Whenever I want to know about how a lens is, when I'm looking for a reliable trustworthy, detailed review, yours is the first place I come to. You have my favorite reviews, and I'm able to make a well thought out decision for myself based on the information you provide. Thank you so, so much for what you do, and how you do it. I could not ask for more. Thank you.
I find that he lacks objectivity and accuracy with Sony lenses. He reviewed the excellent 24-105 G F4 and criticised the build quality which in my experience is actually excellent and far better than the lens in this review which he described as having ‘pretty good build quality’ He is an acquired taste
I uploaded a live photoshoot at a yacht club with this lens. I payed 230 usd for it in China, people in the UK are getting ripped off big time! I think you forgot to mention something really important about this lens, AF is probably the best Sony FE, it's so fast and accurate, so I love this lens for event photography. you are by far my favorite lens reviewer, always a pleasure watching your videos, and I'm very glad that you finally made the jump to Sony.
Al Baker Photography we haven't left the EU yet that's not until March 2019 now with an extension until December 2020. We've been getting ripped off in this country for years with higher prices than other countries and lower quality and spec goods like mobile phones.
I just got this kit lens with my a7III, so it's little less than $200. In fact, I haven't even mounted it on my a7III to try it out, because I have other prime lenses from Sony and Samyang/Rokinon. In addition, I'm planning on selling it. This video is very helpful. Thanks! I heard many people complained about Sony lenses being high price, but when I look at the build quality and the sharpness, it's better than most other brands based on my personal comparisons and per DXO sharpness results. This lens is rated at 25pMP per DXO while lens with similar focus length are rated between 32pMP to 9pMP. It's ranked at 3rd place along with another Sony from the top under the sharpness category. Now, I'm debating if I should sell this lens...it isn't bad based on what I've seen so far.
I have this lens. I bought it new and bulk from eBay for 240€. It was a nice surprise. It is very sharp in the middle but the corners are soft, wide open. The Sony Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 has the same sharpness in the center and it has similar sharpness at the corners. For its size the Sony FE 28-70 mm is light. I used it during my recent travels without any weight issue. The 28mm are wide enough for me. Of course the 24mm would be better. Maybe Sony preferred a narrower focal range for better sharpness. Also amateurs take mostly photos of people who are near the center of the photo. The soft corners is not a serious matter for most of them. The Sony Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 is a little smaller and heavier. But it costs at least double the money. From my experience the Sony FE 28-70mm is by far better than any APS-C kit lenses by Sony, Nikon and Canon. I don't consider it as a Kit Lens. For people with deeper pockets the new Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS should be a great choice for travelers despite its high price. I hope that it would be reviewed by Christopher soon.
I have similar experience..Ive tried the 24-70 f2.8 gm lens, and when traveling it is actually worse than this "kit" lens: it's super heavy, needs a lot of careful protection (because its expensive), and very large. When I got back home and looked at the pictures I found it really hard to tell the difference when viewing on my 15 inch screen, not to mention all of my friends will see the picture on a small mobile phone. Even indoor pictures are not that different either. My full frame cameras can just use a higher ISO to compensate the smaller aperture. Finally, one thing i like this kit lens best is that it does not extend when zoom in, and I do not need to worry about zoom creep at all.
For a full frame kit lens, $300 CAD is a steal. It's form factor is rather small too. Look around other 24-70mm full frame lenses and they are much bigger. This piece of glass is quite the marvel.
I bought this lens new for eBay for 240€ and were money well spent. At f/5.6 or f/8 on my a7 camera the lens is fine. Much better than my previous collapsible power zoom APS-C e-mount kit lens. I later bought the Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f/4 which is much better of course.
I need to get one of these used, even though I have the "pro" 24-70 f2.8 that's too big and expensive to carry around. The best feature of this lens is that it keeps its modest size while zooming. The front element extends only slightly at either end of the zoom range.
Just got my Sony a7ii with the kit lens and immediately I’ve been looking at a good adapter to get so that i can use my good Nikon lenses I’ve been using on my new sony. Kit lens isn’t horrible but definitely bot the best
I've always found the obsession with corner sharpness to be strange. Most demonstrations of this involve zooming into an image between 400% - 500% or more. I have never found myself looking at the corners of any photo that interests me, much less grabbing a magnifying glass to look at the corners. If the reason is because you want to blow up the image on large photo paper, than that should be taken into consideration when taking the photo in the first place. Plus, the softness I see in these demonstrations would be hardly noticed by anyone other than an obsessive photographer. Not to mention the fact that we're talking about the "corners" of a photo. Most good photographs don't place the subject matter in the corners anyway. It just seems like another characteristic to judge a lens by, which plays no real part in capturing interesting photography. That's my 2-1/2 cents (w/inflation).
It's good to test, good to know, to know what to expect from a lens characteristically. Soft corners can provide for a dreamy look but wouldn't be suitable for something like landscape or real estate work where everything must be equally sharp
@@p1.vision No one I know looks at corners of a photo at 400%. If you were holding a picture in your hand, you would have to use a magnifying glass to see any "softness" in the corners. Unless your subject matter is in the corners, people looking at your picture aren't likely to see any softness. It's an unrealistic obsession.
Another good, honest review. I bought my copy second hand (in excellent condition) for just under £200. I wanted a lens for family parties and informal shots of my 2 1/2 year old grandson. I knew exactly what I was getting with this lens, so no disappointments. My family only ever view images via iPhones and iPads so I was not going to pay £700 - £1000 for a lens I will only use about 6 times a year. My other lenses are the 100 - 400mm f4.5/5.6 G Master and Sony 90mm f2.8 macro - which will also work as a portrait lens on my A7III. As an addendum to this, I shot a number of images of my grandson in the garden yesterday, solely with the 28 - 70mm f3.5/5.6 OSS and I am pleasantly surprised by the results. There is a bit of distortion and general focusing is a bit slow: but eye focus works brilliantly and for displaying images on social media it's pretty good for less than £200.
This lense came with my a7 (24.3 MP ) in Sept. 2017 with a Rode VideoMic Pro for just over $1000. Lovin' it and the camera. Got an adapter for my Canon FD 50mm 1.4 lense ( Circa ; 1976 ) and they pair up beautifully. Thx for the review.
I've got this lens in the kit with my (used) A7, and wasn't impressed. But I had some pretty decent results with it, and having seen other kit lenses (even though with slightly larger zoom ranges) deliver less quality images, I'll take another look at it before I decide to ditch the Sony system (not enough lenses that I would like to have, at least until now). You're channel is a really good resource to find out what could be of interest!
@@rnnboom Don't worry, the lens situation has changed lately (17-28 announced by Tamron - the first "want-have" lens for the Sony system for me), and I decided to go fully Sony A7. I've used old manual lenses so far, but there was no decently sized (and affordable) wide-angle lens/zoom that would cover the short range, but now there is! I'll have a look at the A-mount lenses (I used Minolta MD long ago, and I appreciate the optical quality of Minolta lenses), thanks for the tip.
Yeah, got some vlogs I shot. I only just got the camera recently: ruclips.net/video/dv9nx6i__40/видео.html ruclips.net/video/TYFZTvkCNWk/видео.html I'm actually working on some short films right now using a gimbal I just got. I'll drop a link when they're finished. 👍
look like the quality is good. i confuse to choose between a7, a6000 or a6300. i have little budget but want to use it for video and photo. i use canon with 2 primes lenses recently. any suggestions ?
Purchased mine used for about $100 just to see how a native Sony lens would work for me. Love the AF capability and the IQ is fairly good but, certainly not great! OTOH, I absolutely LOVE the Tamron 28-75mm f.2.8 lens on both my APSC and my full frame cameras... Sold the Sony many of my other lenses for Sony cameras.
Wow that is pricy in the UK! I just picked this up second hand in Australia for $150AUD (about £80ish), in very good condition! Just got to hunt around for a good price. I'm using it as a light weight backup/walk around lens instead of my f2.8 24-70. Very happy with it :D
@@brugj03 - My copy is solid, not perfect. A compromise at a great price second hand. When travelling and weight/space is a premium I rarely have space for a 35mm 1.4 ultra sharp or something when i've already got a 24-70 & 70-200, and all the stuff that comes with it. :)
This is exactly what a kit lens should be. Not something I’ll throw away the moment I get a second lens. Sony made a good quality kit lens, that any photographer can build around, and not replace. With this lens you can get way more than “amazing” shots. Any pro worth their salt can succeed with just this lens if they needed to.
Chris, May I ask that you re-review this on an apsc camera as well. Give that the new 28-60mm kit lens has poor image & no OSS, It would be great to see an updated review of this. Key things missing was apsc usage and focus breathing. Also, would be great if you can get a local camera store to borrow you a A7R5/4 for Sony FF lens tests. Keep up the great work.
Hi Chris, thank you very much for that review. On my Sony A7 Mk. II. I use an old Canon EF 3.5-4.5/28-70mm Mk. II lens along with an adapter from Traumflieger. I'm very satisfied with its image quality. This old lens is brighter at the long end then its Sony counterpart :) It features no image stabilization due to its age, but the mirrorless camera does a great job there.
I just ordered one of these lenses as I got an underwater housing for the A7Rii and it needs this lens to work right. That’s fine as I got the lens for $138.00 on Ebay! Would not want to use one of my more expensive lenses anyway.
as far as kit lenses go this is a decent option.....not too fast but it's pretty sharp at most f stops. Tamron 28-75 will be a nice alternative when it comes out
It's worth it every penny, my old Tamron 28-75 f2.8 for Canon is lightyears sharper than the 28-70 kit lens. If you can adapt one for cheap than go for it
Thanks for reviewing this lens, Chris. I would have loved to have seen it tested on APS-C. My A6000 needs excercise and I hate spending money. It's almost free with an A7 atm.
Greetings from Brazil! I really love your reviews. It's decisive for me when I want to change my gear. I would like to know if you already have reviewed the Sony FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 (a7C kit) lens?
Your voice calms me when I feel stressed. Thank you and I love your reviews. I own Canon and so I usually don't watch the Sony reviews, but I was feeling stressed. Great review and bless your voice.
Love the polite Brit-venting at the beginning about inflated prices 😂. Just got this for under £130 on mpb as I’ve never had a light walk-around (I have the 24-105 G). Heard it wasn’t great so this is really good video to get the best out of it. Thanks Chris.
This lens is only $200 extra if purchased with an Alpha body, which I don't think is bad at all if you don't have any Sony glass. I've been using it for a year since I'm on a heavy budget, and the only thing I feel lacking is the bokeh from faster apertures, everything else works pretty great though, and I'm fine dealing with the slighter wider 28mm end.
Christopher I've rented the Sony A7III twice now for my wedding videos, and really like the not having to worry about being in focus, but most of the Sony lenses are over a $1,000 US. They are doing a special with this lens for additional $200 you can get the lens and body. I would use this mostly for my gimbal shots at 28 do you think this would be a good choice? Of course once I get more money I want the Tamron 28-75 at 2.8
Awesome video. I have a Sony A 7 and only my 40 year old vintage lenses so all manual and zero stabilization. I have a chance to buy this Sony kit lens that includes stabilization for $150 Canadian so it is a no-brainer for me to buy this lens. Thanks a lot. I love my Sony A7 it is the first DSLR/mirrorless I have owned. I did notice that you put your finger inside the lens, however I know that you didn't touch the glass just went near it so the morons that think you touched it are all out to lunch.
I would say that having a bigger lens is not a problem, but rather a sort of advantage for "professional" scenarios: I have tried to take pictures with a bulky canon 28-135 IS and then switch to a better prime lens just to see customers at the events look at the better (but smaller) lens with diffidence
Hi, I'm a Dutchie. Completely new to photography. Bought this kit last week, tried it out today (outlet model and the battery was dead so that had to be fixed). I must say I'm pretty disappointed in the camera and/or lens. Focusing on small objects - from both close up and far away - it won't do. I get it's not a macro lens, but it just doesn't focus at all. When it does focus, say on a flower, it shows minimum details. My cellphone camera does all of this, and the quality of those photos is really good. So I'm going to bring it back. Any recommendations? I'd like to make portrets, photograph landscaps and have objects, say a flower, pop out. (I said all this to one of the salesmen in the camera shop I went to, still he recommended me this one - even after I'd shown him a picture of a flower I made with my cellphone and said I wanted those type of pictures mostly but even better quality ; and now it turns out the sony camera with this lens has less quality).
The Pricing is interesting. If you buy this with a camera, at the right time, it's practically free. It seems like they really don't want you to buy it as a separate item. Incidentally, in May 2021, it's US$400, which is crazy for a slow, plastic kit lens.
Sure it would be nice if Sony could make the lens smaller, but if the trade-off is the atrocious performance at wide that the 16-50mm APS-C lens has, then forget it. It's odd because wideangle is the only area where a mirrorless camera offers a real advantage in optical design and compactness. But maybe it's easier to achieve those advantages with primes e.g. the Fuji 18mm, Ricoh GR/Coolpix A.
It's a shame Sony didn't make a 24-85 3.5-4.5 kit lens like a fair number of DSLRs used to have. Especially since they had a great A mount 24-85. I guess the OSS is a solid advantage, but it's the compromises in other places that put me off.
I know you do mostly Canon lens reviews but I wish you would do some Nikon reviews. I really enjoyed your Canon lens reviews but I have included a Nikon to my equipment. You are by far one of the best reviewers on RUclips and would love to see your opinion on some Nikon lenses. Cheers!
Best wishes for 2018! Your videos are really good. I wanted to add something. I owned this lens and had to return it. In low light it won't focus! It's super bad! I had my a7ii and was shooting a wedding reception and I had to give up and use my a6000 and place a 55-210 on the a7ii for close ups. Maybe it was a defective but I would not recommend that lens.
Hello Christopher! Can i use this FE lens on my E mount mirrorless camera like the zv e10? I dont know much about compatibility and types of lenses Also, would you recommend this if i want to change from my 16-50mm kit lens? I need a little bit of zoom in most of my photography style and other lenses are above my budget
Thanks for your video. I'm looking for an everyday small and lightweight zoom lens for my a7iii. I'm using the Sony 28-70 kit lens which weights just 300g. Portability is everything to me. I understand the 24-70 f4 Zeiss is probably not worth to buy (is it true?). Any alternative?
I bought this used for 130 euro. It is a sharp lens, but the range and aperture is limited. 28 mm is not wide enough and this makes me not to use much this lens. I wish Sony release a new zoom 24-85 mm f4 or f3.5-4.5 for full frame cameras.
I'm thinking on buying the A7iii body alone and Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 as a lens with it instead of the kit lens. I do not own any previous sony lenses. Do you think it's a wise choice?
That is the crux on mirrorless camera/lens combos: the space you save by cutting away the mirror from the camera will have to be added to the lens barrel to keep the proper focussing distance... physics know no mercy.
Great video Christopher. I rented the Sony A7II four times last year for weddings. I've never used the kit lens, but used the 24-104 f4 lens three times, and the Tamron 28-75 2.8 once. The Tamron is nice, but it struggles a bit in the auto focus under low lighting, where the 24-105 has no problems. I really want the Sony A7iii because of the amazing auto focus, and the fact that I do weddings this would be perfect for b-rolls. One Question I notice on your videos you have excellent audio. What do you use to record in for audio?
Hello Chris. Thanks you for the review.👍👍👍 I would like buy sony a7iii. I like travelling. Like make Video from the nature and landscape also from the City. Please can you recomend what lenses fit? Maybe i would like buy two lenses. Thanks you very much. Kind regards
Here in the US is really cheap and I was thinking on get this one until tamron hit the market with the 28-75 2.8. so thanks for this review. Have you seen Sigma Fe lenses? and do you think this one is big!? haha...Regards..
Hey Christopher, thank you very much for this test. Do you think it's (optically) worth to replace an adapted Samyang 14mm 2,8 with an "native" Sony mount AF 14mm? I'm currently considering doing that or going for the 12-24 F4 Sony G Lens (much more expensive, i know). Do you think the distortion is way better on the Sony 12-24? Or is it too much money for the value?
Nicolas Det The problem is that depending on where you are in the Eurozone, the price changes. Just have a look on Google, or, use the price in dollars as a loose equivalent. To be honest, the price I mention in GBP is only proportionately a little more than the Euro value, so, you could go by that, too.
Despite our insane 25% VAT we can buy it in Denmark right now for around Euro 270. And second hand prices are around Euro 140. I just bought a new 50 mm 1.8 for Euro 160. But that is not the case with the more expensive lenses. They are really expensive. I am waiting for a Tamron 24-105 with a fixed aperture 4.0 or less, for a decent price. So yes the Euro prices do vary a lot.
That design of the petruding back of the lens is due to the design of the e-mount itself. The e mount was initially made with apsc sized sensors in mind. You can also tell by looking at their full frame cameras; the sensors barely fit in. I also noticed almost all e mount lenses are bigger than their dslr counterparts except for wide angle and wide angle zooms.
What will be really interesting to see is how large the new Canon RF and Nikon Z lenses will be - perhaps their larger mount will mean they can be smaller
Christopher Frost Photography Indeed. Canon has already released some larger aperture af lenses which i don’t think Sony will be able to match with their e-mount. Such as; the 50 mm 1.2 and the 28-70 f2.
im just getting into photography on a budget. I found this one for 125$ online, I have a couple cheap primes (35 and 85mm both 1.8) and this is a good one to bring if im going to be walking around though ill snag the 85 probably too and bring that with me. I like the compression of that one a lot but you need to be so far away.
Christopher whats a good budget lens similar to 16-35 or 24-70 for a sony a7r, im dipping my toe into sony and don't want to spend a fortune on lenses till I know im happy to fully switch from canon.
Only if you're going to eventually purchase a full-frame Sony. - Suffering from the bulk until you do will be the 'biggest' frustration... Remember, a wonderful performer & similarly priced 16-50 (24-75mm FF Equivalent) for the cropped sensors, is considered a very capable Ultra-Compact ! Finally, if one seeks out the greatest images in photographic history, most every old-school optic was inferior to either of these computerized ED & Aspherical element zoom lenses; in other words, critical pixel peeping (or gear) doesn't make one a better photographer...
Can you tell us about 3 things on Sony mirrorless. Zoom settings (clear image zoom, optical only & Digital zoom only) especially @70mm using 28-70 kit lens
Whenever I want to know about how a lens is, when I'm looking for a reliable trustworthy, detailed review, yours is the first place I come to. You have my favorite reviews, and I'm able to make a well thought out decision for myself based on the information you provide. Thank you so, so much for what you do, and how you do it. I could not ask for more. Thank you.
How has this man reviewed every Sony fe lens ever created, legend
Does anybody else yelled: NOOO! When he touched inside the glass?
Same! Its illegal in my eyes unless you had to clean up but not with sweaty/greasy fingers :)
Yes, me too! It was like He was putting his fingers in my eyes
Why I thumb down the vid
I have this lens, the glass is really deep in there and tons of deadspace to still in a finger or 2.
Ja.
The limited zoom range is to keep the image quality higher. That is a 2.5:1 range - about the same as a 70-200 range.
Yeah idk he sound like he wanted to not like it for some reason. To each it’s own
I find that he lacks objectivity and accuracy with Sony lenses. He reviewed the excellent 24-105 G F4 and criticised the build quality which in my experience is actually excellent and far better than the lens in this review which he described as having ‘pretty good build quality’
He is an acquired taste
I uploaded a live photoshoot at a yacht club with this lens.
I payed 230 usd for it in China, people in the UK are getting ripped off big time!
I think you forgot to mention something really important about this lens, AF is probably the best Sony FE, it's so fast and accurate, so I love this lens for event photography.
you are by far my favorite lens reviewer, always a pleasure watching your videos, and I'm very glad that you finally made the jump to Sony.
That is because you left the EC
No one jumped anything.
Fast AF.
Light weight.
This is a pretty great basic video lens.
Al Baker Photography we haven't left the EU yet that's not until March 2019 now with an extension until December 2020. We've been getting ripped off in this country for years with higher prices than other countries and lower quality and spec goods like mobile phones.
"AF is probable the best Sony FE, it's so fast and accurate, so I love this lens for event photography."
Thank you. This helped me make a choice.
Its a good lens. Even my photography friends like it. Especially for its price.
when he put his finger inside the glass I finally understood Pheobe when she saw Chandler and Monica through the window...
Why does everyone think I touched the glass? I really didn't :-)
Oh my eyes😂
Pls stop him that's hurt
@Ardalan Ghazizadeh 😵😵😭😭
Who is that lovely lady, object of so many photos of yours ?
I just got this kit lens with my a7III, so it's little less than $200. In fact, I haven't even mounted it on my a7III to try it out, because I have other prime lenses from Sony and Samyang/Rokinon. In addition, I'm planning on selling it. This video is very helpful. Thanks!
I heard many people complained about Sony lenses being high price, but when I look at the build quality and the sharpness, it's better than most other brands based on my personal comparisons and per DXO sharpness results. This lens is rated at 25pMP per DXO while lens with similar focus length are rated between 32pMP to 9pMP. It's ranked at 3rd place along with another Sony from the top under the sharpness category. Now, I'm debating if I should sell this lens...it isn't bad based on what I've seen so far.
I think you should try it first, and then decide :-) And what did you decide to do?
I have this lens. I bought it new and bulk from eBay for 240€. It was a nice surprise. It is very sharp in the middle but the corners are soft, wide open. The Sony Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 has the same sharpness in the center and it has similar sharpness at the corners.
For its size the Sony FE 28-70 mm is light. I used it during my recent travels without any weight issue. The 28mm are wide enough for me. Of course the 24mm would be better. Maybe Sony preferred a narrower focal range for better sharpness.
Also amateurs take mostly photos of people who are near the center of the photo. The soft corners is not a serious matter for most of them.
The Sony Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 is a little smaller and heavier. But it costs at least double the money.
From my experience the Sony FE 28-70mm is by far better than any APS-C kit lenses by Sony, Nikon and Canon.
I don't consider it as a Kit Lens.
For people with deeper pockets the new Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS should be a great choice for travelers despite its high price. I hope that it would be reviewed by Christopher soon.
I have similar experience..Ive tried the 24-70 f2.8 gm lens, and when traveling it is actually worse than this "kit" lens: it's super heavy, needs a lot of careful protection (because its expensive), and very large. When I got back home and looked at the pictures I found it really hard to tell the difference when viewing on my 15 inch screen, not to mention all of my friends will see the picture on a small mobile phone. Even indoor pictures are not that different either. My full frame cameras can just use a higher ISO to compensate the smaller aperture.
Finally, one thing i like this kit lens best is that it does not extend when zoom in, and I do not need to worry about zoom creep at all.
Does this lens have auto focus ??
@@jothisjain3840 lol, yes...
The Sony Zeiss 24-70 is one of the worst lenses to bear the Zeiss badge sorry. Sony shouldn’t have done that.
Fantastic no nonsense review. How every single review should be done.
For a full frame kit lens, $300 CAD is a steal. It's form factor is rather small too. Look around other 24-70mm full frame lenses and they are much bigger. This piece of glass is quite the marvel.
I bought this lens new for eBay for 240€ and were money well spent. At f/5.6 or f/8 on my a7 camera the lens is fine. Much better than my previous collapsible power zoom APS-C e-mount kit lens.
I later bought the Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f/4 which is much better of course.
I need to get one of these used, even though I have the "pro" 24-70 f2.8 that's too big and expensive to carry around. The best feature of this lens is that it keeps its modest size while zooming. The front element extends only slightly at either end of the zoom range.
Pavlos Papageorgiou I was thinking about giving mine away eventually in a giveaway if Incan grow my subscribers. 👍🏼
Dude, you are one of few people which i really trust. Thanks for your great work.
Me too.
Just got my Sony a7ii with the kit lens and immediately I’ve been looking at a good adapter to get so that i can use my good Nikon lenses I’ve been using on my new sony. Kit lens isn’t horrible but definitely bot the best
Which Nikon lenses are better than Sony's
I've always found the obsession with corner sharpness to be strange. Most demonstrations of this involve zooming into an image between 400% - 500% or more. I have never found myself looking at the corners of any photo that interests me, much less grabbing a magnifying glass to look at the corners. If the reason is because you want to blow up the image on large photo paper, than that should be taken into consideration when taking the photo in the first place. Plus, the softness I see in these demonstrations would be hardly noticed by anyone other than an obsessive photographer. Not to mention the fact that we're talking about the "corners" of a photo. Most good photographs don't place the subject matter in the corners anyway. It just seems like another characteristic to judge a lens by, which plays no real part in capturing interesting photography. That's my 2-1/2 cents (w/inflation).
It's good to test, good to know, to know what to expect from a lens characteristically. Soft corners can provide for a dreamy look but wouldn't be suitable for something like landscape or real estate work where everything must be equally sharp
@@p1.vision No one I know looks at corners of a photo at 400%. If you were holding a picture in your hand, you would have to use a magnifying glass to see any "softness" in the corners. Unless your subject matter is in the corners, people looking at your picture aren't likely to see any softness. It's an unrealistic obsession.
@@toddgroves6677 of course but it's still good to know since you can test it easily
It matters a lot for particular applications. I often take high resolution archival photos of art and need edge sharpness.
@@Helix_Bonopart Good to know. I can see how important it would be that it makes sense for artwork.
Another good, honest review. I bought my copy second hand (in excellent condition) for just under £200. I wanted a lens for family parties and informal shots of my 2 1/2 year old grandson. I knew exactly what I was getting with this lens, so no disappointments. My family only ever view images via iPhones and iPads so I was not going to pay £700 - £1000 for a lens I will only use about 6 times a year. My other lenses are the 100 - 400mm f4.5/5.6 G Master and Sony 90mm f2.8 macro - which will also work as a portrait lens on my A7III.
As an addendum to this, I shot a number of images of my grandson in the garden yesterday, solely with the 28 - 70mm f3.5/5.6 OSS and I am pleasantly surprised by the results. There is a bit of distortion and general focusing is a bit slow: but eye focus works brilliantly and for displaying images on social media it's pretty good for less than £200.
Thank you, looks like it hits the sweet spot of relatively inexpensive yet slightly better than expected IQ, perfect for a walk-around lens.
You have the best and clearest reviews, thank you very much!
Thanks! Yep,this lens is pretty good for daylight video using an A6000.
This lense came with my a7 (24.3 MP ) in Sept. 2017 with a Rode VideoMic Pro for just over $1000. Lovin' it and the camera. Got an adapter for my Canon FD 50mm 1.4 lense ( Circa ; 1976 ) and they pair up beautifully. Thx for the review.
Always love your reviews! Happy New Year!
2:30 maybe to make room for fingers when holding the camera 🤔
Thank you so much for this review. Exactly the info I was looking for.
I've got this lens in the kit with my (used) A7, and wasn't impressed. But I had some pretty decent results with it, and having seen other kit lenses (even though with slightly larger zoom ranges) deliver less quality images, I'll take another look at it before I decide to ditch the Sony system (not enough lenses that I would like to have, at least until now). You're channel is a really good resource to find out what could be of interest!
Christian Augustin don’t ditch Sony mate. Buy AF adapter and some A-mount Minolta lenses. They will blow your mind.
@@rnnboom Don't worry, the lens situation has changed lately (17-28 announced by Tamron - the first "want-have" lens for the Sony system for me), and I decided to go fully Sony A7. I've used old manual lenses so far, but there was no decently sized (and affordable) wide-angle lens/zoom that would cover the short range, but now there is! I'll have a look at the A-mount lenses (I used Minolta MD long ago, and I appreciate the optical quality of Minolta lenses), thanks for the tip.
I use a A7 and I found the stability while shooting video with this lens to be pretty damn impressive. Definitely a decent option.
do you have some video samples with A7 and this lens? thank you
Yeah, got some vlogs I shot. I only just got the camera recently:
ruclips.net/video/dv9nx6i__40/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/TYFZTvkCNWk/видео.html
I'm actually working on some short films right now using a gimbal I just got. I'll drop a link when they're finished. 👍
look like the quality is good. i confuse to choose between a7, a6000 or a6300. i have little budget but want to use it for video and photo. i use canon with 2 primes lenses recently. any suggestions ?
Purchased mine used for about $100 just to see how a native Sony lens would work for me. Love the AF capability and the IQ is fairly good but, certainly not great! OTOH, I absolutely LOVE the Tamron 28-75mm f.2.8 lens on both my APSC and my full frame cameras... Sold the Sony many of my other lenses for Sony cameras.
Really like the clear and concise review. Well done!
Thanks Chris, from the Phils. Happy New Year!
Nice explanation! Thanks from Germany
I plan to buy a Sony A7C. But with which of the above lenses do you recommend making the purchase?
Wow that is pricy in the UK! I just picked this up second hand in Australia for $150AUD (about £80ish), in very good condition! Just got to hunt around for a good price.
I'm using it as a light weight backup/walk around lens instead of my f2.8 24-70. Very happy with it :D
Same here in austria. Found it for 120€
So you can live with the dismal contrast and colors compaired to the 2.8 , i find that curious.
I think it`s the worst lens from Sony, hands down.
@@brugj03 - My copy is solid, not perfect. A compromise at a great price second hand. When travelling and weight/space is a premium I rarely have space for a 35mm 1.4 ultra sharp or something when i've already got a 24-70 & 70-200, and all the stuff that comes with it. :)
This is exactly what a kit lens should be. Not something I’ll throw away the moment I get a second lens.
Sony made a good quality kit lens, that any photographer can build around, and not replace. With this lens you can get way more than “amazing” shots.
Any pro worth their salt can succeed with just this lens if they needed to.
Chris, May I ask that you re-review this on an apsc camera as well. Give that the new 28-60mm kit lens has poor image & no OSS, It would be great to see an updated review of this. Key things missing was apsc usage and focus breathing.
Also, would be great if you can get a local camera store to borrow you a A7R5/4 for Sony FF lens tests.
Keep up the great work.
Hi Chris, thank you very much for that review. On my Sony A7 Mk. II. I use an old Canon EF 3.5-4.5/28-70mm Mk. II lens along with an adapter from Traumflieger. I'm very satisfied with its image quality. This old lens is brighter at the long end then its Sony counterpart :) It features no image stabilization due to its age, but the mirrorless camera does a great job there.
Magnetron692 I wanna try the very nice Canon 24-85 on my a7R ii. I don't know how well it would work with an adaptor, though
I just ordered one of these lenses as I got an underwater housing for the A7Rii and it needs this lens to work right. That’s fine as I got the lens for $138.00 on Ebay! Would not want to use one of my more expensive lenses anyway.
I've got this lens with my A7 III and the sharpness is really impressive for a kit lens. Btw. Great review as usual.
binaryblog does it have autofocus?
Yes ofc.
@@binaryblog any other lenses better than this within the same price range?
as far as kit lenses go this is a decent option.....not too fast but it's pretty sharp at most f stops. Tamron 28-75 will be a nice alternative when it comes out
It's worth it every penny, my old Tamron 28-75 f2.8 for Canon is lightyears sharper than the 28-70 kit lens. If you can adapt one for cheap than go for it
Thanks for reviewing this lens, Chris.
I would have loved to have seen it tested on APS-C.
My A6000 needs excercise and I hate spending money. It's almost free with an A7 atm.
Greetings from Brazil! I really love your reviews. It's decisive for me when I want to change my gear. I would like to know if you already have reviewed the Sony FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 (a7C kit) lens?
Your voice calms me when I feel stressed. Thank you and I love your reviews. I own Canon and so I usually don't watch the Sony reviews, but I was feeling stressed. Great review and bless your voice.
Love the polite Brit-venting at the beginning about inflated prices 😂. Just got this for under £130 on mpb as I’ve never had a light walk-around (I have the 24-105 G). Heard it wasn’t great so this is really good video to get the best out of it. Thanks Chris.
This lens is only $200 extra if purchased with an Alpha body, which I don't think is bad at all if you don't have any Sony glass. I've been using it for a year since I'm on a heavy budget, and the only thing I feel lacking is the bokeh from faster apertures, everything else works pretty great though, and I'm fine dealing with the slighter wider 28mm end.
Can you please review the new more compact zoom lens? SEL2860
Hey man! Great review! Was this video shot on an a7rii as well?
Awesome lens
Great review Chris; this is a highly underrated lens. Very good quality and cheap (bought for 250 €).
Hey Christopher, Would this lense be ok to begin food videos with? Thanks a lot! Great Channel!! Ellinor
Christopher I've rented the Sony A7III twice now for my wedding videos, and really like the not having to worry about being in focus, but most of the Sony lenses are over a $1,000 US. They are doing a special with this lens for additional $200 you can get the lens and body. I would use this mostly for my gimbal shots at 28 do you think this would be a good choice? Of course once I get more money I want the Tamron 28-75 at 2.8
It would be okay I think :-)
Thanks Chris I appreciate you taking the time to get back hope all is well.
Awesome video. I have a Sony A 7 and only my 40 year old vintage lenses so all manual and zero stabilization. I have a chance to buy this Sony kit lens that includes stabilization for $150 Canadian so it is a no-brainer for me to buy this lens. Thanks a lot. I love my Sony A7 it is the first DSLR/mirrorless I have owned. I did notice that you put your finger inside the lens, however I know that you didn't touch the glass just went near it so the morons that think you touched it are all out to lunch.
I've had my A7 for two months... Love it!!!
Hi Christopher!
Can you tell me please where I can get this test chart?
I wish you and your family a happy new year!
try writing "photography test chart" on ebay or amazon, I have a few of them
I would say that having a bigger lens is not a problem, but rather a sort of advantage for "professional" scenarios: I have tried to take pictures with a bulky canon 28-135 IS and then switch to a better prime lens just to see customers at the events look at the better (but smaller) lens with diffidence
Hi, I'm a Dutchie. Completely new to photography. Bought this kit last week, tried it out today (outlet model and the battery was dead so that had to be fixed). I must say I'm pretty disappointed in the camera and/or lens. Focusing on small objects - from both close up and far away - it won't do. I get it's not a macro lens, but it just doesn't focus at all. When it does focus, say on a flower, it shows minimum details. My cellphone camera does all of this, and the quality of those photos is really good. So I'm going to bring it back.
Any recommendations? I'd like to make portrets, photograph landscaps and have objects, say a flower, pop out. (I said all this to one of the salesmen in the camera shop I went to, still he recommended me this one - even after I'd shown him a picture of a flower I made with my cellphone and said I wanted those type of pictures mostly but even better quality ; and now it turns out the sony camera with this lens has less quality).
Just got this lens with a7r ii as a kit with filters, software, and a camera bag all for only $1300.
how is it? i’m considering that exact setup
The Pricing is interesting. If you buy this with a camera, at the right time, it's practically free.
It seems like they really don't want you to buy it as a separate item.
Incidentally, in May 2021, it's US$400, which is crazy for a slow, plastic kit lens.
The way he say's "Broad & Rubberized" at 1:46 is quality he sounds like Chris Packham the wildlife guy :)
Use a Sony 35mm F/2.8 lens. On FF it is still very small and does not have all that empty space. So not sure why this lens has to be that size!
great review! thank you.
Fantastic job. Thx! I subbed.
Sure it would be nice if Sony could make the lens smaller, but if the trade-off is the atrocious performance at wide that the 16-50mm APS-C lens has, then forget it. It's odd because wideangle is the only area where a mirrorless camera offers a real advantage in optical design and compactness. But maybe it's easier to achieve those advantages with primes e.g. the Fuji 18mm, Ricoh GR/Coolpix A.
Looks like they did exactly this with the new 28-60 f4-5.6 kit lens for the A7C... Let's just say it makes the original kit lens look a lot better lol
Is the st David’s cathedral mate? Where you based then? I live near there... kinda haha
I live in west Wales :-)
Is the autofocus audible while shooting video with the internal microphones? Or how about with a shotgun microphone mounted? Thanks...
Kit lens is fairly good I guess❤️
It's a shame Sony didn't make a 24-85 3.5-4.5 kit lens like a fair number of DSLRs used to have. Especially since they had a great A mount 24-85. I guess the OSS is a solid advantage, but it's the compromises in other places that put me off.
I know you do mostly Canon lens reviews but I wish you would do some Nikon reviews. I really enjoyed your Canon lens reviews but I have included a Nikon to my equipment. You are by far one of the best reviewers on RUclips and would love to see your opinion on some Nikon lenses. Cheers!
I'd love to, but I just don't have time :-(
Totally understandable. If you ever do I will be watching : )
Could u please tell me , does the camera body also correct this lens distortion ,even when shooting video? Thanks for answering!
Best wishes for 2018! Your videos are really good. I wanted to add something. I owned this lens and had to return it. In low light it won't focus! It's super bad! I had my a7ii and was shooting a wedding reception and I had to give up and use my a6000 and place a 55-210 on the a7ii for close ups. Maybe it was a defective but I would not recommend that lens.
do u still use a7ii ?
its a decent kit lens and ive got some good shots off it
Hello Christopher! Can i use this FE lens on my E mount mirrorless camera like the zv e10? I dont know much about compatibility and types of lenses
Also, would you recommend this if i want to change from my 16-50mm kit lens? I need a little bit of zoom in most of my photography style and other lenses are above my budget
Thanks for your video. I'm looking for an everyday small and lightweight zoom lens for my a7iii. I'm using the Sony 28-70 kit lens which weights just 300g. Portability is everything to me. I understand the 24-70 f4 Zeiss is probably not worth to buy (is it true?). Any alternative?
Hello, is a good starting point as a lens or is better to save money for body only?
Watch the review, and you'll find out!
Hey Christopher! I want to thank you for all of your reviews. I know it must take time and great effort to make the videos. Thanks!
Please add more focus breathing in depth overview to your videos, thanks. I think that is one of the most important things for video
Just ordered one off of MPB, they have them for 104-124 depending on condition. The size issue is benefit for me I have ogre mitts for hands.
0:37 Not Sony’s fault, Brexit’s fault 😘
Gauthier Plantevin It's both of their faults hehe
No, not really as it still costs well over 400 here in Sweden.
Sony pricing in Europe is not as favourable as in the US. Just look at the A7iii; $1899 in the US I think? $2400 or thereabouts here.
It's £2,000 / $2,000... but $2,000 is about £1,500... we are getting spanked :(
@@MPD90 but the currency devaluation has. Sterling is worth less than a euro at some exchanges.
Fantastic video, mate. Thank you very much!!
I bought this used for 130 euro. It is a sharp lens, but the range and aperture is limited. 28 mm is not wide enough and this makes me not to use much this lens. I wish Sony release a new zoom 24-85 mm f4 or f3.5-4.5 for full frame cameras.
I'm thinking on buying the A7iii body alone and Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 as a lens with it instead of the kit lens. I do not own any previous sony lenses. Do you think it's a wise choice?
Yes, of course! That's will be very nice combo 🤑
That is the crux on mirrorless camera/lens combos: the space you save by cutting away the mirror from the camera will have to be added to the lens barrel to keep the proper focussing distance... physics know no mercy.
Ralf Jansen Very true. But still - in the smaller camera, there is still some size / weight saving (which I love)
Great video Christopher. I rented the Sony A7II four times last year for weddings. I've never used the kit lens, but used the 24-104 f4 lens three times, and the Tamron 28-75 2.8 once. The Tamron is nice, but it struggles a bit in the auto focus under low lighting, where the 24-105 has no problems. I really want the Sony A7iii because of the amazing auto focus, and the fact that I do weddings this would be perfect for b-rolls. One Question I notice on your videos you have excellent audio. What do you use to record in for audio?
AudioTechnica AT2020 USB microphone :-)
Love the video, thank you! I’m using this with the a7 iv and just cannot get it sharp at all, not even centrally. Sigh!
Hello Chris.
Thanks you for the review.👍👍👍
I would like buy sony a7iii.
I like travelling. Like make Video from the nature and landscape also from the City.
Please can you recomend what lenses fit? Maybe i would like buy two lenses. Thanks you very much.
Kind regards
A nice lens for travelling would be this one, or the Sony 24-105 f/4, or the lovely little Samyang 35mm f/2.8
Christopher Frost Photography Thanks you very much for your kind answer. Have a nice Morning🌷🌷🌷🌷
Here in the US is really cheap and I was thinking on get this one until tamron hit the market with the 28-75 2.8. so thanks for this review. Have you seen Sigma Fe lenses? and do you think this one is big!? haha...Regards..
Is this the lens that comes with the camera?
Depends what kit you buy
very helpful. Thanks for making this
I love your videos. I always consider your reviews when looking for a new lens. Could you review the Sony Zeiss 55mm 1.8?
Heráclito Rollemberg Maybe one day. I'm trying to cover a healthy mixture of mirrorless and Digital SLR lenses
Nice! I'll wait then. Huge fan of your channel, i really like how you review lenses.
Keep with the good work.
Do you recommend to buy Kit lens along with A7iii or should I purchase an alternative like Sigma glass?
A kit lens lets you zoom in and out, and a prime lens will give you a brighter aperture for more striking images
Hey Christopher, thank you very much for this test. Do you think it's (optically) worth to replace an adapted Samyang 14mm 2,8 with an "native" Sony mount AF 14mm?
I'm currently considering doing that or going for the 12-24 F4 Sony G Lens (much more expensive, i know). Do you think the distortion is way better on the Sony 12-24? Or is it too much money for the value?
I haven't tested the 12-24 although I hear good things about it. I've reviewed the Samyang FE lens though, take a look on my channel
Christopher Frost Photography Oh sorry, I thought I wrote the comment under the exact same video you mentioned. :)
Is this a new version of the lens or something?
Thanks for your reviews !
Please, include the euro price... in whole euro zone, it does not vary much (without vat).
Regards
Nicolas Det The problem is that depending on where you are in the Eurozone, the price changes. Just have a look on Google, or, use the price in dollars as a loose equivalent. To be honest, the price I mention in GBP is only proportionately a little more than the Euro value, so, you could go by that, too.
Despite our insane 25% VAT we can buy it in Denmark right now for around Euro 270. And second hand prices are around Euro 140. I just bought a new 50 mm 1.8 for Euro 160.
But that is not the case with the more expensive lenses. They are really expensive. I am waiting for a Tamron 24-105 with a fixed aperture 4.0 or less, for a decent price.
So yes the Euro prices do vary a lot.
Can you review the Sony 24-240mm FE lens please?
That design of the petruding back of the lens is due to the design of the e-mount itself. The e mount was initially made with apsc sized sensors in mind. You can also tell by looking at their full frame cameras; the sensors barely fit in. I also noticed almost all e mount lenses are bigger than their dslr counterparts except for wide angle and wide angle zooms.
What will be really interesting to see is how large the new Canon RF and Nikon Z lenses will be - perhaps their larger mount will mean they can be smaller
Christopher Frost Photography Indeed. Canon has already released some larger aperture af lenses which i don’t think Sony will be able to match with their e-mount. Such as; the 50 mm 1.2 and the 28-70 f2.
Hey what camera are you using
i think on the sony a7rii you can go into apsc mode and it will be zoomed farther inn i am picking this camera up tomorrow with this lens
im just getting into photography on a budget. I found this one for 125$ online, I have a couple cheap primes (35 and 85mm both 1.8) and this is a good one to bring if im going to be walking around though ill snag the 85 probably too and bring that with me. I like the compression of that one a lot but you need to be so far away.
Christopher whats a good budget lens similar to 16-35 or 24-70 for a sony a7r, im dipping my toe into sony and don't want to spend a fortune on lenses till I know im happy to fully switch from canon.
Tamron are doing nice 17-28 and 28-75mm f/2.8 lenses
Are the any bargain used lenses like the canon 24-85 im still using to this day
Can I know the total weight of the camera together with the kit lens?
Go on the internet, find out the weights of both, and add them up
Did u use the lens on a cannon ?
no he did not, this is an sony lens
Hi, would you recommend this lens for a a6000?
Only if you're going to eventually purchase a full-frame Sony. - Suffering from the bulk until you do will be the 'biggest' frustration...
Remember, a wonderful performer & similarly priced 16-50 (24-75mm FF Equivalent) for the cropped sensors, is considered a very capable Ultra-Compact !
Finally, if one seeks out the greatest images in photographic history, most every old-school optic was inferior to either of these computerized ED & Aspherical element zoom lenses; in other words, critical pixel peeping (or gear) doesn't make one a better photographer...
Can you tell us about 3 things on Sony mirrorless. Zoom settings (clear image zoom, optical only & Digital zoom only) especially @70mm using 28-70 kit lens
I never use digital zoom. But if you have a 42mp camera, you can just crop quite close