Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Review

Sony 24-70 F/2.8 G Master Real world images

Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM lens review:

Every camera brand makes a holy trinity of lenses: wide angle, normal zoom and telephoto zoom with fixed 2.8 aperture.   Of those three lenses, the normal zoom, the 24-70mm F/2.8 is the most common and necessary tool for photographers.  With a range suitable for everything from landscapes to portraits, it can commonly be a walk-around lens for the most demanding photographers.  It is a staple for wedding photographers who need high quality, fast aperture and the convenience of a zoom.   In my time reviewing the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM, I used it for a wedding on both the Sony A9 and Sony A7riii. 

When Sony launched their full frame mirrorless system, they first concentrated on more compact lenses.  Sony’s first two zoom lenses consisted of the variable aperture 28-70mm and a 24-70mm F/4.   In 2016, Sony released the ultra-premium 24-70mm F/2.8 GM (G Master).   For years, Sony used “G” and “Zeiss” designations to connote their premium lenses, which they continued with their full frame mirrorless lenses.  In 2016, with the Sony 24-70 F/2.8 and Sony 85mm F/1.4, they began to use the “G Master” designation, to connote lenses theoretically superior even to their “G” and “Zeiss” lenses.

Sony prices the 24-70mm F/2.8 GM at a premium of around $2200. Let’s see if it’s worth the high price tag…

Body and Handling

The Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM definitely feels like a well crafted precision instrument in the hand.   The weather sealed body feels like a well-composed combination of metal and plastic, with nicely grooved focus and zoom rings.   There is a focus lock button to prevent zoom creep, though I found the zoom to offer a good amount of resistance without being too tight.   There is an AF/MF switch and a focus hold button, which is of great benefit when re-programmed for eye-AF.

Below, see the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM compared to the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 and Sony 24-105mm F/4 G.

The Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM is not a small lens by any definition.   It stands as proof that mirrorless isn’t always smaller.   With a weight of 886 grams, it falls right within the range of similar lenses from other manufacturers:  Canon’s 24-70mm F/2.8 is noticeable lighter at 805 grams, Nikon’s unstabilized 24-70mm F/2.8 is very close at 900 grams (though their newest stabilized lens is a whopping 1070 grams), and Tamron’s stabilized version for Canon/Nikon is 898 grams.

Compared to other normal zoom lenses for Sony, the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 weighs only 550 grams and the Sony 24-105mm F/4 G weighs 663 grams.    Thus, compared to other normal zoom options for Sony, you are taking on a lot of extra weight and cost.

Autofocus was fast and silent in my testing.   Unfortunately, after I returned the lens I noted an issue in some of my images:  At smaller aperture (F8 and smaller), in images where I used flash, there was significant back-focus.   This could signify focus shift as the aperture changes. or may have been simple missed focus by the camera.    I did not test it extensively so I can’t say definitively whether it is an issue with the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8, but I would recommend being aware of it.

The Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM does not have any form of optical stabilization.  Any stabilization comes from the in-body stabilization found in Sony’s most current cameras.

Stabilization Tests:

Different lenses seem to play better or worse with Sony’s in body stabilization system.  In the above examples, the image at 1/10th of a second is still tack sharp while the images at 1/20th and 1/15th are exhibiting softness due to camera shake.   My testing demonstrated this inconsistency on an ongoing basis.  I’ve gotten far more consistent results from lenses also equipped with OIS, like the Sony 24-105mm F/4 G.  With the 24-70mm F/4 GM, I was able to get a fair number of sharp images even at 1/10th of a second and 50mm.  But at the same time, I lost a fair number of images even at 1/25th of a second.

Overall, I’d resist shooting the 24-70mm F/2.8 at any slower than half the speed of 1/focal length rule.  (In other words, at 24mm, no slower than about 1/10.  At 50mm, no slower than 1/25.  At 70mm, no slower than about 1/30 or 1/40).  You will get some sharp images even at much slower shutter speeds but not with great consistency.

Image Quality

The point of  24-70mm F/2.8 lens is to get “prime like” image quality with the convenience of a zoom lens.   This should be the absolute best standard zoom you can buy or it wouldn’t be worth the price and the weight.

Vignetting

Every standard zoom lens I’ve tested on the Sony A7riii presents a similar issue at the wide end, when wide open. Vignetting is usually a gradual darkening as you go towards the corners.  Every lens I’ve tested on Sony get an abrupt blacking at the extreme corners.  This may be due to the front elements of the lens being just a bit too small, it may be due to the challenges of designing for the narrow diameter of the Sony FE mount.   Regardless of the reasons, it is clearly present in uncorrected files.  It is less severe in the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM but it is definitely present.  By F4, the vignetting is significantly improved and not noticeable by F/5.6.  In real world shooting, vignetting won’t be a concern.  It’s similar at 70mm:

 

70mm corrected:

Again, we get some slight corner blackening at F/2.8.   The lightroom profile mostly corrects it. In real world shooting, I don’t see it as an issue.

Flare – Chromatic Aberration/Purple Fringing – Sun stars

My testing did not show any color shifting, purple fringing or chromatic aberration.   Even in extreme backlighting, the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM maintains great contrast.

The Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 is prone to flare at all apertures but as shown in the above examples, it is fairly innocuous flare.   It’s the type of flare some photographers may even consider “artistic” as opposed to ugly blotchy flare you get with some lenses.

At F14, we get flare but a good sunstar:

Bokeh

I almost always prefer the bokeh from prime lenses.  Zoom lenses have more complicated designs, more internal components, which tend to disrupt the smoothness of the bokeh (the quality of the out of focus image).

When analyzing bokeh, bokeh snobs will look at the quality of the out of focus highlights — the bokeh balls.   The good news is that the bokeh balls maintain a nice round shape even when stopped down to F9.  The bad news is that the bokeh balls are more harshly outlined than you would get with most prime lenses.  We would conclude that “the bokeh is good for a zoom lens.”

Distortion

Barrel distortion is noticeable at 24mm but is correctable.   Just note that corrections end up stretching the edges of the frame, impacting sharpness.  As you zoom in, you get mild but correctable pin cushion distortion.

Sharpness

Sharpness is the one thing that you really can’t correct with software after the fact.  Almost all lenses become sharper when stopped down a bit.  This benefits the sharpness of prime lenses as they are stopped down at F/2.8.   The point of spending $2200 on a zoom lens is to be able to approach this level of sharpness without the need to stop down significantly.  Let’s see how the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM fares:

24mm Sharpness Tests

Starting with center crops at 24mm (click for large):

24mm at the aps-c border:

And 24mm in the extreme corners:

Another series from closer focus:

Centers at 24mm:

Borders at 24mm:

And the extreme corners at 24mm:

At 24mm, the summary is pretty simple.  The center is brilliant at all apertures but reaches peak sharpness at F4.   The borders are acceptably sharp wide open at F/2.8 but become tack sharp at F4.   The corners are very soft at F/2.8 (I’ve seen worse) but they gradually improve as you stop down.  By F4, the corners are acceptable but they don’t ever approach tack sharpness until F8.   That said, for most real world uses, the entire frame will be acceptably sharp at all apertures.   For the most demanding huge landscape prints, the image will be just fine from F4 onward.

35mm Sharpness Tests

Centers at 35mm:

Borders at 35mm:

Corners at 35mm:

35mm performance is very similar to 24mm performance though it may be a hair less sharp.   Centers and borders are more than acceptable at F/2.8.   I wouldn’t quite describe it as prime equivalent but it’s close.  The borders never become completely tack sharp but become quite acceptable at F4.

50mm Sharpness Tests

The borders:

50mm corners:

Closer focus, centers at  50mm:

50mm borders:

And extreme corners at 50mm:

I’m very happy with the results at 50mm.   The centers and borders are tack sharp at all apertures.   The corners are fairly acceptable at 2.8 and become tack sharp with a bit of stopping down.

70mm Sharpness Tests

70mm border crops:

Finally, 70mm extreme corner crops:

The closer focus series, 70mm center:

70mm borders:

And finally, 70mm extreme corners:

 

This are a bit weaker overall at the long end but that’s with nitpicking.   The center is certainly sharp even wide open but benefits from stopping down.  The borders reach acceptable levels of sharpness wide open but don’t become tack sharp until at least F4.  The corners are just slightly soft through the aperture range, only getting close to tack sharp at F8.  In real world shooting, you’ll certainly get usable results at 70mm.

In sum, you will get real world usable results at all focal lengths and apertures.   But you won’t quite reach the pixel peeping level of sharpness across the frame that will be achieved with good prime lenses.

Bonus:  Compared to Sony 24-105 F/4 and Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8

The top two competing standard zoom lenses are the Sony 24-105mm F/4 G (reviewed here) and the Tamron 28-75 F/2.8 (reviewed here).    Both lenses cover a similar range as the Sony 24-70 F/2.8 GM with considerably less weight and less cost.  The Sony 24-105 F/4 G covers more range but at the price of one stop in aperture.  The Tamron manages the same aperture but loses 4mm on the wide end.  For a full comparison, read the full reviews.  But for purposes here, let’s see how all three lenses compared head to head, at 50mm.

First, center crops at F/2.8 and F/4.

50mm is strong for all three lenses in the center.  Both the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM and the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 are tack sharp in the center, especially at F4.  As the Sony 24-105mm F/4 is wide open at F4, it is just a tad softer in the center.

Border crops at F/2.8 and F/4:

Performance is very even here.  The Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM and the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8  are equally sharp at F/2.8 and both equally sharpen up further at F4.  The Sony 24-105mm F/4 manages to compete quite well but falls just a hair behind at F/4.

Corner crops at 50mm and F/2.8 and F/4

 

The corner analysis is the first time we really see the Sony 24-70mm/F2.8 pull ahead.   At 2.8, the Tamron corner is quite ugly and is only okay at F/4.   The Sony 24-105mm F/4 isn’t horrendous but it slightly softer than the Tamron in the corner at F/4.  Meanwhile, the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM produces a nearly acceptable corner at 2.8 and is pretty darn sharp at F4.

If one examined the full focal length range, they would achieve similar results:  At F4, the Sony 24-105mm F/4 falls just a hair behind.  Meanwhile, the Tamron 28-75 competes very well in the center and borders but has generally weaker corner performance.

Overall:

From an optical perspective, the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM is the best standard zoom money can buy.   The build quality is excellent.  There are no significant image quality defects.  Sharpness is quite good overall, often rivaling prime lenses.

Yet, Sony enthusiast shooters have other choices.  Of course there is the kit 28-70mm for under $300 and the Sony 24-70mm F/4 which runs $900.  I don’t believe either of these lenses are suitable for demanding enthusiast photographers but there are two other lenses that should be considered:  the $1300 Sony 24-105 f/4 (now in stock at Amazon ) or the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for under $900.

Comparing the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM to the Sony 24-105mm F/4 G:

• The Sony 24-105mm F/4 G weighs 25% less
• Sony 24-105mm F/4 G costs $900 less
• 35mm more range on the long end of the Sony 24-105mm F/4 G
• Aperture is one stop faster on the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM
• Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 is slightly sharper at same apertures
• Thanks to OIS, better stabilization on the Sony 24-105mm F/4 G

Many enthusiasts would be better served with the Sony 24-105mm F/4 G, especially if you also have prime lenses in your bag for when you really do need wider aperture.   The 24-70mm F/2.8 GM is a better tool for those who wish to forego carrying prime lenses.

Purchase the Sony 24-105mm F/4 from Amazon here.  

If you do need the 2.8 aperture, comparing the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM with the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8:

• $800 price difference making the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 less than 2/5ths the price of the GM
• The Tamron weighs 40% less than the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM
• The Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM has slightly higher IQ, especially in regard to vignetting and corner sharpness
• The Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM is 4mm wider, which is more important than the 5mm the Tamron gains at the long end.

If you don’t care about weight or price, go with the Sony 24-70 f/2.8 GM. It is the better lens.  If you are weight and price conscience, the trade offs of corner sharpness and 4mm on the wide end in the Tamron may be well worth the huge price and weight savings.

You can buy the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 from Amazon Here.  

Final Score:

I try to stay objective in my lens reviews but my final score is based on my subjective balancing of functionality, usability, image quality, weight and price.  From a pure optical standpoint, every $2000 lens from every manufacturer is excellent but that doesn’t make them “must own” gear for every enthusiast photographer.  If you don’t need the convenience of a zoom, even fairly cheap prime lenses will deliver similar image quality.  If you do value the convenience of a zoom, you can get much cheaper and lighter lenses with only minor trade offs in image quality and aperture.

Thus, while the Sony 24-70mm F/2.8 GM is an excellent lens that will not disappoint buyers, when also considering the hefty weight and price from the perspective of an enthusiast, my final score:

Rating (1-10):  Score: 7

(About my scoring:  9-10 is a superb lens which could have a place in the bag of almost every photographer.   6-8:  recommended with caveats.   3-5:  A compromised lens that may still be suitable for some shooters and situations.  1-2:  Just stick to your phone camera)

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