Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T FE OSS Interchangeable Full Frame Zoom Lens

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A lot of people want to criticize this lens as either a) no better than the kit lens (Sony 28-70 FE) that costs half as much or b) not up to the standard of the Zeiss prime lenses for full frame Sony E-mount (the 55/1.8 and 35/2.8). Comparison to the Sony 28-70 kit lens: 1) In objective, reproducible testing under controlled conditions by DXOmark, the Zeiss 24-70 f/4 is better than the Sony 28-70. The lab tests show that the score of the 28-70 would be even worse if it didnt have very good sharpness in the center at a couple of focal lengths and apertures. Theres nothing wrong with the 28-70, but its not performing miracles for its price. It is certainly better than some of the cheap kit lenses that Canon and Nikon bundle with their digital SLRs, but those lenses are typically 50% less expensive than the Sony 28-70. 2) The superior optical performance measured does not account for the better color rendition of the Zeiss T* lens coatings on the 24-70. Lens tests are done at one frequency of light, so the color contrast is not measured. Zeiss T* coatings are well known for retaining the subtle differences between hues, lending vitality and a 3D realism to images. The 24-70 has this Zeiss lens character as is evident in the numerous examples online of photos taken with it. 3) The Zeiss has a much more usable 24mm wide angle. The difference between a 28mm and 24mm wide angle is significant. Working indoors, a 24mm really opens the field of view to encompass a room and capture the space. 28mm is much more constrained than the 4mm difference might suggest. Canon and Nikon have adopted 24mm as the standard wide angle on their professional zooms because it makes a significant difference in practice. The 28-70 simply cant compete. 4) The f/4 maximum aperture also makes the 24-70 significantly more useful as an all around lens that can live on the camera. At the 70mm end it can produce much shallower depth of field to serve as a portrait lens in a pinch, and when working indoors the 24-70 lets in more light to keep the ISO from introducing too much noise. If you are shooting indoors at f/5.6 on the Sony kit lens, you cant choose a shutter speed high enough to freeze action in a subject that isnt sitting still as a rock. The extra amount of light on the Zeiss means you can double the shutter speed, significantly improving you ability to catch a clear photograph. Image stabilization is irrelevant if your subject is moving. 5) The Zeiss is suitable for shooting video while the Sony kit lens is not. A fixed aperture throughout the zoom range means you can change focal length while shooting video without getting any shifts in exposure or depth of field. This is a significant advantage for the Zeiss. 6) The Zeiss is better constructed. Its not that much bigger physically, but the quality of materials means that it has more heft. Its not heavy (less than a pound), but the extra heft means it has more inertia in your hand--its inherently more stable when shooting handheld. Its also more durable with fewer plastic parts. 7) The Zeiss is weather sealed. The Sony kit lens is not. 8) The Zeiss actually tests a bit better overall than the Nikon professional level 24-70 and the Canon 24-70. Both of those lenses are twice the size of the Zeiss due to the larger f/2.8 aperture, and they also cost quite a bit more. The Zeiss is an excellent lens in the wide to normal zoom category, even when considering other camera systems. Comparison to the Zeiss prime lenses for the Sony full-frame E-mount: 1) The 24-70 is not as good as the 55/1.8 or the 35/2.8 at focal lengths and apertures where they overlap. This is expected and is true for lenses from every manufacturer: you cant make a zoom that competes with a prime lens (unless you do such a poor job on the prime lens that the zoom happens to be as good). 2) The Zeiss 55/1.8 is one of the best lenses currently in production. It set such a high bar that people are unusually critical of the 24-70 even though it is completely unreasonable. Looked at soberly, the 24-70 is one of the best normal zooms around. The tradeoff in maximum aperture to keep a small portable size is an excellent one. 3) You can keep the 24-70 and one of the two primes together in a small bag and produce images that are as good as (or better) than those from a DSLR setup with twice the bulk and weight. Although I would be happy for Zeiss to work a miracle in this zoom lens for the Sony E-mount, I cant be disappointed if they match the excellent performance of Nikon and Canon lenses that weigh twice as much and cost significantly more.

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Excellent lens! Sharp and very versatile in many areas - focal lengths, weight, and size. Another great feature is the OSS and autofocus. Its AF is pinpoint accurate. The OSS works great and allows me to shoot at lower shutter speeds with limited motion blur. BUY IT!! YOULL LOVE IT! Update 2019: Still my favorite and go-to lens (new pics added)! The price has dramatically dropped since launch MSRP of $1200. Worth every penny!

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I primarily use this lens for event photography on a Sony A7S. The material quality is nice. Its a class act on a Sony A7 series camera. I would not say this lens is built like a tank, but rather built to a reasonably high quality while trying to be a small, light lens. In terms of size, this lens is very nicely sized for a Sony a7 series camera. It feels well balanced in hand. When I rest the camera and lens on my chest (when Im writing down info about people Ive just photod), and a flash attached, it has a little tendency to flop forward. I have an inexpensive 2 battery grip I might attach to remedy this, or I might not, its not much of an issue. In comparison to a full frame mirrord lens, this lens is small and light. I think the price on it is reasonable considering its a 24-70 lens with stabilization. Some people worry about the image quality or the f/4 max aperture. I would say the image quality is "very adequate". When I use this lens for semi professional purposes, I dont feel like Im wanting more. Does it compare to a $2,000 f/2.8 full frame lens? I would say no, the colors and contrast arent quite there, but not off by much, certainly not enough to pay twice the price for a small gain in image quality or one extra stop of light. But then again, the price, weight and size of this lens is half. So, you get what you pay for. Is the f/4 a problem? Not really. F2.8 is nice to have, but the depth of field can be so narrow it can cause problems with group shots. So I shoot this lens wide open at f/4 without running into focusing or depth of field problems. Some people might wonder if this lens has distortion problems. I havent noticed any, and seldom correct the lens for distortion in lightroom. Using this lens and the Sony A7S, I have found that I dont need to correct the photos at all in lightroom. With my previous Canon setup, I was always having to tweek the white balance, move several sliders around, minimize noise etc. With this camera / lens combo, I crop a little and thats it. Everything is perfect coming off this sensor. When Im using flash, about 1 in 10 shots I might have to tweek the exposure level a little, to compensate for the flash. I have heard other reviewers say that same thing, but until I experienced it with the A7S and this lens combo, I would not have believed it . Great job Sony! In terms of lens stabilization, I dont really notice it lol (it is enabled). Maybe thats a good thing. So, I think this is a very good lens, and works well. Is it worth the extra $$$s to buy the f/2.8 heavier lens? For me, no. Would I purchase this lens new or used? Yes, I would recommend it. Its fits the A7r series well and does a very adequate job for amateur, semi-professional and some professional use. Dont be worried, this lens is a good one to buy. You dont need to succumb to needless f/2.8 envy. lol.

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Ive had this lens for almost a year now. Its a mixed bag, but as long as you understand its strengths and weaknesses, and use it accordingly, then its a great general purpose walk around lens. Heres the deal. Its sharp in the center at all apertures (except f22) and focal lengths, and between 30-60, its sharp corner to corner and edge to edge, at all apertures (except f22) and focal lengths. So, when Im shooting scenery, or people, and I know I want it sharp all across the frame, I try to keep it those middle focal lengths. At 24mm, its still a great lens, and I shoot at that focal length a LOT, but I know that corners will have a bit of softness. Same thing at 70mm, a bit of corner softness. But its makes up for it by being able to focus fairly close at 70mm, giving me the ability to do some nice close up work. I think the biggest problem that folks have with this lens is the price. Most feel that for $1200 it should be a bit better in the corners at 24mm and 70mm. I got mine used, so I feel like I got what I paid for. Its been an outstanding lens, and I much prefer it to using a bag full of prime lenses. Happy shooting!~

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Some facts - This is a better lens than the kit lens. Period, full stop, end of story. Whether it is worth the cost differential is a function of how much money you have to spend. It is not an Otus and it is not an FE prime but it is a fantastic walk-around lens that is capable of producing very, very nice images. Whether it is as good as a Canon 24-70 II is immaterial. This is much smaller, much lighter, has stabilization, and with AF on the Alpha bodies. Judged in the context of what it is and how it is typically used it is a great lens.

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A year ago, when I sold everything I owned with the word, "Nikon" on it and outfitted with Sony equipment, I included the G Master f2.8 24-70mm. One of my most important reasons for the changeover, was the smaller and lighter nature of the Sony equipment, and I eventually realized the size and weight penalt I was paying for the G Master 24-70mm. This became especially obvious after I had opted for the Zeiss Vario version of the 16-35mm and found it to be an absolutely excellent lens, but cheaper to buy and easier to carry around. So, eventually, I sold my G Master 24-70mm on Amazon, ordered the Ziess Vario version and am completely satisfied with it. I realize Ive given up an f-stop in the switchover, but in my photography that really isnt an issue. Sooo, I would say if that f-stop is important to you, get out your credit card and so some upper-arm strength training. Otherwise, go with the Ziess Vario. You wont be sorry.

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Excellent lens with beautiful color rendition, excellent contrast and handling of flare, near perfect stabilization and very good center sharpness. Nice bokeh in my opinion - some disagree. Can be a bit smudgy in the corners but only a problem if wife open at f4. I use a speed light so I don’t often need to shoot at f4 except for when I’m trying to get separation and bokehlicious portraits - 70mm at f5.6 works fine too. Most people ding this lens because, for the price, you expect excellent corner sharpness. I kind of agree - I just don’t really care: I would if I were a professional who depended on this for my income. I don’t miss the f2.8 because 1) once I hit 50mm or longer, f4 is just fine to produce bokeh and separation 2) I tend to forget to change settings and I’ve had many a beautiful group shot with family and friends destroyed by f1.8 rendering half the group out of focus. Less likely to happen with f4. 3) f4 is just one stop less than f2.8. With in camera stabilization and lens stabilization, the smaller aperture doesn’t matter as much unless you’re shooting a fast moving subject. All in all, this is a great lens - I’ve sold all my other lens so it’s the only lens for my AIII. Recommended.

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This has become one of my favorite lenses. Very sharp images straight out of camera. Love the Bokeh from this lens especially outdoors, but I primarily use this in the studio with an A7R. I read a lot of complains about weight, but coming from a Canon 24-70 2.8, this lens is like a feather. As far as edge sharpness or fall out, I didnt notice any difference. Could be that the lens profile automatically loads when I open it up in Adobe Raw. Also looks great in Capture One.

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Package arrived promptly. Lens works beautifully, smooth zoom and focus seems fine. I am dealing with one problem, however. Focus went soft on one series of tests, but when I removed the Hoya UV filter I bought for the lens the focus sharpened. Ive never encountered that before. So Im checking the filter on other lenses for my annoy camera as well as on lenses Used on my Nikon DSLR. To repeat, the lens focuses and zooms well, weight is quite low for a zoom lens. Works well.

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First let me say that I am a professional photographer that needs tack sharp images. I purchased this lens to use in low profile street stock photography and for landscapes on extra long hikes as it is much lighter than the 24-70 f2.8 GM. I know it is reviewed as being soft wide open and soft at 24mm on the edges. My copy was not sharp at at any focal length in anything but studio light and then at f13 from about 28-70mm. In blue and golden hour for landscapes, even at f13 the dynamic range was so bad, I could not get any quality shots. I just got back from a long weekend to Shenandoah National Park. All shots with this lens were way too soft for pro work and went straight to the pixel afterlife. I ended up using my Canon 24-70 L II with a metabones for almost all of the trip. I really wanted this lens to work as it would have filled a missing void in the Sony lineup. Alas, I just sent it back. Thank you to Amazon for such a customer friendly return policy. I always buy all my pro gear from Amazon. The image is a 100% crop at f11 1/80th on a tripod. Focus on the tree.

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