Sony has announced a new FE 50mm G Master lens with their widest aperture to date of f/1.2.
There are also four ‘extreme dynamic’ linear motors that help to make this one of the fastest if not the fastest focussing 50mm lens you can buy today.
The Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM lens certainly isn’t cheap and will cost $1998.00 / £2,100 / €2,300. It will be available from April 2021 in Europe and May in the US.
The lens is constructed of 11 aperture blades and 14 elements in 10 groups, and includes three ‘extreme aspherical’ (XA) elements that help to minimize aberrations.
There’s a ‘Nano AR II’ coating that helps to reduce flare and ghosting and two floating focus groups that allow for a close focusing distance of just 0.4m (15.8″). Four ‘extreme dynamic’ linear motors help this lens to focus at lightning speed.
The XA elements have enhanced surface precision (0.01 µm) to suppress onion ring bokeh, and according to Sony, spherical aberration has been carefully controlled at the design and manufacturing stage to ensure ‘smooth, natural bokeh’ both in the foreground and background.
The lens body is weather sealed which includes a fluorine coating on the front element to repel dust, water and fingerprints. You’ll find a manual aperture ring that can be ‘clicked’ or ‘de-clicked’, as well as two focus hold buttons, the manual focus ring is smooth and well damped.
Early Reviews
Here’s a collection of early reviews.
Gerald Undone
Mark Galer
Julia Trotti
Chris Hau
Manny Ortiz
Gordon Laing
DPReview
Dan Watson
Specifications
| Lens type | Prime lens |
|---|---|
| Max Format size | 35mm FF |
| Focal length | 50 mm |
| Image stabilization | No |
| Lens mount | Sony FE |
| Maximum aperture | F1.2 |
| Minimum aperture | F16 |
| Aperture ring | Yes |
| Number of diaphragm blades | 11 |
| Elements | 14 |
| Groups | 10 |
| Special elements / coatings | 3 ‘extreme aspherical’ elements, Nano AR II coating |
| Minimum focus | 0.40 m (15.75″) |
| Maximum magnification | 0.17× |
| Autofocus | Yes |
| Motor type | Linear Motor |
| Full time manual | Yes |
| Focus method | Internal |
| Distance scale | No |
| DoF scale | No |
| Weight | 778 g (1.72 lb) |
| Diameter | 87 mm (3.43″) |
| Length | 108 mm (4.25″) |
| Materials | Magnesium alloy |
| Sealing | Yes |
| Colour | Black |
| Filter thread | 72 mm |
| Hood supplied | Yes |
Further details and sample images can be found on Sony’s product page for this lens.
The spec is wrong – says maximum aperture is 1.4, but it’s 1.2.
Thank you. I’ve updated the spec list.