Sony can’t claim to have the world’s first 28–70mm zoom lens with background-blurring f/2 optics — Canon beat it to the punch by a few years — but that doesn’t detract from the stellar job the company’s optical team has done designing the FE 28–70mm F2 GM ($2,899.99). It matches the Canon RF 28–70mm F2 ($2,999.00) in angle and aperture but is smaller and a whole pound lighter. Its bright optics are ideal for creators who want more background blur and better results in very dim light, so wedding and event photographers may find good reason to prefer it over the stellar FE 24–70mm F2.8 GM II. The FE 28–70mm F2 GM earns our Editors’ Choice award for its ambitious optics and the gorgeous photos they bring to life. If you’re turned off by its price, don’t count out the $1,349 Sigma 28–45mm F1.8 DG DN Art as an alternative — its zoom range isn’t as expansive, but its photos are just as pretty.
Zoom lenses are, by definition, more complex to design than primes as they require more optical elements to change focal length. That’s proven especially true for those that gather more light, as we’ve seen in bright zooms for other systems like the Canon RF 28–70mm F2 L USM (5.5 by 4.1 inches, 3.1 pounds) and, for Sony cameras, the Sigma 28–45mm F1.8 DG DN Art (6.0 by 3.5 inches, 2.1 pounds). The Canon is heavy for a standard zoom, while the Sigma sacrifices zoom range to realize its more reasonable weight.
Sony’s recent trend has been toward smaller, lighter zooms, and versus those others, the FE 28–70mm F2 GM qualifies. It measures 5.5 by 3.7 inches (HD) at 28mm, weighs a comparatively meager 2.0 pounds, and supports 86mm front filters. The 2.0-pound weight is made possible by Sony’s use of some of its exotic optics in the 20-element/14-group formula, which includes three extreme aspheric (XA), three standard aspheric, three Super ED, and one ED element. The lens extends slightly to zoom but maintains its center of gravity throughout the range, which is good news if you plan to use it with a powered gimbal for video.
It’s up to you to decide if your photo and video work requires an f/2, though I’ll speculate that it’s useful for creators who cover weddings and events, work in concerts or clubs, or are interested in night sky photography. The plusses for low-light work are obvious. When used at maximum aperture, the FE 28–70mm F2 GM gathers twice as much light as the FE 24–70mm F2.8 GM II (4.7 by 3.5 inches, 1.5 pounds) and other f/2.8 options, and four times that of an f/4 zoom like the FE 20–70mm F4 G (3.9 by 3.1 inches, 1.1 pounds).