joema2 Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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ZoranC wrote:
I am considering getting Sony 70-200/2.8. Last time I was reading up on that lens (which was a while ago) I've, IIRC, seen tons of complaints about image quality from it, especially when compared to counterparts from CaNikon....
My documentary team has one of these which I compared closely to our Nikon and Canon 70-200 2.8 lenses. It was optically equal in every way I could tell.
We then got another Sony 70-200 2.8 GM and Sony 1.4x TC which was not that great. This was easy to compare since we had two identical Sony lenses, and I also did many test shots comparing it to my Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II (with and without Canon 1.4x TC) using the Metabones IV adapter on the same A7RII and A6500 bodies.
The 2nd 70-200 GM lens was just a poor copy, so I returned it. We will eventually get another one but I'll probably buy it from a local store and test it right there instead of dealing with returning one mail order.
These are a small sample of approx. 1,000 test shots we made with each lens. You may need to download the original full-res image to appreciate the difference. Despite the copy variation between the Sony lenses, I really like the good copy we have.
https://joema.smugmug.com/Photography/Sony-70-200-28-G-Master-Tests/n-HrBQXx/
https://joema.smugmug.com/Photography/Sony-70-200-28-GM-Test-2/n-JW5xGp/
There are only two minor negative things vs the Canon:
(1) The Sony is focus-by-wire. It's pretty fast as FBW systems go, but we do about 95% video and manually focus a lot, so it's not as fast as the Canon mechanical focus. OTOH the Sony autofocuses much better than the Canon using the Metabones IV adapter for stills. For video the Canon will not AF at all but the Sony is pretty good. So this offsets the slightly less responsive manual focus. We are getting two A7RIIIs and will be testing the Sony 70-200 2.8 GM on those, and we expect it to be even better.
(2) For video we must use a variable ND filter and our Heliopan filters will not fit inside the Sony lens hood. They will fit inside the Canon lens hood which is great, and they can be turned (carefully) without removing the lens hood.
The Sony lens hood has a notch cut out of the bottom to permit turning a filter, which is even better than the Canon -- if only we could find a quality variable ND which fit.
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