22/04/2025
Before we can even settle down from the excitement of the 28-70 F2GM, Sony releases this - the Sony 50-150 F2 GM!
It is always exciting when you receive a call from Sony and there is an NDA involved.
When Sony contacted me 20 days ago to work on a new project, I almost immediately googled to see which camera bodies or lens were rumored to be released. Surprisingly, there were no rumors then about this lens. It was a well kept secret. I was impressed. So were they.
When it was revealed to me that it would be a 50-150 F2.0 lens, I was delighted and thankful Sony chose me and Wesley to not only produce images with it but also to share our experience with the lens. For a wedding, event and portrait photographer, this must surely be one of the best portrait zoom lens produced and I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to have first dibs on using this lens.
The next day after receiving the lens, I brought the lens along with me to Seoul for portraiture sessions. When I got back to Singapore, I had the opportunity to shoot a 3 day Indian wedding, some family portraits, pre-wedding portraits and another wedding last weekend. For all of these shoots, I only had 2 lenses with me - the 50-150 F2 and the 16-35 GM2. I shot with the Sony A7R5.
Having had the lens for close to 3 weeks, I am excited to share with all of you my experience with the lens.
It is an extremely useful lens for wedding and event photographers. It has a very good focal length range of 50-150. It effectively replaces the 50mm, 85mm and the 135mm. All 3 focal lengths are favorites with portrait photographers. Before, I would bring along the 16-35, 50, 85 and sometimes the 135 or the 70-200. Now, it's just the 16-35GM2 and 50-150GM.
It is also important that it has a constant 2.0 aperture. This makes it possible to shoot with available light even when I was indoors at a wedding or event. It made photographing a lot easier for me. I wasn't as restricted by lighting conditions. Even in low light, the lens performed remarkably.
Because it is at a constant 2.0 aperture, you would assume the lens would be huge. Well, you are not wrong. However, it is actually lighter than the 70-200GM. It weighs 1.34kg and that is an amazing feat - managing to squeeze all that glass in. Can you handhold it throughout? Yes you can. I shot two full day weddings with the lens and it was manageable for me. Then again, I am pretty buff. Ha. In all seriousness, I can see how some might be put off by the size. It is understandable. I have always valued mobility. With better mobility, it allows me to connect and interact with my couples and subjects more. It also allows me to quickly get to the action without having to be bogged down by gears and a heavy camera bag. However, with this lens, I no longer need to bring along the 50 and 85. So it is a good compromise.
With a 50-150 range, I often find myself not having to change lenses at all while shooting. The march-in can now be covered with just one lens. And it is wide enough to shoot even when the couple is near and approaching me. The 70-200GM would be a lens that is most similar. However, at the 70mm end, it is not wide enough to shoot the approaching couple close. I value the extra 20mm that I get at the wide side and I dont miss the 50mm lost at the long side. Lastly, because it is 50-150 f2.0, my shutter speed or iso levels can be slower than if I were to use a 70-200 2.8 at the long end.
With a telephoto zoom lens, you would naturally be concerned about the autofocusing speed. Remarkably, the lens, like all the G Masters before, has a very fast autofocus. It is quick to lock on to the subject and sometimes, it even amazes myself that I managed to capture an action shot that I thought I would miss. For example, the shot of the groom putting on the toe ring for the bride.
The images produced are sharp corner-to-corner. Shooting with the A7R5, it allowed more flexibility in post cropping. On a related point, the lens takes amazing close up shots too with beautiful bokeh. All the wedding details were shot with this lens.
I am sure most of us are still pretty excited about the 28-70F2GM. And now we have this amazing announcement of the 50-150F2GM to complement the 28-70F2GM, we have 2 lenses that will be the go to lenses for a lot of wedding and event photographers. After a week of using it, I immediately ordered one for myself. If you are a wedding or event photographer, you must be as excited as I was when I was first told about the lens.
