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Bamboo grove @12mm
Arashiyama bamboo forest in late December during the annual light up season, shot from a low angle at 12mm with FE 12-24mm f4 G.
Seldom get to use my FE 12-24mm G because most times I prefer my more versatile FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM although the 12mm perspective can be quite unique.
When Panasonic released their Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 back in 2020, it really caught my attention and I’ve hoped that Sony will launch a similar zoom range albeit with higher performance. Reference point (2) of this post from 5 months ago;
www.flickr.com/photos/86145600@N07/52295906674/.
Rumor now has it that Sony will indeed be launching a FE 20-70mm f4 G and this could be the perfect pairing to the FE 12-24mm f4 G.
Conventional standard zooms typically start at 24mm wide angle these days but 20mm is in ultra-wide category. If I shoot with a 24-70mm zoom, I’ll always have to bring along an ultra-wide zoom as well but with a standard zoom that starts at 20mm, I could leave out the ultra-wide zoom.
Big caveat here is, it’s already difficult to make a really good 24-70mm zoom, having this extend from ultra-wide 20mm will make it even more difficult. Even amongst the premium so-called “trinity” f2.8 zooms, the 24-70mm zoom is always the weakest performer.
Sony launched their FE 12-24mm f4 G in 2017, 3 years later in 2020, they released the FE 12-24mm f2.8 GM. Extrapolating a bit, If Sony’s FE 20-70mm f4 G is popular, they may well bring out a FE 20-70mm f2.8 GM around 2026, the new FE 24-70mm f2.8 GMii was recently released this year so the timeline looks plausible for a future FE 20-70mm f2.8 GM.
While a good quality 20-70mm zoom looks like an attractive option, I would actually love a FE 16-50mm f4 G which can effectively replace both ultra-wide and standard zooms. I’ve said some time ago that Sony should leave the 16-35mm range to f2.8 while the f4 G lens be 16-50mm. Such a lens does exist currently but in m4/3 Olympus 8-25mm f4 Pro.
The new FE PZ 16-35mm f4 G weighs a mere 353g, a potential FE 16-50mm f4 G at around 500g ought to be doable.
For years my preference has been to pair my FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM with my FE 85mm f1.4 GM and FE 55mm f1.8 ZA while leaving out the 24-70mm zoom entirely.
I have at times thought about adding the Tamron FE 28-75mm f2.8 G2 but would absolutely go for the Sony FE 20-70mm f4 G instead if it materializes although this is personally not a high priority.
Postscript
=========
FE 20-70mm f4 G, while certainly very good with an attractively unique focal range, it would appear that Sony did not manage to prioritize the performance at the wide end of the zoom unfortunately.
Bamboo grove @12mm
Arashiyama bamboo forest in late December during the annual light up season, shot from a low angle at 12mm with FE 12-24mm f4 G.
Seldom get to use my FE 12-24mm G because most times I prefer my more versatile FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM although the 12mm perspective can be quite unique.
When Panasonic released their Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 back in 2020, it really caught my attention and I’ve hoped that Sony will launch a similar zoom range albeit with higher performance. Reference point (2) of this post from 5 months ago;
www.flickr.com/photos/86145600@N07/52295906674/.
Rumor now has it that Sony will indeed be launching a FE 20-70mm f4 G and this could be the perfect pairing to the FE 12-24mm f4 G.
Conventional standard zooms typically start at 24mm wide angle these days but 20mm is in ultra-wide category. If I shoot with a 24-70mm zoom, I’ll always have to bring along an ultra-wide zoom as well but with a standard zoom that starts at 20mm, I could leave out the ultra-wide zoom.
Big caveat here is, it’s already difficult to make a really good 24-70mm zoom, having this extend from ultra-wide 20mm will make it even more difficult. Even amongst the premium so-called “trinity” f2.8 zooms, the 24-70mm zoom is always the weakest performer.
Sony launched their FE 12-24mm f4 G in 2017, 3 years later in 2020, they released the FE 12-24mm f2.8 GM. Extrapolating a bit, If Sony’s FE 20-70mm f4 G is popular, they may well bring out a FE 20-70mm f2.8 GM around 2026, the new FE 24-70mm f2.8 GMii was recently released this year so the timeline looks plausible for a future FE 20-70mm f2.8 GM.
While a good quality 20-70mm zoom looks like an attractive option, I would actually love a FE 16-50mm f4 G which can effectively replace both ultra-wide and standard zooms. I’ve said some time ago that Sony should leave the 16-35mm range to f2.8 while the f4 G lens be 16-50mm. Such a lens does exist currently but in m4/3 Olympus 8-25mm f4 Pro.
The new FE PZ 16-35mm f4 G weighs a mere 353g, a potential FE 16-50mm f4 G at around 500g ought to be doable.
For years my preference has been to pair my FE 16-35mm f2.8 GM with my FE 85mm f1.4 GM and FE 55mm f1.8 ZA while leaving out the 24-70mm zoom entirely.
I have at times thought about adding the Tamron FE 28-75mm f2.8 G2 but would absolutely go for the Sony FE 20-70mm f4 G instead if it materializes although this is personally not a high priority.
Postscript
=========
FE 20-70mm f4 G, while certainly very good with an attractively unique focal range, it would appear that Sony did not manage to prioritize the performance at the wide end of the zoom unfortunately.