Customer Reviews

Sony 24 -70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Cameras

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The Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 SSM Lens is an impressively high performing zoom lens. I regard it as one of the best general purpose lenses.

The lens build and mechanical quality are top of the line. It focuses quietly and very fast thanks to the SSM (Super Sonic Wave Motor). Also the focus zoom ring is nicely sized and operate smoothly.

The Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 is very shapr for zoom lens. It is sharp in the center at f/2.8 at all focal lengths, and the excellent contrast and saturation are what strike me the most in real life applications.

Now on the negatives. The biggest downside of 24-70mm F2.8 is it's size and weight. This lens is not small or light enough for a walkaround lens(due to solid build heavy body), and I find holding this lens can be tiring for half day shooting.

All in all, it is one the best Sony/Carl Zeiss all purpose lens made. The box contains a Carl Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 SSM lens, front and rear lens cap, a metal petal lens hood, and a leather lens carrying case.

This is the best lens that Sony/Zeiss have offered thus far, even more versatile than the Sony SAL-85F14Z 85mm f1.4 Carl Zeiss Planar T Coated Telephoto Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera and Sony SAL-135F18Z 135mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T Telephoto Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera, which are incredible lenses. I have compared this Sony/Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 lens to the legendary Minolta 28-70mm f/2.8 G lens using the Imatest lens test software. At an aperture of f2.8, the Minolta 28-70 lens at 28mm focal length and the Zeiss 24-70 lens at 24mm focal length are equally sharp in the center, but the Zeiss lens is sharper at the corners. The Zeiss 24-70 lens does exhibit a minor amount of chromatic aberration but to no serious extent. It also exhibits moderate barrel distortion at 24mm, as do its Canon and Nikon 24-70 counterparts. The barrel distortion is more pronounced with a full frame sensor than with a half frame sensor.

Sony and Zeiss have a very useful partnership going, which I hope will result in a greater variety of lenses in the future. Recently, Sony and Zeiss have introduced a Sony SAL1635Z 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA Lens that improves upon the rare and coveted Minolta 17-35mm f3.5 G lens.

Two minor complaints about this lens are the following. First, like the other Sony/Zeiss lenses, it is rather heavy, but I suppose that good glass is heavy. Second, it zooms by elongating externally unlike the Minolta 28-70mm f/2.8 G lens. However, the Canon and Nikon 24-70 lenses elongate in a similar manner, so perhaps this feature is a compromise that one must accept in exchange for sharpness at f2.8.

Reviews of the Sony/Zeiss 24-70 lens may be found at the Photozone and lemondedelaphoto web sites. The latter site is French but web pages may be translated via Google.

24-70mm is the perfect range for general portraiture and people photography and this lens is absolutely the sharpest 24-70mm zoom on the planet. It's built like a Rolex and the Zeiss glass simply blows away the competition. It's tack sharp at every focal length even wide open at 2.8, plus it's without the chromatic aberrations that plague Canon zooms.

It's the perfect lens to compliment Sony's new 24.6mp flagship camera the a900 Sony Alpha A900 24.6MP Digital SLR Camera (Black), but a700 users will appreciate this lens as well. It joins Sony's Zeiss 85/1.4 Sony SAL-85F14Z 85mm f1.4 Carl Zeiss Planar T Coated Telephoto Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera and Zeiss 135/1.8 Sony SAL-135F18Z 135mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T Telephoto Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera lenses in an growing line-up of amazing flagship lenses.

Couple this witha Sony a900 and you will have a system you won't believe. I researched this lens for a long time. There are several indepth technical reviews on the net that can describe this lens better than I can. I can say that it produces extremely sharp images with great contrast. With it's large maximum aperature it makes focusing and composition a pleasure. It is a big lens but carrying around a few extra ounces is well worth it. If you are serious about photography and can afford the price buy it.

I will say that this is the ONE lens you'll need especially if you're a portrait photographer. If you're on this page, surely you already know the legacy of Carl Zeiss lenses as far as construction and of course quality. Fortunately for Sony Alpha users, these Carl Zeiss lenses are the answer to Canon's L series and Nikon's G/Nikkor lenses. I'm personally using this with the Alpha 700 so I don't get that true 24mm but I do get a longer reach beyond 70mm because of the crop factor. Despite that, this is on my camera 90% of the time [when wider angle needed, I'll go with my previous favorite, Tamron's 17-50mm 2.8 lens].

The construction quality like I mentioned is second to none. This lens definitely has a good weight to it so beware if you're shooting for longer periods of time. The vertical grip is a match though to help balance this lens for a long day's shoot. The body and even lens hood is made of metal so it's definitely durable. One gripe is the ribbed focusing and zoom rings which can catch dirt/dust time to time.

The image quality produced from this lens is wonderful as expected. For me, had no problem in sharpness edge to edge and with an aperture of 2.8, it does fairly well in low light matched with a high ISO. It does have pin cushion syndrome in wide angle but otherwise not too much of a bother. Focusing is fast and quiet and accurate [I personally set my a700 to focus only in the center point so I can predict the focusing 99% of the time].

I don't know what else to say other than yes the price tag is BIG but as many said: Invest in glass than the camera body. Camera bodies will be out in 12-18 months from the time you purchase your DSLR so don't rely on getting the latest bodies unless you have cash. Lenses though are different and are refreshed not so often. When the best comes, it's the best for a long time to come and this lens will be here for quite awhile.

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JJ

This lens was a replacement for a Sigma 28-70 2.8 EX DG lens. That lens was a replacement for a Minolta variable aperture crappo lens I bought back in the 80s. The Sigma was fine, but the zoom ring rotated opposite to every other lens I've ever owned and it was never as sharp and the focus never as accurate as I had hoped for.

I've owned this lens now for about four months and I have only one bad thing to say. For most of you, this will be meaningless, but for those shooters who use full-frame format cameras, you should know this lens will vignette at the corners with a filter attached.

If you use a UV/Haze filter for "protection," you may notice some small vignette at the corners at 24mm. I never have a filter attached unless it's a polarizer and since a UV filter is thinner than the rotating ring of a CPL filter, the UV ring may not intrude upon the image. If you stack a CPL onto the UV filter, I would say you will have a great deal of vignette at 24mm and maybe some around 30mm.

Other than that, the lens is amazing. Super sharp all the way to the corners and the focus is very, very fast and accurate. I used this lens for a time on a Konica Minolta 7D (6 megapixels) and it was great, but when I finally upgraded to a Sony a900 I was treated to a feast of sharpness and clarity.

Sure, it's big and it's heavy. And expensive. These are small penalties for what you get in return. If you want better image quality, you'd have to carry three or four prime lenses with a net weight gain in your camera bag.

Oh, one other thing: The zoom ring rubber grip is very pretty, but the knurling is so fine that it's hard to feel exactly where you are grabbing the lens. I prefer the old Minolta grips with the deep grooves that were also angled relative to the lens barrel because they were so easy to feel with your fingertips.

I am shooting portrait photography for professional work (phototherapy) and this lens is one of the best I have with Zeiss 85mm, aperture F/2.8 allows to shoot in low light, cristal clear, sharp images, smooth and extremely fast focus , this lens is a must and permits to magnify all the qualities of DSLR Sony Alpha 700, highly recommended

This is a great lens, no doubt. But I want to take a different approach when reviewing it. The photo gear fanboys will hate this but, I would like to factor in price.

A lot of new (and old) non pro photographers think that if they don't have "the best" (and most costly) they can't take a good picture. This is totally false. Satisfying and great photos were taken with gear in the past that would be junk today. Great award winning photos are being taken with so so lenses and amateur cameras today. Digital imaging has also improved image quality as well.

With that in mind, is it worth it to spend $1600 on a lens when there are many excellent alternatives made by Tamron, Sony, Sigma, as well as many used Minolta lenses for much less money? Some of those old Minolta lenses are quite good too.

If you are not a pro making a living from your images (or a life long photo taking fanatic) save $1000-1400+ dollars and look at the broader range of lenses minus the little blue Zeiss logo.

Using this lens on an A700 lets you know what a great lens can do. You notice the sharp contrast and increased color saturation immediately. The fast focus is not as apparent until you mount a screw drive lens and see how slow it is. This lens is heavy and you should be aware that holding it still when shooting is harder than with a lighter lens. Its also VERY expensive but worth it when you review the pictures you take with it.

what an amazing lens. a little heavy, brings the quality of the A850 to its ultimate, I love it and i am sure it wont leave my camera very often. both zoom and focus ring give the right amount of resistance. Most importantly, it brings with it amazing picture qualities. I now feel like a pro when showing of my pictures.