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Sony Zeiss 24-70mm F4 OSS FE
Continued from wider angles.
A day at 70mm with three different
lenses; the above mentioned Sony Zeiss, the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 VC
and an old Nikon Series E 75-150mm f/3.5. I'd expect the best
performance from the Tamron to be followed by the Sony and then the old
$50, 30 year old full of dust Nikon to come in last. Unlike the zoom vs
the primes, the actual t/stops are quite close with the Sony zoom only
a touch behind the other two. Once again the subject is about a half
mile alway on a cold sunny morning. Everything else done as before.
In the center at f/4 and infinity.
Obviously the Sony Zeiss zoom must be mis-focused. It's not particularly pleasant to manual focus this lens at infinity. So let's give it a second try using AF.
Now on to f/5.6
All three at f/8.
I am baffled by the f/8 performance of the Sony Zeiss zoom. Perhaps it has extreme focus shift?
Obviously the Sony Zeiss zoom must be mis-focused. It's not particularly pleasant to manual focus this lens at infinity. So let's give it a second try using AF.
Now on to f/5.6
All three at f/8.
I am baffled by the f/8 performance of the Sony Zeiss zoom. Perhaps it has extreme focus shift?
I'm guessing because mirrorless cameras
are generally operated at working aperture the lens designers
completely
ignored correcting focus shift with this lens, or I have a dismal copy.
It's certainly not a lens to focus wide open on a tripod then stop down
to shoot. The rest of the shots are refocused at each aperture change
of the Sony.
The lower left hand corners at f/4
f/5.6
f/8
Here is closer to the center but near the bottom edge at f/8, focus was set in the corner. Perhaps the Sony Zeiss has severe field curvature too?
f/5.6
f/8
Here is closer to the center but near the bottom edge at f/8, focus was set in the corner. Perhaps the Sony Zeiss has severe field curvature too?
Obviously this lens has some strange behavior that is
taking time to figure out. In real world use it does very well at f/4
and indoor distances, I'd say on par if not better than the Nikkor
24-70mm f/2.8 in similar situations. The OSS is quite good, in general
with this light camera I've had to double if not triple the focal
length to get consistent sharp shots. Except the AF. On the A7 this
lens is typical Sony AF, it loves to back focus. In fact it was hard to
get it to focus on my hand for this shot.
Does the eye focus AF work? Yes, but only in AF-S mode, it would be truly useful if it worked in AF-C, as usual Sony almost gets things right.
Sony A7, Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f/4 @ 70mm 1/30 f/4 ISO 1600
plenty sharp
Does the eye focus AF work? Yes, but only in AF-S mode, it would be truly useful if it worked in AF-C, as usual Sony almost gets things right.
Sony A7, Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f/4 @ 70mm 1/30 f/4 ISO 1600
plenty sharp