Dubai: Sony Middle East and Africa announced a new addition to its full-frame lens line-up with the introduction of the FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM (model SEL 1224GM) large-aperture ultra-wide zoom lens.
This compact and versatile lens is ideal for shooting landscapes, starry skies and architecture while providing extra mobility for active sports shooters who want to use ultra-wide angles.
As part of Sony’s flagship G Master Series lenses, users can be completely confident that it delivers outstanding image quality up to an ultra-wide 12mm angle of view with F2.8 constant aperture, combined with beautiful bokeh effects.
The introduction of the FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM means that the F2.8 range of Sony’s G Master series lenses now extends all the way through from 12mm to 200mm and at 12mm, offers the world’s widest zoom at F2.8. It weighs only 847 grams.
Creative expression
At this focal length, it is possible to emphasise distance and create dynamic perspectives that are beyond the scope of the human eye, opening the door to new avenues of creative expression.
The FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM benefits from a rich and innovative construction that delivers outstanding corner-to-corner image quality throughout the entire zoom range. It features three extremely precise XA (extreme aspherical) elements including the largest XA element ever made for an α (Alpha) lens.
These XA elements, with the addition of a further aspherical element, effectively suppress astigmatism, coma and field curvature right out to the image edges.
Furthermore, three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements plus two Super ED glass elements, powerfully quell chromatic aberration and combine to deliver corner-to-corner clarity whilst minimising colour fringing.
Floating focus mechanism
A floating focus mechanism divides the lens’s focus group into two independently controllable groups. It is extremely effective at ensuring both outstanding close-up performance and maximum sharpness at any distance as it divides the lens’s focus group into two independently controllable groups.
It also helps realise a constant 0.28-metre minimum focusing distance throughout the zoom and because it is an internal focus lens, its length remains constant and its centre of gravity varies very little, so it is always optimally balanced in the hand.
The signature bokeh effects of Sony’s G Master series lens have been achieved through the fine-tuning of the lens’s spherical aberration characteristics during both the design and manufacturing process.
At the same time, the extremely high surface precision of the lens’s XA elements effectively suppresses onion-ring effects and, in combination with a 9-blade circular aperture, further enhances its exquisite bokeh.
The FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM employs four original high-speed, high-thrust XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors to ensure that it is compatible with the speed performance of both current and future camera bodies.
With two for each of the lens’s focus groups, autofocus is fast and precise and new control algorithms maximise the response of the XD Linear Motor system while achieving flawless synchronisation between the two focus groups. A further benefit is that operation is extremely quiet with minimal vibration.
A brand-new Nano AR Coating II that can be evenly applied to large lens elements or highly curved element surfaces has been used for the first time on the FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM.
It suppresses internal reflections, minimises flare and ghosting for clear, crisp imagery and despite the lens’s wide angle of view, Nano AR Coating II maintains high clarity and contrast throughout the entire image, even in difficult light.