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G Master lenses - 24-70mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.4 & 70-200mm f/2.8

seb

Member
These lenses are made for stellar performance, not for compactness.

I'm just thinking: IF they are what they promise (read what they say about G Master), then they will be better than other lenses in this range. And this may change a lot. An A7RII / SII with all the special benefits in low light (evf, faster AF with fast lenses), shutter (silent shutter) and these lenses... In terms of a event photographer this is the last puzzle to be a game changer... And if we look back, what they promised with the FE-series? They also fullfilled it.

They are clearly going after the Canikon users with that move. But then, if they are producing lenses that are slightly bigger and slightly heavier than their Canon counterpart, I don't get it !

Why not just keep the A-mount and design a mirrorless body for that mount ?

They had designed a wonderful small body with the A7 first version. They should have kept that logic and produced a set of light sharp lenses to make a small and light system with excellent lenses. Something like a digital M for travel and reportage photography. And have a second line of bigger bodies for those needing fast and heavy lenses. Was it not possible to make a mirrorless body in a shape like the A99 A900 ? I think that a mirrorless A99 would have been just as able as, or even better able than an A7r2 to hunt Canikon customers.

As is, they are going to face some technical challenges due to the size of the body (heat dissipation, ergonomics, not to speak of the short flange distance complicating things for lenses) and the day Canikon awake and produce mirrorless bodies in their usual camera shapes polished ergonomics, the Sony FF mirrorless may explode in their hands. Sony seems to abandon its A-mount, but that seems a bad move to me. The E-mount has both a too short flange and a too small diameter. That will uselessly complicate the design of lenses with zero advantages in return, since now their lenses are as big as those of Canikon.

Retrospectively I think that the introducing if the FF FE mount has not been well thought and they are developing their different camerasystem lines erratically.

I love my A7r and got accustomed to the bigger A7rII, but I'm not happy with the lenses coming out for that system. The A7r and r2 are little gems of cameras but I want lenses tailored for that.
 

Eoin

Member
Absolutely zero interest in large, heavy and extremely expensive 2.8 zooms. I don't care how good they are.
For too long I carried the heft of Canon and Sony Alpha A mount Cameras and lenses. My photography hasn't changed, I've just decided small and light is the way I want to go.

Portraiture is a particular area I take a lot of images in, I may compromise and take a serious look at the 85G. But it would want to be absolutely spectacular and ooze character for me to move from my MF primes. The f/1.4 is an absolute waste for this purpose, f/3.2 is the sweet spot for what I need @85mm, other than that everything else shot at wider apertures is purely for area isolation.

Others may have a need for it and I'm happy that Sony has come to the table with quality glass that meets their requirements.
I on the other hand feel neglected, the 35 f/2.8 & 55 f/1.8 showed what could be achieved in a small compact FF Lens changeable system, they seem to have shifted the goal posts.

So now the wait continues ....
 

Viramati

Member
Well I'm sure that optically they will be very good but at this size and cost one really has to ask why would you really want to move from Canon or Nikon. Anyway they're not for me and I would have preferred to see a FE35 f2 and FE50 F1.4 but I'm sure that will make a lot of people happy
 

ohnri

New member
Re: G Master lenses - 28-70mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.4 & 70-200mm f/2.8

:thumbs:



Pair the TCs + the fast zooms on the A6300 for even longer reach!

Exciting times! :thumbs:
Wow! Yes! Put the 70-200 with the 2x on the a6300 and that gets you to 600mm at f5.6 in a manageable and versatile package. No need to choose between the 70-200 and the 70-400.

Slap the 24-70 on an A7 r2 and you are Safari ready.

Well, plus the crazy expensive travel expense, the hotel, private guide and truck, time off work and other small considerations.
 

UHDR

New member
will definitely get the A6300 (may after first wave of discount)

the 24-70mm is interestingly large to the point that it's almost shouting the rumoured A9 will be the size of a Leica SL. :cool:
 

hcubell

Well-known member
I fully understand that there are a number of photographers for whom the trade off between the fast 2.8 apertures and the significant increases in size and weight that such zooms necessitate is acceptable. However, I think there is a very large number of photographers that don't like that trade off. We would like to see state of the art f/4 zooms that deliver exceptional optical performance, and let Sony put the same super premium price tag on them as the bigger f/2.8 versions. This would be in keeping with the original premise of the A7 line of cameras. I wish Sony understood this.
 

Annna T

Active member
These lenses are made for stellar performance, not for compactness.

I'm just thinking: IF they are what they promise (read what they say about G Master), then they will be better than other lenses in this range. And this may change a lot. An A7RII / SII with all the special benefits in low light (evf, faster AF with fast lenses), shutter (silent shutter) and these lenses... In terms of a event photographer this is the last puzzle to be a game changer... And if we look back, what they promised with the FE-series? They also fullfilled it.
They should have put all that (sensor, mirrorless advantages etc..) in a bigger DSLRs like body and maintain two lines of clearly differentiated bodies. Ask the owners of the Sony DSLRs whether they are happy to switch to an A7r2 ..
 

dandrewk

New member
I just looked at my FE70-200/F4 and can see no reason why the tele-extenders won't physically work with it. We'll have to see if/what electronics are passed through.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
It will not be possible to mount some of the lenses on the TCs becaus eof the protrusions.
 

dandrewk

New member
It will not be possible to mount some of the lenses on the TCs becaus eof the protrusions.
Yes indeed, and buyers need to take caution. The TC will fit with the FE70-200/F4, but maybe not others.

I've heard horror stories of folks trying to use a TC on an "incompatible" zoom lens. It fits at the lower FL range, but if you try and zoom in, you get a clash of lens elements. Not good.
 

seb

Member
They should have put all that (sensor, mirrorless advantages etc..) in a bigger DSLRs like body and maintain two lines of clearly differentiated bodies. Ask the owners of the Sony DSLRs whether they are happy to switch to an A7r2 ..
It's not that I was waiting for these lenses (except the 85/1.4). I prefer primes for my personal shooting. But, when I ignore my personal preferences, I think, sony made a good shot with bringing these lenses.

Btw, here are some 85/1.4 samples:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2016/02/03/see-the-first-images-from-sonys-new-g-master-lenses
 

Annna T

Active member
The TCs will likely work with the f/4 lens, passing full EXIF. The difficulty (learned from my use of Nikon TCs) is (or could be) with AF. The amount of light reaching the AF sensors is sometimes insufficient to ensure AF accuracy with an f/4 lens. Hunting ensues. Manual focus with a TC may also be more difficult in low light situations when using an f/4 lens. Just my two cents.

Joe
The A7r2 plus Metabones V4 T are able to focus my Canon E-F 70-200mm F4 with the 1.4 extender. Sometimes it hunt in low light and I just open the aperture to focus and step down again after that. But in good light I can stay at F8.

That said, native lenses are focusing wide open if I remember correctly. So the Sony 70-200mm F4 shouldn't get problems for focusing.
 

ohnri

New member
Bring me a G Master 24-105 f/4

And a sports oriented A7 body before I take the a6300 and A7r2 and throw them both into a burlap sack then shake it until I get what I want.

I'm warning you Sony, I'll do it !

_Bill
 

ggibson

Well-known member
Yikes, very pricey and large. Well, I guess Sony wants their FE cameras to appear as a "Pro" option with these lenses. Camerasize has added them (and the A6300) already:

http://camerasize.com/compact/#656.515,656.393,ha,t

Even though the 85/1.4 and the 70-200/2.8 don't look much larger than their slower FE counterparts (the Batis and F4 zoom), the weight tells the real story--these lenses weigh about twice as much. Must be a lot of glass in there! The 24-70/2.8 on the other hand is strikingly larger than the 24-70/4.

These lenses aren't for me I think, but the silver lining is that I might be able to snap up a second-hand Batis 85 soon :grin:
 

lambert

New member
Yikes, very pricey and large.
It depends on your point of reference. The Leica 24-90 SL (also designed for mirrorless) is slower, larger, 30% heavier and 2.5x more expensive.
DSLR comparisons make Sony's offering look even more svelte. How much does a Canon DSLR with A7Rii resolution and 4K video weigh when paired with a 24-70/2.8 lens?
 

Annna T

Active member
It depends on your point of reference. The Leica 24-90 SL (also designed for mirrorless) is slower, larger, 30% heavier and 2.5x more expensive.
DSLR comparisons make Sony's offering look even more svelte. How much does a Canon DSLR with A7Rii resolution and 4K video weigh when paired with a 24-70/2.8 lens?
No you are wrong, at least when it comes to Canon :
EF 24-70mm F2.8 L USM II 805gr 89mm x 113mm
FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM 886gr 88mm x 136mm

And the 5Ds weight 930gr against 625gr for the A7r2

So we are pretty much back in DSLRs territory.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
No you are wrong, at least when it comes to Canon :
EF 24-70mm F2.8 L USM II 805gr 89mm x 113mm
FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM 886gr 88mm x 136mm

And the 5Ds weight 930gr against 625gr for the A7r2

So we are pretty much back in DSLRs territory.
Yes there simply is no getting around physics here. It's full frame it's needs the same as any other full frame canon or Nikon.

Annna these are not meant for light weight small size. These are directly in Canons and Nikons face and making a huge statement for Pro use. This now gives Sony more power to sell and convert Pros and get them over to Sony. This announcement is involving far more than just lenses. This is a statement release. Sony needed to do this. Buy it or not that's okay we have other choices but these needed to come to market. There are a lot of Pros like me that been waiting to see what Sony does and they picked exactly that right 3 lenses to convert them over.
 
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