SonyAlphaBlog tested the new 24-50mm f/2.8 G lens and concluded:
The Sony 24-50mm F2.8 G is a very good compact and light lens. Its ergonomics, build quality, AF, sharpness are in line with latest Sony high standards but the range is quite limited and distortion and vignetting are high (but to be corrected automatically in post processing) Personally I prefer the versatility of the Sony 20-70mm F4 G that allow to use it from landscape to portrait, but if the range 24-50mm is enough for you the Sony 24-50 F2.8 G is a very good lens
Marc from SonyAlphaBlog tested the lens and concluded:
The Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G (1399) euros is an excellent lens . It offer very similar performance to the Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM II : excellent sharpness , AF, ergonomics, color rendition with on top lightweight, small size and “reasonable” price vs GM II. Its only weaknesses are the resistance to flare and distortion/vignetting
Its limited range is perfectly ok for landscape usage vs a 16-35mm. If you own the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II it will be a very nice complement without overlap. Globally the 16-25mm F2.8 make more sense than the recent Sony FE 24-50mm F2.8 G
Alternatives
The Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM II is the best in all domains except resistance to flare, it will offer more range, smoother background blur , less distortion less vignetting but similar sharpness The Sony PZ 16-35mm F4 G is maybe the best one for video. Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary and Tamron 17-28mm F2.8 Di III RXD are clearly below on 61Mpix except maybe for resistance to flare.
The price of the Sony 16-25 F2.8 (1399 euros) allow to get the performance of the GMII (2700 euros) at half of its price and considering the improvement over the Sigma and Tamron in term of sharpness, AF, ergonomics, color rendition it is worth the price difference (1400 vs 900 euros)
According to our lead camera technician, the Sony A7CR can be rated as a 3/10 in terms of difficulty, with one being the least difficult and ten being the most. It’s a lot easier than the A6000 and A7 series cameras, so it comes as a DIY-friendly camera to disassemble.
At the NABshow Viltrox displayed the 135mm f/1.8 FE autofocus lens. They still did not disclose the exact release date and pricing of the lens. But here you can see the lens mounted on the Sony A7cR.
You can see the LED display and all manual controls. Looks like a solid build. We will have to see if the image quality will match the one of the Sony 135mm GM.
One more thing: The Viltrox 30-300 mm t/4.0 costs $65,000, but you get this additional giant pillow for free:)
The Sigma 500mm F5.6 DG DN Sports (3200 euros) is an excellent lens and a very good news for animal shooters. It provides the ultimate image quality in a light and small form factor, much more usable than a 500mm F4 or 400mm f2.8 or the big telephoto zooms at a very reasonable price of 3200 euros. It can fit in a standard backpack
It AF, optical stabilisation , ergonomics, build quality is excellent. Bokeh , color rendition , distortion, Resistance to flare , level of CA are also excellent The only weak point is the very long min focusing distance of 3.2m and the limitations imposed by Sony : max 15fps and no TC allowed
