The newly announced Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master expands the full-frame E-mount lineup and brings a compact and versatile lens to Sony photographers and moviemakers. Photographers and members of the press had the opportunity to test out the new lens and are posting their first impressions online. Here are some first reactions across the web for this new ultra-wide zoom addition to Sony’s full-frame lens lineup.

See the first impressions and early reviews from across the web for the new Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master.

Gordon Laing

“The FE 12-24mm f/2.8 becomes another worthy member of Sony's premium G Master series – delivering excellent quality results in every scenario I tried, You already know the coverage takes you from wide to extremely wide with a constant f/2.8 aperture, but the impressive part is discovering just how good the results look right into the corners with the focus near or far. It's certainly a high-performance aspirational lens for those who demand the best performance.”

The Art Of Photography – Ted Forbes

“The first impressions and results I’m getting with this lens are absolutely gorgeous. I’m also really impressed with the actual physical size of the lens.”

“This large XA element is placed first in the optical path and it’s immediately followed by a second XA element. These elements are going to work together to start to minimize aberrations. You’ve also got two Super ED elements and three ED elements to cut chromatic aberration. So we already have an extremely sharp image corner-to-corner, and it has no color fringing. And this is one of the most impressive things on this lens. It’s one of the most impressive wide-angle lenses that I’ve used, especially for zoom. Even with back-lighting, no fringing. And it renders exceptional details in the corners even wide open.”

Imaging Resource

Overall, I am delighted with both the image quality and the AF performance of the 12-24mm GM. The focal length range is versatile for all sorts of landscapes and other dramatic, expansive scenery, and 12mm in particular is great for shooting in cramped quarters. Plus, the f/2.8 aperture provides pleasing subject isolation as well as flexibility for shooting in low light or capturing fast action. The build quality, too, is excellent. The lens feels great in the hands, and the reassurance of the weather-sealing is a pleasing relief. Though I've hardly doused the lens with water, I was caught outdoors in an unexpected summer shower, and both the α7R IV and the 12-24mm withstood this light rain with flying colors. All in all, the Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM is most certainly an impressive lens, though given its heritage as part of the Sony G Master series -- and the price tag -- I can't say I'm surprised!

Read the full review here.

Kai W

“It’s always nice to see an addition to a lens lineup. And this makes a total of 37 full frame lenses for Sony now, and what a lens to add to it. One of my favorite kinds of lenses – an ultra-wide zoom. And this is fast becoming one of my favorite lenses ever because it’s f/2.8. It has that faster maximum aperture without sacrificing on the size and the weight. It packs a punch with performance and sweetens things up with that sugary-sweet image quality.

TechRadar – James Abbott

“It’s not often a lens comes along that warrants such high praise, but the Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM is sublime. Excellent image quality throughout the aperture range up to f/16, fast and quiet autofocus, virtually no distortion at 12mm and incredibly close focusing to name just a few points make this lens a pleasure to shoot with.”

“Landscape, architecture, interior, astro and sports photographers shooting with Sony FE cameras will undoubtedly be impressed by what’s possible with the lens, and how it can be used to expand their creative visions. Of course, there’s already the Sony FE 12-24mm f/4, but the new f/2.8 GM takes image quality, features and versatility to a new level.”

Read the full review here.

Nate In The Wild – Nate Luebbe

“This is a fantastic focal length for astrophotography. It really opens up the scene. Zooming in on the center of the frame, you can see that it’s still fantastically sharp. At 12mm to zoom in this far and still have that detail is very impressive to me.”

“Having a lens that can shoot 12mm astro, but then come back and shoot a daytime landscape shot...I think is really, really cool.”

“I always love shooting wide on expeditions when I’m climbing mountains. This lens, more than any other, gives me that opportunity...I also love it for things like wildflowers, because you can shoot wide enough to show the whole field plus the settings. I love it for shooting calm reflections with a storm that’s clearing out. If you’re clever about it, you can even use this lens for wildlife.”

Dan Watson

“If you are in the market for this, Sony is really giving us a lot of reason to get excited about this. It really is the best in terms of quality, autofocus performance, the coatings on this are unbelievable. Really this is a lens that is giving us something that no other lens is delivering on.”

Albert Dros

“It’s always great fun to put the wide angle in interesting corners and do creative compositions with such a wide angle. You start to see things you don’t normally see with your eyes. By looking on the live view and walking around, pointing up and rotating the camera, you always start to see interesting angles.”

“So is this the ultimate wide angle lens you can get for your Sony mirrorless camera? That depends of course on your shooting style. For me it’s definitely a yes. It’s a lens I have been waiting for for years and I am not disappointed, and super happy it's finally here!“

Read the full review here. 

B&H Photo Video – Derek Fahsbender

“While the ability to shoot even wider than before, with a larger aperture than before, is a feat in and of itself – where this lens really shines is in the optics.”

“What does that mean in terms of better photos? We’re talking effectively minimizing edge-to-edge field curvature and aberrations, while subduing chromatic aberrations. Which means less overall distortion, and amazing resolution in your images.”

Adorama – Tobi Shinobi

“This new Sony FE 12-24mm F/2.8 GM Lens goes further than anything before it in nearly all ways. It covers the widest range going from 12-24mm and is a constant f/2.8. That combination puts it in a class of its own. The flexibility of the zoom gives you many options when shooting the types of shots you’d usually use this lens for.”

“Sony also deserves major kudos for raising the bar with a lens that outclasses the competition. Finally, I will be swapping this lens in place of my current wide-angle go-to. It is lighter, smaller, faster to focus, and more flexible in terms of range.”

John Sison

“Judging from the images, I love what I’m seeing. It’s sharp corner-to-corner. The distortions are well-handled. And what’s cool is I didn’t see any vignetting and I saw zero chromatic aberration.”

PhotographyBlog – Mark Goldstein

“The long-awaited Sony FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM ultra-wide-angle lens has finally arrived, and somewhat predictably it's something of a technological marvel. Despite offering a world-beating combination of F2.8 and 12-24mm, it's still incredibly light, compact and most importantly very high quality indeed.”

“The Sony FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM lens delivers outstanding sharpness in the centre of the frame throughout the full aperture and zoom range and also performs very well at the edges of the frame too, with an MTF chart to back up its real-world performance.”

Read the full review here. 

Mark Galer

"It actually handles shooting into the sun really well. Not too much problem with flare at all on this particular lens. And obviously that f/2.8 aperture is really going to be of interest to the astrophotographers. It does give us the opportunity of lowering that ISO, maybe even more than halving the ISO. Because of that 12mm ultra-wide angle view we can also extend the shutter speed time as well as using that wider aperture."

Autumn Schrock

"The 12-24mm f/2.8 GM completes the ultimate G Master lens trio, which is a done deal for me. In my opinion, this lens is absolutely worth picking up whether you shoot stills or video if you can afford to drop the cash. This is a top-of-the-line, never-before-seen lens. Sony has accomplished something that no other company has yet. This beautiful thing is practically a work of art. I have truly loved shooting with it and am thrilled to continue challenging myself to find epic wide angle compositions."

Read the full review here.