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Lenses

First Impressions: Sony FE 100mm F2.8 STF G Master (Sony E Mount)

Anthony Thurston
No Comments
02/07/2017
3 Mins read
Sony FE 100mm F/2.8 STF G Master

Last Updated on 02/07/2017 by Chris Gampat

Earlier today at WPPI 2017 Sony unveiled their new FE 100mm F2.8 STF G-Master Lens. We had the pleasure of being able to play with the lens a little bit on the show floor, so here are some initial impressions on Sony’s latest G-Master lens announcement.

Tech Specs

Specs taken from Sony’s website

  • Premium G Master series Mid-range telephoto prime

  • Optical apodization (APD) element for magnificent bokeh

  • Nano AR coating for outstanding clarity

  • Direct Drive SSM (DDSSM) for quiet, highly precise focus lens control

  • Dust- and moisture-resistant design3

MINIMUM FOCUS DISTANCE
2.79 ft/0.85 m (at “0.85 m–∞” position); 1.87 ft/0.57 m (at “0.57 m–1.0 m” position)
MAXIMUM MAGNIFICATION RATIO (X)
0.14 (at “0.85 m–∞” position); 0.25 (at “0.57 m–1.0 m” position)
FILTER DIAMETER (MM)
72
WEIGHT
24.7 oz (700 g)

Ergonomics

First, the Sony FE 100mm f2.8 STM GM is styled and built right in line with the rest of Sony’s G-Master lenses. It feels very solid in the hands but at the same time is not particularly heavy or bulky, which is nice for a big portrait lens like a 100mm F2.8. The focus ring is nice and smooth, it has a little more resistance than we prefer, but it’s not hard or annoying to turn either for you manual focus lovers. The focus ring is positioned near the front of the lens. As well, the switch for AF and OSS are solid and have a nice hard click when you switch either setting on or off.

 

One thing that was interesting about the Sony FE 100mm f2.8 STM GM was the focus limiter on the base of the lens where you would normally expect the aperture ring to be. Due to this addition on the lens, the aperture ring is actually more towards the center of the lens with the focus ring right up at the front of the lens.

Build Quality

 

Overall on the build quality front there is little to complain about in terms of the appearance and build of this lens. It is exactly like what we have been seeing lately from Sony with their G-Master series and if you are a fan of the others, than this will be one you like as well.

Sony’s G Master series are all billed as being weather resistant, and they’re in fact better so than the camera lineup.

Autofocus

The Sony FE 100mm f2.8 STM GM focuses really quickly, even in the poorly lit expo show floor. The point to point focus was spot on with what we have come to expect from Sony’s high end prime lenses. Tracking was a little tricky with the lens being so tight for the show floor environment, but taking that into account, we felt like the tracking performance was acceptable.

Image Quality

In terms of performance, we weren’t able to take any actual independant test shots on our own media, but even just viewing the images on the back of the camera we were able to see that this lens does exactly what it sets out to do. The bokeh looks good from the Sony FE 100mm f2.8 STM GM.

However, we’ve got a number of sample images from Sony right here for you:

First Impressions

Of course these are just our initial thoughts on this new lens after playing with it for a good 10-15 minutes. Our full thoughts and any final verdicts will have to wait until we get a copy in for review. But if our experience here on the WPPI show floor is any indication, this looks like a really killer portrait lens from Sony.

Stay tuned for our review.

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