At first glance, the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II might just look like that ‘boring’ midrange zoom lens. I’ve used this lens since it originally came out and it has always been in my camera bag along with the other GM II lenses: The 16-35mm and the 70-200mm. And by using it a lot I’ve learned to appreciate several features that you might not immediately expect. Features that make this lens ‘more’ than just that ‘standard’ midrange zoom lens. And while I love the original GM lenses, the GM II lenses add just that little magic that makes all the difference.

Macro-like shots

This lens has a minimum focus distance of just 21cm. And that’s closer than you think. I sometimes use just this lens to take close-ups of butterflies or even a ladybird. It’s great for shots of small things and combined with the very soft bokeh and great sharpness, the detail in these images is superb. Combine that with the high megapixels of the Alpha 7RV and you can even crop in a bit and still retain excellent detail.

Dreamy Bokeh

I already demonstrated this in the close-up shots, but I want to emphasise that the bokeh of this lens is very soft. I often use it for ‘front-bokeh’ and background blur that’s super smooth.

Great for Focus Stacking

The FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II has a very low amount of focus breathing. This is great for video, but it is also a great feature for the particular landscapes I often photograph. In order to get close to my foreground subject I create shots with a lot of depth with the use of ‘focus stacking’ I take photos of the same landscape with different focus points to get the entire photo sharp from front to back. With the low amount of focus breathing on the lens, this works perfectly.

Hand-held shooting at slow shutter speeds

This lens has excellent image stabilisation, especially when used in combination with the Sony bodies. With a little practice you can take very steady shots hand-held, and I sometimes shoot like this down to half a second. This way you can even shoot a ‘smooth’ waterfall for example, hand-held. I usually do this by shooting in burst and holding the camera very still.

Great for night photography

With its f/2.8 aperture it's not the fastest lens, but still, this lens is very sharp wide open making it great for night photography. I even sometimes shoot the details of the milky way with this lens and the rendering of the stars is great. It is always my go-to lens for photographing cities in the evening with a rainy atmosphere. Especially in the December months with all the Christmas lights, everything looks so romantic and beautiful.

No problem in rough weather

Over the years I have used this lens in all kinds of different weather conditions: strong winds, lots of rain and snowstorms. Honestly, I never even use any weather protection unless I am photographing near the sea with salt water. But as long as it’s just rain and snow, this lens always performs.