Sony 24-70 F2.8 vs 24-105mm F4 vs 20-70mm F4
One of my photography friends just made the switch from Canon to Sony and it got me down a rabbit hole of Sony camera bodies and lenses. For the sake of this article I’m going to be looking at and comparing three zoom lenses from Sony. The 20-70MM F4 GM, the 24-70mm F2.8 GM II, and the 24-105mm F4 G OSS. Looking at these from most expensive to least expensive the G-Master II 2.8 is the lens that most caught my eye.
The Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens is a bokeh beast. Most F2.8 lenses don’t render bokeh as nicely as I’ve been seeing with this lens. Being that I shoot with Canon’s beastly 28-70 F2, the G-Master II is what would replace my do it all lens/body setup. The 24-70mm from Sony is dust & moisture resistant, features linear response MF, and four XD linear motors for floating focus to achieve fast, precise, and quiet AF. Notably missing from this lens is image stabilization but being that I don’t have it on my Canon lens it’s not a deal breaker for me at all. Having seen enough photographers who shoot Sony have this as part of their kit, it seems like the no brainer of the bunch.
Next up we have the 24-105 F4 G OSS. This is what I would call the Swiss Army knife of lenses. Being able to shoot as wide as 24mm and as telephoto as 105mm in one lens is a real game changer. This lens is the do it all lens that can allow you to go out with one body and one lens and do 90% of the work you need. With a constant F4 aperture throughout the lens and in body Optical Stabilization this lens can really do everything. At $1,398.00 you’re getting access to what can be looked at as 4 prime lens focal lengths in one body, pretty amazing if you ask me!
Lastly we have the New 20-70mm F4 G Lens. The newest addition to the zoom family for Sony this 20-70mm F4 is the perfect bargain priced zoom lens. At just $1,098.00 this lens makes for a very affordable entry point in the Sony mirrorless lens family. With a constant F4 throughout the lens from ultra wide to mid-tele range you can get the outstanding quality that G Lenses are known for. The lens offers a ton of versatility with its 20mm to 70mm range and provides fantastic Auto Focus performance. Moving subjects are reliably tracked when shooting continuous stills at up to 30 fps, or up to 4K 120p with alpha compatible cameras. The lens is also small and lightweight which is a great benefit for lugging it around in your bag all day.
Sony now has 3 perfect offerings for every skill set and budget in its zoom mirrorless lineup. My feeling is always going for the lowest aperture and that 2.8 GM II is hard to pass up. However, if you’re a video shooter maybe that gigantic range for the 24-105mm is the lens you’re looking for. Whichever one you choose to add to your kit you’re getting tremendous versatility in each of these lenses.