Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM
Announced March 17, 2021
PixelMeter The PixelMeter is our 1–100 aggregate of reviewer scores from trusted publications and creators. Weighted by source tier — not a raw average, and not PetaPixel’s own review.
Reviewer Consensus
Exceptional
The Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM is an outstanding standard prime that delivers razor-sharp image quality and fast, precise autofocus performance. That said, it is a significant investment that carries a hefty weight and exhibits noticeable focus breathing during video capture.
Weighted from 28 reviewer scores
Pros
- Fast, quiet, and reliable autofocus system
- Robust, weather-sealed build with useful physical controls
- Pleasing, soft, and circular bokeh rendering
- Exceptional sharpness across the frame even at f/1.2
- Compact and lightweight design relative to its class
Cons
- High purchase price
- Noticeable focus breathing
- Heavy and front-loaded physical profile
- Significant vignetting at wide apertures
- Lack of hard stops on focus ring
- Launch price $1,999 (USD)
- Focal length & aperture 50mm f/1.2
- Mount & coverage Sony E Full-Frame
- Stabilization None
- Close focus 40 cm (0.17x)
- Filter thread 72mm
- Autofocus motor Autofocus
- Weight & size 778g · 87 x 108 mm (3.43 x 4.25 in)
What the Reviewers Say
All 28 expert reviews, weighted into the PixelMeter score.
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- PetaPixel 10/10
The specs are unmatched in the Sony system, there are no disappointments with the image quality, and it’s a lens that has utility wherever you go.
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This G Master 50 mil is just really sharp. There's nothing else to say about it.
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The Sony 50mm f1.2 G Master becomes the best quality standard lens for the e-mount to date, delivering the razor-sharp details and smooth rendering we’ve come to recognise from Sony’s premium lens series.
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[T]his is a top quality lens that comes in lighter and a little cheaper than the competition.
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The Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM lens is the new standard for Sony prime lenses.
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This lens creates outstanding image quality at f/1.2, and the look of 50mm f/1.2 images, including the strong background blur, is equally outstanding.
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The Sony FE 50mm F1.2 G Master joins this group of exceptional lenses, though with the additional glamour of an F1.2 lens. It’s another very, very special lens that really delivers incredible results.
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[T]he Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM is pretty much everything you could dream about from one of the most modern, top-of-the-line, and expensive 50mm optics currently available today.
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It seems Sony is on a winning streak – they managed to launch another outstanding lens on the market. It deserves our 'Editor's Choice' badge just for the way it performs at the maximum relative aperture but the list of its assets doesn't end here.
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It's fair to say that the Sony Alpha camera system doesn't suffer from a lack of 50mm prime lenses.
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Even so, handling is sublime and autofocus is super-fast and reliably accurate. Image quality is completely fabulous, combining incredible sharpness with beautiful bokeh.
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The Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM is the best standard prime lens available for the system, and the one to get if you use a top-end camera.
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The 50mm f/1.2 GM produces beautiful image quality and is ideal for a wide range of subjects, from portraits to street to astrophotography and everything in between. Sharpness, at even the widest aperture of f/1.2, is phenomenal, but the price tag is also out of this world.
- Photo Review 8.8/10
Because of its size and price, the SEL50F12GM will probably only be sought out by photographers who need high lens speed and/or a paper-thin plane of focus for seriously defocused backgrounds.
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The Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM lens is not only an extremely capable prime lens in one of the most widely utilized focal ranges, it is a fitting addition to a growing family of lenses dedicated to performance, precision, and the pursuit of perfecting optics.
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All right, so that's it for our shoot with the Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM and this lens is super nice, super dreamy.
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This Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 ultraspeed lens is especially good for night and low-light action photography, as well as for throwing backgrounds way out of focus.
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[T]his is just a fantastic lens. It's sharp, it focuses really well; it is one of my favorite 1.2 lenses on the market currently.
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To find a lens that offers fast aperture, top shelf bokeh, fast and accurate autofocus, and a compact and light package makes this a truly special lens for Sony shooters.
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If you are in the market for all of these features and shoot at 50mm on a regular basis then there is no better choice available to you.
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Now I wouldn't say get this as your very first lens, but if you're looking for the best 50mm lens for your Sony body, I can't recommend this lens enough.
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Hey everyone, my name is Benj and this is the Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM and it might be my favorite 50 millimeter lens.
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It delivers superb color and contrast, too, making it one of the best, if not the best lens that I have ever used. Certainly the best 50 for sure.
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So if you’re okay with the weight and you’ve got some BeardCoin cash laying around in your wallet, in that case I think it’s the best 50mm you can buy from Sony.
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It's pretty much flawless and I have to say probably at this point for me Sony's best lens.
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Before, I used to recommend Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM as a cinematic beast, but from now, from today, it's gonna be this 50mm f/1.2 GM.
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[...] I really like the 50mm 1.2 from Sony.
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The Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM is one of those lenses that has such a unique look by being so sharp wide open and having fantastic AF thanks to those four XD linear motors that the image coming out of this is truly unique.
