Sony lens news - Sony SEL FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II: lighter, faster, sharper
5 years ago, Sony launched the Holy Trinity telephoto zoom - the SEL 70-200mm f/2.8 GM Mark I. However, since the technical possibilities have developed so rapidly, it was time for an update.
We were invited by Sony to take a closer look at the novelty and explain the improvements in our hands-on video.
It is slimmed down
If you've ever held the old SEL 70-200mm f/2.8 GM in your hands and now lift the version II once, you can blindly tell which is the new edition. The upgrade of the lens has slimmed down properly here over the years and lost a whopping 29% weight, which adds up to 435g. At first, we felt like we were holding the 70-200G f/4.0 in our hands, and we were very impressed. The amazing thing is that the weight has been reduced, but the sharpness has even increased. The new lens even has better edge-to-edge sharpness than before.
The design has also been revised a bit and now offers more adjustment options directly on the lens. It has received a dedicated aperture ring, which is continuously adjustable, or lockable in the "A" (aperture auto) position.
The usual suspects like focus area limiting, AF/MF, OSS and the stabilization modes are of course still represented as switches. The last new feature is a DMF switch, but more about that in the video section.
Sony SEL 70-200mm f/2.8 GM2 OSS Sony FE mount
- Sony SEL 70-200mm F2.8 G Master telephoto zoom lens
- 4 XD linear motors provide excellent AF speed, precision and tracking (both photo and video)
- excellent G Master resolution and bokeh in an exceptionally lightweight design
- constant light intensity F2.8
- integrated optical image stabilization
- circular aperture with 11 blades
- Nano coating reduces unwanted light reflections
- Dust and moisture resistant
The inner values count
But we all know: The exterior is all well and good, but what counts are the inner values - and this is where things have changed. To keep up with the modern demands of cameras in terms of autofocus, Sony has installed not one, but four XD Linear motors, which move the lenses against each other to reach the focus point faster. In addition, there is a Nano AR II coating that minimizes reflections and, as usual, 11 aperture blades for circular bokeh points.
What's really impressive besides the weight, though, is the closest focusing distance. Sony has managed to push it down to 40cm at 70mm and 82cm at 200mm, which is a huge leap and increases the magnification to 0.3x.
More features
These features are very nice for the photographer, but videographers also benefit ⦠and for those, there are even more features. As mentioned before, there is now the DMF switch. DMF here stands for "Direct Manual Focus." When this is activated, it allows you to intervene in the focus even though AF is activated here. Previously, the focus ring was disabled when the lens was not set to MF. Now, however, you can intervene and thus switch between AF and MF very quickly and seamlessly.
Last but not least, there is an upgrade in focus breathing. This has also been noticeably improved compared to the predecessor and thus ensures a smoother overall image when shifting focus in video.
