Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T FE OSS reviews roundup: should you buy it?
Released in 2013, the Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T FE OSS is a versatile zoom lens designed for Sony full-frame mirroless cameras, with a constant aperture of f/4 over the entire focal range.
The Sony 24-70mm f/4 is also compatible with Sony’s APS-C E-mount camera bodies like the Sony a6400 or a6500, with an equivalent full-frame field-of-view of 36-105mm.
The lens features an integrated OSS optical stabilizer that makes it much easier to take pictures by hand, especially in low light conditions. It’s all made of metal, and it’s resistant to moisture and dust.
Specs:
- Mount: Sony E mount
- Full frame equivalent on APS-C camera: 36-105mm
- Optical stabilization: Yes
- Weather sealed: Not fully (moisture and dust resistant)
- Weight: 426g
- Min. aperture: f/4
- Max. aperture: f/22
- Minimum focus distance: 40cm
- Filter size: 67mm
- Angle of view (35mm): 84°-34° ; E-mount Lenses
- Minimum aperture (F): F22
- Minimum Focus Distance : 1.32 ft (0.4 m), Maximum Magnification ratio : 0.20x, 7 aperture blades
What do the critics think of the Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T FE OSS?
Overall, the reviews concerning the Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T FE OSS are pretty mixed: some reviews say it’s a good all-around zoom lens with a great built quality and smooth controls, when some other say that the lens is really disappointing, with an image quality that is not convincing at all.
What is certain is that there are other alternatives that may be more interesting if you’re looking for an all-purpose travel lens, such as the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 (brighter), or the Sony 24-105mm f/4 (longer focal range).
Most reviews like…
- High manufacturing quality
- 24mm wide angle
- Compact
- Constant aperture of f/4
- Optical stabilization works great
- Autofocus is fast
Most reviews don’t like…
- Optical quality is not impressive
- Blury corners at 24mm and 70mm
- Noticeable distortion
- Better options available
- Bokeh is quite rough
For more infos about the positive and negatives sides of the Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T FE OSS, check out the selection of reviews below:
Websites Reviews
Enthusiastphotoblog.com – 5/10 – (‘On one hand, the Sony 24-70 F/4 exceeded my fairly low expectations. On the other hand, it’s the weakest of the standard zooms available for Sony. (other than the basic kit lens). Nothing about the Sony 24-70 F/4 stands out as particularly bad. Many will find the Sony 24-70 F/4 to be “good enough” in terms of image quality. Compared to the other options, the main advantage of the Sony 24-70 F/4 is the small size and relatively affordable price.[…] People who may want to consider the Sony 24-70 F/4 are those who prioritize the smallest possible lens.’)
Pcmag.com – 4/5 (‘The Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS is an upgrade from a standard zoom, but you’ll pay dearly for the performance boost you get with this lens.’)
Photographyblog.com – ★★★★☆ Recommended (‘The Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS is a good premium standard zoom lens for Sony A7/A7/A7S owners, but it’s not quite the stellar performer that we expected given its high price-tag, large size and f/4 maximum aperture. […] the combination of the 35mm and 55mm primes lenses is a better option from both an image quality and price point of view, if you can live with the reduced focal range.’)
Thephoblographer.com – 4/5 – (‘The Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f4 FE OSS is a damned good lens. In a compact package you get splash/dust proofing, fast focusing, and decent image quality. However, it isn’t the strongest at any one parameter and does nothing very special for the system except provide a more affordable constant aperture zoom lens. It’s nice, but we think that you should hold out for whatever other zooms Sony may be working on–or reach for their primes instead.’)
Photoreview.com.au – 8.5/10 (‘ While photographers who work with raw image files will probably find this lens unsatisfactory, everyday shooters who take only JPEGs will probably find it meets their needs for a reasonably fast ‘walkaround’ lens. The problems are particularly significant for landscape and architectural photographers who require shots to be sharp corner-to-corner. Since we cater more for the raw shooters than snapshooters, we’re unable to rate the performance of this lens as highly as some reviewers would have.’)
Imaging-resource.com – 7.9/10 (‘With soft corners at essentially all focal lengths (and even stopped down), plus strong vignetting and distortion, the Sony FE 24-70mm ƒ/4 ZA OSS Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* didn’t meet our expectations. It’s possible that default corrections applied in-camera to the JPEG files may counteract some of these issues; […] For fans of landscape photography who demand sharp images corner-to-corner and low vignetting, and who primarily work from RAW images, this may not be the lens for you. And even for RAW shooters doing general-purpose photography, for which a 24-70mm lens is very useful, the Sony FE 24-70 Zeiss lens comes with a hefty price tag that doesn’t deliver the kind of performance we’d expect.’)
Amazon users reviews
- Angle of view (35mm): 84°-34° ; E-mount Lenses
- Minimum aperture (F): F22
- Minimum Focus Distance : 1.32 ft (0.4 m), Maximum Magnification ratio : 0.20x, 7 aperture blades