Sony 2.8/12-24mm G Master Lens Review

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A while ago I reviewed the Sony 4/12-24mm G lens, which I owned until a few years ago and had used quite a few times since its launch in 2017. It was a much-welcomed addition, as Sony had never produced a lens of this focal length. At the time of its release I was a newly added member of Sony's Alpha Imaging Collective, attending their first Kando retreat in California that was the launch event for this lens. Fast-forward to Summer 2020 Sony would launch the sibling to the 4/12-24 G, the 2.8/12-24 in the top-of-the-line G Master series, gaining the faster aperture and the best optics possible.

Given all of those added benefits you must know that it came at a much heftier price, which I'll get into a little later in my review - but upon reading my experience with this lens it will be up to you to decide whether it's worth the price or not.

Standout Features

Weather sealed body
Constant f/2.8 aperture
Rich sharpness and color

Sony FE 12-24mm GM Specs & Images

Sony E-Mount
Nano AR Coating II
Aperture Range: f/2.8-f/22
Weather Sealed
122 - 84 degrees - Angle of View
11.02″ inches (28cm) Minimum Focus Distance
0.14x Magnification
17/14 Elements/Groups
9 Diaphragm Blades, Rounded
3/1 Extreme Aspherical/Standard Aspherical
847 grams

This is a wide-angle FE lens for Sony E-Mount, suited for the Sony Full Frame Mirrorless line of Alpha cameras. This lens can be used on the APS-C (crop body cameras), to give you an effective viewing angle of 18-36mm.

What I think about the 12-24mm GM

Off the bat this is a well-built lens with a massive front lens element, for the much larger aperture. Like all G Master (GM) lenses this is a weather sealed body. It has a petal lens hood that's built into the lens, which means you can’t attach a traditional screw-on lens filter to this lens. If you want to use filters you are able to use rear filters or front lens attachments (although this will require the usage of large filters and additional gear with brackets). You have the GM series and Sony logos on the sides of the lens, a focus hold button and an AF/MF toggle switch.

Many of my fellow Sony Artisan friends had mentioned that the quality of this lens was superior to my f/4 G version of this lens. I had an opportunity to obtain this lens and upon doing so I found it to be noticeably better too! The edge-to-edge sharpness was better in my experience and the obvious improvement being the wider aperture. The G wasn't a bad lens by any means and for the price and range it was wonderful, but this gives you a bit extra if that makes sense!

There's only one thing about the lens that's a negative for me and that's the weight. It's not a light lens, especially compared to the f/4 G.

What makes the 12-24mm GM great?

Image Quality/Distortion/Color:

The sharpness from this lens is top notch, even along the edges which you can see in many of my examples here. I found the GM to be far better in sharpness than the G version.

Distortion is controlled quite nicely. Usually with such wide angle lenses you'll have distortion problems with bowing, where it would really be noticable if you have straight lines on the edges and they're not rendering straight.

Color wise this lens spectacular! As a ZEISS Ambassador I consider this lens to be the closest to a ZEISS without being a ZEISS, that's how good it is! Considering that we don't have such a focal length range on the ZEISS side this is quite welcoming for me, to where I've never had any problems with this lens mixing in with my vast collection of ZEISS lenses. The colors are simply rich and punchy. Bringing these files into Lightroom I can further bring my signature look out of images captured on this lens. Simply beautiful!

Focal Length Range & Aperture:

As a Sony photographer since 2008 it was always a wish to have a lens wider than 16mm native we've had, but especially with the introduction of the E-mount in 2010 it's hard to believe that it took Sony 7 years to bring such a lens.

Now we have a faster version of that lens with the 2.8 aperture. For me this lens completed my lens collection! I capture a lot of architectural and cityscape images and more times than not I'm in need of a wider view, due to limited space in many situations (this is noticable in my Cathedral images). Having this range and a faster 2.8 aperture makes those tight low light captures far more possible to obtain.

Going from my Vario-Tessar 4/16-35mm ZA to this may not have seemed like much on paper but visually this is a massive difference from 16mm to 12mm. It’s ultra wide and still gives you a nice range up to 24mm. Pair this with the Vario-Tessar 4/24-70mm ZA, Sony 2.8/24-70mm G Master II or the Sony 4/24-105mm lenses and you’re capable of keeping to just two lenses for most things you may be photographing.

Weather Sealed/Build:

Having a lens that can withstand heavy usage is important and that’s obvious for landscape photographers who are among the elements and those unseen moments of sudden wind can knock over your tripod.

This lens is dust and moisture resistant and has a build that should hold up well with that unexpected fall, should it happen! With the built on lens hood you obtain a little extra protection for the glass element at the front. Being that you can’t place a UV filter on this lens your lens is quite vulnerable, but the lens hood gives a bit of a buffer from the lens element to the end of the lens hood.

What makes the 12-24mm GM not so great?

Size & Weight:

Being an ultra wide lens with a fast 2.8 aperture that does come with the drawback of added weight and a bigger footprint. Compared to other wide angles out there this is not too bad at just 847 grams. The f/4 G version of this lens is 565 grams however.

I found that after a long day of photographing during my travels that the weight begins catching up to me and I'm ready to offload this lens. Originally when I obtained this lens I was photographing with two Sony Alpha 1 cameras. I've now switched to the Sony Alpha 7C II. Losing weight on the camera side has made using this lens far more comfortable. Yes, the camera then becomes more front heavy, but that's a trade-off I can live with as long as I'm shaving weight off somewhere.

Filter Usage:

As expected with this kind of lens you're unable to use the convention screw on type filters and must utilize a bracket system with this lens. If you prefer this setup then it's not really a negative for you, but it's something to point out for those who may not prefer using such a system and to keep this in mind.

There are rear filter options available, but if you do not want to remove your lens while in the field then this may not be the route for you either.

Sony 2.8/12-24mm GM vs Sony 4/12-24mm G?

In the later years Sony produced a faster 2.8/12-24mm G Master option of this lens. The G Master not only gives you the faster and wider aperture but also is a higher quality lens optically.

If you're wanting a compact or lighter lens option in this range then the f/4 G version is the lens choice for you. If you value speed and best overall optical quality then the f/2.8 G Master version is the choice for you, especially if astro/low light photography is at the top of the images you're going to be capturing.

Originally, I opted for the f/4 G lens version because weight was my biggest concern (not to mention price). All of my ZEISS lenses are very small lightweight lenses and I didn't want a lens that wasn't going to be used that often for images to be something heavy. Fast forward a few years and I worked with Sony on an event and in exchange for that work I requested to obtain the 12-24 G Master. Now that I own this lens and could compare the two I immediately fell in love with the G Master over the G and sold the G quickly! I couldn't justify buying the lens myself at the time, but now that I have the GM I can say it is worth the money! If I had to purchase this lens down the road for some reason I would! The G lens did do its job while I had it, but experiencing the GM I couldn't see myself going back to that lens.

Conclusion: Who is/isn’t this for?

Landscape, cityscape and architecture photographers will appreciate this lens being in the Alpha lineup. You would have the ultimate trio with this lens, the Sony 2.8/24-70mm G Master II and Sony 2.8/70-200mm G Master II, covering 12mm - 200mm with three lenses. Of course, the drawback is for filter users who would prefer screw on filters and may find the Sony 2.8/16-35mm G Master II as a better lens choice for them.

At $3,248 USD at the time of this review it's a hefty price to put down. The $1,000 difference between this lens and the f/4 version may not be worth it for some to obtain one stop of additional light with the f/2.8, even though the overall quality of the G Master is better.

If you still want a fast aperture wide angle at a lesser price then the Sony 2.8/16-35mm G Master II may be a better option at $2,648 USD. If you want a wider option than 16 however then the prime Sony 1.8/14mm G Master will be the perfect choice. What makes this a sweet choice is that it is the cheapest of all, at $1,748 USD, far smaller and lighter than the other lenses and has a much faster aperture at f/1.8! Grant it, you're stuck with just one focal length and 2mm's extra in range may not be much difference for some.

I hope this article was informative and answered some of the questions you may have about the Sony 2.8/12-24 G Master lens. This is certainly a stellar lens that you wouldn't be disappointed in owning!

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this, so share them with me below in the comments. If you have any questions leave a comment below as well.

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