Sony Unveils Unique FE 50-150mm f/2 G Master, the Fastest Zoom of Its Kind

Apr 22, 2025

Jeremy Gray

Close-up of a Sony FE 2.8/70-200 GM interchangeable camera lens with a white barrel, black focus and zoom rings, and a metal nameplate, set against a black background.

Sony announced its 80th E-mount lens, the first-of-its-kind FE 50-150mm f/2 G Master. The fast, constant-aperture zoom lens aims to replace a series of prime lenses. The lens is designed for portraits, weddings, indoor sports, and video.

Arriving about half a year after the Sony FE 28-70mm f/2 GM, Sony’s second constant f/2 zoom lens dials things up by breaking all-new optical ground. While a lens like Tamron’s 35-150mm f/2-2.8 has impressed photographers, no full-frame lens has ever covered a 50-150mm focal length at f/2.

A close-up of a large white telephoto camera lens with a prominent glass element, black grip rings, control switches, and a red "G" logo, mounted on a tripod collar against a black background.

As expected, Sony’s new 50-150mm f/2 GM lens is not especially small or lightweight, although there is no direct competitor against which to measure it. The lens is roughly the same size and weight as the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II, albeit heavier and thicker. Specifically, the 50-150mm f/2 GM is about 7.9 inches (200 millimeters) long and weighs 47.3 ounces (1,340 grams). The Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II is the same length but weighs 36.9 ounces (1,044 grams). Where the two differ most is in terms of their maximum width. The 50-150mm f/2 GM is thicker with a diameter of 4.04 inches (102.8 millimeters), whereas the 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II is 3.46 inches (87.9 millimeters) across. The 50-150mm f/2 GM takes massive 95mm front filters, and the 70-200mm f/2.8 takes much more common 77mm filters. For reference, the original 70-200mm f/2.8 GM lens weighs more than the 50-150mm f/2 GM (52.2 ounces, or 1,480 grams).

Close-up view of a camera lens with green reflections on the glass elements, set against a dark, blurred background. The detailed rings and buttons around the lens are also visible.

Other aspects of the 50-150mm f/2 GM’s design include a very short lens hood, a removable tripod foot (which does not have Arca Swiss compatibility), a linear response manual focus ring, a de-clickable aperture control ring, an iris lock, and customizable focus hold buttons. Since it’s a G Master lens, it is fully weather-resistant.

On the inside, Sony’s new lens has a sophisticated optical arrangement. The lens has 19 elements arranged across 17 groups, which is a pretty high number on both counts. The number of specialized elements is also noteworthy, as the 50-150mm f/2 GM has three ED, two Super ED, two aspherical, and two XA elements. It also features a new 11-bladed circular aperture.

A hand holding a large Sony camera lens with white and black detailing against a black background. The lens shows measurement markings and a Sony logo with "FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS" label.

Driving the focusing elements inside the lens are four of Sony’s flagship XD Linear Motors. Sony promises that the 50-150mm f/2 GM is among its fastest focusing lenses, and the lens is well-suited to shooting at 120 frames per second on Sony’s blazing-quick a9 III.

Concerning close-focusing performance, the lens is not a macro replacement. It can focus as close as 1.3 feet (0.4 meters) at 50mm and 2.4 feet (0.74 meters) at 150mm. The maximum magnification is around 0.2x across the board, which is not too far off the pace of the 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II, which delivers a 0.3x max magnification.

Close-up of a Sony camera lens with a metallic label reading "SONY FE 2/50-150 GM" and a focus or aperture scale above it, set against a black background.

While Sony promises much to love for photographers, the new 50-150mm f/2 GM lens is also designed with video performance in mind. The lens promises minimal focus breathing, linear response MF, and a well-balanced internal zoom design that remains balanced on gimbals regardless of the focal length. The Linear XD motors are also swift and silent, ensuring smooth and quiet focusing during recording. As mentioned, the lens also features a de-clickable aperture control ring, so videographers can smoothly change the f-stop during shooting.