The Sony 28-70mm f2.0 is a technical marvel. If you are a wedding photographer, I’m pretty sure you’ve already hovered over the buy button for this lens. As someone who eagerly awaited this lens, I have to say it does not disappoint. It does everything I expected it to. 

Not only does this lens give a fantastic working focal length range for wedding photographers but also in a reasonably sized package and size and weight for such a fast lens. 

I have to be honest, I have long been jealous of Canon’s 28-70mm f2.0 and I promised myself that if Sony hadn’t released this lens by the 2025 season, I would try shooting Canon again!  

The Canon version has been a go to for many wedding photographers for some years now. I am very happy that Sony have now blessed us with a lens that has the same party tricks in a much more manageable form factor…  The Canon version is nearly 50% heavier and although many love that lens, I’ve had many photographer friends sadly sell their copy as it was just too heavy in use from day to day. 

Technical Specs

This won’t be a technical review with lens charts etc. I don’t really think those reviews are of great use to me. I want to see real world examples. The Sony FE 28-70mm f/2 GM lens is a versatile standard zoom lens designed for full-frame E-mount cameras, offering a constant f/2 aperture throughout its focal range. 

Its optical construction comprises 20 elements in 14 groups, with an 11-blade diaphragm. With a minimum focusing distance of 38 cm, it allows photographers to capture subjects at a reasonably close range.  The maximum magnification ratio of 0.23x enables semi-macro photography, suitable for capturing detailed shots of wedding rings etc.

The lens accepts 86mm filters and measures approximately 92.9mm in diameter and 139.8mm in length. It weighs around 918 grams and balances very well on professional camera bodies. 

The lens includes a petal-shaped hood, which has a cool access window for variable ND filters / polarisers. 

It is equipped with a manual aperture ring, offering tactile exposure control, and the ring can be de-clicked for smooth and silent iris adjustments during video recording. 

There are Two programmable focus hold buttons and a switch to allow for a slow or fast zoom experience. 

The lens is around 28% larger and 24% heavier than the 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II, which is quite some feat considering the constant F2.0 aperture. 

Autofocus is near instant, very accurate – and one of the fastest focusing lenses I’ve ever used. Focus breathing is near non existent. The lens is also weather sealed making it reliable for various shooting environments, ensuring durability during the unpredictable conditions of wedding photography. 

The lens’s versatility and performance make it a valuable addition to a wedding photographer’s kit, capable of handling a wide range of shooting scenarios from wide-angle group shots to intimate portraits.

Why a zoom lens for wedding photography?!

I never imagined I would lust after a zoom lens after all these years! For so long, my love for primes was unmatched. I would only really use a zoom lens for dancing throughout a wedding day. My bread and butter was a 35mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.2 prime on each side. I loved the look, the freedom fast glass gave for low lit weddings and could never have imagined sacrificing that. 

However, the flexibility of using a fast zoom lens in a fast paced event like a wedding is invaluable and allows for such a variety of images that it far outweighs the compromises.

It was only when Canon released their 28-70mm f2.0 that I really thought about the possibilities and benefits of having a zoom lens. I had switched to Sony when disappointed with the Eos R and wasn’t really wanting to switch back. A few years came and went and I had second photographers who used the Canon 28-70mm f2.0 and loved it. I briefly tried it and found it crazy heavy.

In early 2024 however I heard the rumour a Sony 24-70mm f2.0 was coming and it got me very excited. For this reason when Sigma released their 28-45mm f1.8 in early 2024 I decided to try it to see if a fast zoom lens was for me… I had recently been experimenting with 28mm and really liked the focal length, although carrying 3 digital bodies as well as shooting film was just too much!

The Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 (review here) soon replaced my 35mm F1.4GM lens and this setup worked really well for most of 2024 for me, however it was always going to be likely replaced by what Sony would hopefully release. The Sigma was a fabulous lens with nice character in the bokeh but it was always just a little too short. I still ended up using my 50mm f1.2 GM on the other body as I could really feel that 5mm difference with the distortion it never felt close to the compression of my 50mm at 45mm. (If it had gone to 50mm that may have been enough for me as I rarely shoot over 50mm) With the Sigma I also found a heavy vignette that Lightroom didn’t correct well at all (too bright mostly).

The Sony lens surpasses the Sigma in every way. Not only does it offer a much more useful focal range, it is also lighter with the only compromise a small difference in aperture. But I would rather have that extra 25mm reach for sure. 

Does a zoom lens change how you shoot weddings? Does it make you lazy?

In lens reviews you don’t often see this discussed, however I think it’s really important to consider. 

One reason I loved using primes was that it forced you to think about scenes through the focal length. Often before a scene unfolded I would instinctively know what focal length was best suited. I knew how it would look, how close I should  be from the action etc… 

When shooting with primes, you don’t just choose a focal length based on who many people you can fit in the frame from where you were stood… You zoom with your feet, and this has far far more influence on the final result than anything else. 

At times over the years I’ve had second photographers and I have noticed a tendency when using zoom lenses, to use them at their longest and widest with not much in between. It’s very true that zoom lenses can make you lazy and somewhat affect your creativity and the quality of your images. 

I would never recommend a zoom lens to someone that didn’t have a good working knowledge of focal lengths. I think it’s so important that your focal length choice when using a zoom like this is intentional. You know why you want 28mm, 35mm, 50mm etc…  Yes there will be times you quickly turn the ring to zoom in on a moment or zoom out to add context, but for the most part its good to slow down and view this lens as a selection of primes. Choose your focal length intentionally and not just randomly zoom through the range… 

I will admit the first time I used this lens however, I did find that difficult. More than the 28-45mm f1.8 – probably because of the increased range. I found myself shooting longer than I liked at the beginning – closer to the 60-70mm mark and I shot a lot at 28mm which I absolutely loved the look of…

I will always try to keep in mind “Do not be lazy” when using this lens though! 

Prime like quality?

In the past one of the reasons many photographers chose prime over zoom (including myself) was that Zoom lenses were just not close in quality to that of prime lenses. The prime lenses were always sharper, with better contrast. This is no longer something for consideration. Many of the tests I’ve seen from the 28-70mm f2.0 show in some areas the sharpness surpasses some primes. In my testing I have found the 28-70mm never lacks sharpness. Even if a prime is marginally sharper (which I have yet to see), you don’t need lenses sharper than this lens. 

With the F2.0 aperture you can also achieve the beautiful bokeh that can be achieved from prime lenses. Yes there is a difference between f2.0 and f1.4/1.2 but F2.0 still gives you a beautiful separation in your images. Shooting an f2.8 lens for me was just too much off a compromise in bokeh, but f2.0 really is a great compromise. Even with my primes I would often shoot around f2.0 to give a balance between bokeh and keeping more than 1 subject in focus / showing the background…

If you can’t live without f1.2, you aren’t going to get quite as dreamy a background but there is plenty of Bokeh available.

Can the Sony 28-70mm f2.0 replace your prime lenses?

Yes and No… For 90% of a wedding day this lens would be all I would need. F2.0 let’s plenty of light in, and gives a really nice bokeh which can even be had at 28mm… There are few times during a wedding you really need a faster aperture… But there are times… 

My first wedding with this lens (shown in the pictures attached however was a dark winter wedding. The couple thankfully had a first look for 5 minutes of daylight portraits, however with a 3pm ceremony in December, it was largely dark for the rest of the session. I shot a few natural light images on the 28-70mm during the darker times of the day but mostly used my primes wide open when using natural light. During the reception, at times I was using my 50mm f1.2 lens wide open at Iso 10,000. For times like this there is no replacing a super fast prime. The difference between f1.2 and f2.0 could be the difference from shooting at iso 3200 or iso 8000… (I believe?)

If you like to shoot all natural light during the reception and speeches then there may be times you still want to pull out your fast primes. 

As someone who has backups for every scenario, I always plan to keep a 50/35 in my bag anyway so this isn’t a problem for me. 


Is the 28-70mm f2.0 too heavy to use all wedding?

The Sony 28-70mm f2.0 is extremely well balanced with weight distributed nicely. It is surprisingly lighter than it looks and although just a few grams lighter than the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 it feels much easier to handle. I have already been using the 28-45mm f1.8 all day and so have got used to a lens this heavy but in comparison the Sony 28-70mm f2.0 is only 87g heavier than the 50mm f1.2… It’s only 32g heavier than the original 24-70mm f2.8 gm…

Where many decided the Canon 28-70mm f2.0 was too heavy for them, I can’t imagine many will feel that way about the Sony version. The benefits of this lens are definitely worth the weight.

Negatives?

The only negative I have found so far in my limited use is that the flare of the lens can be prominent when shooting into the sun. Generally it was well controlled and it didn’t happen a great deal but it can show itself… Because of all the elements this flare can be distracting. The flare is very similar to that of the Sigma 28-45mm and can come across a subjects face. I was shooting into very low winter sun, and although this is a very difficult test, it’s definitely something to keep in mind and I will be sure to keep an eye on during golden hour portraits. I didn’t see it a great deal but it was only a short session in this light and I am yet to test in a golden hour or similar. 

Should you buy the Sony 28-70mm F2.0 for Wedding Photography?

In summary, in case you can’t tell, I am SO excited by this lens. Not only will it let me shoot with 1 body throughout 90% of a wedding day, it will allow me to slim down my kit. As someone who is shooting film as well, this is very much welcomed and if you’ve ever worked with me – you know how much gear I used to take! 

It’s an expensive lens, there’s no doubt but for what it offers it just makes too much sense to ignore.

I will be sure to update my thoughts about this lens as I shoot more and add images so please keep checking back and feel free to contact me to ask any questions or talk about gear! I always love a good photography chat. 

Instagram — @tobiahtayophotography

Other gear used in these images – Sony A7RV & Profoto A10 Flash

About the author

Tobiah is a professional Wedding Photographer based in Manchester & Cheshire, England. He has photographed over 375 weddings throughout the UK & Europe.

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