Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G vs Sony FE 24–70mm F2.8 GM II

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

FE 20-70mm F4 G compared with FE 24–70mm F2.8 GM II

	SonyFE 20-70mm F4 G	SonyFE 24–70mm F2.8 GM II
Overview
Released
Released	February 2023	May 2022
Optics
Lens type
Lens type	Zoom	Zoom
Focal length
Focal length	20–70 mm	24–70 mm
Maximum aperture
Maximum aperture	f/4	f/2.8
Minimum aperture
Minimum aperture	f/22	f/22
Optical construction
Optical construction	16 elements in 13 groups	20 elements in 15 groups; OpticalLimits gives 22/16 in its table but 20/15 in the text, so maker figures are used
Special elements
Special elements	Two AA advanced-aspherical elements, one aspherical element, three ED glass elements and one ED aspherical element	Five aspherical elements including two XA; two ED and two Super ED elements
Coatings
Coatings	Fluorine coating on the front element; optimised antireflection coatings without a maker Nano AR designation	Nano AR Coating II; fluorine front-element coating
Diaphragm
Diaphragm	Nine rounded blades	11 rounded blades
Angle of view
Angle of view	94°–34° full frame; 70°–23° APS-C	84°–34° full frame; 61°–23° APS-C
Mount and compatibility
Mounts
Mounts	Sony E	Sony E
Image circle
Image circle	Full frame	Full frame
Image circle detail
Image circle detail	Full-frame coverage; 30–105 mm equivalent field of view on APS-C	Full-frame coverage; 36–105 mm equivalent field of view on APS-C
Teleconverter support
Teleconverter support	Not compatible with SEL14TC or SEL20TC	Not compatible with SEL14TC or SEL20TC
Focus and stabilisation
Autofocus
Autofocus	Yes	Yes
Minimum focus distance
Minimum focus distance	0.25 m	0.21 m
Maximum magnification
Maximum magnification	0.39×	0.32×
Optical stabilisation
Optical stabilisation	No	No
Autofocus detail
Autofocus detail	Two XD linear motors; internal focusing; compatible Alpha 1 30 fps bursts require maker-specified shutter-speed and AF conditions	Four XD linear motors; floating focus; Linear Response MF
Focus distance detail
Focus distance detail	Autofocus minimum 0.30 m at 20 mm or0.25 m at 70 mm; manual focus minimum 0.25 m throughout the zoom range; Linear Response MF	Minimum focus 0.21 m at 24 mm or 0.30 m at 70 mm
Magnification detail
Magnification detail	Maximum magnification 0.39×	–
Stabilisation detail
Stabilisation detail	No lens stabilisation; compatible bodies provide stabilisation	No lens stabilisation; compatible bodies provide stabilisation
Video features
Video features	Reduced focus breathing and focus/axis shifts during zooming; compatible-body breathing compensation may alter field of view and quality. Body Active Mode requires compatibility and slightly narrows the field of view	Breathing compensation with compatible cameras; compensation crops the image
Design
Dust and moisture resistant
Dust and moisture resistant	Yes	Yes
Filter diameter
Filter diameter	72 mm	82 mm
Maximum diameter
Maximum diameter	78.7 mm	87.8 mm
Length
Length	99 mm	119.9 mm
Weight
Weight	488 g (better)	695 g
Controls
Controls	Aperture ring with click on/off and Iris Lock switch, AF/MF switch and two customisable focus-hold buttons	Aperture ring, click on/off and iris-lock switches, two focus-hold buttons, AF/MF switch and Tight/Smooth zoom-resistance selector
Zoom design
Zoom design	Extending zoom barrel; 99 mm main length at the wide-angle setting	–
Filter detail
Filter detail	72 mm front filter thread does not rotate during focusing	–
Weather resistance
Weather resistance	Dust- and moisture-resistant design; not guaranteed completely dust- or moisture-proof	Dust- and moisture-resistant design; not guaranteed completely dust- or moisture-proof
Weight detail
Weight detail	Approximately 488 g lens; separate hood and caps excluded	Approximately 695 g lens; separately supplied hood, caps and case excluded
Lens hood
Lens hood	ALC-SH174 petal bayonet hood	ALC-SH168 petal-shaped bayonet hood
In the box
In the box	ALC-SH174 hood, ALC-F72S front cap, ALC-R1EM rear cap and soft case	ALC-SH168 hood, ALC-F82S front cap, ALC-R1EM rear cap, soft case and case strap
Release detail
Release detail	Sony Europe specified February 2023 availability; Sony North America specified March, as did Photography Blog. Main date retains earliest maker regional month. Sony confirms F4 maximum aperture and two focus-hold buttons; Photography Blog’s F2.8 aperture-ring line and sibling 24–70 model reference are not imported	Sony Europe announced on 27 April 2022 with May 2022 availability. Photography Blog reports June for UK/US availability; the earlier maker European month is used. Sony identifies this as the second generation of the original GM lens; overlapping availability does not change that generation relationship.