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Sony 24-70 F4 Lens

Finally some photos from the upcoming Sony/Zeiss 24-70mm f4 and a mini-review. Link

Looks promising to me. Hopefully some of the guys with the kit zoom can offer opinion on these samples.
 

tashley

Subscriber Member
There was a news item a few days back that the first batch to ship outside of asia has some production issues and had been recalled before shipping such that the date has now slipped by a month.
 

nostatic

New member
There was a news item a few days back that the first batch to ship outside of asia has some production issues and had been recalled before shipping such that the date has now slipped by a month.
Infinity better to wait a month and get a good copy vs a bunch of disgruntled early adopters.
 

turtle

New member
When are they gonna make a wide prime (21-28) or ultrawide zoom - that's what I'm waiting for.

I too will be interested to see how the 24-70 compares to the very reasonable kit 28-70!
 

princepollux

New member
I ordered mine from Matsuiyastore, a large Japanese store on eBay. They had 3 units in stock over the week-end, all gone now. I received my tracking number from Japan Post this morning, with an estimated delivery date of Feb 5 thru 10. Other Japanese and HK stores only had preorders with shipping dates ranging from mid-Feb to early March. I need the lens for a particular shoot Feb 20, so I figured I might as well cancel BH and try my luck with Japan. I have bought a lens from Japan before and I didn't have to pay duties, we'll see what happens this time.
 

mark1958

Member
There is an import fee from Japan to USA but not Hong Kong cannot remember China. However whether it gets added on etc who knows. I looked this up the other day.
 
I just got a delivery estimate date of March 4 to March 14 from Amazon for the Sony Zeiss 24-70mm. I am trying to convince myself to hang in there and wait on it. The few preliminary reviews I have seen imply the lens is good but I not great.
 

Ocean

Senior Subscriber Member
There is an import fee from Japan to USA but not Hong Kong cannot remember China. However whether it gets added on etc who knows. I looked this up the other day.
Here is no import fee from Japan to USA. I have purchased lenses from Matsuiya store for some time now and did not have to pay fees. I got my EF55/1.8 from them last month. They are selling the EF35/2.8 for less than $700 USD now.
 

Rich M

Member
Here is no import fee from Japan to USA. I have purchased lenses from Matsuiya store for some time now and did not have to pay fees. I got my EF55/1.8 from them last month. They are selling the EF35/2.8 for less than $700 USD now.
Ocean where are you from. Here is a way to estimate import fees. Lenses from Japan to USA is 2.3%
Import duty & taxes made easy | DutyCalculator
Mark…..regardless of the duty calculator, I have purchased at least a dozen new and used lenses from Matsuiya store and have never paid duty.

I live in Hawaii…..which surprisingly (or not) a large number of tourists consider it to be a foreign country :D

R
 

princepollux

New member
Received my FE 24-70 yesterday while I was shooting at Valley of Fire, NV. No customs duties, so that settles the matter of duties from Japan. This was the second time I bought a lens online from Japan and on both occasions I didn't incur any duties. I'm holding it in my hands now, it's quite small and lightweight. A huge relief because I need a zoom to shoot the Venice Carnival later this month and I would have been unable to use the monstrous A24-70 rental, which weighs a ton, is very unwieldy used on the A7R with the big Sony adapter, and furthermore is not stabilized...and the autofocus hunts at the slightest sign of darkness.
I was pleasantly surprised to notice that there is no manual switch to disengage image stabilization. Sony must have a way to stop it when the lens is on a tripod or other stable platform. Just as well because I more often than not forgot to disengage on Canon or Nikon lenses.
I'll run some tests tomorrow to make sure it's working properly.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Received my FE 24-70 yesterday while I was shooting at Valley of Fire, NV. No customs duties, so that settles the matter of duties from Japan. This was the second time I bought a lens online from Japan and on both occasions I didn't incur any duties. I'm holding it in my hands now, it's quite small and lightweight. A huge relief because I need a zoom to shoot the Venice Carnival later this month and I would have been unable to use the monstrous A24-70 rental, which weighs a ton, is very unwieldy used on the A7R with the big Sony adapter, and furthermore is not stabilized...and the autofocus hunts at the slightest sign of darkness.
I was pleasantly surprised to notice that there is no manual switch to disengage image stabilization. Sony must have a way to stop it when the lens is on a tripod or other stable platform. Just as well because I more often than not forgot to disengage on Canon or Nikon lenses.
I'll run some tests tomorrow to make sure it's working properly.
IS on/off is in the menu.

- Marc
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Minomaniac (pg. 137 #11) at Sony A7(r) Images Thread - FM Forums posted some images, and a link to the original raws (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jzbf4e9ogj1o3vf/V7XrWcz7lT) shot with the a7r and 24-70/4

Graham
Those images look pretty good. Typical Zeiss look and feel. That's a relief.

I'm not a huge zoom fan, but the 24-70 is a workhorse for weddings and events. F/4 max is quite workable with IS and the higher ISO abilities of the A7R.

Thanks for the link!

- Marc
 

hcubell

Well-known member
I have seen a review and sample images from the man whose name shall not be uttered. Bottom line is that the Zeiss FE 24-70 zoom is weak in the corners at 24mm even when stopped down to f/11 or f/16. At 35mm, the corners clean up when you stop down. At 70mm, the lens looks terrific. No Otus like magic here. I don't know much about lens design, but perhaps no zoom in this range is great in the corners at 24mm. So, what would a no holds barred zoom in this range from Zeiss look like? Another question to consider is how the Sony Zeiss 24-70 zoom compares to similar zooms from Nikon and Canon.
 

mjm6

Member
Those images look pretty good. Typical Zeiss look and feel. That's a relief.

I'm not a huge zoom fan, but the 24-70 is a workhorse for weddings and events. F/4 max is quite workable with IS and the higher ISO abilities of the A7R.

Thanks for the link!

- Marc
Mark, I'm not sure if you monitor FM or not, but Philip Reeve there has been posing some interesting results, and in my opinion, it doesn't look good at all for the 24-70.

At 24, it appears that the lens never sharpens, regardless of the aperture, and at 70, it looks miserable. Since that is typically the good end of the performance on a zoom lens, it is very depressing.

Meant to include a link to the discussion on FM:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1271854/0

At 35-55 or so, it appears quite good, but really, what good is that?

I'm hoping he has a dud copy, but not holding my breath.

Looking at a CZ or Leica 35-70 as alternates which should perform much better, minus the AF and the OSS.

---Michael
 

jfzander

New member
There is a lot of funny talking about the 24-70. Most of it done by dubious amateur bloggers, with doubtful results. Let's look what the Diglloyd says. At least a source which is trustable. I guess we can agree in that. You'll bet he will find some flaws with the lens too, but for now he writes:

Quote:
"Conclusions
Result here are very pretty, very pleasing. The 24-70/4 Vario-Tessar offers high sharpness and excellent contrast, both overall and micro contrast, and right to the corners. It performs at a high level that is not disappointing relative to the best Canon 24-70mm L zooms."
 
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