Sony FE 12-24mm F2.8 G Master Full-Frame Constant-Aperture Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens (SEL1224GM), Black

This lens has made me a lot of money, highly recommend. But baby it. Very expensive to repair due to the uniqueness.

While the size and cost of this lens can't be ignored, the quality and versatility also stand out. I normally post pictures, but there are already tons of sample pictures out there. Pros - The image quality is excellent and paired with the A7RIII, I was able to get some really great shots - The build quality seems very sturdy, and my copy of the lens seems to be very good (which may speak to quality control by Sony) - The zoom ring is quite firm, which keeps the lens from creeping. - Nice to have the zoom lock feature when you need it - Nice and sharp wide open, and throughout the zoom range (You can see a difference wide open at the end of the zoom range, but the photos are still very good) - After shooting a little with this lens, and taking about 100 pictures, very few of them had any chromatic aberration. In post, I only needed to correct for this in a few photos. Cons - The size and weight are quite significant, and pretty much take away any size advantage that the mirror-less A7RIII might have had over another DSLR - The focus is by wire, so you don't get the same smooth focus-ring feel. - While the A7RIII has IBIS, I would really like to see image stabilization here for the cost and size - Speaking of price... $$$ Conclusion If you are looking for a pro lens, and don't mind carrying it around, then this lens is great. Extremely sharp for a zoom and correcting any chromatic aberration, or lens distortion was easily handled in Lightroom. If you are looking to get a standard zoom for your Sony mirror-less, this is a great option.

Sony has really set a new precedent with their GM glass and this really showcases it. They've somehow figured out how to encapsulate all of the desirable optical qualities you'd get with a very good prime into a zoom. Previously, I wouldn't have even considered shooting a zoom for anything really important, but this lens changed all that. Even the bokeh is pleasant and very usable. It's great not having to lug 5 lenses around with me everywhere I go and risk getting dust on the sensor when I'm changing them. It's also refreshing having the freedom to focus solely on the photography side of things without having to worry about the equipment. I've heard people call this lens heavy, and it's no lie. It is is among the heavier ones I've used. You can feel the quality of its construction in it's sheer density and mass. With the grip, it's not badly balanced, but without it, I don't know how I would manage it. That's really the only caveat that comes with this lens that I've found so far - you've got to possess the strength to wield it. Autofocus is very fast on my A7rii, but insanely fast on the A7riii. the colors are very nice, a bit on the cool side, which I prefer, and contrast is excellent. It's also a very sharp lens, even at f/2.8. I also own the 28-105mm G now and I'd say this one is a bit better optically, at least to my taste. If being able to push the bokeh further and having that extra 1.2 stops of light matters to you, I'd go with this one. If having the extra range and a slightly lighter lens is a top priority, then opt for the 70-105. Or you can always buy both of them, because they're both amazing in their own ways. Lol

I'm a Sony shooter and I love their products. The first few years I shot with only APS-C (Crop frame cameras). This year I graduated to the Full Frame A7R3 and I haven't looked back. This is the second G-Master lens I purchased (I have the 70-200). I rented this lens last month for a party and I was blown away. Previously I was only using my Sigma 35mm 1.4 as a general all around purpose lens. I cannot lie - Sigma has stepped their game up with their Sony lenses. As I'm typing this the Sigma 24-70 is in the process of being released and is on back order with many Camera shops. I was on the fence but then I realized that Sigma often have great images, their Auto Focus is not as reliable or quick as the Sony's. So that played a huge factor as I mostly will use this lens for events or general purpose photography. The quality of G-Master lenses are second to none with Sony cameras. Although this lens was CRAZY EXPENSIVE it is truly a beast and as of the moment it is totally worth it. I hate that I missed the Amazon deal of paying for this over 5 monthly payments. Pros Excellent build quality Great images Additional buttons Fast glass Cons Super expensive Heavy But if you want the best, I feel comfortable paying for it (at least for what I can afford). I love this lens and you will too. I'm anxious to use it on my next gig this weekend.

I mean, WOW. I am seriously in love with this lens. I’ve used many lens brands in the past, which include the stock Sony lens which came with the camera I purchased and a Sigma lens. NOTHING COMPARES TO THIS ONE! The Sony G Master series is by far out of this world. The crisp photos are perfection. I’m in complete awe. As a photographer and business owner, it is so important to have the right products. This camera has blown my work out of the park and makes me stand out as a sole photographer. I’ve attached some photos for reference!

First impressions of this lens are really good. I've done some test shots comparing against two other lenses in the focal range. Comparing against the Sony 28mm with 16mm conversion lens and with the Zeiss FE 35mm F2.8 lens (my favorite) Attached are a couple of test shots – nothing too special, I'm not DxOMark – check out their review when they get to it. Pros: - Solid Build – the high quality you'd expect from a GM lens. - Surprisingly light – I have this mounted on an a7rii and it doesn't make the camera too front heavy. - Has an 82mm filter thread – When you're getting down to 16mm it gets increasingly hard to find lenses that don't have a bulbous front element preventing a filter thread. - The Bokeh this lens produces is beautiful – not as noticeable in the lower focal ranges, as you'd expect. But 35mm gives an even smoother depth of field than my Zeiss 35mm equivalent - F2.8 at 16mm is impressive – For such a wide lens having the option to let in this much light is hard to come by. - Very little distortion – even without correction there is surprisingly little distortion on this lens. - Weather sealed! Cons: - The lens does extend when you use the wider end. Not a big deal, but it would have been nice to have that contained in the body. - It's not small, but that's expected from this. - When you use this with a filter, you will get a little bit of a vignetting from the filter – since the angle is so wide. Somewhat expected, but kind of a bummer. Even with 2 filters stacked, it's not noticeable above 20mm Not much bad to say about this lens. It's incredibly sharp and performant, while not feeling like a burden to carry around.

First of all, the pictures are so good that my co-workers have asked me to share the details of my new lighting setup. All I did was replace the Sony A7II kit lens with this lens and started shooting with it rather than my Canon T4i with the 17-55mm f/2.8 lens. It's nice and sharp. I usually shoot at f/2.8 or all the way up to f/16. One thing that I noticed is that the color of the image completely changes when I switch to f/16 and the distortion is completely out of hand on the edge of the frame. For this reason, I'm waiting for the new Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 Art lens to be released. My experience with Sigma Art Lenses is that there is minimal distortion. We'll see. However... One unexpected, absolute win that will make it hard for me to ever give up this lens, is the custom button. It's sped up my workflow. Cut my shooting time in half. That one extra button has allowed me to set up all the features I use so that I don't have to deal with the nightmarish menus system at all during a shoot. I've now got all the patterns memorized so that I can change the focus type/points without looking at the camera. Since the Sigma won't have that, it may add too much time to my shoots. Another benefit is the focusing. I've owned both the Sony A7II and the A6300 (which I sold as a favor, it is a great camera). The issue I had with both camera's and their kit lenses is that the focus was wildly inconsistent. The camera's would totally whiff many times in a row and I had to take way more pictures than needed to insure that I had a enough shots. There were pictures where literally nothing in the shot was in focus. The G Master hasn't done that yet and I've taken 3000 - 5000 pictures with it. The lens is great. Pros: -Stunning image quality -Accurate focus -Nice out of focus areas - haven't seen the bokeh balls yet, but I like the way the background melts away and the subject is isolated -Feels solid -Custom button - my favorite feature Cons -Heavy - Called one reviewer a whimp for complaining that you wouldn't be able to go fifteen minutes with this lens before your arms wearing out. Well, I lasted about six hours over the course of two days before my arms were burning. I'm used to the weight now, but my arms were on fire by the end of that second day. -Distortion - At f/16 the distortion is just ridiculous on the edges of the frame. I now know to keep everything in the center and crop. The correction in Adobe Lightroom and Capture One is totally unacceptable. Compared to the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Art or the Canon 17-55mm f/2.8, the distortion is absurd. -Crazy Colors - I've literally taken shots back to back, no setting change, and seen a color shift in the image. Boggles my mind. The color shift that occurs when switching from f/2.8 to f/16 is acceptable, because I use mixed lighting all the time, so I just re-balance the color. When there's a shift without changing the settings or moving, however, I just don't understand that.

I’ll preface this by mentioning I mainly shoot people at night in dark places, not so much buildings or stars. This lens makes me want to get close to everything and leave the mammoth 70-200 at home. 16-35 GM is light and is everything you would expect from a g master lens, including a hefty price tag. I shoot live music mainly in lowlight while wide open. The autofocus is fast, but it will hunt if using a spot focal point along the edge of the frame just like every g master lens I own. No issues with eye autofocus. It’s amazing to see how many heads the camera recognizes in a crowded place at 16mm. The lens will cause barreling when angling the focal plane, but it’s easily controlled and can be used for different perspectives. Overall this lens is fast and sharp, can accommodate lens filters, and is light. It is expensive, but worth the investment if you can justify the jump to g master lenses.