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Sony has just announced its latest lens – the Sony FE 28-70 f/2 GM – which takes the standard zoom and gives it a prime lens rivaling the aperture, but in a size that’s actually convenient for professional photographers who might otherwise choose a 24 -70mm f/2.8.

Standard zoom lenses with large apertures to rival prime lenses have long been a dream of photographers and engineers, and there are some interesting options: Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art achieves a lens rivaling f/1.8 but at the sacrifice of focal length, or Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD has great reach, but can’t quite maintain maximum aperture. Canon may have come close a few years ago with its RF 28-70mm f/2 USM goal – even if it was a monster goal. But the Sony 28-70mm might actually be the first lens to achieve the triple threat of focal range, wide aperture and practical size.

But let’s not get carried away, the Sony 28-70mm still weighs 918g, which is certainly not light and is much heavier than the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8, which itself weighs 695g, which which is not negligible. However, compared to the only other 28-70mm f/2 currently available – the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 – the Sony version is practically featherweight at a whopping 512g difference, with the Canon coming in at a colossal 1 430g.

It’s not just a weight saving, but where the Sony team pulled off an engineering coup, the lens also measures 92.9mm x 139.8mm, which, again, a times, when comparing it to the Canon lens, is 10.9mm narrower in width, although both lenses have interestingly identical lengths.

The Sony 28-70mm features a floating focus mechanism powered by four XD linear motors, which enable focus tracking at up to 120 fps in video and optically suppress focus breathing as well than using Sony’s in-camera focus breathing corrections. For close-ups, the 28-70mm can focus down to 0.38m with 0.23x magnification.

The zoom mechanism is external but only extends about 15mm from the camera to 70mm, which should help balance the camera in rigs or on tripods.

In traditional Sony G Master style, the lens is fully sealed to resist dust and moisture and the 86mm front element has a fluoride coating on the front to repel grease and grime, and a Nano AR II coating to reduce flare and ghosting.

The lens has two customizable focus hold buttons, a focus switch to switch between manual and automatic, an iris ring with a lock switch to prevent it from slipping or to auto or auto, and a zoom smoothness switch if you prefer a smooth, loose zoom for video or a tight zoom for precise control.

Internally, the lens has an 11-blade aperture for rounded bokeh. The structure is composed of three Super ED elements with extra-low dispersion and one ED element to reduce chromatic aberrations, as well as three aspherical elements and three extreme aspherical elements (XA) to reduce onion ring effects in bokeh – which Sony says should produce images. quality comparable to a primary objective.

This addition to the Sony lineup brings the total number of Sony E-mount lenses to 77. The Sony FE 28-70mm f/2 GM is available for pre-order now and will appear in stores in December. However, buckle up for the price, the lens is incredibly expensive, launching at $2,899.99 / £3,199.99 / AU$5,299 – start saving now.

To learn more about all things Sony, check out our guides on the best Sony camera and the best Sony lenses.