Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Is a Sized-Down Zoom for Pros

pcmag.com:

Sony jumped into mirrorless cameras before others, so while Canon and Nikon are working on building their first generation of made-for-mirrorless lenses, Sony has already moved onto second-generation designs and updates. Its latest lens, the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II is the newest, and it comes to market just behind the complementary FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM II OSS, a lens we reviewed just last month.

Both are part of the company's highest performance class of lenses, G Master. The original FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM was one of the very first GM lenses released back in 2016. We gave it a favorable review, but in the interval since its release Sony has introduced better-performing focus motors and bettered its optical design prowess.

The result is a noticeably smaller zoom—at 4.7 by 3.5 inches, the Mark II cuts two-thirds of an inch of height from the barrel, and at 1.5 pounds, it's not too much to carry. Among full-frame competition, Sony's gone from having the largest 24-70mm F2.8 to the smallest—the GM II is slimmer than the Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8 and the Nikon Z 24-70mm F2.8.

We've not yet had a chance to go hands-on with the FE 24-70mm GM II, so I'm not able to give an opinion on just how much the weight reduction matters—that will have to wait for our review. But it's impossible to ignore the on-paper benefits of a smaller, lighter lens, especially for photographers who work on location. For field use, the zoom is sealed for all-weather operation, and includes both anti-smudge fluorine and Nano AR Coating II to reduce ghosting caused by internal reflections.

Despite the slimmer frame, Sony promises that the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II is a better optical performer than its predecessor. It uses a more complex formula, one with 20 elements