Camera
Review: Nikon NX Studio answers our plea for a free, all-in-one editing app
Introduction
| Nikon NX Studio version 1.0.0’s user interface. |
A few weeks ago, we published an article comparing Nikon’s free ViewNX-i and Capture NX-D utilities with their dominant payware alternative, Adobe Camera Raw, which also underlies the popular Adobe Lightroom Classic. In summary, I found both ViewNX-i and Capture NX-D to offer pretty decent image quality and good performance.
But one of my primary complaints with this duo was that neither app offered a complete feature set. ViewNX-i’s Raw processing capabilities were rather more limited in the interests of approachability, while Capture NX-D lacked features like support for geolocation, keywording, movies, slideshows and more. That left users having to switch back and forth between the pair for a full experience.
The newly released Nikon NX Studio definitively addresses this. It’s essentially a replacement for both applications, offering almost every feature of the pair in a single program. Capture NX-D and ViewNX-i will remain available for download, but are unlikely to be updated to add support for new cameras or compatibility with future operating system updates.
NX Studio replaces ViewNX-i if already installed, but can run alongside Capture NX-D, allowing you to try both in parallel should you want to. It comes bundled with a new version of Nikon Transfer 2 whose sole change is to add support for NX Studio itself. It also works with the same Message Center 2 and Picture Control Utility 2 apps as its predecessors.
It will support all Nikon DSLRs released since the D1 in 1999, as well as all of the company’s Z and 1-series mirrorless cameras, Coolpix compacts and KeyMission action cameras. (Although with that said, AVI-format movies from a couple of dozen Coolpix models released between 2009 and 2011 can’t be played back in the app.)
Key takeaways:
- NX Studio comes with a modern, approachable UI
- Keywording and GPS tagging are now supported
- Allows for movie playback and light editing
- Image quality and performance are broadly similar to predecessors; convenience in a single package is the reason to upgrade
A cleaner, friendlier, more modern user interface
The user interface is aesthetically similar to that of both earlier apps, but it’s now cleaner, friendlier and more standards compliant than before. Icons are monochromatic, with a bolder yellow accent color used to call attention to enabled options, rather than the more muted yellow of the Capture NX-D and ViewNX-i. And unlike both earlier apps, there are no drop shadows or gradient effects, giving NX Studio a cleaner, more modern look.
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| Alongside its predecessors, Capture NX-D (bottom left) and ViewNX-i (bottom right), Nikon NX Studio (top) has a cleaner, friendlier user interface that’s nevertheless familiar. | |
Compared to NX-D specifically, NX Studio is far more approachable. Adjustment panels are no longer hidden behind toggle buttons, expanding a new one no longer causes a previous one to vanish from the UI, and nor do conflicting variations of a single control appear in multiple places as in the earlier app. If you only use a subset of the controls on offer, you can also create a custom panel containing just those specific controls, which helps made them easier to find.
And unlike in Capture NX-D, Windows conventions are now properly followed, so you can tab or shift-tab to switch back and forth between fields when typing in values directly, saving some wrist strain in having to reach for your mouse or touchpad repeatedly. One slight shortcoming is that while keyboard shortcuts are supported – for example, the F key toggles full-screen mode – there’s no list of shortcuts to be found in the otherwise-excellent user manual, and nor are they listed in the app’s settings. We’ve sent a query over to Nikon about the keyboard shortcuts, and will update this article if and when we receive a response.
Few and minor drawbacks to the new interface
There are relatively few downsides to the new UI. You can no longer undock and float panels to place them wherever you like on the screen, nor can you dock them in different locations to their defaults, other than for the film strip. This defaults to a horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen, but can be switched to a vertical column at screen left instead
The navigation panel, folders and albums controls are all fixed at screen left, while the histogram, adjustments, EXIF information and keywording tools sit at the right of the screen. Both of these side panels can easily be resized, or hidden with a single click on their centrally-located arrow buttons. The film strip lacks a similar button to allow it to be hidden, but you can hide it by dragging downwards when resizing.
Keyword your images manually or based on location
Given that ViewNX-i had a rather abbreviated selection of editing controls, I’d wager most users will be migrating from Capture NX-D. In most respects, NX Studio’s editing controls are identical to that app, although it does add the Color Booster control from ViewNX-i alongside NX-D’s saturation tool, giving you access to other method.
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| NX Studio now includes support for XMP and IPTC keywording, including automatic address and Wikipedia data tagging based on geolocation info. | |
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But what else do you gain by switching from NX-D? The most significant addition is probably the arrival of both XMP/IPTC keywording, allowing you to manually tag your images post-import, view existing tags and remove those which aren’t applicable.
If your images are geotagged, you can also add location-based tags semi-automatically, choosing from a list of app-selected location name suggestions, or even from place names suggested via Wikipedia. Confusingly, though, this functionality is available only when in map view, even though the ‘Set from location data’ button remains visible – albeit grayed out – in other views. I’d like to see Nikon correct that to be clickable regardless of your chosen view.
View your images and track logs on the map
Speaking of the map view, that’s another new addition, and it allows you to see geotagged images from your currently-selected folder or album on an interactive world map. You have a choice of map, satellite, hybrid or physical views provided by Google Maps.
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| The new Map view can pinpoint the location and capture direction of individual photos, show GPS track logs and automatically geotag your images from the tracks. | |
Each individual image shows up as a yellow pushpin on the map, with the currently selected image being shown in red. If your camera recorded a compass bearing at capture time, that direction is also indicated on its pushpin when selected as shown in the screenshot above left, but not otherwise.
If you have an NMEA or GPX track log recorded by the camera itself or a compatible device, these can be imported and shown as a red track line. And once imported, they can be used to approximately geotag selected images based on their capture time as compared to the times recorded in the track log.
Play movies and perform basic editing tasks
Another new addition is support for movies, both in terms of playback and basic editing. The editing functionality allows you to quickly trim the start and end of clips, or splice multiple files together.
You can also combine multiple movie clips and images to make a new file complete with titles, captions, and overlaid music. There are, however, only three transition effects, three still image durations (with optional motion effect), and three brief music samples provided. You can also add your own music in .WAV or .M4A formats, and process movie clips to remove autofocus noise.
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| You can now view and perform basic editing on movies in-app, but you’ll need a beefy processor and GPU if you want to do so with ultra high-def footage. | |
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Unfortunately, you’ll need quite a beefy processor and GPU for smooth playback if you shoot in 4K, let alone editing. On my 2018 Dell XPS 15 9570 laptop running Windows 10 version 1909, I found 1080p clips from the Nikon Z5, for example, played smoothly but those at 4K resolution stuttered badly.
And that’s not down to the hardware, as VLC Media Player played them perfectly smoothly on the same computer, while Windows’ own Media Player and Photo apps only dropped a handful of frames.
Several smaller tweaks, too
Nikon NX Studio also includes a number of smaller tweaks compared to Capture NX-D. For one thing, you can now upload images and movies directly to Nikon’s Image Space service and YouTube, respectively. You can also view slideshows with optional, user-provided background music, and the new program adds support for more obscure file formats such as 3D Multi Picture Object files or voice notes recorded on older Coolpix cameras.
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| Support is included for uploading your creations to both Nikon Image Space and YouTube. |
Really, I can only find a couple of omissions. As mentioned previously, you can no longer undock interface panels, nor can you change whether they appear in the left or right-side palettes. Other than that, I couldn’t find any other missing features this time around.
Image quality is indistinguishable from NX-D
Initially, I planned to compare Nikon NX Studio’s image quality to that of its predecessors and Adobe Camera Raw in detail. However, on testing the program I’ve found its results with identical settings to be visually indistinguishable from those of NX-D, even though precise file sizes do differ fractionally at the same compression level.
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| You can also play basic slideshows in-app, but there are only three transition types to choose from, and you’ll need to supply any background music yourself. |
With that being the case, I’ll refer you to the second page of my earlier article, instead, for a more detailed analysis. NX Studio is capable of delivering good image quality with very pleasing color and impressive shadow recovery, but feel Adobe still has a slight edge when it comes to fine detail at low sensitivities, which increases at higher sensitivities thanks to significantly stronger noise reduction from Nikon.
The good news is that with no noticeable change in image quality, and with all the same controls on offer as in both predecessors, NX Studio will read and apply all the same tweaks as did either earlier application, meaning you can upgrade without fear of having to rework all of your adjustments.
Performance is similar to both predecessors
As for performance, which was already a strong point of Nikon’s software compared to that provided by most manufacturers, things are also pretty similar to before. Adobe still has a small but noticeable edge in the speed of final output processing, and a more substantial advantage in terms of preview performance.
NX Studio is a little faster than Capture NX-D, however. Using the same six comparison images as for my previous article, it took 28 seconds to complete the batch. That’s about two seconds faster than with NX-D, and two seconds slower than NX-i. By way of comparison, performance leader Adobe still holds the crown with a time of 19.5 seconds.
A few bugs, but that’s to be expected in a brand-new app
In my time with Nikon NX Studio, I’ve found it to be very stable, but that’s not to say it’s perfect, nor would I expect a brand-new app to be. I’ve run across a couple of bugs, although only one strikes me as particularly significant. (And both are related to issues I found with the previous apps, as well.)
Firstly, there’s still an issue with detecting dragging of the right-panel scroll bar, regardless of whether the program is running maximized or not. But where this only happened with my Dell Active Pen, it now also happens with both the touch screen and even when dragging with the mouse. Simply using the scroll wheel or a two-fingered touchpad swipe works around this, however.
The program also ignores Windows’ scaling settings entirely in mixed-resolution monitor setups when running on an ultra high-def screen. That makes it extremely difficult to use on a 4K display unless you either lower the resolution or disable your lower-res screen(s).
The good news is that Nikon is aware of this problem and working on a fix. In the meantime, desktop users with mixed-resolution displays can work around it using a scaling setting built into NX Studio, but notebook users will find that they constantly have to change this setting – which also requires an app restart – every time they disconnect or reconnect a display of differing resolution.
NX Studio is a big step in the right direction
So what do I think of Nikon NX Studio? I have to say that it’s a big step in the right direction, giving photographers that Nikon cameras a powerful editing application where they can perform most of the edits they’d want to.
The most important thing here is that the new program provides basically everything of any significance from its two predecessors, allowing you to ditch one of them altogether. Its new interface is noticeably better and easier on the eye, and its performance and image quality are just as good as before.
I think this first iteration of NX Studio is a great replacement for Nikon’s earlier apps. If you’re using either ViewNX-i or Capture NX-D currently, I highly recommend you upgrade to the newer app, because I’m confident that you’ll agree.
What we like:
- Available free with your Nikon camera
- Includes almost every feature of Capture NX-D and ViewNX-i in a single app
- Recognizes and retains edits made with Capture NX-D or ViewNX-i
- Significantly friendlier interface than its predecessors, though with familiar controls
- Realistic color with minimal effort
- Impressive shadow recovery from Active D-Lighting and D-Lighting HS
- Slightly faster than Capture NX-D, albeit still a fair bit slower than Adobe
- A very generous editing feature-set
What we don’t:
- No overall one-click auto control, although many individual controls have an auto setting
- Noise reduction robs fine detail and, depending on your camera, there may not be much scope to fine-tune it
- Interactions between controls can prove challenging
- 4K video playback requires beefy hardware
- Similar touch/pen issues to earlier apps, but they’re easily worked around
Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners
The 11th annual International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition has announced the winners of its 2024 awards, showcasing stunning imagery from around the world. Photographers competed in various categories, including the coveted Landscape Photographer of the Year, requiring a portfolio of at least four images, and Landscape Photograph of the Year, recognizing the power of a single captivating shot.
This year’s competition saw Canadian photographer Andrew Mielzynski, an amateur with a deep connection to the natural environment, claim the top prize for his portfolio of stark images with simple color palettes. Ryohei Irie from Japan captured the Landscape Photograph of the Year award with a mesmerizing image of fireflies illuminating a forest.
Beyond the overall winners, the competition presented awards in specific categories, including Black and White, Aerial, Snow and Ice, and Forest, along with at-large winners. In addition to the overall and category winners, we’ve included several of our favorite photos from the 202 photographs recognized this year. You can visit the competition’s website to see all the winning images or to download its 2024 eBook.
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place
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Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada
Subject and location: Cono de Arita in the Salar de Arizaro, Atacama Desert in Argentina
Description: The Cono is a perfectly cone-shaped volcano at 3,690 meters above sea level. It’s very graphic due to the contrast between the dark, perfectly formed cone and the bed of white salt that is found at its base.
Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place
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Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada
Subject and location: Winter Cottonwoods, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Description: During the pandemic, I went out for a walk at a local park during a fierce winter storm. I ran across this scene. It seemed very chaotic, with many layers of trees. I loved how the snow, driven by high winds, was embedded into the bark of the trunks. The snow on the bark created a textural contrast that adds detail and interest to the trees. I took a few frames, trying to simplify the scene in front of me and settled on this one, loving the tones, the depth, the order and the minimalism. Even in a chaotic scene, there seems to be a sense of balance that feels orderly and pleasing.
Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place
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Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada
Subject and location: Found in a roadside ditch near Heathcote, Ontario, Canada
Description: After a melt, we had a flash freeze with extremely cold temperatures and a clear blue sky. I was driving by a ditch on the side of a road that had been filled with water and had to stop and look (as we photographers do, can’t pass a ditch without investigating). This is what I found. Great textures and patterns, tones and flow, with lovely graphic lines creating a dynamic, abstract designs. I love this type of work – it’s so much fun, yet challenging to find just the right composition.
Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place
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Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia
Subject and location: Pumice Field, La Puna, Argentina
Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place
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Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia
Subject and location: Seven Colors Mountain, Siloli Desert, Bolivian Altiplano
Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place
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Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia
Subject and location: Arita Cone, La Puna, Argentina
Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place
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Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania
Subject and location: Early Autumn, Vânători Neamț Natural Park, Romania
Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place
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Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania
Subject and location: Poisoned Beauty, Geamăna, Apuseni Mountains, Romania
Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place
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Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania
Subject and location: Whispers of the Sunken Trees Cuejdel Lake, Romania
Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photograph of the Year: 1st place
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Photographer: Ryohei Irie, Japan
Subject and location: Traces of Light, Ichinomata, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Description: The Landscape Photograph of the Year Award went to Ryohei Irie of Japan. He likes the mysterious atmosphere created by the standing dead trees and firefly light. “I have been visiting this Subject and location for several years during the firefly season, and it is an interesting place because the intensity and length of the firefly light and the Subject and location where the fireflies fly vary greatly, depending on the year and time of day, resulting in completely different works, even when photographed in the same way.”
Copyright Ryohei Irie / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photograph of the Year: 2nd place
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Photographer: Justinus Sukotjo, Indonesia
Subject and location: Mother Care Framing, Walakiri Beach, Sumba Island, Indonesia
Copyright Justinus Sukotjo / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Landscape Photograph of the Year: 3rd place
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Photographer: Himadri Bhuyan, India
Subject and location: The Flow, Sohra, Meghalaya, India
Copyright Himadri Bhuyan / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Black and White Award
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Photographer: J. Fritz Rumpf, United States
Award: The Black and White Award 2024
Subject and location: White Tie Affair. Death Valley National Park, California, USA
Copyright J. Fritz Rumpf / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Aerial Award
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Photographer: Benjamin Barakat, Switzerland
Award: The Aerial Award 2024
Subject and location: The Final Dune, Namibia
Copyright Benjamin Barakat / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Snow and Ice Award
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Photographer: Jeroen van Nieuwenhove, Iceland
Award: The Snow and Ice Award 2024
Subject and location: Isþyrlu – Ice Swirl, Scoresbysund, Greenland
Copyright Jeroen van Nieuwenhove / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Forest Award
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Photographer: Shirley Wung, Taiwan
Award: The Forest Award 2024
Subject and location: Fireflies flying in the Misty Mountains, Wufeng Township, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Copyright Shirley Wung / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
The Exciting Sky Award
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Photographer: Federico Delucchi, Italy
Award: The Exciting Sky Award 2024
Subject and location: Aurora, meteor shower and other cool stuff, Rocca la Meja, Italy
Copyright Federico Delucchi / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
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Photographer: Laura Bennet, United States
Subject and location: Sumba Island, Indonesia
Copyright Laura Bennet / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
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Photographer: William Preite, Italy
Subject and location: Pale di San Martino, Falcade, Dolomites, Italy
Copyright William Preite / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
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Photographer: Siegfried Makedanz, Germany
Subject and location: Sandfellsjökull Glacier Lagoon, Southern Iceland
Copyright Siegfried Makedanz / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
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Photographer: Sabine Weise, Germany
Subject and location: Moonscape Overlook, Utah Badlands, USA
Copyright Sabine Weise / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
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Photographer: Yuriy Vantowski, United States
Subject and location: Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia
Copyright Yuriy Vantowski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
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Photographer: Tanay Das, India
Subject and location: Kistwa, Himalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Copyright Tanay Das / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Other top entries
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Photographer: Rajesh Jyothiswaran, United States
Subject and location: Texas, United States
Copyright Rajesh Jyothiswaran / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year
| Images: Canon, Nikon |
It wasn’t long ago that many of our reviews of APS-C cameras had to come with a warning: no matter how good the body was, you were almost certainly going to be limited by lens selection. This was especially true with Nikon and Canon’s mirrorless cameras. Sony has followed its longstanding tradition of letting third parties build out a healthy selection of lenses, and the selection for Fujifilm’s APS-C-only X-mount is second to none, but Nikon’s Z mount and Canon’s RF mount appeared to be almost completely locked down. As a result, you could count the number of APS-C lens options available on your fingers.
But things are changing. Over the past year, we’ve seen several APS-C lenses announced and released for Canon and Nikon cameras, filling notable gaps in the first-party lens lineups. But while the situation is improving, it’s clear that the two companies are still in control.
This week, Sigma released four APS-C primes for Canon’s RF mount, making good on its promise to release six licensed lenses for the system – earlier this year, it released the 10-18mm F2.8 and 18-50mm F2.8. Meanwhile, Nikon has allowed Sigma to release select primes for Z-mount – a trio of F1.4 primes at 16, 30, and 56mm. It’s worth noting the company’s 23mm F1.4 is the only one of its APS-C primes that it hasn’t brought to Z-mount; it likely isn’t a coincidence that Nikon’s only first-party APS-C prime lens is a 24mm F1.7.
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Sigma’s APS-C prime lens lineup is quite good, and now most of them are available for almost any mirrorless APS-C camera.
Image: Sigma |
However, Nikon hasn’t stopped companies like Viltrox and Sirui from releasing a slew of Z-mount APS-C prime lenses, complete with autofocus. If you pick up a Nikon Zfc or Z50II, you can get anywhere from a 13mm F1.4 (20mm equiv.) to a 75mm F1.2 (113mm equiv.) to go with it, as well as most of the classic focal lengths in between.
Your choices are no longer limited to a few first-party options, manual-focus only lenses, or glass meant for full-frame bodies
This is an important change for APS-C shooters. Even going back to the DSLR days, it’s felt like many manufacturers have viewed the format as a stepping stone to full-frame rather than something enthusiasts and pros might consciously choose. Neither Canon nor Nikon have been particularly prolific when releasing new APS-C glass. But with the gates being slightly opened, you’re no longer limited to a few first-party options, manual-focus-only lenses from third parties, or heavier, more expensive full-frame lenses. Now, there’s at least some selection of third-party lenses with autofocus to choose from, alongside Canon and Nikon’s offerings.
This isn’t to say that you can now buy any APS-C camera you want and be assured that all the lenses you want will be available – you are still at the mercy of what Canon and Nikon wish to allow. While plenty of primes are available for Z-mount APS-C cameras, no fast zoom lenses are available; Nikon’s all start at F3.5 and end at F5.6 or F6.3.
In fact, there are currently no third-party APS-C zooms available for Nikon Z-mount at all, despite the fact that two have made the jump from E and X-mount to RF – it also goes without saying that there are many others more available on Fujifilm and Sony’s systems. That’s a bummer for anyone looking to step up from the kit lens or wanting to shoot sports or birds in anything but ideal lighting without having to shell out for and lug around a full-frame 70-200mm.
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Tamron has promised to bring its 11-20mm F2.8 APS-C lens to Canon RF mount this year as well – no word on Z-mount, despite Tamron bringing some of its full-frame lenses to Nikon.
Image: Tamron |
RF mount at least has the two constant F2.8 zooms thanks to Sigma, with one more on the way from Tamron, though those are all at the wide end. However, there are far fewer autofocus primes available for Canon, as manufacturers like Sirui and Viltrox aren’t producing them. That’s not surprising; a representative for the latter once said that Canon had told it to stop producing products for RF mount. The 85mm F1.4 lens that Samyang announced for the system in 2020 also disappeared from the market not long after.
In a perfect world, these problems wouldn’t exist. Canon and Nikon would make the lenses that their APS-C cameras needed to stand on their own feet as a real alternative to full-frame options, and there would be robust competition from third parties, which would be allowed to make whatever lenses they want.
None of that seems particularly likely. However, at least those who choose to shoot with a smaller sensor in a Canon or Nikon body have gotten a wider choice of lenses, even if they’re still bound by the companies’ rules.
At the end of the day, that’s better for everyone interested in APS-C, because it means that cameras like the EOS R7 and Z50II are competitive with the Sony a6700 and Fujifilm X-T5 in a way that they wouldn’t have been with an extremely limited lens selection. With any luck, this trend will continue, and the APS-C landscape will become more competitive – even if Canon and Nikon aren’t giving it their full attention.
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The FE 28-70mm F2.8 GM, attached to the newly-announced a1 II.
Photo: Mitchell Clark |
Sony has announced the FE 28-70mm F2 GM, a zoom lens that trades 4mm at the wide end for an aperture that’s a stop brighter than the one found on a classic 24-70mm F2.8. It’s the company’s first constant F2 zoom lens for its E-mount cameras.
The lens’s optical formula consists of 20 elements in 14 groups, with three aspherical lenses, three super ED elements, and one ED element. It uses an 11-blade aperture. The front element has an oil and water-resistant flourine coating, and the lens is moisture and dust resistant.
It’s far from a compact lens, though it’s not as monstrously large as you might expect – it weighs in at 918g (32 oz) and is around 140mm (5.5″) long. It has an 86mm filter thread.
Sony makes it obvious what lens it’s competing with; highlighting that it’s 36% lighter and 11% smaller in diameter than Canon’s RF 28-70mm F2 L lens while claiming better corner-to-corner sharpness. The company also says the lens’s four linear motors can focus even when shooting at 120fps, and emphasized that they’re quieter than the older ring-type ultrasonic style motor in the Canon F2. In fairness, that lens was one of the original RF-mount releases, announced in 2018.
“Sony makes it obvious which lens it’s competing with”
The quieter operation should help when shooting video. Other pluses for video: it has an internal focusing mechanism which should make it easier to use the lens on a gimbal, the ability to switch the aperture ring into clickless mode and supports the focus breathing compensation mode included on some Sony bodies. You can also set the manual focus ring to have a linear response, which should make focus pulls easier.
The lens has a variety of switches and buttons. There are two customizable focus hold buttons, an Iris lock switch, the aperture click switch and a zoom smoothness switch that lets you adjust between “smooth” and “tight” torque settings.
It’s not the fastest zoom lens available for E-mount: at the time of writing, that prize goes to Sigma’s 28-45mm F1.8, though that model has substantially less reach on the tele end and only a 1/3EV increase in light-gathering ability.
The FE 28-70mm F2 GM will be available in mid-December and has an MSRP of $2,899.
Sony Electronics Announces Its First Constant F2 Aperture Zoom Lens: The Full-Frame 28-70mm F2 G Master™
The Unique Combination of a Versatile Focal Range, Large F2 Aperture, and Compact Form Factor
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 19, 2024 – Sony Electronics Inc. introduces the 28-70mm F2 G Master, the first1 Sony zoom lens with a constant F2 aperture and 77th lens in the Sony E-Mount lineup. This full-frame lens offers a versatile focal range from 28mm to 70mm while delivering prime-like2 bokeh with its constant F2 aperture. Despite its wide aperture and zoom range, the 28-70mm F2 G Master remains compact, lightweight, and well-balanced, making it ideal for both photography and video applications. This combination of zoom range, large aperture, and compact design makes this an innovative and versatile lens for portrait, sports, wedding, event, and video professionals.
“Our goal with the 28-70mm F2 G Master was to create a high-performing zoom lens that could be a strong single lens alternative to multiple primes,” said Yang Cheng, Vice President of Imaging Solutions, Sony Electronics Inc. “We prioritized a lightweight design during the engineering process as we knew that was a critical factor for real-life, practical use. And in a manner that only Sony can do, we were able to deliver a small, standard F2 zoom lens that does not sacrifice image quality. We’re proud to add this to our G Master series and believe it is one of the most innovative lenses ever offered to professionals.”
Sharp Imagery and Beautiful Bokeh
The 28-70mm F2 G Master produces extremely sharp corner-to-corner results throughout the entire zoom range, even while shooting wide open at F2. The high-resolution output is made possible by the three XA (extreme aspherical) elements and three aspherical elements built within the lens that minimize aberrations. The lens also features a floating focusing system that helps maintain internal stability. This focusing mechanism enables an impressive minimum focusing distance of up to 14.8 inches (0.38m) throughout the entire zoom range.
Staying true to the G Master lens lineage, the lens’ aperture up to F2 produces extraordinary bokeh, ideal for creating images that showcase a shallow depth of field. The 28-70mm F2 amplifies the G Master bokeh standards through a newly designed 11-blade circular aperture unit. Chromatic aberrations, which cause color fringing within photos, are effectively minimized with three Super ED (extra-low dispersion) elements and one ED element built within the lens. Additionally, Sony’s Nano AR Coating II reduces flare and internal reflections, ensuring clear images, even when strong light sources are present in the frame.
Compact, Lightweight Design Without Compromising Quality
The 28-70mm F2 G Master is one of the most advanced mirrorless camera lenses manufactured with a total 20 different lens elements arranged within 14 internal groups. Despite the advanced optical design, the lens remains compact at 3.6 x 5.5 inches (92.9 x 139.8mm) and lightweight at approximately 32.3 ounces (918g). The combination of imaging performance and a compact form factor offers an innovative solution that meets the demands of industry professionals.
Precise Autofocus Tracking with Instant Response
Reliable and responsive autofocus is delivered through the lens’ four XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors powered by advanced control algorithms. This smooth performance system provides accurate and quick focus tracking, often essential in many professional use cases like weddings and sports. This lens is fully compatible with Sony’s Alpha 9 III‘s high-speed continuous shooting capabilities of up to 120 frames per second3 with AF/AE (autofocus/autoexposure) tracking, even while zooming.
Designed for High-Performance Video Shooting
Along with its F2 aperture, the zoom range of the 28-70mm G Master provides a versatile video option that can cover standard field-of-view shots and tighter compositions up to 70mm. This lens minimizes focus breathing through its build and compatibility with the Breathing Compensation feature on various Alpha bodies4. Its high autofocus performance ensures reliable focus even when recording in high frame rates up to 4K 120p / FHD 240p5. Additionally, the XD linear motors and newly developed aperture unit operates silently, preventing any lens noise from being captured during filming.
The lens is ideal for gimbal use with a minimal zoom extension of approximately .68 inches. The compact form factor and short external zoom helps maintain gimbal balance, even at varying focal lengths.
Operability and Reliability for Versatile Control
Key control features include Linear Response MF for intuitive manual focusing, adjustable zoom ring torque, and an aperture ring with a click ON/OFF switch. The lens also offers two customizable focus hold buttons, an iris lock switch, and an AF/MF switch. The 28-70mm F2 G Master has an 86mm filter diameter and a convenient window on the lens hood for variable filter adjustments.
For durability, all buttons and switches are sealed with silicone gaskets, and critical areas are designed to resist dust and moisture6. This ensures reliability, even while using in challenging outdoor environments. Additionally, a fluorine coating on the front element repels contaminants for easy cleaning.
Pricing and Availability
The 28-70mm F2 G Master will be available in December 2024 for approximately $2,899.99 USD and $3,999.99 CAD. It will be sold at a variety of Sony’s authorized dealers throughout North America.
A product video on the new 28-70mm F2 G Master can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/7Y_O5YYQIl0
For detailed product information about the 28-70mm F2 G Master, please visit: https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/lenses/full-frame-e-mount/p/sel2870gm
Exclusive stories and exciting new content shot with the new 28-70mm F2 G Master and Sony’s other imaging products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com, a site created to inform, educate, and inspire content creators.
Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM Specifications
| Principal specifications | |
|---|---|
| Lens type | Zoom lens |
| Max Format size | 35mm FF |
| Focal length | 28–70 mm |
| Image stabilization | No |
| Lens mount | Sony E, Sony FE |
| Aperture | |
| Maximum aperture | F2–20 |
| Minimum aperture | F2–20 |
| Aperture ring | Yes |
| Number of diaphragm blades | 11 |
| Optics | |
| Elements | 20 |
| Groups | 14 |
| Special elements / coatings | 3 aspherical, 3 super ED, 1 ED |
| Focus | |
| Minimum focus | 0.38 m (14.96″) |
| Maximum magnification | 0.23× |
| Autofocus | Yes |
| Motor type | Linear Motor |
| Focus method | Internal |
| Distance scale | No |
| DoF scale | No |
| Physical | |
| Weight | 918 g (2.02 lb) |
| Diameter | 93 mm (3.66″) |
| Length | 140 mm (5.51″) |
| Sealing | Yes |
| Colour | Black |
| Filter thread | 86 mm |
| Hood supplied | Yes |
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