The long-awaited and highly anticipated Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II is officially available for preorder and will ship in June of 2022. The previous FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM I was a great lens, although it was starting to show its age as other camera and lens manufacturers have been releasing updated versions of their 24-70mm. I woke up at 5 am (Hawaii HST) to preorder the lens. Within a few hours, stores such as Adorama and B&H Photo had stopped taking preorders (Edit, as of April 28th pre-orders have resumed). Hopefully, this lens will not experience production delays similar to the FE PZ 16-35mm F4. Here are a few of my favorite features in no particular order.
World's Smallest and Lightest F2.8 Standard Zoom Lens
The new lens is the smallest and lightest F2.8 24-70mm zoom in its class - 24.6 oz (695 g). Sony's previous 24-70 gm weighed 31.5 oz. (893.01 g). I look forward to the weight reduction in my camera bag and the possibility of using this lens with smaller handheld gimbals such as my Zhiyun Crane-M3.
Superb image quality throughout the entire zoom range at all focusing distances
Sony claims superb image quality throughout the entire zoom range at all focusing distances. Several reviews are available on youtube, showing a noticeable increase in image quality and sharpness compared to Sony's previous version. I currently use a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM and look forward to increased image sharpness.
New Focusing Motors Offer Improved Autofocus
Sony has incorporated Four XD Linear Motors and floating focus achieve fast, precise, quiet AF and excellent response. While there were not many complaints about Sony's previous models' autofocus, Sony claims its four XD Linear Motors and floating focus achieve fast, precise, quiet AF and excellent response.
Shorter Focusing Distance
The minimum focusing distance is much shorter than the previous version lens at just 8.3" at 24mm and 11.8" at 70 mm, with 0.32 max magnification. A shorter focusing distance lets you get the lens extremely close to your subject. It will also improve the macro photography capabilities of the lens.
More external features
An added aperture ring adds more versatility to the new 24-70. The lens now features two focus hold buttons giving you more flexibility to customize the functionality of your lens.
I cannot wait to get my hands on this lens and test it in the real world. I will be sure to follow up with a blog post giving my feelings on it once I have used it for a little while.
Here are some early reviews of the new Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II.