreciate some of their needs - get a chance to shoot 120 FPS at 4K with that AF working. The lens has minimal breathing when using it to manually focus. I was dead impressed with the reduction of the minimum focusing distance from the front element to the subject of 21 cm - this give a chance for 1:3 close-up ratio. Insect shooters take note. The moom picture shooters will also appreciate the silent nature of those linear motors working under microphones and the fact that the aperture ring can be de-clicked for smooth exposure changes. If they are going to use the gear on a gimbal there is a lot less weight and length to try to balance. One thing is the same - the filter size. If you have bought exceedingly expensive neutral density filter sets for the old 24-70 Mk I you do not need to frisbee them and buy a fresh lot. It seems all good - and a clear track for the Sony shooters in the enthusiast and professional ranks. This was a sample lens that our local man got to shoot, but stocks will get to Perth and now would be the time to come talk to the shop about ordering.