Leak Seemingly Confirms a New Sony 24-70mm f/2.0 G Master

An essential in any photographer’s arsenal is a zoom lens, and Sony arguably has one of the best selections of the major camera brands in that regard. With both original and third-party lenses, Sony shooters benefit from a wide range of options - and according to the latest leaks, that arsenal is set to expand.

This leak comes to us via Andrea Pizzini, renowned Sony scooper, who received word via Japanese influencer Takumi Shinoda. Though Pizzini stresses that he can’t vouch for them, the information Shinoda provides is apparently consistent with other leaks on the topic:

The caption, when translated, reads:

"According to reports, Sony may release a new FE 24-70mm f/2.0 constant wide-aperture zoom lens. The lens weighs about 1145g, with a lightweight and compact design, and widely uses lightweight materials (with excellent vignetting and dispersion control). It has no optical image stabilization and is not suitable for video users. Currently, Canon has an RF 28-70mm f/2.0, priced at $2,700. Foreign media speculate that Sony’s FE 24-70mm f/2.0 lens is expected to cost more than $3,000."

Source: Takumi Shinoda on Twitter

Sony 24-70mm f/2.0 G Master Lens Specs

The first two important figures are the focal length and aperture of the lens. 24-70mm is an excellent range, from wide-angle to portrait, giving this lens versatility for full-frame cameras. Sony currently offers a 24-70mm GM II lens but with an f/2.8 aperture. Tamron also offers a similar 28-75mm lens for E-Mount, but only for APS-C cameras, and with the same maximum aperture of f/2.8.

As such, the f/2.0 aperture makes this unit a brighter lens with better light-reading capabilities. As mentioned by Shinoda, Canon offers a lens with a competitive 28-70mm focal length and identical aperture for their R range of mirrorless systems - and an expensive one at that - so what’s new with Sony’s offering?

The mention of weight immediately caught our attention: at 1.145kg, the lens is lighter than Canon’s by around 285g. Whilst that doesn’t sound like much, it makes using this versatile zoom lens much easier on the neck. Of course, as a G Master lens, this new model would also benefit from the best of Sony’s glass, for excellent optical performance. All is to be confirmed, but the combination of weight, aperture and focal length makes for a winning combination in our eyes.

As mentioned, details are light on the ground regarding the release of this new lens. Pizzini previously claimed that we can expect the new zoom lens before the end of 2024: after the release of the ZV-E10 II (which has been and gone) and the 85mm f/1.4 GM II that went on general sale this past week. However, with the production bottleneck apparently affecting the whole camera industry, it’s hard to say whether Sony will be able to keep to that schedule. As such, we’d be more inclined to believe a January 2025 release date - or perhaps even earlier.