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50mm

Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM Hands-on Preview

Sony's new lightweight f/1.2 prime makes an excellent first impression

by Jeremy Gray | Posted 03/16/2021

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/160s, ISO 100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Sony celebrated the fifth anniversary of its G Master lens series last month. Today, the Japanese giant announces its 13th G Master lens, the FE 50mm f/1.2 GM prime lens. It also marks the 60th lens in Sony's E-mount lineup, which is an impressive milestone.

The Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM is competing against 50mm f/1.2 primes available natively in both the Canon R system and the Nikon Z system. Sony's engineers have worked hard to deliver a fast 50mm lens that is both smaller and lighter than the Canon and Nikon offerings.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/2.8, 1/50s, ISO 400. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

I've had a brief hands-on period with the new Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM, and the lens features an impressive design and even more impressive optical performance. It's too early to offer a full evaluation of the lens, but initial impressions are positive across the board. In terms of construction, sharpness, bokeh, autofocus and more, the FE 50mm f/1.2 GM impresses.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/8, 1/60s, ISO 100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM Key Features

• 50mm prime lens with f/1.2 maximum aperture
• Has 14 elements in 10 groups, including three XA lens elements
• Promises excellent resolution across the frame and strong control of aberrations
• 11-blade circular aperture diaphragm contributes to smooth bokeh
• Four XD linear motors drive fast autofocus
• Close focus distance of 0.4m, delivers maximum magnification of 0.17x
• Weather-sealed at each button and ring
• Weighs 27.4 ounces (778 grams)
• 4.25” (108mm) long with maximum diameter of 3.4” (87mm)
• 72mm filter thread
• Built-in aperture de-click switch
• Includes AF/MF switch
• Coming this May with an estimated price around $2000-2200 USD

Design and handling: Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM lens is surprisingly lightweight and compact

Stylistically, the FE 50mm f/1.2 GM follows suit with Sony's previous G Master lenses. It is constructed using a hybrid metal and engineering plastic. It feels durable while also being lightweight. When used on the A7R IV, the lens balances very well and doesn't feel front heavy.

The focus ring has a ridged surface, which offers a good grip. Concerning the feel of the focus ring, it seems a bit lightweight. That said, the experience of manually focusing using the A7R IV felt fine. The aperture ring is great on the 50mm f/1.2 GM. It has engraved aperture markings at f/1.2, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16, with unmarked lines for each one-third stop. The aperture ring has an accompanying de-clicking switch on the lens barrel. I prefer using the clicked setting, as I like to feel distinct stops as I adjust the aperture, but for users wanting a smooth iris control (such as for video recording), that option is available.

The aperture ring, which has engraved markings, can be switched from clicked to smooth rotation when adjusting the aperture.

The 50mm f/1.2 GM weighs 27.4 oz. (778g), which is very lightweight for a full-frame 50mm f/1.2 lens. Sony's new 50mm prime is 4.25" (108mm) in length, which means that the 50mm f/1.2 GM is the same weight and length as Sony's existing Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZA lens, despite being half a stop faster. At 3.4" (87mm), the new G Master lens is slightly wider, but it's a minor difference.

At 4.25" (108mm) long without its lens hood, the Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM is the same length as the Sony T* Planar 50mm f/1.4 ZA lens despite being a half-stop faster.

 

The hood adds a bit of length but is well-constructed and does an excellent job of preventing lens flare.

Compared to the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM, the Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM is nearly the same size, but the Canon prime weighs 2.09 lb. (950g). Nikon's Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S lens is much larger than both Canon and Sony's mirrorless 50mm f/1.2 prime lenses. Nikon's lens is 5.9" (150mm) long and weighs 2.4 lb. (1,090g). Sony's engineers have worked hard to keep the size and weight of the new 50mm f/1.2 GM down, and the work has paid off.

Photographers expect G Master lenses to have professional operability and reliability. The lens has good build quality and feels robust and high-end. The aperture ring is great, too, and I appreciate the inclusion of the de-click switch, lens function buttons and AF/MF switch. In terms of reliability, the lens is water and dust-resistant. It includes seals at each button and ring.

Overall, the 50mm f/1.2 GM is a well-designed lens. I would prefer that the focus ring offer a bit more resistance, but that's my only complaint, and it's a minor one. It's very impressive how lightweight and compact the lens is, especially when compared to its primary competition. The build quality is up to the G Master series' high standards, and the lens feels great on the Sony A7R IV body.

Image quality: Impressive performance across the board

Sony had a few primary objectives when designing the optical formula of its 50mm f/1.2 GM lens. Sony engineers wanted superb resolution across the frame down to f/1.2; clean and smooth bokeh; and strong control of aberrations, flare and ghosting. Not to bury the lede, but the lens delivers strong performance across the board. The 50mm f/1.2 GM has 14 elements in 10 groups, including a trio of extreme aspherical (XA) lenses. The XA lenses play an important role in imaging performance, contributing to resolving power and bokeh, but more on that in a bit. The new GM lens also includes Nano AR Coating II, which minimizes internal reflections to reduce ghosting and flare. Both the XA elements and Nano AR Coating II are features that Sony's existing 50mm f/1.4 ZA lens doesn't include.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/4000s, ISO 100. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Before diving into the sharpness test shots, I have tried to equalize exposure across the different aperture settings in Adobe Camera Raw. Otherwise, settings are ACR defaults. I had to reduce the exposure of the f/1.2 and f/1.4 shots because the A7R IV is capped at 1/8000s shutter speed, even using the electronic shutter. It's a strange restriction, although it's neither here nor there. In any event, let's see how the 50mm f/1.2 GM performs.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/8000s, ISO 100. Sharpness test scene. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

At f/1.2, the lens is sharp in the center of the frame. Color and contrast are good as well. Corner performance leaves a bit to be desired, but it's not bad. Stopping down to f/1.4, which amounts to just a minor decrease in light-gathering capabilities, increases sharpness a noticeable amount, at least when zoomed in on an image. Corner sharpness also improves slightly, which you can check out by downloading full-resolution image samples from our Gallery.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/8000s, ISO 100. 100% center crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

 

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.4, 1/8000s, ISO 100. 100% center crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Center sharpness doesn't noticeably increase as you continue to stop down, but at f/2.8 and especially f/4, corner sharpness is excellent. At f/5.6, you can barely start to see diffraction creeping in, although sharpness is still great. At f/8, there's just slightly more softness in the scene. Of course, sometimes you need the shutter speed or depth of field afforded by f/11 and beyond, but the softness caused by diffraction is noticeable by this point.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/4, 1/1250s, ISO 100. 100% center crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/4, 1/1250s, ISO 100. 100% bottom right corner crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

 

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/8000s, ISO 100. 100% bottom right corner crop. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Overall, the FE 50mm f/1.2 GM lens is very sharp. It delivers excellent detail, even at f/1.2, especially in the central portion of the frame. At the wider apertures, only the extreme corners of the image area show any softness. If you need excellent sharpness across the frame, f/4 appears to be the sweet spot. Of course, if you want a very shallow depth of field and smooth bokeh, f/1.2 and f/1.4 are great options, and you compromise very little in terms of sharpness, especially at f/1.4.

Speaking of bokeh, the 50mm f/1.2 GM delivers great bokeh due to careful and precise optical design. Typical of GM lenses, the 50mm f/1.2 is designed from the ground up to deliver smooth and refined bokeh. The lens has an 11-blade circular aperture, which stays circular even as you stop down. The XA lens elements contribute to good bokeh as well, as the surface of these lens elements is precise down to 0.01-micron, which aids in suppressing onion ring bokeh. Special attention has been paid to not only smooth background bokeh, which is what people generally think of when they consider bokeh but also foreground bokeh.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/100s, ISO 100. Bokeh test shot. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file. When the specular highlight is near the center of the frame, it is very circular. There is also no noticeable onion ring effect in this shot, or in any other images I captured during my time with the lens.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/100s, ISO 100. Bokeh test shot. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file. As the out of focus highlight moves away from the center of the frame and towards the edges, there is some cats eye effect.

 

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/8, 1/60s, ISO 100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file. Play-Doh is serious business. As you can see in this shot, the out-of-focus elements in the foreground and background both show excellent bokeh. Everything that should be sharp is sharp, and everything that should be soft is soft, and the transition between the two is excellent.

In most cases, aberrations are well-controlled. However, in particularly challenging situations, some color fringing is visible. Consider the image below, the white whiskers outside of the focal plane show different fringing depending upon whether they are in front of or behind the focal plane.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.4, 1/60s, ISO 100. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.4, 1/60s, ISO 100. 100% crop of out-of-focus elements in the foreground. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.4, 1/60s, ISO 100. 100% crop of out-of-focus elements in the background. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

When it comes to ghosting and flare, the 50mm f/1.2 GM does an excellent job. There's no ghosting or flare in the image below, which is backlit with the light source visible in the frame. I didn't run into lens flare during my time with the 50mm f/1.2 GM.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/8, 1/60s, ISO 100. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Overall, so far, optical issues have been few and far between. There's more testing to be done, but the initial hands-on time with the FE 50mm f/1.2 GM has shown the lens to be an excellent performer.

Autofocus: Linear XD motors contribute to fast and accurate autofocus performance

The Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM features a quartet of XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors for its autofocus. This technology was first featured in Sony's 400mm f/2.8 GM telephoto lens. The XD motors provide the thrust required to move the two large focus groups quickly and efficiently. The focus groups are in a floating focus mechanism. The 50mm f/1.2 GM is an internally focusing lens, by the way, unlike Canon's RF 50mm f/1.2 lens.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/320s, ISO 400. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Sony promises that the 50mm f/1.2 GM can realize pixel-level precision with its focus. At a claimed perfect hit rate, it can even keep up at 30 fps on the recent Sony Alpha 1 camera, thanks to the XD motors included in the lens. This is an ambitious promise for an f/1.2 lens. I didn't shoot on an A1 but instead shot with an A7R IV, and focus accuracy proved to be good. Further, focusing speed is very impressive, even when focusing up close.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/11, 20s, ISO 100. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file. With a maximum aperture of f/1.2, it's easy to focus in low light with the 50mm f/1.2 GM lens.

Speaking of close-focusing performance, while the 50mm f/1.2 GM is far from a macro lens, its minimum focus distance of 0.4m is still quite good. It allows for a maximum magnification of 0.17x on full-frame cameras.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/1.2, 1/400s, ISO 8000. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file. This is just about the minimum focusing distance of the 50mm f/1.2 GM lens. The lens has a maximum magnification of 0.17x, which isn't anywhere near macro levels of magnification, but is still pretty good.

Overall first impressions of the Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM

Early impressions suggest that Sony has hit a home run with its 13th G Master lens. While there is more testing to be done, there's a lot to like so far about the Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master lens. It performs very well at its maximum aperture of f/1.2, delivering good sharpness at the (very shallow) plane of focus and smooth bokeh in front of and behind the subject. The lens is also impressively compact and lightweight, given its fast aperture and large glass elements.

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/5.6, 1/2s, ISO 100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

 

Shot on Sony A7R IV, f/8, 1/25s, ISO 100. This image has been converted and processed to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Click for the full-size image. Click here for the RAW file.

Pricing and Availability
The new Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM lens will ship May 2021 for an estimated retail price randing from $1,999 - $2,199 USD and $2,599 - $2,899 CAD. The new FE interchangeable lens will be sold at a variety of Sony authorized dealers throughout North America.