Great news for bokeh lovers: a new super-wide-aperture lens will likely be announced next week. Sony will be announcing the FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master lens on March 16.
A recent post from Sony Alpha Rumors confirms that they have seen the actual Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM lens. The article goes on to mention that the new lens from Sony is big and wide; however, it is "definitely" shorter than the Sigma 35mm f/1.2.
For some time, people have doubted Sony's ability to produce wider-aperture lenses for its full frame mirrorless cameras. This is predominantly because its lens mount is relatively small when compared to other full frame lens mounts. With a throat diameter of 46.1 mm, it's quite a bit smaller than Canon's RF mount and Nikon's Z mount systems.
Sony has confirmed in the past that it could produce f/1.0 lenses for its E mount system; however, it stated that there isn't a great market demand for it. In an interview back in 2018, Sony executive Mr Tanaka said: "Maybe some demand exists for an f/1.2, but an f/1.0? Technically, we could produce an f/1.0, but it would not make business sense."
Based on this interview and the latest leaked information from Sony Alpha Rumors, we might be able to put this idea to rest.
As of right now, the fastest aperture 50mm lens available from Sony is the Sony Planar T* FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA Lens that has a price tag of $1,498. With Canon's RF 50mm f/1.2 priced at $2,299 and the Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S priced at $2096.95, it's probably safe to assume that the potential Sony lens will sit around that price point.
Seems like we have some exciting weeks ahead with news and announcements.
I don't know why Sony doesn't come out with a 50/1.4 GM. The only 50 1.4 is that Sony Zeiss lens, which is excessively expensive because has the name Zeiss on it. It's also a pretty old lens.
The Sigma 50/1.4 for Canon/Nikon is $950.
But, to be fair, Panasonic's 50/1.4 Pro for the L mount is $2300. It's supposed to be right up there with the Otus 55/1.4 though.
I don't get the appeal of f/1.2 lenses on full-frame myself, but if this one does come in around $2200 or so, I can't argue with paying that much more over the Sony Zeiss.
I just think they'd sell more 50/1.4 GM lenses than 1.2 if it came in around $1200 or so. The newer autofocus tech and whatnot would probably appeal to a lot of people - I'm not sure how great the AF is these days on that Zeiss.
I don't consider the 50 1.4 planar old, and I'm still blown away by the IQ every time I use it. The only thing I would improve is the size/weight and bring the focusing speed up to par with other modern GMs. I agree with you though, a 50 1.4 GM that improves those points, would fair better in the market.
With all due respect "coming next week"? Hardly. I'm excited about the Sony 50 but they can't even get the 35mm out to their customers! I pre-ordered this lens day one and now it's not expected to ship until May. What the.....?
Yeah that has been a little disappointing. I hope Sony manages to sort any potential issues and get that lens out to customers cause it looks awesome.