The new telephoto zoom has the same build quality of the rest of Sony's G lenses, which occupy the midrange between consumer and its pro-focused G Master line.
In addition to the manual-focus and optical stabilizer toggles, there's a two-position focus limiter and Sony's programmable focus-lock button.
It's got a nice large zoom ring.
One of the differences between pro and consumer telephoto zooms is whether the zoom happens internally or whether the lens extends. That and maximum aperture, of course.
This is the longest zoom thus far for the Sony full-frame FE mount, though it will also work on an APS-C camera likethe A6300.
The new full-frame version of the 50mm f1.8 is as inexpensive as the older version, with a slightly better build quality and new optics.
Though it's designed to pair with an A7 series camera, the new lens will work fine on an APS-C model, providing an effective angle of view equivalent to 75mm.
The updated lens has a metal mount, but it punts the optical stabilization of its older sibling.
The maximum aperture of f1.8 is popular because increasing it to f1.4 raises the cost of a lens substantially.
The lens has the same minimum focus distance as the older one, 1.5 ft/0.5 m.