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Sony 24-70 F2.8 GM Tests

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Tim I sent you these two raws but thought I would show folks. I focused on the roof in both of these . I was half holding on to my grandson when I shot these at 43mm at 4.5 one would think kind of sketchy in the background, I mean I'm not at infinity but yet clear as a bell across the frame and it could be better




Now this one the background should be soft at 70mm focused on the roof at 4.5 and the background is a touch soft no doubt but still pretty amazing as this is the weakest focal length of the zoom. From tests at 70mm F8 for the corners and F4 for the center. Personally I would be grabbing my 85mm after 50 anyway but hey its there so if you can use it why not and the dang house is sharp.



BTW 15,00 square feet for 2.2 million
 

tashley

Subscriber Member
Tim I sent you these two raws but thought I would show folks. I focused on the roof in both of these . I was half holding on to my grandson when I shot these at 43mm at 4.5 one would think kind of sketchy in the background, I mean I'm not at infinity but yet clear as a bell across the frame and it could be better




Now this one the background should be soft at 70mm focused on the roof at 4.5 and the background is a touch soft no doubt but still pretty amazing as this is the weakest focal length of the zoom. From tests at 70mm F8 for the corners and F4 for the center. Personally I would be grabbing my 85mm after 50 anyway but hey its there so if you can use it why not and the dang house is sharp.



BTW 15,00 square feet for 2.2 million
I'm with Guy. This* lens really is like a bag of primes. Even at its weakest it's very competent. I. So. Want.

*his copy, not either of mine. :-(
 

tashley

Subscriber Member
Guy,

Not sure if you've seen the sh*t storm about FW 3.1? There's a whole load of confusion gong on about which lenses focus wide open and which stopped down, and whether any of the the focus setting options affect that. So I am curious to know which FW you have and which focussing method you used for these two sets of shots (billboard and valley)?

Yesterday I shot quite a few series with my second copy and that included tripod series with AF, with MF once before changing aperture for the series and with MF re-focussed at each aperture. On one (one only of really quite a few) of that series my copy of the lens turned in a result where the edges were evenly focussed at 35mm. That frame was at F2.8 and MF

That could either be because:
1) The mechanical slop that is causing the asymmetry 'comes and goes' and one one frame it went
2) That there are some focussing issues and that there is a sweet spot of focus that gets the subject field and the DOF singing from the same hymn sheet, and that AF is missing that sweet spot.

Neither of these makes the lens any better a copy - it has a clear asymmetry that manifests nearly all the time but can be mitigated by precise (or lucky) selection of focus point relative to subject and DOF.
 

Quentin_Bargate

Well-known member
Funnily enough, I have had the edge focus variation between shots show up on my copy of a Zeiss 16-35mm F/4. I can take two shots of the exact same scene, one immediately after the other, and on one its all good accross the frame, and on the next shots its slightly blurry just on one side, usually the right. As a result I shoot a minimum of three shots.

Guy,

Not sure if you've seen the sh*t storm about FW 3.1? There's a whole load of confusion gong on about which lenses focus wide open and which stopped down, and whether any of the the focus setting options affect that. So I am curious to know which FW you have and which focussing method you used for these two sets of shots (billboard and valley)?

Yesterday I shot quite a few series with my second copy and that included tripod series with AF, with MF once before changing aperture for the series and with MF re-focussed at each aperture. On one (one only of really quite a few) of that series my copy of the lens turned in a result where the edges were evenly focussed at 35mm. That frame was at F2.8 and MF

That could either be because:
1) The mechanical slop that is causing the asymmetry 'comes and goes' and one one frame it went
2) That there are some focussing issues and that there is a sweet spot of focus that gets the subject field and the DOF singing from the same hymn sheet, and that AF is missing that sweet spot.

Neither of these makes the lens any better a copy - it has a clear asymmetry that manifests nearly all the time but can be mitigated by precise (or lucky) selection of focus point relative to subject and DOF.
 

tashley

Subscriber Member
Funnily enough, I have had the edge focus variation between shots show up on my copy of a Zeiss 16-35mm F/4. I can take two shots of the exact same scene, one immediately after the other, and on one its all good accross the frame, and on the next shots its slightly blurry just on one side, usually the right. As a result I shoot a minimum of three shots.
Was that after the fw upgrade ?
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Tim I have 3.10 . The wall shots are all manual focus. The shots over the valley are AF. Most of my junkyard stuff is AF also. Where I have had weirdness is at 70mm. My 2.8 can be awesome and than I had a few duds.at F4 it's perfect on center. Seems like 2.8 to F4 I have a pretty big jump in quality. I did mention this during my wall test at the 70mm setting I was having some trouble focusing it there. All other focal lengths I have not noticed anything strange.

Now my 85 is very noisy it's going back for a exchange so I think it's actually has some type of gearing issue. So been careful with that so I'm hard pressed to confirm or deny on the 85 whatever is being reported because I don't have a perfect copy mechanically. Optically it's really really good and I have had no issues focusing per say but I can't confirm its perfect because the lens is not. But I have been nailing 1.4 shots on a regular basis as well as many others and the first I have heard of this . Source is also suspect if you ask me as well. Little to much crying wolf about Sony products. It's gotten real old if you know what I mean.
 

tashley

Subscriber Member
Tim I have 3.10 . The wall shots are all manual focus. The shots over the valley are AF. Most of my junkyard stuff is AF also. Where I have had weirdness is at 70mm. My 2.8 can be awesome and than I had a few duds.at F4 it's perfect on center. Seems like 2.8 to F4 I have a pretty big jump in quality. I did mention this during my wall test at the 70mm setting I was having some trouble focusing it there. All other focal lengths I have not noticed anything strange.

Now my 85 is very noisy it's going back for a exchange so I think it's actually has some type of gearing issue. So been careful with that so I'm hard pressed to confirm or deny on the 85 whatever is being reported because I don't have a perfect copy mechanically. Optically it's really really good and I have had no issues focusing per say but I can't confirm its perfect because the lens is not. But I have been nailing 1.4 shots on a regular basis as well as many others and the first I have heard of this . Source is also suspect if you ask me as well. Little to much crying wolf about Sony products. It's gotten real old if you know what I mean.
Thanks Guy - and yes, I know what you mean ;-)
 

thomas

New member
Re: Sony 24-70 F2.8 GM Tests / sample variation

Another bad copy of the FE 24-70 GM here.
My copy is considerably decentered (tilt/swing effect) and will be returned next week.
I know it's the lens (not the sensor) as a number of other lenses do not show this tilt/swing effect (not even older lenses with adapters).
Really sad ... I expected a first class lens and first class quality control. Unfortunately quality control still seems to be really bad at Sony.

:-(
 

thomas

New member
Re: Sony 24-70 F2.8 GM Tests / sample variation

Another bad copy of the FE 24-70 GM here.
My copy is considerably decentered (tilt/swing effect) and will be returned next week.
I know it's the lens (not the sensor) as a number of other lenses do not show this tilt/swing effect (not even older lenses with adapters).
Really sad ... I expected a first class lens and first class quality control. Unfortunately quality control still seems to be really bad at Sony.

:-(
When I went to my dealer to exchange my copy we discussed about exchange vs. adjustment in service.
I finally decided to let him send the lens to service since another new copy could be decentered as well ... while it is very unlikely that the lens comes back from service and is still misaligned.
Now, I think it was a good decision... the lens was returned within a week and first tests show it seems to be perfectly centered now. Edge to edge performance is consistent and all 4 corners are evenly sharp. By now I could only test the lens indoors at medium distances... so I have yet to test it in the field to check performance at wide distances. However, even after these first tests I'd say the lens performance is very strong... the "bag of primes" I'd expected to get. Can't wait to check wide landscape shots...
 

Viramati

Member
Re: Sony 24-70 F2.8 GM Tests / sample variation

When I went to my dealer to exchange my copy we discussed about exchange vs. adjustment in service.
I finally decided to let him send the lens to service since another new copy could be decentered as well ... while it is very unlikely that the lens comes back from service and is still misaligned.
Now, I think it was a good decision... the lens was returned within a week and first tests show it seems to be perfectly centered now. Edge to edge performance is consistent and all 4 corners are evenly sharp. By now I could only test the lens indoors at medium distances... so I have yet to test it in the field to check performance at wide distances. However, even after these first tests I'd say the lens performance is very strong... the "bag of primes" I'd expected to get. Can't wait to check wide landscape shots...
This is the way I now approach new lenses. I did the same with my Loxia 21 and it came back perfectly adjusted
 

KenLee

Active member
Re: Sony 24-70 F2.8 GM Tests / sample variation

When I went to my dealer to exchange my copy we discussed about exchange vs. adjustment in service.
I finally decided to let him send the lens to service since another new copy could be decentered as well ... while it is very unlikely that the lens comes back from service and is still misaligned.
Now, I think it was a good decision... the lens was returned within a week and first tests show it seems to be perfectly centered now. Edge to edge performance is consistent and all 4 corners are evenly sharp. By now I could only test the lens indoors at medium distances... so I have yet to test it in the field to check performance at wide distances. However, even after these first tests I'd say the lens performance is very strong... the "bag of primes" I'd expected to get. Can't wait to check wide landscape shots...
Do all dealers allow this arrangement ? Which dealer did you use ?

Thanks !
 

jpaulmoore

Active member
Great info here! I am very interested in this lens, but the only thing that I am not sure about for my style of shooting, is the lack of a focus scale and infinity mark. I sometimes used focus stacking which relies on having this feature. How would you/could you do this without it?
Regards,
J. Paul
 

jpaulmoore

Active member
Guy, I pulled the trigger on this lens and it arrived today. I value your great feedback on this. I only hope I have stellar copy like you do. I am looking forward to running it through the paces soon.
Regards,
J. Paul
 

jerome_m

Member
I just got an A7RII and the 24-70 f/2.8. I can confirm the review here: the lens is sharp all over, the rendering is very pleasing and bokeh is nice. I am very satisfied: best zoom I have seen.
 

soboyle

New member
This thread seems long dead, but thought I would add that I have been through 4 copies of this lens trying to find a copy that is reasonably sharp at the frame edges. Sharpness is good in the center 1/2 of the frame, but the 1/4 frame on each side sharpness falloff, not usable in my opinion. It's such a useful focal range for the work I do that I keep returning to get something that is reasonably sharp near the edges. So far no go and maybe that is just the nature of this beast, and Guy received a 1/1000 copy. I'm amazed at the positive ratings this lens gets on B&H website, am I just really unlucky with my copies?
 

seb

Member
If the third copy shows the same maybe your test is different to others tests? If I remind it correctly this lens has not a flat field curvature.
May you share a few shots you did to judge the sharpness? Please tell where you focused on.

This thread seems long dead, but thought I would add that I have been through 4 copies of this lens trying to find a copy that is reasonably sharp at the frame edges. Sharpness is good in the center 1/2 of the frame, but the 1/4 frame on each side sharpness falloff, not usable in my opinion. It's such a useful focal range for the work I do that I keep returning to get something that is reasonably sharp near the edges. So far no go and maybe that is just the nature of this beast, and Guy received a 1/1000 copy. I'm amazed at the positive ratings this lens gets on B&H website, am I just really unlucky with my copies?
 
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