Nikon NIKKOR Z DX MC 35mm f/1.7 Review

What We Think

Nikon’s first macro lens for their DX-format Z-mount cameras fills a gap that’s been sorely missing from the lineup. The NIKKOR Z DX MC 35mm f/1.7 isn’t a true 1:1 macro lens in the traditional sense, but for APS-C shooters looking to explore close-up photography without spending a fortune, it’s remarkably capable. With an equivalent focal length of about 52.5mm on DX bodies, it doubles as a decent portrait lens and general-purpose prime, making it a versatile addition to any Z50, Z50 II, Zfc, or Z30 kit.

Reasons to Buy

• Impressive 0.67x magnification delivers near-macro performance on DX sensors.
• Fast f/1.7 aperture is excellent for low light and shallow depth of field.
• Sharp image quality, especially in macro mode
• Lightweight and compact at just 220g
• The metal lens mount shows improved build quality.
• Affordable at under $500
• Quiet, fast autofocus with stepping motor
• Well-balanced on Z50 II and other DX bodies

Reasons to Avoid

• No optical image stabilization (and no DX bodies have IBIS)
• Not a true 1:1 macro lens despite marketing claims
• Noticeable vignetting at f/1.7
• Prone to flare with bright light sources 
• No lens hood included (sold separately for $40)
• Slightly long for an everyday walk-around lens
• Effective aperture reduces to f/3.2 at the minimum focus distance.

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Not Quite a Macro, But Close Enough for DX

Nikon calls this a “Macro” lens and claims it achieves “life-size equivalent” magnification. That’s marketing speak, and while I love this lens, I think it’s misleading to call it a macro lens. It maxes out at 0.67x magnification, not the 1:1 ratio that defines a true macro lens. That said, most close-up lenses are marketed as being macro lenses when they’re technically not. I think that’s probably because “close-up” doesn’t have the same sophisticated sound as “macro.”

For APS-C shooters, this distinction matters less in practice than it does on spec sheets. When you factor in the 1.5x crop factor of DX sensors, the framing you get at 0.67x magnification is close enough to what you’d see shooting 1:1 on a full-frame camera with a 50mm macro. The minimum focus distance of just 6.3 inches (0.16m) lets you get remarkably close to your subject, with only about 2.8 inches of working distance from the front element.

For most of the review, I will often refer to this as a “macro” lens interchangeably with “close up.” To be clear, when I call it a macro lens, it’s in the marketing sense of the word.

Detail rendering in macro mode is sharp. In my tests with flowers and small objects, the lens captured fine textures cleanly without excessive softness or chromatic aberration. There is vignetting on this lens, though that’s far less important when shooting close up than when shooting portraits.

Built for the Enthusiast Shooter

Many APS-C shooters are at the enthusiast level, either stepping up from smartphone photography or exploring a brand without the investment of a full-frame system.

The build quality is a step up from many APS-C lenses. The lens features a metal mount, unlike the plastic mounts found on some Z DX lenses like the 24mm f/1.7.

The barrel is plastic and doesn’t feel as durable as a metal barrel, but this design choice keeps the overall weight down to just 220 grams (7.6 ounces). That makes it one of the lightest lenses in the Z system, and it balances nicely on the Z50 II. The compact 2.8-inch length never felt front-heavy to me on our test Nikon Z50 II.

The stepping motor autofocus is fast, quiet, and accurate, so it would make a good video lens as well. (I’ve used it in several B-Roll and A-Roll shoots for the Imaging Resource YouTube channel.

The Image Stabilization Problem

This lens has no optical image stabilization, and none of Nikon’s current DX-format Z cameras feature in-body stabilization either. That’s a significant limitation, especially for macro work where even tiny movements can ruin sharpness.

The f/1.7 aperture does enable relatively fast shutter speeds in good light, but macro photography often requires stopping down to f/5.6 or f/8 (in full frame equivalent) to get smooth depth of field. At those apertures, you’re going to struggle with camera shake unless you’re shooting in bright conditions or using a tripod. When I shoot insects outside, I’m almost always handholding, but while shooting indoors, I have the camera on a tripod, or I’m using studio lights to brighten the scene enough to handhold.

The lack of image stabilization reminds me how much I wish Nikon would offer an APS-C camera with their Vibration Reduction IBIS system. Perhaps it doesn’t offer VR in the APS-C format to keep the size or price down, but the Fujifilm system is comprised entirely of APS-C bodies, and they have excellent image stabilization systems.

Image Quality: Sharp Where It Counts

The lens is sharp in the center, wide open at f/1.7, though there is some vignetting and some softness at the corners. As with most lenses, especially enthusiast-level lenses, sharpness increases as you stop down.

That’s mostly an issue for portrait photography, where the effective APS-C aperture crop gives you the equivalent of f/2.5, so stopping down for sharper images with less aberration ends up looking more like a f/4 lens. As a note, this crop only applies to the separation between the sharp and defocused parts of an image.

An aperture of f/1.7 on APS-C lets in the same amount of light as on full frame, so even though the look is different, both full frame and APS-C can be shot in the same lighting conditions for the same equivalent ISO. As a result, the f/1.7 aperture lets in a tremendous amount of light, so you can use this lens at low ISOs where even f/2.8 would start to introduce noise.

Many 50mm lenses used for portrait work in full frame are f/1.4 or f/1.8 (even f/1.2 on some pro-level lenses) to get a quick falloff in sharpness from subject to background. By f/2.8, you need careful placement of your subject to make sure they’re far enough from the background to isolate their faces.

But for the target user, that’s probably a distinction that doesn’t matter. With the 20 megapixel sensor, there’s room to crop the edges without losing too much resolution to print. Not that anyone prints anymore, but if you do, see our review of the  Canon Pixma imagePROGRAF PRO 1100. And even with some vignetting at the corners and a slight lack of sharpness, the lens still produces images

The nine-blade aperture produces nice-looking bokeh, though not on par with a more expensive portrait lens on either APS-C or full-frame systems. Some reviewers have noted the background defocus is not smooth enough with busy backgrounds, but there is again that aperture crop, and I didn’t find anything egregious in testing.

Flare control is adequate for typical macro shooting, but if you point the lens toward bright light sources, there can be significant falloff. This is more of an issue when using the lens for portraits or everyday shooting than for macro work, and it’s by no means a deal breaker, but it’s something to be aware of.

The lack of an included lens hood doesn’t help here, and I’d recommend budgeting an extra $40 for Nikon’s optional HN-43 hood if you plan to shoot in challenging lighting conditions. The typical macro shooter doesn’t have a need for a hood, as it will get in the way of short-distance macro work. For portrait use, especially on a lens that is prone to flaring, the hood would be nice, and I dislike that the hood is $40.

Final Thoughts

For the target customer, I think this is a superb lens. It has shortcomings, as do all “affordable” lenses, but to the person most likely to use this lens, it’s a solid choice. It’s not as good for macro work as a true macro, but that seems like a distinction that’s unimportant for the level of magnification the lens has. Whether you call it macro or close-up work, the results are excellent.

It is not without tradeoffs, as is the case with any lens at this price, and is the case with any enthusiast-level gear. But APS-C has its own tradeoffs for the small, affordable bodies that it enables. This lens is a good companion for someone sold on the APS-C format.

Should you buy this lens?

If you’re looking for a “macro” lens in Nikon’s DX format, this is your choice. Your only choice. If close-up work is important to you, this lens is a no-brainer.

It’s also a good portrait lens, so for the price of one lens, you get what you otherwise would need two lenses for. That makes the $500 price tag especially budget-minded.

The lack of image stabilization is a genuine limitation that you’ll need to work around, particularly for handheld macro work. But if you’re willing to use good shooting technique, higher ISOs when needed, or a tripod for the sharpest images, the optical quality and versatility make this lens a solid value.

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Instead, for travel and for daily walk-around use, I prefer an all-in-one lens. These multifocal length lenses are a giant step up from the dreadful “kit” zoom lenses that come with many entry-level cameras. A good all-in-one lens will make some compromises, usually in aperture, but still have great focusing and great image quality. They should also have a range of focal lengths that allow them to go from photographing the  Eiffel Tower to a hand-standing mime without missing the shot. 

Our Take at a Glance

The Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD is an incredible performer at an excellent price. For travel photographers, it’s a slam dunk. Excellent images, small body, light weight, and silent in operation. With a length of 117mm (4.6 in) and a weight of 575g (20.3 oz), it’s a small lens that packs a big punch. 

The Tamron 28-200 f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD is my new travel obsession, having just used it for a nearly two-week trip in Singapore. An incredibly photogenic city, Singapore is full of colors, lights, and an energy that makes travel both spontaneous and predictable.

Tamron 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD

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A note about images in this article

Our site is based on WordPress and it’s notorious for its overcompression of images. There are often clipped highlights and a lack of detail in the shadows. Images are all better looking than in this article, we promise.

In the Field

Singapore is an incredibly young country, an island nation that gained independence just sixty years ago when Singapore cut ties with Malaysia and became its own sovereign nation. It has been an influential trading hub for hundreds of years; its modern history is tied to its position as first a fishing and trading outpost and later a modern financial powerhouse. 

Singapore’s primary language is English, thanks to an unsurprising period under British rule. Despite the use of English, the country is proudly and legally multicultural, with not only English but Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil (an Indian language) recognized and supported. This diversity makes it a fascinating city visually. The country is always under development (a cab driver told us this is partially because the government pays for the housing for the laborers, and wants to keep them employed). Skyscrapers loom above temples and housing developments in a way that doesn’t feel anachronistic at all. There are bright colors, signs in multiple languages, and fascinating architecture everywhere you look. 

The food culture of Singapore is especially photogenic. Each neighborhood has “hawker” stands, which are like food courts, except each shop is family-owned and produces some specialized regional cuisines. A decades-old Malay stall may stand next to a Chinese chicken rice vendor, which in turn is connected to a Michelin Bib Gourmand noodle shop. I’ve been to markets all over the world, and none compares to Singapore. 

While this may sound like a travel brochure, and while I really do think photographers should visit, this is mostly to set up the Tamron 28-200mm lens, and why it was the perfect choice for this trip.

One Lens by Design and By Accident

Normally, I would have bought a versatile zoom lens like the Tamron, plus a prime or two, but a logistical problem with review gear meant that I only had the Tamron 28-200 and my Sony 24-70 GM II to bring, and there was no reason for such overlap in focal lengths. My Sony lens stayed home. 

Sony shooters can find more of our recommendations for travel lenses here. This lens is not yet in the guide (as of this review being published), but will be added to it. 

When I travel to a foreign city, I like to walk or use public transit. I’ll take a cab when I have to, but I want to see and hear as much as I can. I typically spend hours walking, which my step counter loves, but when carrying heavy lenses, my back does not. 

The Tamron and my Sony a7R V fit nicely into a small courier bag, along with a charging cable for my phone and for the camera, should it run low. I spent days walking with the lens, and only occasionally wished I had brought a wider-angle lens as well. Other than scenes down by the quay, where the water is hugged by buildings, I wanted a wider lens. 

I ended up using the full 200mm less than I thought I would, but it was great for a trip to a night wildlife preserve, and for photographs of distant buildings. 

Shooting with the 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD 

The 28-200mm is a small lens, relative to the focal length range. It’s also an unobtrusive lens; it doesn’t stand out when walking around town. I coupled it to an a7R V, but the combination didn’t look “professional,” which is something many photographers have to worry about in busy cities. 

Singapore is one of the safest cities, and there was no point at which I felt concerned about the setup, but in a more theft-prone area, I might have used an a7C II or a7C R instead. That would provide a combination that looks as unprofessional as possible, while the setup would still create top-end images. 

The lens is silent, and while I didn’t do much video, it would be a good choice for travel video work, though it’s too long a focal length for any real selfie work. The quitness is due to the RXD portion of the name, which is Tamron’s stepping motor system, which is also responsible for AF speed. 

Autofocus is fast, though not as fast as my Sony 24-70mm GM II, but without side-by-side tests, that’s totally subjective. It definitely did seem to have more misses with eye detect AF than my more expensive GM glass, though that’s not surprising at this price. I found it would lock onto faces, but not always grab the eye. To verify this, I took the lens to a demonstration with lots of people, lots of eyeballs. It grabbed faces perfectly, but had some issues with eyes. 

It also feels like there may be less contrast than a more expensive lens, but many of my photos were inside or in areas with mediocre or outright bad lighting (and again, that’s to be expected). The hawker stands in the Lau Pa Sat market are mostly in shadows, so some details are naturally going to get a bit muddy. I generally have to do very little to my 24-70mm GM II images, but with nearly all of these images, I had to bump up the exposure and saturation. I suspect some of the issues here were mine. Beacuse it’s blazingliy sunny during the day, I had the LCD screen and viewfinder on the sunny setting, which kicks up the brightness. It’s likely I underexposed as a result. Again, since I was shooting raw, it’s not an issue, and in Capture One, I simply adjusted one image, pasted that adjustment to all of them, and then tweaked from there. 

But overall, the images are terrific, and shooting in raw allowed me to easily fix any issues I might have had with image quality, with only minor tweaks. Color reproduction is especially good, and the images are sharp where it counts, especially at f/2.8 at the widest setting. Stopping down (naturally) increased edge-to-edge focus, and starting with an f/2.8 meant that by f/4, images were uniformly crisp, with just enough bokeh to separate close backgrounds. There is definitely some vignetting on the edges, visible in the darkest and lightest images I shot. It’s not distracting, it’s just visible. 

The circular aperture blade makes a beautiful background defocus, while the lens coatings keep down flare and ghosting. It uses both XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) and LD (Low Dispersion) lens elements. It’s not moisture-proof, but it is moisture-resistant. There are multiple seals throughout the barrel to keep out dust and light water spray.  

Close detail shots, like food and drinks, come out particularly clear and beautiful. This is a great lens to use to get your Saveur-like food photography. 

Tamron says this is the first f/2.8 in a zoom of this range, and between that and the 200mm’s f/5.6 makes this a better performer than most affordable travel lenses I’ve used. The 200mm f/5.6 aperture is excellent for the photos of distant buildings, wildlife, and details of stalls.

There’s no image stabilization in the lens, though that’s not to be expected at this price. During a walk through the night wilderness park (which sadly was just a zoo), I was able to use the lens at 200mm when holding it against the glass of an enclosure or when using a railing to steady the camera. I was also able to handhold for about 1/10th of a second, though at an ISO that was incredibly noisy. This would be a better lens to pair with something like an a7C II or a7 V, where the lower resolution equals less noise. 

In addition to the zoom ring (which was a bit tight, I suspect it will loosen up over time), there is a manual focus ring and a focus lock switch. There’s no USB port as found on some Tamron lenses for firmware updates, but these updates can be performed through the camera. 

Should you buy This Lens?

I was trepidatious about taking only one lens on a long trip in a scenic area, but it turned out to be a better shooting experience than expected. I could drop the lens and camera into a small messenger bag and walk across the city without getting fatigued. The lens has almost every focal length I want when travelling, though in the future I’ll also pack a super-wide zoom or prime to complement this lens. 

This is absolutely a lens that I’d pick up and take with me on a trip around town or a trip across the world, and I’ll be picking one up for my own kit. 

If you want a solid, dependable lens with fantastic image quality, impressive zoom range, impressive aperture range, and great all-around performance at a price that’s more than reasonable, this is the lens for you. 

Tamron 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD

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This lens was one of the winners in our 2025 Imaging Resource Editor’s Choice Awards.

The Tamron 16-30mm G2 delivers excellent sharpness, fast autofocus, and weather-sealed build quality at a price that makes it an easy recommendation for anyone shooting Sony E-mount. At $929, this lens costs less than half what Sony charges for their comparable 16-35mm GM2, yet it performs admirably in real-world shooting conditions.

Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2

What We Think

The Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2 is a compact wide-angle zoom lens designed specifically for Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras. This second-generation lens features improved optics, faster autofocus, and weather sealing, making it an excellent choice for landscape, architecture, travel, and street photography. The 16-30mm focal range covers ultra-wide to natural wide-angle perspectives with a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout.

Reasons to Buy

• Excellent sharpness across the focal range
• Fast and silent VXD autofocus motor
• Weather-sealed build with USB-C port for firmware updates –
• Minimal distortion at 30mm
• Outstanding value at $929 vs. $2,498 for Sony 16-35mm GM2 – Compact and lightweight for travel – Constant f/2.8 aperture

Reasons to Avoid

• No aperture ring on the lens barrel
• Some lens flare when shooting directly into the sun
• More flare than the Sony 16-35mm GM2 in backlit situations

Specifications

• Focal Length: : 16-30mm
• Maximum Aperture: /2.8 (constant throughout zoom range)
• Minimum Aperture: f/16
• Lens Construction: 16 elements in 12 groups
• Aperture Blades: 9 (circular diaphragm stays nearly circular up to two stops down)
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.19m (7.5 inches) at 16mm, 0.3m (11.8 inches) at 30mm
• Autofocus Motor: VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) linear motor
• Weather Sealing: : Yes, with moisture-resistant construction
• Lens Mount: Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount
• Weight: 440g (15.5 ounces)
• Length: 101.8mm (4 inches)
• Diameter: 74.8mm

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Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2 – What’s in a Name?

Understanding the Tamron naming convention helps explain what you’re getting with this lens. The “Di III” designation means this lens was designed for mirrorless cameras from the ground up, not an SLR lens adapted for mirrorless use. VXD refers to Tamron’s fast and silent linear motor autofocus system, and G2 signifies that this is the second generation of this lens.

With a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout the 16-30mm focal range, the aperture does not change as you zoom, something that less expensive variable-aperture lenses do. The f/2.8 aperture is wide enough for good light gathering, which makes low-light shooting capable without too much noise in your image. 

The 16-30mm focal range covers everything from ultra-wide landscapes and architecture work at 16mm to a more natural look. Almost “standard” look at 30mm. I found the minimal distortion at 30mm particularly useful when shooting on the Sony A7R V, since I could crop in when needed without significant quality loss.

Tamron 16-30mm G2 Image Quality in Real-World Use

While 16mm will always show some distortion due to the wide field of view, I really loved the images I captured with this lens, especially at the wide end. A wide-angle shot of a restaurant in Sydney shows what I think makes this lens special. A few millimeters of extra range at the wide end matters much more than at the zoomed end. The seven millimeters from 16mm to 24mm on my 24-70mm Sony lens has much more effect than at the 30mm end.  

A good example of the benefit of the 16mm focal length, even for things other than a landscape. My photo of a restaurant in Sydney (found at the top of this article) was shot at 16mm, I captured more of the interior and the vibe of the interior design than I would have at 24mm. 

Along the coast near Melbourne, where blue penguins waddle in from the ocean each night to roost in their nests, the lens captured the sea crashing against the waves beautifully. Towards sunset one day, I photographed Mount Connor, which locals call “Fooluru” because travelers in planes often mistake it for the historically significant Uluru they’re coming to see.

In the protected area around Uluru, shooting with an indigenous guide, I captured images of abandoned cars that demonstrate some of the harshness of the climate, and the heartiness of the indigenous people who live there.  

When vehicles die out here, it’s not worth dragging them back out. People flip the car over so the engine and catalytic converter face up, strip the car, sell it for parts, and leave what’s left. The same fate would have befallen an animal unlucky enough to die, out here, every piece of meat and any other useful part would be quickly stripped. 

Even shooting at noon in the desert, where light is traditionally harsh, the lens had enough contrast and reproduction quality to make an image that is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

I used the lens extensively for street photography around Sydney, capturing a protest and the looming buildings of the business district.

Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2 Optical Performance

When stopped down fully, the lens produces sun stars, if that’s your thing. While I’m not usually a fan of this effect, in a photo of Uluru at sunset, the sun star really does frame the scene nicely. However, when shooting directly into the sun, there is some lens flare visible in the bottom portion of the images. The lens flare doesn’t happen constantly, but when it does, it’s very noticeable.

This is one area where Sony’s 16-35mm has an advantage. I’ve used the 16-35mm, shot directly into the sun, and I rarely see flaring like this. That said, in a super wide-angle lens, some distortion is expected, but I never saw anything from this lens that jumped out as bad image quality.

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Tamron 16-30mm G2 Build Quality and Handling.

The build quality on this lens is excellent. Tamron’s updated G2 design includes weather sealing and a USB-C port right on the lens for firmware updates. The autofocus system uses Tamron’s VXD linear motor, which proved fast, silent, and accurate throughout my testing. I only did minimal video work with this lens, but I never heard a peep from the motors when I did.

I do wish the lens included an aperture ring on the barrel. This isn’t a major problem, as most lenses still don’t have aperture rings, but I love them. I will continue mentioning their absence in every lens review, especially for lenses aimed at the advanced enthusiast or pro. For those (like me) who prefer direct aperture control without turning one of the dials, this is a more noticeable omission. But for most people, this isn’t even an issue. 

Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2 vs Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM2

The price difference between these lenses is staggering. The Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM2 currently costs $2,650, while the Tamron 16-30mm sells for $929. That makes this lens somewhere between half and a third the price of the Sony GM2. If you bought this lens instead of the 16-35mm GM2, you’d have almost enough money left over to also buy a Sony A7C II to mount it on.

There are optical quality differences between the Sony and Tamron lenses. Sony’s optical designs are considered some of the highest resolution and most detailed in this entire era of lens manufacturing. However, the fact that this Tamron can be this sharp, this well-built, and this fast at this price makes it one of the easiest recommendations I’ve made in a long time.

Price and Availability of the Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2

The Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2 is available for $929.00.

Should You Buy This Lens?

If you’re looking for a wide-angle zoom lens for travel, landscape, architecture, or street photography, the Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2 deserves serious consideration. The combination of constant f/2.8 aperture, fast focusing, excellent image quality, and outstanding value makes this an easy recommendation.

The lens costs less than half what Sony charges for their 16-35mm GM2, yet delivers sharp images with minimal distortion across the zoom range. While the Sony lens may have superior optical performance and better flare resistance when shooting into the sun, the Tamron produces images that almost always impressed me.

The lack of an aperture ring may disappoint some shooters, and those who frequently photograph backlit scenes should be aware of the lens flare characteristics. However, these are minor concerns compared to the overall package. For Sony E-mount shooters who want a high-quality wide-angle zoom without spending $2,500, the Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2 is the lens to buy.

Images From the Tamron 16-30mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2

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For people looking for a compact, lightweight camera system, APS-C is the perfect choice. APS-C sensors are smaller than full-frame sensors, so the body and lenses in an APS-C system are just a fraction of the size of full-frame setups. 

Despite the benefits of APS-C systems, there are fewer lenses than there are for full-frame, and the ones that are available tend to be aimed at a beginning photographer. We see a lot of lenses with variable apertures, mediocre image quality, and rarely have convenience features like focus lock switches or aperture dials. 

That’s why it’s refreshing to see the Nikon Nikkor DX 16-50mm f/2.8 VR, a well-rounded and pro-grade lens that offers great image quality and image stabilization in a fixed aperture lens. 

The amount of light entering the lens stays the same as it does on a full-frame camera, but the background defocus (“bokeh”) is the equivalent of f/4 on this lens. Put another way, your exposure on a full-frame camera was 1/100th at f/2.8; it will be the same on an APS-C camera, but it will have less blur than f/2.8 on the same full-frame system. 

DX 16-50mm f/2.8 VR – An Excellent Lens With Excellent Features

The smaller sensor on APS-C cameras means that lenses behave differently from a full-frame lens, so specs aren’t equal. There’s around a 1.5x crop on the focal length and aperture, so the 16–50mm lens has the equivalent field of view of a 24-75mm full-frame lens. The f/2.8 aperture has the equivalent of f/4 on full-frame, mostly. 

Nikon Z50 II sits on a park bench with a river behind it. ” class=”wp-image-1040630″/>

What you get with this lens is a common focal length and aperture in full-frame systems for the enthusiast photographer, but with an extra bit of versatility. A 24-70mm f/4 lens or Nikon’s 28-75mm f/2.8 is a common tool of the photographer who doesn’t want to spend the money Nikon’s 24-70mm f/2.8, and this lens hits that mark. 

But with the f/2.8 aperture, you’re getting a lens with the same look as a 24-70mm f/4 but with a full stop extra light gathering. This is the best of both worlds, a small lens that has the same low-light performance as more expensive f/2.8 glass.

Generally speaking, the more elements inside a lens, the better the image quality since each piece of glass corrects for some common image imperfections. 

This lens is comprised of 12 elements in 11 groups and has 1 ED and two aspherical elements. The design is more sophisticated than many APS-C lenses, allowing it to create images on par with 24-70mm f/4 advanced enthusiast or pro lenses in larger format systems. 

The number and shape of aperture blades determine the softness of the out-of-focus areas of an image, and this lens has nine rounded blades. In my testing, the background defocus was smooth and lacked common artifacts found in lenses with fewer aperture blades. Many pro lenses have 11 or more aperture blades, which naturally make for even smoother images, but at a much higher price. 

The minimum focus distance is .5 feet (.15 meters), and it has a magnification of .24x, which makes it far from a macro lens, but still good for close-up work. 

It’s a relatively compact lens at only 3.5 inches long (90 millimeters), and the internal zoom keeps it from growing when zooming, another feature of more expensive lenses. It’s about half the size of my 24-75mm f/2.8 GM II lens on my Sony 7R V system, and much lighter. 

With optical Vibration Reduction (VR), Nikon’s name for optical image stabilization, combined with In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS), the lens is easy to use at slow shutter speeds or when moving. 

Testing the Nikon DX 16-50mm f/2.8 VR

I shot the DX 16-50 f/2.8 VR for a few weeks, and it’s a very capable lens. The vibration reduction is excellent, making this a good (albeit a bit noticeable) lens for street photography. I also found it great for snapshot-style photos while walking down the street, and images came out much sharper than with a non-VR lens. 

I coupled the lens with the Nikon Z50 II, Nikon’s most recent pro-style DX body. The Z50 II is one of my favorite APS-C cameras because the layout and design are nearly identical to the Z5 II, a camera that I love. 

Read Our Nikon Z5 II Review

Detail is excellent across the aperture range, and like most lenses, the image quality improves when it’s stopped down, but only a bit. That’s not because the lens doesn’t get better at smaller apertures; it’s that the lens is excellent at f/2.8.  Detail is crisp, background blur is very good, and color rendition is on par with all of Nikon’s glass, which is to say, excellent. 

In this long-exposure shot of the Mario Cuomo Bridge in New York, the support cables are rendered well despite the challenging conditions. 

Objects like this rusted support pillar have great detail, and the colors were accurate to what I saw in person. 

From an image-quality standpoint, this lens is terrific, and while APS-C sensors have poorer low-light performance than a full-frame sensor, the 16-50mm f/2.8 squeezes every bit of image quality out of the sensor. 

Interestingly, when I was shooting into the sun for this image and a sequence of a dozen other photos, there was sun flare visible on the bottom of the image on an angle from the sun. But looking at these in Capture One, there’s no flare of any kind. The Z50 II is a mirrorless camera, so the image I saw in the viewfinder is what the camera is recording, yet the flare isn’t still there. I suspect some degree of in-camera lens correction took care of it, but it’s an interesting thing to note, no matter why it works. 

That said, there’s pretty noticeable chromatic aberration on the surface of the water. It’s not so visible here with the compression of the online JPEG files, but the original has heavy purple edging. Shooting in to the sun like this isn’t a typical shooting scenario, but Nikon’s pro FX lens wouldn’t have had these image issues. 

Price Versus Performance and Features

Along with the professional-level image quality comes a nearly pro-grade price. At just a tad under $900, it’s an expensive lens. In fact, it’s only about $150 less than Nikon’s Z 24-70mm f.4 S for their full-frame FX cameras. The Nikon Z50 II itself comes in at only about $150 more than the lens, so it’s a significant investment.

Since many photographers who start with APS-C systems eventually move up to full-frame cameras, it is a pricy piece of glass. 

But the combination of the Z50 II and this lens comes in around $800 less than a Nikon Z5 II and the FX 24-70mm f/4 for Nikon’s FX full-frame camera, although the FX lens does not have VR. For some photographers, that price difference might be worth it for a full-frame camera and lens, but if compact size and compact price are your ultimate goal, this is a fantastic choice. 

For the price, I would have liked to have seen some on-lens controls, like a selector switch between AF and manual focus. All lenses aimed at the enthusiast and above should have a dedicated aperture dial, though this lens has a programmable control ring that makes it more versatile. 

For the APS-C shooter looking for a lens that’s on par with Nikon’s full-frame glass, this is an excellent choice, and it shows the strength of the APS-C format. 

Should You Buy This Lens

If you’re looking for a nearly pro-level lens for your Nikon DX camera, and can handle the price, the Nikon NIKKOR DX 16-5-mm f/2.8 VR is a no-brainer.

The price will be the one obstacle for APS-C shooters who bought into the platform due to the lower cost of lenses in the DX format. 

With relatively few DX lenses to choose from in the mirrorless Z-mount, it’s a standout piece of glass. If Nikon keeps producing lenses as good as this in the DX lineup, it will have one of the most well-rounded APS-C systems on the market. 

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The post Nikon DX 16-50mm f/2.8 VR Review – The Best of Nikon’s APS-C Lenses? appeared first on Imaging Resource.

Sigma’s 200mm f/2 DG OS | Sports is an ambitious lens. It’s a telephoto prime that delivers an enormous amount of light and an amazingly soft background defocus. It’s designed for photographers who need speed and subject isolation in one package, and it delivers on all three.

I think “Sports” in the name does a disservice to this lens. With an f/2 aperture, tack-sharp focus, and its amazing “bokeh,” it’s a fantastic portrait lens. As an occasional wedding photographer, this is definitely a lens I’d bring in my kit. 

I took the Sigma 200mm to Australia on a family trip that was complete with koalas, wallabies, birds of all types, and, surprisingly, a political protest. 

In testing, the lens produced tack-sharp images even at f/2, with smooth falloff, excellent contrast, and remarkably consistent sharpness across the frame. It’s a lens that inspires confidence the moment it’s mounted — solidly built, fast to focus, and equipped with one of the most complete control layouts of any modern prime.

That performance comes at a cost. The 200mm f/2 is heavy, expensive, and limited in close-focus capability. It also lacks compatibility with teleconverters, which limits its flexibility. But for photographers who want the expressive potential of a true f/2 telephoto, this is a spectacular creative tool.

Watch Our Hands-On Review Video

Design, Build, and Handling

The Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS | Sports is unmistakably a professional lens and not just because the external body is what I like to call “sports white.” The lens is rugged, with impressive weather sealing, and controls are exactly what and where a professional shooter expects to find them. 

It’s a large lens, noticeably so. But I found that Sigma has distributed the weight well enough that it doesn’t feel unwieldy when mounted on a full-frame body. I would normally hold the lens by the tripod foot, and it felt comfortable, and even when I’d hold the camera body and let it dangle, it had nice balance. 

The tripod foot, compatible with Arca-Swiss plates, is one of the most practical design decisions Sigma has made in recent years. Too many long tele lenses require you to put a tripod quick-release onto the bottom of the foot if you plan to go from tripod to handheld quickly. That’s a stability-reducing solution I dislike. Being able to slide this lens into an Arca-Swiss tripod head is great.  

Controls are abundant and nicely laid out. There’s an AF/MF switch, a focus limiter, and a three-position stabilization selector. Around the front barrel, three programmable AF-lock buttons are positioned so one is always within reach, regardless of the orientation of the camera. These buttons are individually customizable. I have one that toggles Dynamic Manual Focus, for example.  

The aperture ring can be locked and can be toggled between click and declick modes, offering flexibility for both stills and video shooters. While declicked aperture control is mostly for video use, I like to shoot with the aperture ring declicked, since I can see the effects of my aperture pulls directly in the viewfinder, and can see it displayed in the finder as well. 

Despite its weight, the lens handles surprisingly well. The large focus ring moves smoothly with a precise feel. Small focus adjustments are easy to make, and the throw of the lens (the distance you have to rotate the barrel to adjust) is short enough that quick focus changes are easy to make. 

The hood is equally beefy, featuring a rubberized end cap so the lens can rest vertically without scuffing surfaces. With its massive front lens element, I’d be hesitant to leave the lens hood off the Sigma 200mm f.2 for any prolonged time. Scratch that front piece of glass and you’re likely buying a new lens. 

The only challenge is endurance. At nearly four pounds, the 200mm f/2 is not a lens you’ll casually handhold for long sessions. When shooting a protest rally in Australia, I’d let the camera and lens hang around my neck between shots to give my arms a break.

Autofocus Performance

Sigma’s HLA motor system gives this lens the focusing speed and responsiveness expected of flagship sports lenses. Autofocus is fast, confident, and virtually silent. Combined with Sony’s subject-detection autofocus, it was able to lock onto people, birds, and animals with no problems. 

Capturing a koala isn’t particularly hard because they sleep twenty hours a day, but finding the eye of a koala while it’s sleeping is a tougher challenge, and the lens and camera combo had no problems with it. 

Unsurprisingly, it had no problems locking on to the eyes of birds, both big and small. Even quickly moving animals like hopping Walalby were no problem. This is a lens I’ll definitely put to the test with sports. 

Capture Rate – The one big Limitation From Sony

While the lens itself has no listed frame rate limitations, when shooting on Sony, the Sigma 200mm f/2.8 caps out at 15 frames per second. 

This is not a limitation of Sigma engineering; it’s a limit imposed by Sony. Sony has claimed that this is a limitation of the way third-party lenses use the E-Mount platform. Sony’s stand has been that their engineering and lens-to-body communication is what allows lenses to shoot above 15fps, but this is disengenuous at best. Sony provided third-party manufacturers access to the E-Mount for their designs, but has limits on the communication information it gives third-party developers. 

This is a “have your cake and eat it too” solution for Sony. Third-party development has helped make Sony cameras so popular with consumers. Third-party lens support has been the deciding factor in countless purchases. But Sony doesn’t really see the competition as too competitive. 

In any case, 15fps isn’t a problematic limitation for most cases. However, for sports shooters, buying a Sony with a Sony a9 II, a Sony a9 III, or a Sony a1 II body, being able to get the full performance of those bodies is important. 

The 15fps limit would be less of a drawback if Sony had not introduced its 50-150mm F2 GM just before the Sigma lens arrived. The Sony zoom is an important 50mm shorter than the 200mm, but it also captures at the full frame rate of Sony cameras. 

 Impressive Image Stabilization

Stabilization performance is particularly good. Sigma rates the optical system at up to 6.5 stops of correction, and in testing, handheld shots at shutter speeds as low as 1/10th of a second remained acceptably sharp when standing still. 

The lenses use what Sigma calls its OS2 algorithm, and that offers two distinct modes: one for general stabilization and another optimized for panning. Both perform well, and the second mode is especially fluid when tracking horizontal motion, but I’m not sure I noticed much difference. 

Image Quality

The 200mm f/2 DG OS | Sports is among Sigma’s sharpest lenses to date, and that’s saying something considering how superb the images from recent Sigma lenses are. At f/2, it delivers excellent central and mid-frame sharpness. I only noticed minimal softness toward the corners at f/2, but it was in no way problematic. Lens profiles were not available for the Sigma 200mm when I tested it, and I’m sure those will easily correct for any issues. 

Chromatic aberration is impressively low. In high-contrast backlit scenes, faint color fringing appeared at f/2, but it’s easily corrected. The fringing was mostly confined to the edges of leaves against the sky, a typical scene for chromatic fringing. 

The lens is comprised of 19 elements in 14 groups (2 FLD, 2 SLD elements). As a (really bad) rule of thumb, the more elements and groups, the more accurate the final image. Each bit of optics helps to correct the distortion of light coming in through the lens, so these groups are all working together to focus light precisely on the sensor. 

Background Defocus Champ

The number of aperture blades is the primary determining factor in the quality of background defocus in a lens. The size of the aperture determines the amount of defocus, but the aperture blades determine the quality of that bokeh. 

The Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS lens has eleven aperture blades. Nine is a typical number of blades for a lens with soft background defocus, but an 11-blade lens is the norm now in wide aperture lenses. 

Having this number of aperture blades is unusual for a sports lens. Foreground sharpness is usually the goal rather than background softness, but that’s what sets this lens apart from other sports lenses. It’s designed to be tack sharp on the foreground and blur the background for subject isolation. 

In practice, I think the images are some of the nicest I’ve seen from a 200mm lens, and as a former sports photographer, 200mm was a pretty common focal length.

Flare resistance is good thanks to lens coatings and the deep lens hood. Even with direct light sources near the frame, contrast remains intact. The optical design also minimizes ghosting, maintaining clarity in tough lighting conditions.

Chromatic aberration is minimal, though not completely absent. At wide apertures, any chromatic issues that might appear are nicely blurred. 

In this shot of a koala, the hair has no color fringing, even with strong back lighting. The leaves on the trees appear at this resolution to have chromatic coloring to them, but zoomed in, it’s simply a soft blur.

The bokeh rendering is simply gorgeous. The 11-blade aperture produces round highlights across much of the frame, and transitions from focus to blur are creamy and smooth. Whether isolating a subject against busy foliage or capturing portraits with shallow depth, the lens creates a distinctive, painterly separation that’s difficult to match with a zoom.

Real-World Use

This is not a general-purpose telephoto. The 200mm f/2 is a specialist lens — and that’s part of its appeal to me. It’s designed for situations where subject separation, speed, and light-gathering power matter more than convenience.

For indoor sports, concerts, and low-light events, the wide aperture provides a serious advantage over something like a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. In wildlife or outdoor work, it delivers incredible subject clarity and compression, though the 200mm fixed focal length means you only have one shot at composition. For birds and wildlife, the focal length might be too short, and for close sports work (like basketball), it might be too long. But for things like mid-court arena photography, tennis, mountain biking, and other sports where the photographer can be close to the action, it’s a perfect focal length.

The lens’s minimum focus distance of 1.7 meters limits close-up work, so it’s not intended for macro or tight product photography. I wish the lens could focus a bit closer than it does; it would be nice to use the sharpness and bokeh for short-distance work. 

Price and Availability of the Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS | Sports

The Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS | Sports is priced at $3,299 with current tariff pricing. and is available for both Sony E and Leica L mounts. It ships with a deep lens hood, case, and the new Arca-compatible tripod foot.

This lens represents the top of Sigma’s mirrorless telephoto lineup, joining the 70-200mm f/2.8 and 300-600mm f/4 lenses to form a complete Sports-series system. Availability through authorized retailers is strong, and Sigma’s four-year U.S. warranty backs the lens.

Final Thoughts

The Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS | Sports isn’t a lens you buy casually. It’s heavy, it’s specialized, and its frame rate is limited compared to Sony’s own options. With the existence of the Sony 50-150mm F2 GM lens, this Sigma glass has some tight competition. 

But when paired with a capable body and used in the right context, it’s one of the most impressive pieces of glass available today.

It’s sharp when wide open, beautifully built, and designed for photographers who care as much about how their images feel as much as how they look. Whether for portrait, weddings, events, wildlife, or other creative telephoto work, this lens is among the best pieces of glass ever made. 

For those who can justify the weight and price, the Sigma 200mm f/2 isn’t just another fast prime — it’s an expressive tool that defines what Sigma’s Sports line is capable of, and by extension what Sony’s camera system can do.

Australia is a great place to see koala, and to test lenses.

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The post Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS | Sports: Brilliant Lens With One Big Limitation appeared first on Imaging Resource.

An Unprecidented Macro Lens

Sony’s FE 100mm F2.8 GM OSS  macro lens is a rare creature, a lens that’s capable of creating a truly macro image while also being versatile enough to be a portrait lens with excellent image quality. It’s also one of the very few lenses that can achieve magnifications greater than life size. When using Sony’s teleconverters, it’s capable of shooting nearly three times life size, with fully functional autofocus. 

I have shot macro photography for decades, and my favorite shooting is of a category of macro I call hyper-macro. These images are at magnifications greater than life size, which reveal the smallest details in a subject. I have tested at least a dozen macro lenses, and for years, I shot the manual focus Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro. I loved the Canon macro because it was one of the few lenses that provided greater-than-life magnification. As a manual lens, it was cumbersome to use, and sometimes, successful shots were more accidental than intentional. 

The Sony 100mm FE F2.8 Macro GM OSS macro is one of the best, if not the best, macro lenses I’ve ever shot. Image quality is amazing, and coupled with Sony’s insect-detection AF, it’s able to focus on my favorite subjects with speed and precision that is beyond impressive. It easily moved Canon’s macro to second place, and Sony’s previous 90mm macro lens to third place.

With its optical image stabilization (OSS), especially when combined with Sony’s in-body image stabilization (IBIS), the lens has given me the ability to handhold subjects that would previously have required specialized tripods. It blows my mind that this lens lets me follow insects as they move from flower to flower without camera shake running the shot.

This is the best macro lens available today, and possibly of all time. It’s not without quirks, and it’s not without tradeoffs, but I’m already putting money aside to add this lens to my arsenal. 

Most “macro” lenses aren’t truly macro—they’re really just close-up lenses. A genuine macro lens delivers a 1:1 reproduction ratio, meaning your subject appears life-size on the sensor. Photograph a 7 mm bee, and it covers 7 mm of the sensor. On a 60-megapixel camera, that tiny bee alone makes up about three megapixels of detail, leaving plenty of room for creative background blur and composition.

A 0.67× “macro” only gets you about two-thirds life size, but Sony’s new FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS pushes things much further, or much smaller if you will. It can reach 1.4× native magnification, and when paired with a 2× teleconverter, up to 2.8× life size—so that same bee nearly fills the frame, revealing extraordinary texture and color.

At these levels, focus becomes razor-thin: at f/2.8, only about a millimeter is sharp at 1:1, and barely a third of a millimeter at 2.8×. Stopping down brings more of the subject into focus but cuts the light dramatically, often making a tripod or extra lighting essential. That’s the trade-off of true macro—tiny worlds, enormous detail, and a rewarding challenge.

In the past, capturing that much detail meant sacrificing speed or stability, but Sony’s built-in Optical SteadyShot (OSS)and in-body stabilization (IBIS) help counteract the light loss. Together, they make it possible to shoot handheld several stops slower while keeping even the smallest subjects sharp and steady.

If I owned this lens, I’d invest in a lens-mounted ringlight to help with illumination when stopped down. I used to photograph macros with Canon’s 90mm 1x-5x manual focus lens, and it was a fantastic system, but it was in an era pre-image stabilization and required a lens-mounted flash to light subjects enough to freeze them. 

Natural light is great in macro photography, but often having an additional lighting source aimed at the subject can help it pop against the background. With prices ranging from $30 to $300, there are plenty of options, including this Godox ring light. Godox is known for solid, affordable third-party lighting tools.

Godox RING72 Macro Ring LED Light

What We Think

The Godox RING72 Macro Ring LED Light is a portable, daylight-balanced (5600K) continuous light designed for macro and close-up photography, as well as creative portraiture. Featuring 72 LEDs in a circular design, it provides soft, even illumination with optional left/right control for shaping light and creating natural depth or distinctive circular catchlights in eyes. It mounts directly to most lenses via included adapter rings (49–77mm) and can run on either four AA batteries or an optional lithium-ion battery, offering flexibility for studio or field use.

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Lens Design – A Beefy Body With Good Tactile Controls

The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 GM OSS is a large lens, though not as large compared to other Sony lenses, and definitely not that large when you consider it does double duty as a portrait lens. 

At 750 grams (1.54 pounds), it’s certainly not the lightest macro I’ve used, and with a height of 118mm (4.75 inches), it’s a handful. But Sony’s previous 90mm 90mm F2.8 Macro G is 602 grams (1.32 pounds) and 130mm (5.14 inches) tall. 

The extra height of the new 100mm Macro is likely to accommodate the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, which need a bit of space for the specialized mounts they require. 

Compared to Sony’s 135mm f/1.8 portrait lens, the 100mm macro is both smaller and lighter, so as a combined portrait and macro lens, it takes up less space and weight in your bag than dual lenses. 

For macro shooters, the weight and size are less of a concern than the controls (and much less of a problem than the image quality, which I’ll discuss shortly). This lens has every switch and function you could want as a macro shooter, though it’s also where one of my few “cons” crops up. 

The barrel of the lens has a focusing ring with distance markers in, something I didn’t realize I missed on lenses until testing this one. The markers are in feet, meters, and focus magnification.

In practice, though I don’t use the markers, because I’m either shooting in autofocus or I’ve got the camera on a tripod and am using Dynamic Manual Focus (DMF) to get much subject distance. DMF zooms in on your subject as you turn the dial, making it possible to get pinpoint accuracy without ever looking at the focusing ring. 

Buttons and Toggles: Lens Controls Make Macro Shooting Easy

There are two programmable buttons used by default for focus hold. I use these buttons constantly while shooting macro. Even with autofocus, sometimes it’s faster to stick the lens in manual and move the camera forward and back to get perfect focus. As an example, when shooting insects gathering nectar on a flower, you can hold focus on the edge of the flower so that when the bug comes around from beneath a petal, it’s in focus without having to rely on autofocus. 

There is an aperture ring that can be set to clicks between stops or smooth turning without clicks, which makes this a capable video lens. Moving up the barrel, there is a switch for OSS, as stabilization isn’t needed when shooting with a tripod. That’s followed by a focus limiter switch, which prevents the lens from trying to focus past macro distance to reduce focus hunting. 

Usually, DMF needs to be set in the camera’s menus, but the 100mm F2.8 Macro has a dedicated switch to enable or disable DMF. When shooting tiny stationary subjects, DMF is great, but when trying to focus on moving subjects, DMF can ruin a shot as the viewfinder is taken over with a magnification of the image. 

There are two ways to switch to manual focus on this lens, three if you count the programmable focus hold buttons. And one way drives me insane. 

Trouble With the Toggle – My one Gripe

The massive focus ring at the front of the lens doubles as a toggle between manual and autofocus. Pushing this collar forward sets the lens into AF/MF mode, where the camera menus determine if autofocus or manual focus is being used. Pulling the collar back switches to manual focus mode. 

And here is my biggest gripe about this lens. The force needed to switch between the two is minimal; you can slide it easily with two fingers, and you can even use a single finger to push it forward or pull it backward. The distance between these two settings is only a few millimeters.

I don’t mind having this control, but I think it requires a locking mechanism. I missed more than one shot where I accidentally switched to manual focus. A secondary issue is that I usually flip the lens hood backwards when shooting with the teleconverters, so the hood doesn’t bump into my subject. I like to leave it on the lens so I don’t lose it, but it covers about half of that collar, making it harder to use. 

But that is my one issue with the lens, and it’s not a dealbreaker by any means. The only thing I have to complain about on this lens is a switch I bump when I’m not paying attention. It’s rare that there’s only one “con” in a review, and that it’s such a small thing. 

Our Video Guide to Macro Photography

Internal Design Choices, Amazing Optics

The Sony 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS uses four of Sony’s fastest XD linear motors, where some of Sony’s earlier GM lenses only had one or two of these focusing motors. Sony says that the system focuses nearly twice as fast as its 90mm macro.  

These motors are pushing (or pulling) 17 lens elements in 13 groups, including 2 XA (Extreme Aspheric) elements and 2 ED (Extra-low Dispersion) to reduce image distortion. 

Generally, the more elements and groups, the better the image quality, as each of these optical components is designed to correct the light entering the barrel before it hits the sensor. 

The 100mm macro also employs all of Sony’s lens enhancements, like  Nano AR Coating II, which reduces ghosting and flare, and a fluorine coating on the front element to minimize grease and water adhesion. 

The aperture, which runs from f/2.8 to f/22, uses an 11-blade circular diaphragm. The number of aperture blades determines how soft the background defocus or “bokeh” will be. Many high-end portrait lenses use a nine-blade design, so an 11-blade aperture creates, in theory, much softer backgrounds. 

In practice, it’s hard to say if an 11-blade or 9-blade design would have the same look, but in a macro lens, the soft defocus of the background and foreground is a key part of an image’s appearance. 

The lens is dust and moisture-resistant, with sealed gaskets at all moving parts. I wouldn’t take this lens out in heavy rain, but I wouldn’t go out to shoot macro in the rain either. 

Subject Detection, or not

While the insect-detect autofocus worked well, not all subject detection modes work, due largely to how a macro lens works. Insects are easy to track when they occupy the majority of the frame. The part closest to the camera is the bug. 

I did get the insect AF to lock on bug eyes, though I’m not sure that was anything other than focus luck. I was as likely to capture an abdomen as an eyeball. I mean, can a camera really tell the difference between the eye of a bee or a spider? And what about earthworms and slugs?

Extremely close subjects, like those of my cat’s eyeball, are outside the capabilities of animal subject recognition. At a close distance, its eye is more of an abstract shape than a recognizable subject. Even with Animal AF on and limited to eye priority, it still focused primarily on the fur around his eyeball.

Eyes are usually detected by their position relative to the shape of the face. At this distance, there’s no such thing as a face. 

This is why manual focus is so important on a macro lens. Since the AF wasn’t locking on his eye, I simply put it in manual focus and moved back and forth until I saw the shot I wanted. 

If you’re going to shoot autofocus macro, put the lens in a super small focus point and control that point with the joystick or with tap-to-focus on the LCD screen to increase your chances of in-focus images. 

It’s not a knock on the lens, but it is an important consideration when shooting at hyper-macro distances. AF systems aren’t really designed to recognize a subject from a few millimeters away. 

As a portrait lens, it’s not the fastest to focus, but it is reasonably quick. It’s slow compared to similar focal lengths from Sony or even Sigma, like the 135mm f1.4 DG Art we reviewed. 

Image Quality and Resolution

With macro photography, and especially macro photography at 2.8x lifesize, image quality isn’t just crucial, it’s the whole point. You can get away with some softness in a distant subject shot with a prime lens, but you can’t have a blurry eye of a bee if that’s the subject of your macro. 

Macro shots are tack sharp. You could photograph the point of a tack and have it in focus. Even zooming in to two hundred percent, I see no image aberrations, although with such a narrow focus range, it would be hard to see them if they fade into the background blur. 

In shots of honeybees, the individual hairs of the insects are visible. They look so fuzzy, I want to pet them. (Fun fact, while honey bees aren’t okay with being touched, their larger bumblebee cousins are, and you can give them a light pet with your finger while they’re gathering nectar.)

The colors are rendered brilliantly on this lens, with good saturation and excellent tonality where the subject fades into background defocus. On flower shots, I tweaked the saturation, mostly because the lighting I used ended up making the images look flat. A ring light would have helped with the overall saturation. 

In portraits, the background blur isn’t as pronounced as on a f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens, naturally, but the softness is impressive with a good distance between subject and background. 

When I was being briefed on this lens, I had high hopes and also high expectations. I’m passionate about macro photography, and while I love the Sony 90mm macro, the specs of this lens, especially the ability to use teleconverters, seemed too good to be true. 

There are a few instances where a piece of camera gear meets all my expectations, and the Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS is one of those lenses. 

One of Our Favorite Lenses of 2025

The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS was included in Imaging Resource’s Best Cameras and Lenses of 2025. Be sure to check out the rest of our featured cameras and lenses in that guide for more top-rated picks from 2025:

The post Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS Review appeared first on Imaging Resource.

With its new 135mm F1.4 DG Art lens, it’s clear that Sigma is actively trying to outdo Sony’s own lens development. This new lens, the widest aperture 135mm for the Sony platform, joins the impressive 300-600mm and 200mm telephoto lenses in a list of products that keep making me say that this is a lens Sony should have made. 

To be clear, Sony makes fantastic lenses, optically some of the best lenses in the history of photography, and it has an impressive range of lenses that it released in a short period of time, considering it has only had eleven years since the original a7 was released. 

But there are always gaps in a company’s lineup, and there are always products that can be improved. Sony’s GM II lenses are a good example; the GM lenses feature Sony’s best lens tech when those lenses were released, but there’s always room to improve. 

Sigma is clearly targeting customers with features that aren’t found in Sony’s lenses. The 300-600mm F/4 is a fixed-aperture super-zoom, while Sony’s 200-600mm f/4.5-5.6 is a variable zoom and is a stop slower than the Sigma lens at its widest focal length. 

The new Sigma 200mm F2 is a lens conspicuously missing in Sony’s lineup. Sports shooters love the 200mm focal length, and while Sony has a 300 mm, with a fixed aperture of f/2.8, it’s a full stop slower than the Sigma lens. 

Since I started testing this Sigma 135mm a month before it launched, Sigma also released the 35mm f/1.2 DG II ART, an aperture that, again, is wider than Sony’s own 35mm. 

That lens just arrived, and in my initial tests, it’s proving to be another amazing piece of glass. When Sony first started releasing lenses, they were coming just about every six to eight weeks. In addition to these pro-quality lenses, Sigma also released a new cinema lens and a consumer zoom lens. 

That’s five lenses in three months, an impressive rate for a company that’s not the manufacturer of the cameras. 

Watch Our Hands-On Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG Art Review Video

The L-Mount Alliance is Speeding Sigma Lens Development

Sigma isn’t only producing this lens for the Sony E-mount system; their new lenses are also available for L-Mount, an open standard that Sigma helped launch. The L-Mount was a joint project with Leica and Panasonic, but now there are nine companies part of the standard. 

Developing lenses for two platforms makes it easier for Sigam to recoup its R&D budget. With Sony, Sigma is competing directly, but with the L-Mount, Sigma is producing lenses for cameras that (I am assuming) pay a licensing fee to use. 

This dual-purpose development, one for an existing market and one for its own market, is driving the pace of development. It’s a win-win for both platforms’ customers.

The Drawbacks of Sigma’s Lenses on the Sony Platform

There are, of course, some downsides to these lenses, although the most significant one is due to Sony’s constraints on manufacturers. Third-party lenses are not able to achieve the full frame rates of Sony’s lenses. For portrait lenses, being capped at 15 frames per second is not a major concern, but for Sigma’s sports lenses, it’s a significant purchase decision. 

Sony says that this limitation is due to its lens and camera engineers being able to work together to develop products that can communicate with each other to reach maximum speeds. This has always sounded like double speak. It’s been years since Sony released a camera with 20 frames per second speeds, and it’s nearly impossible to think that if they were able, companies like Sigma couldn’t have figured out how to get that speed or higher. 

Sony lets companies make lenses for its lens mounts, but it does not open up the full communications standards for lens and body. This is almost certainly the reason third-party lenses can’t keep up, and it’s almost certainly a limitation imposed to prevent lenses from offering the performance of Sony’s lenses. 

It’s Sony’s playground, so they get to make the decisions, but that playground is partially why the L-Mount Alliance was born. 

A 135mm Focal Length Lens is a Classic Portrait Choice

The 135mm focal length is ideal for portrait work, offering natural perspective and compression that enhances subject separation from backgrounds. In simpler terms, a 135mm focal length produces a nice-looking portrait, especially when shot wide open for a blurred background. 

The wider the aperture, the softer the background defocus is. This “bokeh” effect makes a subject pop thanks to the contrast between a hyper-sharp foreground and a blurry background. 

An 85mm focal length is another go-to lens for the portrait photographer, but many shooters prefer the 135mm length because it provides greater compression effects compared to an 85mm, making subjects “pop.”

My portrait tests with the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG ART showed what I’ve come to expect from Sigma’s ART series of lenses: incredibly sharp details and excellent tonality.

The Birds and the Bees

A wide-open 135mm is a natural portrait lens, and at f/1.4, it’s not surprising it’s sharp. Even a good manual focus 135mm prime produces tack-sharp images. 

The autofocus in Sony cameras, and the high-speed motors in the Sigma lens (more on that in a moment) make it a more versatile lens than just for portraits. 

When Sony released their 135mm F1.8 GM lens, the system was fast enough to shoot indoor basketball and accurate enough to nail eye detection while players were moving, and the aperture was wide open. 

While I didn’t get a chance to shoot a basketball game, I found some challenging conditions to test the focusing power of the lens, anyhow. 

Around dusk, two hummingbirds come to a feeder we have on our kitchen porch. Hummingbirds are notoriously hard to focus on in general, and you need a high shutter speed to freeze their wings mid-flight. 

I often photograph these adorable shiny birds with either my 24-70 GM II or the 70-200 GM, but even the f/2.8 aperture of those two lenses struggles with the low light at the end of the day. Pushing the shutter speed ot 1/4000th or higher on those lenses bumps up the ISO, which makes more noise. My main camera is the Sony a7R V, and the high-resolution sensor already has issues with low-light noise because of the high pixel count. 

The f/1.4 aperture of the Sigma lens is two full stops faster than the f/2.8 of my Sony zooms. Even if I were still shooting the f/2 Sigma 200mm I tested, there would be a full stop more light with the Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG ART. 

With two full stops, I was able to shoot at 1/2000th of a second at f/1.4 at ISO 400 and 1/4000th at ISO 800, with the Sigma 200 F2 that would have been 1/2000 at ISO 800 and 1/4000th at ISO 1600. Going a stop further with the 70-200 f/2.8, I’d have been at ISO 1600 and 3200, respectively. 

Sony’s bird autofocus was able to dial in on the eye of the hummingbird, even when it was darting back and forth.

The shutter speed was so fast that I was able to catch a feather falling from the hummingbird’s wing. 

Another photo made possible by the telephoto focal length and wide aperture is of this bee (a honey bee?) resting one tiny foot on the wick of a candle. I think Sony’s insect subject AF might be unnecessary (at the size of a bee, what exactly is it looking for besides contrast from the background?), but it was active when I took this shot. 

A striking example involved photographing a bee on a candle wick, shot handheld at f/1.4 using Sony’s insect detect autofocus. The resulting image showcased both the lens’s shallow depth of field capabilities and the effectiveness of its autofocus system.

I also used the shallow depth of field to create this studio shot to mock up a wedding reception image. Thanks ot the bokeh, you can’t even tell that’s a bottle of Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider, and not Champagne. 

No portrait lens test would be complete without a shot of an adorable cat, so I used it to photograph one of our kittens, K-MEW-SO.

It’s All About the Bokeh

The background defocus on this lens is lovely, at least until it’s not. In shots like the one of my cat, it is smooth and creamy. (The bokeh, not the cat.) The father, the subject, gets from the background, and the more highlights in the background, the more the defocus resolves as “bokeh balls.” 

The Sigma lens has a 13-bladed aperture, a particularly high number. The Sony 135mm F1.8 has an 11-blade aperture, which was already considered a high blade count, but Sigma turned it up to 13. 

Generally, I like the look of these bokeh balls, but in a few instances, the resulting bright “balls” are distracting when mixed in with the darker bokeh areas.

I’m not sure what caused that highlight above the model’s head, as there weren’t any lights, though it’s possible that the sunlight that caused the hairlight was shimmering through a tree. 

This shot has a similar effect, where the white areas are definitely sky. With one positioned just behind the beak of the hummingbird, I find these distracting as well. I’m sure some photographers prefer this type of bokeh, and I like it too, just not when it detracts from the subject.

Sigma 135mm F1.4 Optical Design and Image Quality

As a general rule, the more high-end elements a lens has, the better the image quality. Groups of lens elements are used to direct light to the sensor with as little distortion as possible. The Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG ART has 17 elements in 13 groups. There are four FLD (Fluorite-like Dispersion) glass elements and two aspherical elements to control axial chromatic aberration, which typically affects large-aperture telephoto lenses.

Sigma 135mm F1.4 Autofocus Performance

Dual HLA Focusing System

Sigma’s Dual HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) system drives two focus groups independently. This floating focus configuration provides the force needed for precise focusing while maintaining speed comparable to Sony’s native lenses.

The system pairs nicely with Sony’s advanced subject detection modes, as the hummingbird photos showed. Even testing with insect detect autofocus showed off the reliable tracking and accurate focus acquisition.

Professional Features of the Sigma 135mm F1.4

Aperture Control and Video Functionality

The Sigma 135mm has a manual aperture ring, something all pro-level lenses should have. The aperture ring offers both clicked and de-clicked operation. De-clicked operation enables smooth aperture changes suitable for video work, while the clicked operation provides tactile feedback for still photography.

Sigma 135mm F1.4 Tripod Collar System

The included tripod collar rotates 360 degrees when loosened, making it easy to quickly switch from horizontal to vertical shooting while on a tripod. The collar can be completely removed for handheld shooting, reducing weight and bulk during handheld shoots.

The collar features Arca-Swiss compatibility and includes safety stopper screws to prevent accidental release from clamps. Sigma recommends screw-type clamps over lever-style versions for secure mounting.

Focus and Control Layout

Two AFL (Auto Focus Lock) buttons provide access whether shooting horizontally or vertically. Sony cameras can customize these buttons for various functions besides basic AF lock operation.

A focus mode switch allows quick changes between autofocus and manual operation. Manual focus operates smoothly with appropriate resistance for precise adjustments.

Sigma 135mm F1.4 Practical Considerations

Size, Weight, and Handling

At 1,430g for the L-mount version and 1,420g for the Sony E-mount, this is a substantial lens. I used it on several travel tripods I own without any issues, but the balance is front-heavy, so a sturdier tripod is recommended. The weight distribution remains manageable for handheld shooting, it has a nice balance, and I often carried the camera around by the tripod mount. 

Cinema cameras with base dual ISOstypicallyl around 800-1000 particularly benefit from neutral density filters when using this lens.

The 105mm front element will add slightly to the cost of this lens. Shooting wide-open in daylight for soft focus backgrounds requires a neutral density filter. Since very few lenses have a 105mm front element, most photographers will have to buy filters just for this lens. 

Sigma 135mm F1.4 Focus Breathing and Video Suitability

There’s minimal focus breathing when racking focus from infinity to a close distance, and vice versa. 

The de-clickable aperture ring, combined with quiet operation and manageable focus breathing, makes the lens an excellent choice for video applications. There is a manual focus ring, but it’s not a linear pull, so repeating focus pulls is more complicated than on a cinema lens and some Sony-branded primes. 

Market Position and Sony E-Mount Ecosystem

Sony’s reduced lens development pace compared to previous years creates opportunities for third-party manufacturers. While Sony offers an extensive lens selection, gaps remain that companies like Sigma can address effectively.

The more open Sony E-mount ecosystem contrasts noticeably with Canon and Nikon’s restrictive approaches to third-party development. Obviously, the more lenses are available for the E-Mount, the more useful Sony cameras become, and the lenses available for the system are now one of its chief selling points. 

Sigma 135mm F1.4 DG ART Final Thoughts

The Sigma 135mm F1.4 DG Art addresses a need in the portrait lens market through its combination of focal length and maximum aperture, but it’s a need that’s very specific. Several 135mm lenses don’t have such a wide aperture, and they produce excellent images. What they don’t do is let in as much light as the f/1.4 aperture does, and they don’t deliver the same level of bokeh. 

The build quality, image quality, and performance of this lens are exceptional. Aside from the occasionally irksome bokeh balls, the background defocus is second to none.

Should You Buy This Lens

Yes, if you want the fastest and widest aperture 135mm lens available for Sony E-mount or L-mount platforms. At $1,899.99, the price makes it a compelling choice. Wedding and event photographers will particularly appreciate the combination of subject isolation, fast focus speeds, and the removable tripod collar.

However, if you’re primarily shooting in good light or already own a 135mm f/1.8, the benefits may not outweigh the additional bulk and cost unless you specifically need that extra aperture. The 1,430g weight means this isn’t ideal for photographers who prioritize portability. Still, for Sony shooters looking to push their portrait work into new territory, this lens delivers capabilities that don’t exist elsewhere.

Sigma 135mm F1.4 Technical Specifications

• Lens Construction: 17 elements in 13 groups
• Special Elements: 4 FLD glass elements, two aspherical elements
• Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16
• Minimum Focus Distance: 110cm (43.4 inches)
• Maximum Magnification: 1:6.9
• Filter Size: 105mm
• Dimensions: 111.7mm x 135.5mm (L-mount), 111.7mm x 137.5mm (Sony E-mount)
• Weight: 1,430g (L-mount), 1,420g (Sony E-mount)
• Diaphragm Blades: 13 (rounded)
• Angle of View: 18.2°

Price and Availability of the Sigma 135mm F1.4 DG Art

The Sigma 135mm F1.4 DG Art can be ordered now, and is shipping.

The post Sigma 135mm F1.4 DG Art Hands-on: A Portrait Lens Sony Should Have Made appeared first on Imaging Resource.

Watch Our Hands-On Review Video

Why the Sigma 200mm F2 is the Lens Sony Should Have Made

The Sigma 200mm f/2 DG DN OS | Sports joins the company’s 300-600mm f/4 as another sports lens that Sony should have created themselves. What makes this lens stand out is how it combines speed, build quality, and functionality in a package that feels purpose-built for professional use. The fixed focal length and wide f/2 aperture mean photographers can capture their best work in low light conditions. and the wide aperture makes for soft background defocus (bokeh.)

In our video I had been shooting with this lens all over Australia. Wildlife, botanical gardens, even a protest I stumbled upon in Sydney-and the images have been simply spectacular. This thing is tack sharp. I used it for several more weeks after I got home, and the performance and image quality really held up.

Sigma 200mm F2 Build Quality and Controls

Like Sigma’s 300-600mm f/4, this lens is built like a tank and features controls covering nearly every surface. The lens includes an autofocus switch, focus range limiters, two optical image stabilization modes, and two custom switches you can program to trigger various functions. The aperture ring can be clicked or declicked depending on your needs, and there’s a lock button on the opposite side.

If that wasn’t enough, multiple buttons on the lens barrel can be programmed for anything from focus hold to custom functions. Despite being a 200mm f/2-which typically means large and heavy-this lens is surprisingly compact. That wide aperture is genuinely difficult to achieve at this focal length, making Sigma’s engineering all the more impressive.

The tripod foot deserves special mention: it’s Arca-Swiss compatible, meaning you can drop it directly into compatible tripod heads without needing an adapter. This is the kind of thoughtful design that makes fieldwork easier.

Sigma 200mm F2 Autofocus Performance on Sony Bodies

Like Sony’s own sports lenses, the Sigma 200mm f/2 focuses incredibly quickly. I’ve been shooting it on both the Sony A9 III and A7R V, and on both cameras, autofocus has been instantaneous. Subject recognition works fantastically, and tracking performance has been flawless across wildlife, action, and documentary shooting scenarios.

The speed of this lens makes it perfect for sports, wildlife, and any situation where you need to react quickly. There’s no hunting, no hesitation-just immediate lock-on and reliable tracking.

How the Sigma 200mm F2 Compares to Sony’s 50-150mm F2

Before I wrap up these first impressions, I need to address the one lens that might make you think twice about the Sigma 200mm f/2: Sony’s recently released 50-150mm f/2. I’ve reviewed that lens as well, and it’s also excellent.

While 150mm and 200mm aren’t the same focal length, that 50mm difference matters less than you might think for certain types of photography. When you’re doing close-up work or shooting sports and events, having the flexibility to go from 50mm to 150mm at f/2 is genuinely useful. I’ve used that lens for sports and protests in New York City, and the versatility proved invaluable.

If you’re shooting with a high-resolution body like the Sony A1 Mark II or A7R V, you have some cropping headroom that can help make up for the 50mm difference. The 50-150mm f/2 and the 200mm f/2 both focus nearly identically and offer the same f/2 aperture. Your choice comes down to whether you value versatility or reach.

Sigma’s Growing Sports Lens Lineup for Sony

Sigma now has a 300-600mm f/4 that outperforms Sony’s 200-600mm lens in terms of Aperture, and they’ve added this excellent 200mm f/2. At this point, all Sigma really needs is a 400mm lens to complete what would be the perfect sports lens lineup for Sony shooters, and then they’d l have achieved it before Sony has done it themselves.

Should you buy the Sigma 200mm F2 DG OS Sport lens?

The Sigma 200mm. F2 is an impressive lens. Build, features, and performance are all exceptions. I would recommend this lens to anyone looking for an excellent close-sports or portrait lens that checks all the boxes.It’s currently priced under $3,500, which is right on the mark for a lens of this quality.

However, the limits on frame rates imposed by Sony means there are compromises compared to Sony’s own lenses.

For users that don’t need the extra 50mm the Sigma lens provides, Sony’s 50-150mm F/2 may be a better choice. Generally a few hundred dollars more expensive than Sigma’s lens, as a zoom it’s more versatile, and the build and image quality are equally impressive.

The post Sigma 200mm F2 DG OS Sport Lens Review – Blockbuster Performance From a Lens Sony Should Have Made appeared first on Imaging Resource.

The Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 ART is available in Sony, Fujifilm, Canon, and L-Mounts, making it one of the most compatible lenses with your chosen platform.

Our full written review is coming, but everything we cover in that is in this video.

The post Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 ART Lens Review – The Best APS-C Zoom Yet? appeared first on Imaging Resource.

On paper, the FE 50-150mm seems like an odd–or maybe even unnecessary–combination of focal lengths and aperture. A 70-200mm can capture most of the focus distance, while f/2 doesn’t seem that different from f/2.8. This lens perfectly exemplifies the aphorism “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

In the right situations, this is one of the best lenses I’ve ever used.

Editor’s Note: Our content system re-compresses images, reducing their colors and sharpness. For better image quality examples, check out our hands-on review and the slideshow videos below.

Our Hands-On Review Video

Our Sony 50-150mm f/2 GM Image Sample Slideshow

One of Our Favorite Lenses of 2025

The Sony FE 50-150mm F/2 GM was included in Imaging Resource’s Best Cameras and Lenses of 2025. Be sure to check out the rest of our featured cameras and lenses in that guide for more top-rated picks from 2025:

Imaging Resource 2025 Editor’s Choice – Best Cameras and Lenses of 2025

What Makes the Sony FE 50-150mm F/2 GM So Special

The f/2 aperture has much to do with it, but the overall package makes it a standout lens. The 50-150mm GM is one of a series of lenses that breaks convention with unique focal lengths and capabilities. Sigma’s recent 300-600mm f/4 DG OS lens is another good example, as are specialty lenses like the Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD with its half-macro capabilities and super-telephoto length.

Let’s start with the eye-catching f/2 aperture, the standout spec of the lens, which, I think, will leave some people scratching their heads. Aperture values are a strange way to describe the amount of light hitting a sensor because they’re a mathematical way to describe both the opening of a lens and the focal length. It’s the kind of system only a Victorian mathematician could love.

How different could an f/2.8 lens be compared to an f/2 lens? The decimal point is deceiving, as f/2 has just slightly more than a stop of light gathering than f/2.8. To put this another way, f/2 to f/2.8 is the same light-gathering jump as f/2.8 to f/4.

The full stop of light gathering in the Sony 50-150mm GM is critically important to the target customer. Photojournalists, wedding photographers, portrait shooters, and nature/wildlife shooters can shoot in lower light conditions without cranking up the ISO.

The f/2 aperture also provides a level of background defocus that is uncommon in a telephoto lens in this focal length range. Again, the difference in background defocus from f/2 to f/2.8 is the same as from f/2.8 to f/4. Ask any portrait shooter if they’d rather have an f/2.8 or f/4 lens, and you’ll see why this is the go-to lens for many photographers and videographers.

Sports are no problem for the 50-150mm, even at f/2.

It’s What’s on the Inside That Counts

The wide aperture on the Sony FE 50-100mm f/2 GM wouldn’t matter if the image quality and performance weren’t superb. Sony is known for its image quality and handling of its pro-level glass; this new GM lens is no exception.

Internally, the lens contains 18 elements in 15 groups, including one XA, two ED, and one Super ED element. This mix reduces chromatic aberrations and maintains edge-to-edge clarity, even at f/2. The 11-blade aperture creates a smooth, buttery background.

But it’s not just about image quality. The dual linear motors and focus system enable fast, nearly silent autofocus. Sony’s newest focus motors in the 50-150mm range can easily keep up with the 30-plus frames-per-second capture rate of the Alpha 9 III and the subject-detection system.

Portraits at f/2 have an amazing, soft bokeh.

It’s Also What’s on the Outside That Counts

The Sony FE 50-150mm f/2 GM is surprisingly small. At 947 grams, it weighs just a hair over two pounds and is only six inches long (152.3mm) without the hood.

While it’s stockier than Sony’s 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II, it’s a tad shorter and lighter. The focal length range of 50-150mm likely keeps this lens from being an oversized monster; the 70-200 has a 130mm range, while the 50-150mm is only 100mm from widest to longest focal length.

Using the Sony FE 50-150mm f/2 GM

The lens is very comfortable. The tripod mount is removable, which is a welcome design for the handheld shooting I did at the rally and when shooting portraits. It has the usual complement of switches and controls, including aperture lock and settings for focal length range and stabilization.

I spent more than three hours walking along the protest route with the camera and never felt the lens was unwieldy. Sony’s early zoom rings had a lot of “throw,” meaning you had to crank the dial to change focal lengths. The FE 50-150mm has Sony’s more recent short-throw design, which makes it easy to compose a shot.

Sony’s wide-aperture lenses show how good its cameras’ eye-detect AF is. I shot the lens with the Alpha 9 III and the Alpha 7R V; in both cases, the lens focused instantly on my intended subject. This was no trivial feat when covering a political demonstration, where the faces of protesters were often partially obscured by signs and other marchers.

The controls on the lens’s body are well placed, though I largely consider them set-and-forget. If I switch to manual focus, I use the camera’s focus settings, not the lens switch. Likewise, I rarely change the image stabilization mode, and I like to use the lens with the aperture de-clicked so I can quickly switch between photo and video use.

I haven’t seen a switch on other lenses to control Dynamic Manual Focus (DMF). DMF is a hybrid of autofocus and manual focus. It uses a camera’s AF system for initial focus and allows that focus to be overridden with a turn of the focus dial.

DMF is particularly helpful if the AF locks on something other than the desired subject. A good use of DMF is portraits of people wearing glasses with thick lenses. Most AF systems lock on the frame or the surface of the lens, which can leave the eyes out of focus. With DMF, you can let the camera pick out the glasses and then make a slight adjustment to match the magnification of the lenses, leaving the eyes sharp.

DMF is normally a stand-alone setting in the focus menu, and while it can be programmed to activate with a custom button, having the switch on the lens is a huge time saver that will result in more in-focus images in tricky conditions.

After multiple hours of walking in drizzle and rain, I can confidently say the water resistance works. I had forgotten the lens hood at home, so I was able to accidentally test the front element coating Sony claims repels water. For my review of the Sony 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens, I took the lens to the tropical aviary at the Central Park Zoo and was impressed that the front of the lens only fogged up a little. The 50-150mm f/2 seems to repel water, and the 400-800mm is kept from fogging.

Thankfully, the tripod leg is removable. I would only mount this lens to a tripod for video, so having a foot on the bottom would drive me insane during handheld shooting. Too many zoom lenses on the market have either no tripod foot or a tripod foot that can’t be removed.

While the lens is beefy, it’s not awkward in the hand. The 50-150mm f/2 GM is well balanced, and the internal zoom mechanism keeps the lens balanced regardless of the focal length.

The autofocus is blazingly fast. Sony’s GM line has always had the fastest focusing systems available at the time of their introduction, but the 50-150mm motors are some of Sony’s newest. As a result, newer GM lenses have significantly faster AF than first-generation GM lenses.

Sony has gone back and re-engineered their AF motors, and the recent GM II lenses take advantage of these new linear motors in the first generation of lenses like the 70-200mm GM II. The takeaway is that the GM moniker on this lens is equivalent to the GM II on the previous lenses.

The Proof is in the Looking

Most of my resolution and image quality tests were done with the lens wide open or close to wide open, since sharpness is good on most lenses when stopped down.

With the f/2 aperture, I get pinpoint accuracy on a subject’s eye while still having a creamy background defocus. The wide aperture showed off the detail possible with the lens’s optical design. This woman in a penguin costume is a good example of the resolving power of this lens. Shot from about 15 yards away on the Sony a7R V, the detail in her face is on par with the prime glass I use when shooting weddings.

The detail is exceptional. The small hairs on their ear are visible in one shot of a protester. I’m not sure I would have been able to see those hairs standing directly in front of them. The lens reminds me of Sony’s 85mm f/1.4 GM II, one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever used.

These backyard wildlife shots show the razor-thin focus range of the lens when shot at f/2. Combined with the excellent subject-detection systems, it’s possible to track fast-moving subjects and still have pinpoint focus, with a fast sharpness that falls off into the smooth background defocus.

Sony FE 50-150mm f/2 GM Purchase Thoughts

The Sony FE 50-150mm f/2 GM is an interesting lens; some will find it perplexing. However, with a 70-200mm GM II already available, this lens won’t make sense for many users. On our briefing call about this lens, one reviewer questioned the 50-150mm value when wider aperture primes exist and current zooms are available at f/2.8.

I countered that this lens is designed for the people who need it most. It is similar to the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 and the new Sigma 300-600mm f/4 Sport. Casual wildlife shooters might not need the Sigma lens’s wider fixed aperture, but those who do need it.

For wedding photographers, this is a no-brainer. The 50mm “standard” lens is a mainstay of portrait photography, and the f/2 is only a third stop slower than an f/1.8. The holy grail of wedding photography is a lens that can go from 50mm to 150mm without a variable aperture.

One of my passions is sports photography, and an f/2 lens provides a unique look not available from an f/2.8 or f/4 70-200mm lens. Likewise, wildlife photographers can get a look unmatched by other zooms. Photographing an elk in the distance is not long enough, but birds and other close-up subjects have a unique look.

Even landscape photographers may love this lens. This won’t replace a 16-35mm or even a prime 24mm lens, but being able to shoot at f/2 gives these photographers a range of previously unavailable options.

The post Sony FE 50-150mm F/2 GM Lens Review – Powerful, Expensive, Amazing appeared first on Imaging Resource.