Hi again everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful shooting summer.

This time I am back to tell you about a lens that won my heart. Among friends, we refer to this piece of glass as “the young lady”, due to the fact it is so darn attractive it its attributes. Prior to purchasing of this lens, was almost exclusively using my 50mm f/1.4, and only when needed changing to a more specialized lens. I often cursed at the prices of these Carl Zeiss Lenses, claiming that they was not worth the price tag, boy was I wrong.

The usage

The 24-70mm f/2.8 is the general-purpose range for most photography. It is very usable regardless if you are shooting landscape, family reunions, weddings, portraits. The lens is well suited for the serious photographer, as well as the pro shooter.

Impression of the lens

Right away when you get the glass in your hands, you feel its weight; there is no question that the build quality is very good. The Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 Carl Zeiss is a professional grade lens, it handles really well, its range is the work horse of photography, and is well suited for people shooting in the streets. As soon as it meets my Sony Alpha A99V, everything seems well balanced. When using it, then it becomes obvious that we are dealing with an amazing piece of engineering. Its Auto-focusing is very fast, accurate and silent, and performs well in dim lighting; and when you are not happy with AF then it has instant auto-focus override. Its optical qualities is stunning, and comes over as sharp as a knife, and then there is its colors, which are the beautiful Minolta colors many of us love so much. If I like its colors then I love its Bokeh. When shooting wide it is smooth looking, and it continues, I would say it is only slightly worse at 70mm.

I have seen comparisons with the Minolta AF 28-70mm f/2.8 G and Tamron 24-70 f/2.8. Even though these two lenses are great in quality and optical qualities, it is my opinion that they are no match with this lens. The superiority is due to the use of two aspherical, and two “ED” glass elements in the construction of the lens. This adds to better control of linear distortion and chromatic aberration, respectively. The lens also features Zeiss’ T* coating for suppressing reflections and flare.

Downsides

• The lens has a tendency to ghosting. It can be an issue if not used carefully.
• The zoom has no locking mechanism, causing the zoom to wander annoyingly when carrying your camera.

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Kurt Mungers Sony CZ 24-70mm F/2.8 lens comps

DPReviews Sony 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T*