Sony Announces Its Fastest Fifty Ever: the FE 50mm f/1.2 GM

Sony has just announced its sixtieth lens: a brand new, fast, high-end prime, the FE 50mm f/1.2 G-Master.

The FE 50mm f/1.2 is the first 50mm prime from Sony that receives GM status, marking it as one of their best lenses both in terms of performance and build quality. It succeeds the popular Sony Planar T* FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA ($1,498) which was built in partnership with Zeiss, but bringing a larger maximum aperture and without adding extra size and weight.

The new lens features an 11-blade circular aperture unit, three extreme aspherical elements, and Sony’s Nano AR Coating II to minimize internal reflections. The lens is dust and moisture resistant, and while 50mm lenses are suited to compact designs, the new 50mm f/1.2 GM is surprisingly small given the huge maximum aperture. The lens has 14 elements in 10 groups and offers a minimum focusing distance of 15.7 " (40 cm).

The lens weighs 27.4 oz (778 g), making it a shade heavier than the Planar and at 4.25 “ (108 mm), it’s exactly the same length.

Preorders for the lens begin on March 17 with shipping expected to start in May. The lens is expected to cost around $2,000.

Will you be placing an order? Let us know in the comments below.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

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