Review of Sony’s 70-200mm F/2.8 GM OSS
Sony FE 70-200mm F/2.8 G-Master Real world images (click for larger)
Sony FE 70-200mm F/2.8 GM Review:
We complete our review of the Sony FE “holy trinity” of lenses with the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM. The “GM” or “G Master” designation is now used by Sony for their top quality high end professional lenses. A 70-200mm F2.8 lens is a standard professional level tool in every camera mount system. Essentially, as a fast telephoto lens, it is most often used for portraits (due to the potential for compression and background separation), low light (as in events like weddings), and sports.
By their very nature, 70-200mm F/2.8 lenses are very heavy and very expensive. As a result, these lenses aren’t for everyone, typically for the professionals and well healed amateurs who really need a lens like this. The Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM is no exception to the generalization of hefty weight and price. As of this writing, the price of the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM is just under $2,600, making it more expensive than all but two of the current Sony camera bodies. It’s also a heavy weight lens at 1480 grams. Let’s see how it compares to the equivalent lenses in other systems:
- Sony FE 70-200mm F/2.8 GM: $2600 / 1480 grams
- Nikon F-mount 70-200mm F/2.8 E VR: $2800 regular but Aug 2019 discount to $2150 and 1430 grams
- Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS III: $2100 and 1480 grams
Canon and Nikon will soon be introducing equivalent lenses for their mirrorless systems. The full specifics remain to be seen, but released images suggest that the Canon R 70-200mm F/2.8 will utilize a much more compact design. For now, we see that the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 does not save any weight compared to the dSLR offerings and certainly doesn’t save any money.
So it is worth the price and weight?
Body and Handling
As noted above, the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM is a hefty lens at almost 1.5kg. No expense was spared in the body design. It’s built like a tank. Tripod collar is included with a removable foot. The large hood has a window for adjusting filters (though I found the window would accidentally slide open).
There is a generous collection of buttons and switches: programmable focus hold buttons around the barrel; autofocus/manual focus switch, switches for optical steady shot in two different modes, and a focus distance limiter switch.
The focus ring and zoom ring are both smooth and comfortable with rubber ribbed coating. Zoom is internal so the lens does not extend further.
All in all, it would appear to be up to the standards in build quality of the best Sony lenses. Unfortunately, I must share some anecdotal notes. Before finalizing this review, I used three different copies of the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8. I first used it at a Be Alpha event on a Sony A9 (some of the model shots in the samples came from that shoot). There were no problems at that shoot. I then borrowed a copy, intending to test it for review. The lens arrived completely non-functional. I finally obtained another copy for testing, resulting in the test images in this review. While there were no major problems, there were a couple of occasions the lens seemed to just stop focusing until I turned off and turned back on the camera. Maybe I just ran into bad luck but as I did some research I found others with questions and concerns about the mechanics of the lens. Looking at a reliable expert, I would point my readers to the Lensrentals blog teadown article. As noted in the article, the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 was using a lot of design specifics that were new and unique at the time. I feel these mechanics may have been refined a bit better in more recent lenses. Simply, I wouldn’t be surprised if mechanical issues are more common with the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM than with other Sony lenses in general.
Unfortunately, I did not get to test the autofocus in challenging sports situations. But focus seemed fast, smooth and silent on the Sony A7riii and Sony A9.
Below, see the size comparison with the Sony 70-200mm F/4 G lens. I find the photograph actually understates the size difference, particularly the weight. The F4 lens actually weighs about 45% less than the 2.8 GM lens.
Finally, the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM is equipped with optical steady shot which works in conjunction with the in-camera IBIS system of most Sony cameras. It provides a good amount of extra stability at slower shutter speeds.
Image Quality
As a $2,600 G-Master lens, one would hope that the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM would deliver great image quality. I had noticed some reviews that were less than spectacular but I try to be my own judge (and try not to read any reviews around the time I’m conducting my review).
Vignetting
Below see the vignetting at 70mm from F2.8 to F8
Vignetting is an issue with many Sony lenses but is simply not a significant problem in the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM at 70mm. We definitely see some mild vignetting at 2.8 but it really isn’t severe and won’t impact most types of 2.8 shooting. At F4, it’s even more mild and is basically gone at F5.6.
Vignetting is slightly worse at 200mm, demonstrated below. At 2.8, it’s quite noticeable but still not totally detrimental. At F4, it’s rather mild and almost gone by F5.6…
In real world shooting, the vignette is unlikely to detract from most images but you will want to correct landscapes.
200mm vignette corrected and uncorrected:
Flare – Chromatic Aberration/Purple Fringing
A big issue with many lenses is the ability to handle backlit situations and situations where there may be a strong light (sun) at the edge of the frame. These situations can cause color fringing and flare, the result of sensor and glass reflections. Color fringing is most often a problem at wide aperture while flare tends to worsen at smaller apertures.
The behavior of the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM is a bit difficult to describe in this regard. I was surprised to find unpredictable flare patterns even wide open at F2.8. Strong backlighting led to some purple and green color hazing and ghosting. Overall, it wasn’t severe but it showed up a bit more than I expected.
Below, we see from some sharpness crops, the slight high contrast color fringing we see at wide open aperture. You’ll note along the silver and white, just a very slight purple outlining. For a fast aperture zoom lens, this result isn’t bad at all. (The much hyped Sony 55mm F/1.8 has far worse fringing even stopped down to F4).
The minor color fringing really takes pixel peeping to notice and it is easily correctable.
Bokeh – Sony 70-200mm F/ 2.8 GM
Zoom lenses tend to have worse bokeh (quality of the background separation) than prime lenses. But bokeh is one of the reasons you invest in a telephoto 2.8 lens. The combination of fast aperture and long focal length creates significant background separation or background blur. Let’s look at the quality of that blur.
Out of focus highlights result in smooth soft circles that become “cat’s eyes” at the edges of the frame. Unlike many zoom lenses, the bokeh centers are free of onion-ring effects. The outlining of the bokeh circles can be a bit strong. While overall the bokeh circles are pleasant, I find the overall effect a bit on the rough side as shown in the birdhouse shot. The bokeh almost creates a swirly pattern.
In the below portrait, you can really see the “bokeh swirl,” as if there is an inter-dimensional gateway about to swallow my children!
Looking at the bokeh in context, it really is very very good for a zoom lens. It simply doesn’t quite match the quality you might achieve with a good prime lens.
Distortion
Distortion was slightly worse than I expected but still not bad enough to be a real negative. Distortion is correctable but the correction of distortion affects the sharpness as the image is stretched or compressed. Fortunately, any corrections are minimal with the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8. As shown above, at 70mm you get slightly barrel distortion. As you zoom, it becomes slightly pincushion distortion at 200mm below.
200mm:
Sharpness of the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM
Sharpness is overrated. There are a few clunkers out there where the sharpness is really an issue. But for most typical uses, most lenses are “sharp enough.” Still, many of us like to examine sharpness in close detail. And the best modern lenses can really wow us in their ability to resolve detail. With 61mp sensors coming to Sony cameras shortly after this review is published, all the more reason to look for lenses that can really maximize sharpness.
We will examine sharpness at 70mm, 135mm and 200mm. We test from two distances. We crop centers, border areas and the extreme corners. Let’s take a look:
70mm – Center Sharpness
70mm center from closer distance:
At 70mm, the center of the 70-200mm F/2.8 is tack sharp. We see some slight color fringing at F2.8 which resolved at F4. F4 is peak performance in the center but F2.8 is truly already excellent.
70mm Border Sharpness
70mm close focus borders:
Moving away from the center, the borders hold up just find at 70mm. At the closer distance, I would say 2.8 is fully tack sharp. At the further distance, there is a hint of softness in the border at F2.8. By F4, we get total sharpness.
70mm Extreme Corner Sharpness
70mm corners from closer:
The corners are a true test for any lens. At f2.8, there is some softness. For most types of F2.8 shooting, this is simply not an issue. If you’re shooting portraits, nobody is looking to see whether the corners are sharp. If you are shooting sports or wildlife, the extreme corners are simply not important parts of the frame. And if you are shooting landscapes, you’re unlikely to be shooting at F2.8. At F4, we again get tack sharp results.
135mm Center Sharpness
And 135mm centers from closer focus distance:
The Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM appears sharpest in the middle of the zoom range. Peak sharpness may be F4, but F2.8 is truly excellent as well.
135mm Border Sharpness
135mm borders close test:
Again we see the Sony 70-200mm F2.8 shine at 135mm. Performance in the borders is essentially identical to the center of the frame.
135mm Extreme Corner Sharpness
135mm from closer focus:
A round of applause. Things are very nearly tack sharp in the extreme corners even at F2.8. Any lingering softness is fully resolved by F4. In reality, I would have no hesitation about the corners even at F2.8.
200mm Center Sharpness
Center crops:
200mm crops test from closer:
Overall, things just get slightly weaker at the long 200mm end. I can’t call the results weak, just less strong than the shorter focal lengths. From close focus, the results are tack sharp even at F2.8. When shooting from further back, there is a bit of softness at F2.8 which resolves fully by F4. In real world shooting, especially for portraits, the lens is perfectly sharp enough for 2.8 portraits.
200mm Border Sharpness
Borders from closer at 200mm:
We see the 200mm focal length being just a tad weaker again. The borders are slightly soft at F2.8 and don’t become totally tack sharp until F5.6. F2.8 is still perfectly satisfactory for portrait-type shooting but you are not getting the utmost critical sharpness.
200mm Extreme Corner Sharpness
And corners from closer:
Based on the examination of the borders, we see the softness we would expect in the corners. These are not “ugly” corners you would find with some lenses — in fact, even at F2.8, I would call the corners fairly sharp. They simply aren’t tack sharp until F5.6.
The limited lesson if is you need to print a massive critically sharp 200mm landscape/product image, that is sharp corner to corner, stop down to F5.6 or smaller. But for just about any other use, this lens has plenty of sharpness at any aperture.
Some people like to talk about great zoom lenses as having “prime like” sharpness and the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 is certainly sharper than some bargain prime lenses, but it still can’t really quite match the best primes. Still, I have now used every current Sony FE zoom lens — The Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 is probably the third sharpest Sony zoom lens I have tested, behind only the Sony 100-400mm GM and the Sony 16-35mm F/2.8 GM.
Overall:
There is really nothing negative I can say about the image quality. The Sony 70-200mm F2.8 is an exceptionally sharp instrument with minimal correctable defects. At worst, it sometimes exhibits unpredictable flare. If rating on image quality alone, the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 is remarkable.
I do have some concerns about the mechanical reliability. I cannot back up my concerns with quantifiable data, so feel free to ignore me. But I’d be sure to have a good warranty in place, just in case.
It’s still impossible to put aside the price and weight of the lens. Canon and Nikon dSLR shooters not only have cheaper first party offerings, they can also use third party 2.8 lenses that may be half the price. Similar third party options are likely coming for Sony, just not yet. Additionally, if you switched to mirrorless in the hopes of saving weight, the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 won’t be doing your back any favors.
Those who truly need a 70-200mm F/2.8 lens can buy the Sony version with no regrets. It’s an exceptional lens. (Buy the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 on Amazon / Adorama.) Those who need it should know they need it. To me, the most critical use cases are weddings (where you may need the flexibility of a zoom and low light of fast aperture at the same time) and sports. While it’s capable of great portraits, I would prefer to stock a couple of great Sony prime lenses that will offer lower weight and better bokeh. For more casual shooters on the fence about whether they want/need a 70-200mm F/2.8, it might be advisable to put it on hold and see what Sigma and Tamron come out with over the next year or two.
For those that don’t really need the 2.8 aperture, the Sony 70-300mm G or Sony 70-200mm F/4 (Review here) may be better choices.
My score is primarily for enthusiasts… Those who tend to shoot mostly for fun and self-fulfillment. Between the weight and price, the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 GM simply isn’t for everyone. But if you don’t mind the weight or price, the lens may be nearly perfect.
Rating (1-10): Score: 8
(About my scoring: 9-10 is a superb lens which could have a place in the bag of almost every photographer. 6-8: recommended with caveats. 3-5: A compromised lens that may still be suitable for some shooters and situations. 1-2: Just stick to your phone camera)
You can help to support this blog at no additional cost to yourself by making your purchases through our links. Buy the Sony 70-200mm F/2.8 on Amazon / Adorama.
I’m getting close to my goal of reviewing every Sony FE lens (at least those produced by Sony). Please follow me on twitter and/or accept notifications from this site, to catch the latest reviews and posts. As of August 2019, I’ve nearly completed my review of every mainstream Sony FE lens in current production. In the next 1-2 months, you can expect reviews of the Sony 135mm F/1.8 GM, 70-300mm G and Sony 50mm F/2.8 macro.
Thank you.
