It’s apparent the world moved on from what this Sony lens can do, and they need to supersede everyone else!
The Sony system is currently the best choice for a professional photographer, working journalist, or creative. There are lots of third-party lens options and fantastic flash/lighting support that are lightweight, small, and reliable enough. Durability aside, the system can reliably do anything you really need it to. No other camera system can say that at the moment. But where the rest have pulled ahead is with lenses. One lens of particular contention is the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G Master. These days, it’s questionable whether or not you’d buy it, but if Sony really wants to pull ahead of the pack, the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G Master II needs to be fantastic.
For the record, there are great options for the Sony system. The Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art lens is affordable but has autofocus and weight issues. As an aside, it’s also far lighter and more balanced on Leica L mount bodies. You can check out our review of the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art lens here. The best choice is arguably the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 lens. It’s light, fast to focus, accurate, and has unique image quality. Plus, it’s more affordable. That’s the one I’d buy today. Take a look at our Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 review.
Dual Motors for Autofocusing
This is a relatively new design that camera and lens companies have started using. Some companies use a single element to handle focusing, and those designs are positively brilliant. But it’s not possible for every lens. When there are lots of focus groups, it makes more sense to have dual motors. That is what will make the autofocus even faster. Granted, Sony’s autofocus is already speedy. But we’re sure that the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G Master II can be even faster.
A New Design: Internal Zoom or a Lighter Body with Better Balance
This is where I’m really excited about what’s possible for the new Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G Master II. Just imagine a 24-70mm lens that doesn’t zoom externally. Sure, the overall size would be larger, but it would also probably be alright. It could potentially give more balance to the body and lens.
If that’s not possible, a lighter lens body would be very welcome. My idea for this comes from what Leica did with the Sigma 24-70mm. Leica’s variant is slightly heavier and larger, but you’d probably not really notice the difference. It also feels much more balanced because of what Leica did with it.
An Aperture Ring? Yes Please!
Sony typically puts aperture rings on their higher-end prime lenses only, but since the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G Master II would be a constant aperture lens, why not give it to this one too? This aesthetics thing would make the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G Master II feel more like an actual photography lens than a soulless product.
Give. Us. Lens Character.
One of the biggest things Sony does is engineer the fun out of their lenses. They do so much to get rid of lens flare and other fun things we’d like to have. For anyone whop says that you can do it in post-production, consider the following. First, there’s the fact that the entire industry worked to get rid of the fun in lenses. It’s happened in both post-production and in the product itself. This is so much of the case that you can easily engineer any flaws out of images using the software. But if you want to get that look back, you need to spend hours in front of a computer and pay for extra software. Why not just listen to Gen Z and Millenials and give us the looks we want?
Image Stabilization
Imagine if the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G Master II had image stabilization? Yes, their camera bodies have it. But where I’ve seen this really shine is with Canon. The combined stabilization of the lens and camera is unlike anything else. Better yet, Canon did it all while keeping the product small.
So let’s hope that the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G Master II is a real winner. What do you want to see from it?