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

The title about sums up my feelings towards this lens. Construction: ######### The craftsmanship associated with this lens starts right from the packaging - the lens comes lovingly cradled in cardboard packaging that is impressively constructed to withstand even the roughest delivery, and is accompanied by a hand signed inspection card. The accompanying accessories are just as classy. The lens case looks luxurious and feels supple and soft, with an elastic drawstring, and decent padding along its sides and base. And, the lens hood is constructed well and screws on securely. Then comes the lens itself, which feels as solid as a tank (and weighs about half as much). It is constructed well, with silky smooth zoom and focusing actions, powered by rubberized and grooved grips on the lens barrel. And, let's not forget that much-valued discreet Zeiss label on the side! Performance: ########## The performance of this lens is just as you would expect. ++ Images with excellent color saturation ++ Smooth bokeh ++ Sharp images ++ No hint of vignetting that I could discern. ++ 24mm is awesome on a full-framer ++ Constant f2.8 across the whole range is the icing on the cake. ++ Very well balanced on an A99. ++ Compatible with the AF-D depth map assist continuous AF. ++ Focus-Hold button on the lens means that you now have yet another hard button at your disposal. I mapped mine to Depth Of Field preview - moving this function to a much more natural access location. Alternatives considered: ################## While deciding on this lens, I toyed with the idea of buying the Sony Zeiss SAL1635Z instead. However, I ultimately decided on the SAL2470Z for the following reasons: 1) it is the closest to what might be considered a walkabout lens in the Zeiss stable. 2) at the telephoto end, it can be paired with the highly rated SAL70200G, without any overlap, or gaps, in focal lengths. 3) at the wide end, it can be paired with the excellent Rokinon FE14M-S 14/2.8 . I even considered the Sony SAL2875 (a rebadged Tamron A09M ). I shortlisted this lens because of its lower weight (by about a pound) which puts it squarely in comfortable walkabout territory, and because of the much cited kurt munger review on its image quality. I chose to discount the Tamron early in the process as it is not compatible with the A99's AF-D - a must-have feature, in my opinion. In the end, I chose the SAL2470Z because of: 1) its superior build quality - I expect this lens to outlast many bodies. 2) its Super Sonic Wave Motor (SSM) focus mechanism - which is scary silent, making it great for video. 3) its better optical quality as evidenced by other reviewers and bloggers. 4) its speed - many reviewers considered the SAL2875 to be more of an f4 than an f2.8. I also discounted the weight because good, fast glass is heavy. So far, I could not be happier with my decision. Conclusion: ######## IMHO this is definitely the lens to get for the A99. When combined with the superb SAL50F14, and with the mind blowing ISO range of the A99, the SAL2470Z's constant f2.8 makes low-light captures (almost!) easy. I worried about the weight of this lens - and in many ways my fears were justified. No two ways about it, this is a heavy lens, and I can feel it after about half a day's worth of shooting. However, had I gone with the SAL2875, the "what-ifs" would have been just as much a problem. This way, at least my shoulder strain is resulting in some amazing imaging :") Happy Photography!

A Zeiss lens like this you'd expect to be built well to last. Yet, mine (and many others if you search) the front of the lens to becomes lose after just a few years of use. With some, the lens will get "stuck" and unable to zoom. Mine has never been dropped or abused, yet this has become a problem. The worst part: Sony wants $1400 to fix it.

I've been pinching pennies until they screamed to get this lens and it just arrived. First impression: This is a massive piece of metal and glass. The illustration do not do it justice. It tips the scales at two pounds and it totally changes the balance of the camera. Long, fat and heavy, I had to shift my grip on the A77. The zoom is smooth and firm, no creep. Focus is sharp and reasonably fast. I have only shot about 60 frames so far, mostly landscapes with a polarizing warming filter. Shots so far have been clear, clean and crisp. I'm really enjoying having a slightly wider bottom than the Tamron 28-70. 4mm makes a huge difference in a crop sensor sometimes. Update. The lens has been used for some time now and it still does not disappoint. I got it used so this is a cautionary tale. There was an issue with the lens pulled in for full zoom. It turned out that there was some looseness, bummer. Fortunately I live in the SF Bay area and there is a local shop that was able to re-tighten the lens. Word to the wise, be careful about purchasing used lenses especially from private sellers. With the lens repaired the mush I encountered earlier is now gone. Zoomed in to 70mm the image is tack-sharp and looking at the results the bokeh is pleasing. This is my workhorse lens, the one I use for 75% of my shots or more. It shares pride of place only with the Tokina super-wide. Zoomed out to 24mm, 35mm effective in my A77 it is surprising how wide I can go with the lens. There are sometimes I still have to pull out the super-wide but not as much as before. The penalty here is that I am carrying a much heavier lens than my old Tamron. The lens is still a beast and lugging it around all the live long day gets tiring. The weight also brings comments anytime the camera is lent out for a quick photo dual snap. Selfies are not an option with this lens mounted to an A77. I have even has shots ruined when the tripod was not tightened down enough. You really need to bolt down all the controls on a tripod because of the weight. Overall, even with the need for the repair, the lens has been worth every penny pinched for the purchase.

Decent lens

EマウントでCarl ZeissのF2.8固定標準ズーム出ないかなーと気長に待っていたのですが、2022年現在とくに出る気配もなさそうなのでお値段手頃になったAマウントで良いかなと思い切って購入。 デメリットとして、まず重い。標準ズームレンズで1kgは手軽さを捨てている（笑） 主にEマウントミラーレス機のα7Ⅱとα7sⅡにLA-EA5を挟んで使用していますが、もはやα99やα77みたいなAマウントフラッグシップ機につけて利用したときと変わらない感じの重さでミラーレス機の軽さという大きなメリットを相殺します（笑） LA-EA5で長さが増して前方に重心が寄るため、Aマウント機につけたときよりむしろ少しバランスの悪さで重いかなという印象さえあります。 また、SSM搭載なのでLA-EA5を使うことでEマウント機でも全機種オートフォーカスにはなりますが、機種によりオートフォーカス性能にけっこうバラつきが出ます。位相差検出方式のα7Ⅱより後継の機種であればEマウントレンズと遜色ない素早いオートフォーカスですが、同じ世代でもα7sⅡやそれより前のNEXシリーズなどではコントラスト検出のためピント合わせに数秒の迷いがあります。 これはこのレンズに限った話ではないですが、Eマウントにこのレンズと同等のZeissレンズがないため購入を検討している方もいるかと思いますので機種との相性の部分で要注意です。とはいえ、ピントリングが幅太なのでMFに抵抗なければ割と操作のストレスは少なめ。 個人的には主にα7sⅡで使用しており、AFは諦め、シャッタースピード少し早めてMFで使っています。 当然ながらα99等のAマウント機との相性はすごく良いです。 GレンズやGMレンズでも最高の描写と新しい技術による操作のスムーズさはありますが、なんだかセオリーを極めたような写りが優等生的で、撮りたいと思ったものがそのまますぎるかなという印象でした。それはそれですごいことですが（笑） Zeissレンズは強めのコントラストでありながらも、ただ極端に明るいとか暗いというわけではなく、明部と暗部のパキッと感がどちらも潰れずに出ており、階調の広さが少しフィクション的な描写というか、ある意味では超現実的な表現をしてくれます。こんなに繊細だっけかと撮ったあとに驚く。とくにモノクロで撮ると凄まじい存在感が感じられます。RAW現像でも気にせずカリカリいじれる。 Zeissといえば憧れや最高峰レンズのように言われ、それが逆に悪い意味で単なるマーケティング的な言葉としても捉えられることもありますが、実際に撮ればわかる言語化しにくい数値とは異なるものがあるのかなと。もちろんどのレンズにも完璧な描写なんてものはなく、状況や撮りたいものによりけりだと思いますが。数値性能の外側に魅力を感じられるか。 このレンズに関していえばいろいろとメリットとデメリットを理解したうえで購入したほうが良いかなというのが正直なところ。 かなり重いしEマウントでAFの制約あるし、標準ズームレンズとしての描写力は素晴らしいけれど標準ズームレンズが活躍するオールラウンダーな状況に今後Aマウントレンズを使って対応できるかというと微妙な感もある。もはや条件だけ見ればフィルム時代のオールドレンズを使うのと変わらず。AマウントでもEマウントでもCarl Zeissの描写で撮りたいという理由であれば単焦点レンズ2本くらい持ったほうが多くの人にとっては良いのかなと。それに加えEマウント機で動画撮影なんてしたらブリージングとAFはアテにならないレベルで、重さのせいで使えるジンバルなんかも限られる（笑） 使う用途が完全に写真撮影で、求めるものが"標準ズーム域"で"F2.8"で"Zeissレンズ特有の描写力"の三点で、それ以外の部分は割り切れるならばおすすめ。個人的には好きなので今後ずっと主力の一つとして使っていきたい。 ※2025年追記 マウントアダプタをLA-EA4に切り替えたところα7初代含めたほとんどのα7シリーズでAF爆速になりました。 トランスルーセントミラーの光量落ちも体感できない程度。 動画でのAF利用もほとんどのEマウントレンズと遜色なく、むしろサードパーティーレンズより良いかもです。 重量は増しました（笑）

A 24-70 lens is always the dream, the sellers sent off asap and arrived super safe. Image quality absolutely stunning as you’d expect from Sony. 5 stars, the only reason I had to return was a minor fault but the seller did a great job and in general has amazing stock.

ちょっと重いです!

届いたばかりで使用感は語れないが程度の良さにびっくりした。 ローレット部分にも汚れ一つ無い。箱もほぼ新品で説明書も付いている。ご丁寧にヨドバシカメラの保証書付き(ただし、１０年前に切れているが)同梱品も傷一つ無かった 新品との違いが見出だせないほど素晴らしく、この価格が信じられない。 まさしく出品者の良心を感じる商品です。 α900を買った頃このレンズは憧れだった。 ツァイスはハッセルで使っていたので裏切らない描写には一目置いている。 さあ、明日から使い倒すぞ。

α900用に購入しました。 カメラとレンズの重量を合わせると2㎏近くになりますが、画質は綺麗です。 中古購入でしたが、それ程の使用感も無く良い買い物でした。