Sony already has a 42MP mirrorless camera on the market in the form of the full-frame Alpha 7R II ($1,798.00 at Amazon) , but has looked to future, higher resolution sensors in designing its top-tier G Master (GM) lens series. The Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS ($2,599.99) is one the first GM lenses available, and our testing shows it to be a spectacular performer with only a few minor drawbacks. It's a premium choice compared with the FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS ($1,498.00 at Amazon) , but one that captures twice the light when shot wide open, all while delivering images with extreme detail. It earns our Editors' Choice award with ease.

Design

The FE 70-200mm ($2,598.00 at Amazon) is a pretty typical size and weight for a zoom of this type. It measures 7.9 by 3.5 inches (HD) and weighs about 3.3 pounds—it's not light by any means, but it balances well on full-frame Sony mirrorless cameras. The front element accepts 77mm filters and the reversible lens hood has a retractable cutout window so you can turn and adjust a circular polarizing filter if you opt to use one.

The metal barrel is finished in white, a common choice for premium telezooms. Large manual focus and zoom rings are covered in textured rubber. The zoom ring has set markings at 70, 100, 135, and 200mm. The lens features an internal zoom design, so it doesn't extend or retract when you adjust the focal length. It is also weather sealed, so you can use it in inclement weather without worry.

A rotating tripod collar sits near the rear. A thumbscrew locks it into place and the collar turns freely when it is loosened. Some lenses have detents at 90-degree angles, but the 70-200mm doesn't. Instead it has painted dots on the barrel and collar that must be lined up to ensure the collar is set perfectly straight, but I prefer collar designs that settle into the four cardinal mounting points with a slight click and tension provided by a detent.

There are three buttons, located at either side and at the top of the barrel, in between the focus and zoom rings. They all serve the same function, to halt the autofocus system in order to lock in focus at its current setting—it's useful when you want to manually focus for a single shot, or recompose when working in AF-C mode.

There are four toggle switches. You can switch the focus mode with AF/MF, toggle the autofocus through its full range or set it to only hunt from 9.8 feet (3 meters) to infinity, toggle the stabilization system, or change the stabilization mode. Mode 1 is used when you're holding the camera steady, while Mode 2 is useful when tracking a moving subject from left to right (or vice versa).

The 70-200mm focuses as close as 3.15 feet (0.96-meter). That's not quite macro territory, but good enough for 1:4 life-size magnification at 200mm. The focus motor is speedy, but it doesn't hurt to enable the focus limiter when shooting subjects further than 10 feet away—it will stop the lens from trying to focus on a closer object that may pass through the frame while tracking distant action.

Optical stabilization is included in the lens design. If you use it with a body like the Alpha 7R II, which features in-body stabilization, the two systems work together to better steady your hand. But it also makes the 70-200mm a solid telephoto option for bodies like the APS-C Alpha 6000 ($398.00 at Amazon) , a camera that doesn't offer in-body stabilization.

Two teleconverters are available for use with the 70-200mm. The FE 1.4x ($549.99) and FE 2.0x ($549.99) are exclusively compatible with this lens and extend its reach with a 1-stop or 2-stop loss of light, respectively, turning it into a 100-280mm f/4 or 140-400mm f/5.6 zoom.

Image Quality

I tested the 70-200mm F2.8 GM with a 42MP Alpha 7R II, the highest resolution model with which it's compatible. At 70mm f/2.8 it scores a superb 3,633 lines per picture height on our center-weighted sharpness test, with strong performance from center to edge. That's much better than the 2,200 lines we want to see from a high-resolution camera system at a minimum.

The lens gets sharper still as you stop down. At f/4 it scores 3,984 lines, and is at its best at f/5.6 (4,380 lines), f/8 (4,350 lines), and f/11 (4,331 lines). There's a slight drop at f/16 (4,072 lines), and a more noticeable one at f/22 (3,342 lines).

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There's a minor downtick in resolution at 100mm f/2.8, 2,923 lines. Performance improves at f/4 (3,860 lines), and you get the same peak performance at f/5.6 (4,266 lines), f/8 (4,316 lines), and f/11 (4,299 lines), and the same loss of resolution at f/16 (4,007 lines) and f/22 (3,104 lines). Scores at 135mm are close enough to those at 100mm to not bear worth repeating.

At 200mm the lens delivers solid numbers. At f/2.8 it notches 3,629 lines, and improves at f/4 (3,815 lines), f/5.6 (4,154 lines), f/8 (4,135 lines), and f/11 (4,172 lines). As you'd expect, you sacrifice some clarity at f/16 (3,949 lines) and f/22 (2,778 lines).

Distortion is an issue at the wide and telephoto ends of the zoom range. At 70mm you get 2 percent barrel distortion, which makes straight lines appear to curve outward, and at 200mm you get 2 percent pincushion, which makes those same lines curve inward. There's no noticeable distortion at 100mm or 135mm.

The zoom does an excellent job casting an evenly illuminated picture on the image sensor. Imatest's Uniformity tool shows that at f/2.8 the corners lag behind the center by about 1.2 stops of brightness (-1.2EV). That's noticeable in field conditions, but not overly distracting. Stopping down to f/4 brightens corners to the point where the effect is negligible. Both distortion and illumination can be corrected with ease via a Lightroom ($9.99/Month at Adobe) lens profile.

Conclusions

The Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS is a fine example of what a telezoom lens can be. It's built tough for everyday, professional use, and is extremely sharp, even when working at its maximum aperture. Add teleconverter compatibility, in-lens stabilization, and a bright f/2.8 design and you've got a killer lens. It's an excellent performer and, while expensive, worthy of Editors' Choice honors. If $2,600 is above your budget, the 70-400mm F4 is available for around $1,100 less, and a solid performer in its own right.

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