Opticallimits tested the lens and concluded:

The Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II is a positive surprise in this lens class. To be honest – yours truly has never been a fan of “fast” standard zoom lenses. The truth is that they aren’t fast by the prime lens standards in this range at all, the zoom range is rather limited and on top of that, the whole package had the size and weight of a brick. Plus the insane price tag. And several members of the species aren’t even overly stellar in terms of optical performance. At least some of these counterarguments no longer apply to the new Sony lens. At less than 700g, it is in the same weight class as your average 24-105mm f/4. And the cream on the cappuccino is a great sharpness at most settings. The results are just great at 24mm and 40mm and still quite impressive at 70mm. The vignetting, distortion and CA figures are about typical for a lens in this class and usually nothing to worry about thanks to auto-correction anyway. The quality of the bokeh is pretty good for a standard zoom lens – especially when compared to its predecessor. In critical scenes, you may spot some LoCAs but it isn’t overly pronounced at least. The weakest aspect of the Sony lens is flare which can get freaky in difficult scenes thus it’s also a good idea to leave the lens hood attached during shooting.

While you might think that the build quality suffered due to the weight savings, we can’t confirm this really. Despite using more plastics, the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II still feels like a professional-grade tool. It’s far from the plasticky feel of your average Tamron lens for instance. Sony applied its usual set of additional GM-class goodness. The lens is sealed against dust and moisture – and the fluorine-coated front element should help in this respect as well. There are also two focus stop buttons and a dedicated aperture ring. The latter can also be set into clickless mode for movies. Additionally, you can control the friction of the zoom mechanism. The high friction mode should also prevent zoom creeping. Sony has been using XD linear motors for focusing for a while now but this time they incorporated no less than 4 of them. Despite the amount of glass to be shifted around, the AF speed is exceedingly fast and, of course, silent. In-lens image stabilization is not provided but then most modern Sony cameras can do this for you anyway.

Overall, the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II is an impressive piece of equipment and at least for the time being, it’s back at the top of the food chain. Highly recommended!

USA: BHphoto. Adorama. Amazon. FocusCamera. Henrys CA.
EU: Fotokoch DE. Calumet DE. FotoErhardt DE. Wex UK.
Asia: CameraPro AUS.

DxOmark published the full lens review and concluded:

Photographers who shoot with the Yongnuo YN 85mm F1.8 S DF DSM get excellent sharpness at the center of the frame but will have to make some compromises, especially in terms of corner softness and chromatic aberrations. Build quality and materials are also not quite on the same level as the comparison lenses from Sony and Zeiss but essentially the Yongnuo offers a high level of quality at a fraction of the price of its competitors, making it an enticing option for budget-conscious shooters.

You can get the lens at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, Amazon ES.

The new Sigma lens is now in Stock at BHphoto. Adorama. Amazon. FocusCamera. Fotokoch DE. Erhardt DE. Calumet DE. WexUK.

Here are two new reviews:

This is DxOmarks conclusion:

The original Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS was already a very good performer, but it looks as if pressure from rivals (Canon’s RF 70-200mm F2.8 weighs just 1070 g) to lower the weight in this type has resulted in this newer GM2 version. Against its predecessor and the relatively new Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S (which at 1440 g is just 40 g less than the original Sony), the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II performs well and comes out in front, but it’s not by a large margin. While the weight advantage is nice to have the new model comes with quite a hefty price tag attached.

Sony 70-200mm GM II Lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama. BuyDig. FocusCamera. FotoKoch DE, Calumet DE, WexUK, ParkUK.

Lenstip tested the Sony 20mm G and concluded:

I have to admit I didn’t expect to be charmed by the performance of the Sony FE 20 mm f/1.8G. Still, I had an opportunity to check out that lens not only during a studio session and my traditional session outside but also during a week-long trip to Iceland and it performed wonderfully well (several sample shots from that trip I post below). The lens is small, lightweight, handy, but it allows you to use ordinary filters with a diameter of 67 mm, a really moderate value for this angle of view. It’s a joy to use in landscape photography and its great aperture fastness provides additional advantages when it comes to wide angle astrophotography.
In fact, the lens has just one flaw, something you could anticipate and expect. After all it would be foolish to think an instrument with such dimensions and parameters would be able to correct vignetting in a perfect way. Well, all I have to say the final result of this testing category still was lower than our expectations so it wasn’t a complete disaster.
Taking it all into account I award the Sony FE 20 mm f/1.8G our Editor’s Choice badge without any qualms. The lens deserves it.

Sony 20mm f/1.8 FE G:
In USA at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama. FocusCamera.
In EU at Amazon DE, Calumet DE. Amazon UK. Parkcameras UK. Amazon FR. Amazon IT. Amazon ES.

Sony 14mm f/1.8 GM at BHphoto, Adorama, Focuscamera, Fotokoch, Calumet DE, Park Cameras UK, Wex UK.

Opticallimits conclusion is:

The Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM has its flaws but within its category, it is an exceptional lens. The center performance is breathtaking and the outer image field is pretty good as well even at f/1.8 – quite an achievement. Technically, it is never really “tack sharp” in the corners (in high megapixel images) but no extreme ultra-wide angle lens is. There is a bit of field curvature so it’s best to pull the focus a little in infinity depth-of-field scenes. Image distortion is low even in raw images. Unsurprisingly, the vignetting is quite extreme at f/1.8 so it’s best to leave the image auto-correction activated. This also takes care of the moderate CAs. Positive aspects also include the smooth bokeh – unusual for such a lens – and the way sun stars are rendered at smaller aperture settings. The flare resistance is also better than usual but, of course, present when pushing it.

The Sony lens offers a very high build quality in a compact, lightweight package. The lens body is made of some compound material but it feels solid and combined with the anti-dust- and moisture sealing, the lens should be good enough for professional abuse. The AF is super fast and silent. If you prefer setting the aperture on the lens you can do so with this lens. Video makers will also appreciate the clickless option for it.

If you are an ultra-wide fanatic, the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM is your ticket. Due to its fast max aperture, it is also more versatile than more conventional prime lenses in this range. And it’s reasonably priced for what it is. Highly recommended!