Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens Review

Not only is the FE 50-150mm F2 GM the first full-frame zoom lens to feature an aperture wider than f/2.8 over most of this focal length range, it appears to be Sony's sharpest wide-open zoom lens ever. This lens is in an elite class, producing exceptionally high image quality, even at its record-setting f/2 aperture, and as a GM lens, it brings the full performance package, including fast, quiet, smooth, and precise Quad XD Linear AF.

This incredibly high-performing lens is a phenomenal choice for, especially, portraits, events, including weddings, and indoor and close outdoor sports. The price tag is a hurdle that serious photographers will find a way over.

Focal Length Range

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Focal length range (or individual focal length for a prime lens) is a primary consideration for lens selection. A specific angle of view is required to get a desired subject framing with the optimal perspective (or from within a working distance limitation). This lens's range starts at the ultra-popular 50mm standard angle of view, and goes well into the telephoto range at 150mm, making this lens the ideal choice for many needs.

The 50-150mm range is the perfect choice for photographing people, including portraits ranging from full body to tightly framed headshots. This lens is an outstanding choice for weddings and other events, including those your family is involved it.

The FE 50-150 is a superb choice for photographing people in action, including indoor and close outdoor sports, such as basketball and track and field.

While the 50-150mm range has strong application for landscape photography, the size and weight of this lens will often be found excessive for that need. Still, it performs spectacularly in this use, and this lens's wide aperture enables strong blurs that can make nature details stand out. This lens is a great choice for astrophotography when used on a tracking mount.

Usually, the 50-150mm angle of view is too wide for wildlife photography, but ... sometimes wildlife is cooperative. Pets optimally fit into this lens's capabilities.

The 50-150mm focal length range works well for many products and other studio applications.

Mount a 50-150mm lens on a Sony APS-C-format camera (1.5x FOVCF), and the angle of view (AOV) becomes like that of a 75-225mm lens on a full-frame camera. While the narrower AOV does not greatly change the uses list for this lens, these AOVs make widely-framed portraits less ideal, and most will prefer this AOV range for sports pursuits.

The following images illustrate the 50-150mm focal length range:

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Max Aperture

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A lens's maximum aperture is usually included in the product name immediately after the focal length range, reflecting this specification's next-most importance. F/2 is this lens's maximum aperture, the ratio of the focal length to the entrance pupil diameter.

While f/2 is not so remarkable at 50mm (f/1.4 is common for prime lenses), this lens remains f/2 capable all the way through 150mm, and at 150mm, f/2 is extremely wide — by far as wide as it gets in a zoom lens. In a 50-150mm zoom lens, f/2 is record-setting and game-changing. It's like having a kit of prime lenses mounted simultaneously — with the gaps filled in and productivity vastly increased.

The great amount of light transmission provided by this lens's aperture permits sharp handheld images of subjects in motion in low light levels with low ISO settings. Often critical is the improved low-light AF performance afforded by a wide aperture. In addition, this wide aperture opening provides a shallower DOF (Depth of Field) that creates a strong, subject-isolating background blur.

These examples illustrate the outstanding maximum blur this lens can create:

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Often, the photographer cannot control the background, which encompasses a high percentage of pixels in most portraits and sports action images. Use this lens to turn a distracting background into a strong, de-emphasizing blur. The amount of blur 150mm f/2 creates is awesome.

The wide aperture benefit is not free. A wide aperture requires large lens elements, which substantially increase the size, weight, and cost of this lens.

Videographers will especially appreciate this lens's iris ring, which permits a manually selected aperture. The camera controls the aperture setting with the ring in the A (Auto) position, while all other settings electronically force the aperture to the chosen opening. A 2-position switch on the lower right side of the lens toggles the aperture ring between 1/3 stop clicks and smooth, quiet, non-clicked adjustments, ideal for video recording.

Aside from a slightly more complicated design, inadvertent aperture changes are the primary disadvantage of an aperture ring (especially when photographing in the dark). The Iris Lock switch eliminates that problem, holding the ring in the A position or within the manual range.

Sony impressively integrated the two ring switches into the lens body, where they remain functional but out of the way.

Image Stabilization

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While this focal length range and max aperture combination is often handholdable without resorting to ultra-high ISO settings, the Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens, somewhat surprisingly, does not feature optical image stabilization. Omitting the optical stabilization system reduces the size, weight, complexity, and cost. However, image stabilization is a highly useful feature.

Sony provides, and with this lens, relies upon, Steady Shot IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) in their Alpha cameras. In addition to reducing camera shake, the stabilized imaging sensor provides a still viewfinder image, enabling careful composition. Furthermore, sensor-based AF systems use the stabilized view for improved accuracy.

With no IS switch on the lens, the camera menu must be used to enable or disable IBIS or check the current settings. This extra step slightly impedes working quickly, moving from tripod mounted to handholding, for example.

Image Quality

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Those opting for the Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens over a kit of prime lenses will seldom be willing to sacrifice image quality for that move. This lens is optically incredible.

Wide open at f/2, this lens produces razor-sharp details from full-frame corner to full-frame corner over the entire focal length range.

In general, lenses become sharper as they are stopped down one or two stops from their wide-open apertures, but this lens is so sharp wide-open that stopping down does not reveal improvement aside from a mild peripheral shading reduction.

Taking the testing outdoors, we next look at a series of center-of-the-frame 100% resolution crop examples. These images were captured in RAW format using a Sony Alpha 1 and processed in Capture One using the Natural Clarity method. The sharpening amount was set to only "30" on a 0-1000 scale. Note that images from most cameras require some level of sharpening; however, too-high sharpness settings are destructive to image details and mask the deficiencies of a lens.

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These are outstanding results. I know. You were convinced after a few samples. But, it was so much fun producing extremely sharp test results that I couldn't help creating more. Then, selection became a problem.

Next, we'll examine a series of comparisons that show 100% resolution extreme top-left corner crops captured and processed identically to the above center-of-the-frame images. The lens was manually focused in the corner of the frame to capture these images.

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Count on samples from the outer extreme of the image circle, full-frame corners, to show a lens's weakest performance. The 150mm results are not quite as incredibly sharp as the wider focal length examples, but we are comparing to exceptional performance, and from a relative perspective, the 150mm corners are still excellent.

This lens does not exhibit focus shift, where the plane of sharp focus moves forward or backward as the aperture is narrowed, due to residual spherical aberration (RSA). Many modern lenses automatically correct for focus shift, though focus breathing (more later) can create slight angle of view changes.

When used on a camera that utilizes its full image circle, I expected a lens featuring a recordsetting wide-aperture to exhibit strong peripheral shading wide-open. Upon reviewing this lens's test results, I felt compelled to revisit the RAW image settings to ensure that I disabled fall-off correction. Again this lens proved impressive, with only about one stop of shading in the corners at f/2.

Stopping down to f/2.8 removes most of the shading.

APS-C format cameras, when paired with lenses that project a full-frame-sized image circle, typically avoid most vignetting problems. In this case, the about 1/3 stop of corner shading showing at f/2 will rarely be visible.

One-stop of shading is often considered the number of visibility, though subject details provide a widely varying amount of vignetting discernibility. Vignetting is correctable during post-processing, with increased noise in the brightened areas the penalty, or it can be embraced, using the effect to draw the viewer's eye to the center of the frame. When using this lens, you might need to add vignetting during post-processing to create that effect.

Lateral (or transverse) CA (Chromatic Aberration) refers to the unequal magnification of all colors in the spectrum. Lateral CA is characterized by color fringing along lines of strong contrast that run tangentially (meridionally, at right angles to radii). The mid and especially the periphery of the image circle exhibit the most significant amount, as this is where the greatest difference in wavelength magnification typically occurs. Lateral CA is usually easily correctable, often in the camera, by radially shifting the colors to coincide.

Color misalignment can be seen in the site's image quality tool, but let's also look at a set of worst-case examples. The images below are 100% crops from the extreme top-left corner of a1 frames showing diagonal black and white lines.

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These images should only contain black and white colors. The color separation is moderate at the wide end, slowly decreases to negligible at 100mm, and increases slightly at 150mm as the separated colors align and then reverse.

A relatively common lens aberration is axial (longitudinal, bokeh) CA, which causes non-coinciding focal planes of the various wavelengths of light. More simply, different colors of light are focused to different depths. Spherical aberration, along with spherochromatism, or a change in the amount of spherical aberration with respect to color (looks quite similar to axial chromatic aberration but is hazier) are other common lens aberrations to observe. Axial CA remains somewhat persistent when stopping down, with the color misalignment effect increasing with defocusing. The spherical aberration color halo exhibits little size change as the lens is defocused, and stopping down one to two stops generally removes this aberration.

In the real world, lens defects do not exist in isolation; spherical aberration and spherochromatism are generally found, at least to some degree, along with axial CA. These combine to create a less sharp, hazy-appearing image quality at the widest apertures.

The wide-open aperture examples below compare the fringing colors of the defocused specular highlights in the foreground to the background. The lens has introduced any differences from the neutrally colored subjects.

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The color fringing ranges from strong at 50mm to mild at 150mm.

Bright light reflecting off lens elements' surfaces may cause flare and ghosting, resulting in reduced contrast and sometimes interesting, but usually objectionable, visual artifacts. The shape, intensity, and position of the flare and ghosting effects in an image are variable, dependent on the position and nature of the light source (or sources), selected aperture, shape of the aperture blades, and quantity and quality of the lens elements and their coatings. Additionally, flare and ghosting can impact AF performance.

The FE 50-150 features Sony's Nano AR Coating II to suppress flare and ghosting, but the 19 large lens elements increase that challenge. At f/2, this lens produced only mild flare effects in our standard sun in the corner of the frame flare test. However, narrow apertures produced strong flare effects.

Flare effects can be either embraced or avoided, or removal can be attempted, although this process can be challenging.

Two lens aberrations are particularly evident in images of stars, primarily because bright points of light against a dark background make them easier to discern. Coma occurs when light rays from a point of light spread out from that point instead of being refocused as a point on the sensor. Coma is absent in the center of the frame, gets worse toward the edges/corners, and generally appears as a comet-like or triangular tail of light that can be oriented either away from the center of the frame (external coma) or toward the center of the frame (internal coma). The coma clears as the aperture is narrowed. Astigmatism is seen as points of light spreading into a line, either sagittal (radiating from the center of the image) or meridional (tangential, perpendicular to sagittal). This aberration can produce stars appearing to have wings. Remember that Lateral CA is another aberration that is apparent in the corners.

The images below are 100% crops from the top-left corner of Sony a1 images captured at f/2.

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I mentioned that this lens is a great choice for astrophotography (preferably on a tracking mount), and these untracked results show why. The stars in the test images are rendered tiny and mostly round throughout the entire frame.

This lens has modest barrel distortion at the wide end. The geometric distortion changes to well-corrected at 70mm and continues into modest barrel distortion at 150mm.

As seen earlier in the review, it is easy to illustrate the strongest blur a lens can create, and telephoto lenses are inherently advantaged in this regard. Due to the infinite number of variables present among available scenes, assessing the blur quality, bokeh, is considerably more challenging. Here are f/11 (for diaphragm blade interaction) examples.

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The first example shows defocused highlights that are especially round-shaped for stopping down 5 stops (11 aperture blades at work) and rather smoothly filled, though a mild center blotch shows.

The second set of examples shows full images reduced in size and looking great.

Except for a small number of specialty lenses, the wide aperture bokeh in the frame's corners does not show round defocused highlights, instead showing cat's-eye shapes due to a form of mechanical vignetting. If you look through a tube at an angle, similar to the light reaching the frame's corner, the shape is not round. That is the shape we're looking at here.

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Moderate, but not unusual, shape truncation shows in these results. As the aperture narrows, the entrance pupil size is reduced, and the mechanical vignetting slowly diminishes, making the corner shapes rounder, and this lens can produce nice stars at the wide end, as illustrated below.

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The examples above were captured at f/16.

"Innovative optical design and manufacturing achieve unprecedented performance. Two precision XA (extreme aspherical) elements in a state-of-the-art optical design plus meticulously controlled aberration deliver breathtaking resolution at all apertures, including F2. Two Super ED (Extra-low Dispersion) and three ED glass elements minimize chromatic aberration" [Sony]

While it creates moderate color blur, some lateral CA, and strong flare effects at narrow apertures, the Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens produces impressively sharp wide-open images with low peripheral shading.

Focusing

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The Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens leverages four XD (extreme dynamic) high-thrust linear motors for extremely fast, practically silent, smooth, and precise internal AF.

Extreme low light AF becomes slow, with some hunting, but this lens on a Sony a1 autofocuses on strong contrast in very dark situations.

No focus limit switch is provided.

Non-cinema lenses typically require refocusing after a focal length change. As illustrated in the 100% crops below, the reviewed lens does not exhibit parfocal-like characteristics. When focused at 150mm, zooming to wider focal lengths results in focus blur.

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If you adjust the focal length, re-establish focus, as usual.

Three customizable focus hold buttons are provided in convenient 90° positions. With the camera set to continuous focus mode, press focus hold to lock focus at the currently selected focus distance, permitting a focus and recompose technique. These buttons are also available as custom buttons, programmable to other functions using the camera's menu.

FTM (Full Time Manual) focusing is supported in Sony's DMF (Direct Manual Focus) mode with the shutter release half-pressed or the AF-ON button pressed. Additionally, a lens switch is provided to enable DMF.

This lens has an AF/MF switch, allowing this frequently used camera setting to be changed without diving into the menu system.

The rubber-ribbed manual focus ring is large and ideally positioned near the front of the lens, with a slightly raised profile for ease of locating. This ring turns smoothly with ideal resistance.

The 130° of MF rotation adjusts focus rapidly, making precise manual focusing slightly challenging.

It is normal for the scene to change size in the frame as the focus is pulled from one extent to the other. This effect is focus breathing, a change in focal length resulting from a change in focus distance. Focus breathing impacts photographers intending to use focus stacking techniques, videographers pulling focus (without movement to camouflage the effect), and anyone critically framing while adjusting focus.

This lens produces an exceptionally small change in subject size through a full extent (worst-case) focus distance adjustment.

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Few non-cinema lenses show as little focus breathing as this one.

This lens has a minimum focus distance of 15.7" (400mm), and it generates a reasonable 0.20x maximum magnification spec.

Model	Min Focus Distance		Max Magnification
Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens	15.7"	(400mm)	0.20x
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II Lens	15.7"	(400mm)	0.30x
Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM Lens	27.6"	(700mm)	0.25x
Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD Lens	13.0"	(330mm)	0.18x

At 150mm, a subject measuring approximately 6.6 x 4.4" (168 x 112mm) fills a full-frame imaging sensor at this lens's minimum MF distance. At 50mm, a 6.4 x 4.3" (163 x 109mm) subject does the same, essentially maintaining the long end's magnification capability. Here are maximum magnification examples.

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The individual USPS love stamps measure 1.19 x 0.91" (30 x 23mm).

While this lens produces sharp center-of-the-frame details at minimum focus distance at f2, the image periphery is soft, especially at 150mm, due to field curvature. F/11 brings on increased depth of field that produces excellent corner image quality.

The minimum focus distance is measured from the imaging sensor plane, with the balance of the camera, lens, and lens hood length taking their space out of the number to create the working distance. While this lens's minimum focus distance sounds sufficiently long, the working distance is only 6.3" (160mm) without the hood at 50mm, where the relatively large lens can be a subject lighting obstruction. The hood reduces the working distance to only 4.5".

At 150mm, the minimum focus distance places the plane of sharp focus out to 28.5" (724mm) in front of the lens, which provides a more comfortable working distance.

This lens is not compatible with Sony teleconverters.

Design & Features

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The "GM" in the moniker reflects the Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens's membership in the Grand Master lens series, representing Sony's best-available lenses. They feature professional-grade build quality, ready for the abuse of daily use.

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This lens has an attractive design, featuring a primarily engineering plastic exterior, a relatively constant diameter, and a fixed (non-extending) size that maintains balance throughout the zoom range. The matte white color looks sharp against the black zoom and focus rings and promises to keep the lens cooler under direct sunlight.

The zoom ring is nicely sized and ideally positioned for weight balance. With the lens balanced in the left palm, fingertips are free to quickly adjust the rear-positioned zoom ring, while the right hand is free to change camera settings and capture images without having to support the weight of the camera and lens. This ring has the ideal rotational resistance, and the 65° of rotation enables fast selection of the full range.

The AF/MF and DMF switches are flush mounted on the barrel, and the switch centers are raised just enough for easy use (without gloves).

This lens is dust and moisture-resistant.

The front lens element features a fluorine coating that repels fingerprints, dust, water, oil, and other contaminants, making cleaning considerably easier.

The FE 50-150 is a relatively large and heavy lens, and you will know that you held something substantial such after a few hours of continuous use. That said, I felt no physical penalties after covering an over two-hour youth soccer camp for three days solely with this lens. Most will find this lens comfortably handholdable.

Model	Weight oz(g)		Dimensions w/o Hood "(mm)		Filter	Year
Sony Lens	47.3	(1340)	4.0 x 7.9	(102.8 x 200.0)	95	2025
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II Lens	36.9	(1045)	3.5 x 7.9	(88.0 x 200.0)	77
Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM Lens	33.5	(950)	3.5 x 5.0	(89.5 x 127)	82	2019
Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD Lens	41.1	(1165)	3.5 x 6.2	(89.2 x 158.0)	82	2021

View and compare the complete Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens Specifications in the site's lens specifications tool.

Here is a visual comparison:

Positioned from left to right are the following Sony lenses: FE 135mm F1.8 GM
FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II
FE 50-150mm F2 GM

The same lenses are shown below with their hoods in place.

Use the site's product image comparison tool to visually compare the Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens to other lenses.

The FE 50-150 uses 95mm threaded filters, which are relatively large, heavy, and expensive. The Breakthrough Photography X4 is recommended.

A tripod ring is necessary for using this lens on a tripod. This lens's tripod ring is nicely integrated into the lens barrel, and it rotates remarkably smoothly until nearly locked. There are no click stops, but black dots engraved in the metal ring facilitate 90° orientation.

While the tripod ring is not removable, the foot is. A large thumbscrew unlocks the foot, allowing it to be removed with the press of a safety release button. When everything is locked tight, this foot is quite solid. Still, consider a replacement foot to gain standard quick-release compatibility.

With two threaded inserts (one 1/4", one 3/8") on the bottom of the foot vs. one, lens plates can be more securely attached, resolving the twisting issue that can occur in single-threaded-insert designs.

Sony includes the lens hood in the box, and the semi-rigid Sony ALC-SH183 lens hood is only modestly sized relative to the lens, as it must accommodate the 50mm angle of view. The size is large enough to provide reasonable protection from flare-inducing light and from dust, rain, and impact. The rounded style of this hood means that the lens will sit upright on it – when you can trust doing so. The slightly rubberized black section at the end of the hood looks nice and adds some grip.

A push-button release allows the hood to stay locked into place, with installation and removal happening with ease. The hood's interior has a matte finish for maximum reflection avoidance.

Sony included a filter adjustment window feature in this lens hood design. I find these windows provide insufficient space to rotate a circular polarizer filter quickly. Most often, when I am adjusting a CP filter, I need to rotate it 90 degrees because I have also rotated the camera the same amount. To make that adjustment through the small window takes a frustrating number of short rotations. Usually, I remove the hood and hold the filter in place while I rotate the camera, holding the previously established effect. Even when making small rotational adjustments, I typically want to rock the filter back and forth a substantial amount and watch the results to determine the correct position for optimal filter effects.

Not all CP filter adjustments are as large as 90°, and the filter window is less aggravating to use for minor changes, including small variable ND filter adjustments.

The hood windows of my lens hoods are often found open due to them sliding against the side of a case, and I have fixed that problem with epoxy or tape on some of my hoods. However, Sony made this hood window tight enough to avoid that problem.

Sony delivers this lens in a zippered padded nylon case with a hand strap.

The included lens strap suggests a good way to carry this lens.

Price, Value, Compatibility

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The FE 50-150 is priced according to its awesomeness, and its price will easily be its most limiting sales volume factor. Still, professionals and serious amateurs will find this lens's performance and capabilities setting their imagery apart, making the lens easily worth the cost. Considering the alternative cost of the FE 135mm F1.8 GM lens and a couple of other prime lenses solidifies the FE 50-150's value.

As an "FE" lens, the Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens is compatible with all Sony E-mount cameras, including full-frame and APS-C sensor format models. Sony provides a 1-year limited warranty.

The reviewed Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens was retail sourced.

Alternatives

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The Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens has no equal, but there are alternatives. Many alternatives compete at the wide end, but buying the FE 50-150 to use only the wide end doesn't make sense. You buy this lens because it includes the to-150mm range, and that reasoning limits the comparables.

Let's first compare the also-high-performing Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II Lens. From a focal length perspective, the 70-200 gives up 20mm on the wide end, but it includes 50mm beyond 150mm, and from a max aperture perspective, it gives up a full stop, transmitting half as much light.

In the image quality comparison, the 50-150 is at least as sharp at f/2 as the 70-200 is at f/2.8. The 50-150 has less peripheral shading and less focus breathing, while the 70-200 shows less flare impact at narrow apertures.

The Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM vs. 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II Lens comparison shows the 50-150 weighing a noticeable 10.4 oz (295g) more. The two lenses are the same length, but the 50-150 is considerably wider. The 70-200 uses 77mm filters vs. 95mm, goes to 0.30x max magnification vs. 0.20x, has OSS and a focus limiter, is compatible with extenders, and is about $1,000.00 USD less expensive. If the 151-200mm (plus extender) range is unimportant to you and you can afford the higher price, I recommend getting the 50-150.

Those needing a super wide aperture at a medium focal length also have the high-performing Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM Lens to consider.

This lens provides only a single focal length but has a 1/3 stop wider aperture. Remarkably, the image quality comparison shows the zoom lens slightly sharper than the prime at f/2. The 50-150 has less peripheral shading, while the 135 shows less color blur and narrow aperture flare impacts.

The Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM vs. FE 135mm F1.8 GM Lens comparison shows the 50-150 weighing 13.8 oz (390g) more and measuring noticeably larger, especially in length. The 50-150 has less focus breathing. The 135 uses 82mm filters vs. 95mm, goes to 0.25x max magnification vs. 0.20x, and is about $1,800.00 USD less expensive. If you only need the 135mm focal length, the prime lens is a good choice. However, most will appreciate the zoom range for the size, weight, and cost difference.

Use the site's tools to create additional comparisons.

Summary

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The ultra-high-performing Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM Lens is a phenomenal choice for, especially, portraits, events, including weddings, and indoor and close outdoor sports.

The plan was to use a different lens for each day of the short-field youth soccer camp I covered. However, this lens worked so well the first day that I chose it for two additional days.

This lens is in an elite class, producing exceptionally high image quality, even at its recordsetting f/2 aperture, and as a GM lens, it brings the full performance package, including fast, quiet, smooth, and precise AF. The price tag is a hurdle that serious photographers will find a way over.