camera GEAR I’LL BE USING IN 2025

Wowzers! well done Sony, you’ve finally done it! Released a lens (the Sony 28-70 GM) that actually excites me, and makes it a joy to pick up one of your cameras. Yes, the lens I’m talking about is that beefy fat one in the centre of the above photo.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I hate picking up my “work” cameras, I definitely don’t! But ever since moving over to Sony cameras in 2019 I have found using them a very techy, almost futuristic, and sterile experience. Sometimes even feeling like I was cheating the creative process, and relying on the kit too much.

If you take an out of focus picture with a Sony camera nowadays you most certainly can’t blame the camera.

When the rumours of a Sony 28-70 f2 lens surfaced back in early 2024 I decided it was time to re-train my eye (and my hands!) into using a zoom lens again.

After years of loving the crispy qualities of solely using prime lenses (24/35/85 primarily) I bought myself the newly released Sony 24-70GM II lens. I tried shooting it alongside my much-loved 35mm GM f1.4 lens, and for a few weddings I really enjoyed the combination of the zoom and prime, but I just felt like there was something missing. The newer 24-70mm lens is amazing. Its fast to focus, pin sharp, extremely light and portable, and never misses a beat. But it lacked character… at least for me it did.

So when the 28-70mm was released I knew it was time to trade the 24-70mm in and upgrade.

I’m not going to lie, spending over £3000 on the 28-70mm made me feel physically sick! I’ve never treated myself to the luxury of having the very best equipment. I just never wanted to fall into the trap of relying too heavily on the tools to do the job for me. I’d much prefer the challenge of trying to capture my shots with lesser quality glass, and prove that I’m actually a decent photographer. Problem is, 28mm has been my favourite focal length for a long time, and despite releasing an insane amount of lenses year after year, Sony just seem to be ignoring this classic focal length.

During 2020 I had the 28mm f2 cheap as chips plastic fantastic lens, and it was fine. Never great, never amazing just fine. It did the job, but optically I felt the end results were nowhere near good enough for my clients/couples.

I’m not going to get in-depth with technical stuff about this new lens, but all you need to know is that it is sharp throughout. From 28-70mm I see no difference between the quality of the images I get from this and the quality I get from primes at similar focal lengths. And at 28mm (where it naturally sits for me) it’s just a dream to use!

In my opinion its not a heavy or bulky lens. It’s “just right”. It balances really well on my Sony a7IV bodies.

The throw from 28-70 is perfect… not too long, not too short, again, just right.

But where this lens truly excels is in the character of the images. The fall-off in the bokeh is creamy, and for once with a Sony lens, not at all clinical. I’m finding myself looking at the images as I’m editing them, and actually feeling like they were shot on a film camera. Even the RAW files when seen for the first time don’t look digital. Now this could all be in my head, but take it from me, someone that has owned and sold pretty much every single prime lens that Sony have released, this zoom packs a punch, and MORE!


Will this be the only lens I use in 2025?

In an ideal world, YES! But I’m a professional. I could never shoot something as important as a wedding day without some form of backup close by to me. I will still have my faithful 35mm GM lens on another a7IV body (either on my harness, or in my shoulder bag).

Even for the portraits part of a wedding day I’ll still probably revert back to what I know, which is shooting at a 35mm focal length with the aqbility to open up wide to f1.4.

And when it comes to the evening, party element of the day, I’ll stick to my 24mm f2.8 Samyang lens. It weights next-to-nothing, is a pancake lens, and I can hold that high for hours on end if I need to. I don’t think I’d be able to snap away with confidence on a dancefloor with a lens as chunky as the 28-70 f2.

I could be wrong! Ask me again in a years time and I may have succeeded in just shooting the whole year with the one lens. (That would be the dream!)



The other two lenses / the nitty gritty! (prepare to be bored to tears… or really interested… there’s no inbetween here)

I consider myself to be a documentary wedding photography with the added bonus that I love taking editorial/stylish portraits in a fun and fast manner! So for me the 35mm focal length covers my documentary needs.

For weddings, 35mm has been my go-to focal length for over 10 years now and I know I could easily shoot a whole wedding on this lens alone… because I have done!

The 35mm Sony GM lens is an absolutely stunning piece of glass. It’s so fast to focus, so crystal clear, and the bokeh it produces has such a lovely character to it.

I bought my first Sony a7iv camera body in the summer of 2022 and have shot 80+ weddings with it and I honestly cannot fault it in any way! I loved it so much after my first wedding shot with it that I immediately bought another one… and then a 3rd one!

The improvements they made on the a7iii body weren’t enough to please a lot of people, but for me I thought they did a brilliant job upgrading an already amazing camera into an even better one. Both from a performance perspective AND an ergonomics point of view. The deeper grip on the a7iv makes it a much nicer camera to hold, especially as weddings can be very long days of holding our kit.

The larger AF-ON button is fantastic as I use this to select eye AF. The previous model had the tiniest AF-ON button and I was forever struggling to press it. The a7iv also has a larger joystick on the back… thank you SONY! My thumb never ever slips off this joystick, and its very responsive.

As far as improvements in performance go, the quieter shutter is a great addition… the better/faster autofocus is noticeable compared to the a7iii… and the extra megapixels on this newer model mean I never worry about quality if I have to crop into an image.

As for the 3rd Sony body, that has my Samyang 24mm lens on it… and will come out of the camera bag for evening dancefloor fun with the flash. Lightweight, tiny, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to replace if it gets knocked on the danceefloor.



What are those two other cameras?

Yashica T4 - 35mm film camera - so I can continue to believe that I will one day be a 100% hipster!

Fujifilm X100VI - the ultimate in teeny tiny backup camera, and my favourite everyday camera I’ve ever owned.



Thanks so much for taking a look at my work, and I really hope you’ve found this info on the kit I use to shoot weddings helpful in some way!


If you want to see how my kit setup plays out with my 2025 weddings please give me a follow on Instagram over at @edgodden