Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM
Ultra-wide zoom
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I got this lens as soon as it came out. I recognised early on that an extreme wide angle could unlock something new for me, and I was right. It's become my most-used lens. The one I reach for first, whether I'm shooting aurora, landscapes, or infrared.
Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 GM
- Focal Length
- 12-24mm
- Aperture
- f/2.8
- Weight
- 847g
- Filter
- Rear only
- Min Focus
- 0.28m
In my kit for:
Landscape · Astro (backup)
More info on Sony Store
I swore to myself I would never get a lens with a bulbous front element. Too impractical, can't use normal filters, needs expensive adapters. But I'm so glad I changed my mind. This lens unlocks capabilities that simply don't exist otherwise.
What I Shoot With This Lens
What makes this lens even more remarkable is its versatility. The f/2.8 aperture makes it perfect for astrophotography. Wide enough to capture the full arc of the Milky Way, fast enough to gather plenty of light. I've used it extensively for aurora photography, where that combination of wide field and fast aperture is essential.
But here's something most people don't know: it's almost perfect for infrared with virtually no hotspot. For someone who shoots a lot of infrared work, finding a lens that handles IR this well at 12mm is rare. That alone would make it worth owning.
Patagonian Dream
Shooting near the summer solstice in southern Patagonia was brutal. After a ridiculously early start to hike up into the mountains for sunrise, I stayed until 10pm waiting for sunset to finally light up Fitz Roy. Only having one clear day out of my four nights there, I wasn't wasting it.
This is exactly the kind of situation where the 12-24mm shines. I could fill the foreground with those glacial pools and rocky details while still capturing the massive scale of Fitz Roy in the background. At 12mm, the sense of being immersed in that landscape comes through in a way that a standard wide angle just can't match.
After that marathon session, I celebrated with ice cream from the hotel at 11pm. Sometimes the best shots demand the longest waits, and this lens helped me make the most of that single clear evening.
Why It's In My Kit
If someone asked me what one lens I'd take to a desert island, this would be it. Yes, it's big and bulky. Yes, you need special filter adapters. But none of that matters when you're standing in front of something spectacular and you have the tool to capture it properly.
The Sony 12-24mm GM isn't just a wide angle lens. It's a perspective shifter. It forces you to get close to your foreground, to think differently about composition, to create images that pull viewers into the scene rather than just showing them what's there. For landscape, astro, and infrared work, I genuinely believe it's the best lens ever made.
