I know the 28-70 had a rocky start with the recall, but I'm surprised to see very little discussion about it here while the Sony 24-105 and Tamron 28-75 and 28-200 continue to be discussed.
I'm looking for a travel/hiking zoom that is fairly small. Which option would you recommend?
I have heard good things about it as far as image quality. Never tried one though. Was about to pull the trigger on one but after research heard of people complaining about some internal dust issues. Maybe that has been addressed. Not sure. I ended up with the Tamron 28-75 which is great.
As far as I've noticed the dust issue related reports are all related to Sigma 24-70/2.8 DG DN and not to 28-70/2.8 DG DN and Sigma seems to have made some improvements for the 24-70 regarding that issue as well.
I had the Tamron 28-75/2.8 at first and I replaced it with Sony 24-105/4 G and once Sigma 28-70/2.8 came out I replaced the Sony with the new Sigma. Mainly because of lighter weight and smaller size to go along with my A7C. Been very happy with the Sigma although I had to send my original copy in for replacement due to the ghost resistance recall. Got the replacement pretty quickly though and I've been very happy with it. Lovely rendering and the size and build are very nice + it handles great including MF experience. I'm looking to buy an L-mount version for my Sigma fp as well once they come back in stock in Japan.
This lens has been a big seller in Japan and is still backordered everywhere currently.
DaveFP wrote:
I shoot a lot at 24mm so a 28mm - XXmm mid-zoom is a hard pass.
I agree as well but people considering this lens should be pretty aware and are comparing it with the Tamron 28-75/2.8.
I used the Tamron for a while as a do it all: walk around, family, portraits, hiking. I was going to go with the Sigma 28-70/2.8 until the tiny Sony 28-60/4-5.6 came out and had great sharpness in the corners. So I made that my hiking lens and thought I may as well get the 24 back on my standard zoom and grabbed the Sigma 24-70/2.8. It is a lot heavier but I have small primes I can take instead if desired.
For a one-lens solution, if one can live without 24, I think the Sigma 28-70/2.8 would be an excellent choice that I would prefer over the Tamron 28-75/2.8
I agree, prefer the Sigma over the Tamron for the slightly smaller size and build, but mostly the bokeh is not nearly as harsh. I have the Tamron 17-28 and 70-180, so the Sigma fits nicely in between.
But for this normal range, I am usually happy just shooting a small prime. I use the Sony 55/1.8 or CV40. I don't find the zoom range as useful as a faster aperture here.
I took one on a Father’s Day weekend bike trip with a bunch of dads and sons instead of my 24-105 or primes. It is an excellent people lens, with rendering I much prefer over the 24-105 - though not as sharp especially at long end. For shooting people I don’t really miss 24mm. Also a very good video lens, I noticed the lack of focus breathing in some video shot over the weekend that would have been present with my current primes.
azhenley wrote:
I know the 28-70 had a rocky start with the recall, but I'm surprised to see very little discussion about it here while the Sony 24-105 and Tamron 28-75 and 28-200 continue to be discussed.
I'm looking for a travel/hiking zoom that is fairly small. Which option would you recommend?
Definitely take a look at Fred's Sony 28-60 thread.
The Sigma is probably fine. Definitely feel like Sigma can make excellent lenses, depending on how they are trying to compete with the competition. Sometimes on price. Not always. 24mm seems to be harder for the manufacturers. I'd rather have more f/4-ish lightweight, inexpensive, good performing zooms starting at 28mm. Like we used to more or less. Hesitant to spend $1k+ on this FL. Ideally add uwa and maybe tele
I currently have both the Sony 28-60/4-5.6 as well as the Sigma 28-70/2.8 DG DN. Sony is excellent for deep DOF shooting and it's very light. Sigma has very nice bokeh / out-of-focus background rendering and works great for portraits and bokeh shots at the long end wide open, and Sigma has better build quality/handling. Sony 28-60 build feels a bit cheap/clunky especially when it comes to the zoom action but the lens is extremely light and small when collapsed.
If one wants to shoot mainly stopped down deep DOF shots then Sony will do great but if one also wants to have the faster aperture and nice bokeh/rendering especially in the long end Sigma will be great for that.
Both are keepers for me. My other zoom for E-mount is Sony 16-35/2.8 GM which I would use when I want to cover the wider end more extensively (for example during travel). I also have a good range of Voigtländer, Sony, Sigma and Zeiss prime lenses covering 15mm to 135mm.
Wish it was a 24-60 like the DSLR version, oh well. I also have the 28-60, however f2.8 is pretty darn significant, hard to force the usage of the 28-60
Juha Kannisto wrote:
As far as I've noticed the dust issue related reports are all related to Sigma 24-70/2.8 DG DN and not to 28-70/2.8 DG DN and Sigma seems to have made some improvements for the 24-70 regarding that issue as well.
I had the Tamron 28-75/2.8 at first and I replaced it with Sony 24-105/4 G and once Sigma 28-70/2.8 came out I replaced the Sony with the new Sigma. Mainly because of lighter weight and smaller size to go along with my A7C. Been very happy with the Sigma although I had to send my original copy in for replacement due to the ghost resistance recall. Got the replacement pretty quickly though and I've been very happy with it. Lovely rendering and the size and build are very nice + it handles great including MF experience. I'm looking to buy an L-mount version for my Sigma fp as well once they come back in stock in Japan.
This lens has been a big seller in Japan and is still backordered everywhere currently....Show more →
Hello,
Could you please compare Sony 24-105 and Sigma 28-70 regarding sharpness wide open and regarding the feel of the zoom ring and focus ring? I have tried the sony 24-105 of a friend of mine but zoom ring did not feel very nice in use.
I am currently looking for a zoom for my sony a7iii to pair with sony zeiss 16-35. Sigma 24-70 2.8 could be a good option but would probably be too heavy to carry around. That being said, the online photos taken with sigma 24-70 look great to me(of course the photographer is more important than the gear).
I have a sony 28-70 oss kit lens but i rarely use it. I also have and like to use voigtlander 35 1.2 se, sony 55 1.8 and some contax lenses. I suppose sony 24-105 f4 is the way to go since i also have primes but i am afraid that i will not enjoy using it much.
Thank you for your time.
dimtheod wrote:
Hello,
Could you please compare Sony 24-105 and Sigma 28-70 regarding sharpness wide open and regarding the feel of the zoom ring and focus ring? I have tried the sony 24-105 of a friend of mine but zoom ring did not feel very nice in use.
I am currently looking for a zoom for my sony a7iii to pair with sony zeiss 16-35. Sigma 24-70 2.8 could be a good option but would probably be too heavy to carry around. That being said, the online photos taken with sigma 24-70 look great to me(of course the photographer is more important than the gear).
I have a sony 28-70 oss kit lens but i rarely use it. I also have and like to use voigtlander 35 1.2 se, sony 55 1.8 and some contax lenses. I suppose sony 24-105 f4 is the way to go since i also have primes but i am afraid that i will not enjoy using it much.
Thank you for your time.
I don't have the 24-105/4 anymore so I can't compare them by any side-by-side testing now. I haven't had any issues with either lens with regards to sharpness from wide open but I never compared them in any formal way. I didn't use my Sony 24-105/4 much in the last 1.5+ years since there was no traveling due to Covid-19 and it was mainly a travel lens for me. It did work well in that capacity. After I got Sony A7C and started using it as my main E-mount camera I've been looking into adding more small and compact lenses that are a good match for it. 24-105/4 seemed a bit too big and heavy to be a great match for A7C and I decided to try out the Sigma it's quite a bit lighter at 470g and feels perfectly balanced on the A7C, and I don't need the extra reach so much + f2.8 could come in handy on a general purpose walkaround lens. Once I got the Sigma I still kept my 24-105/4 for a little while but I decided to trade it in after I had used the Sigma for a few outings and since I really liked it and I figured that I wouldn't need both in the long run. The Sigma lens feels slightly better to me in terms of feel of the zoom ring and focus ring, it's pretty pleasant to use overall and I've been happy with the shots I'm getting with it every time.
Nowadays I'm mostly shooting in Tokyo on my free time on long walks (especially on weekends) and I usually take just one lens with me. I'm rotating between some of my favorite primes (including CV 21/3.5, 35/1.2 SE, 40/1.2 SE, 50/1.2 SE) and the Sigma 28-70 any any of the 4 Sigma I-series lenses.
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I don't have the 24-105/4 anymore so I can't compare them by any side-by-side testing now. I haven't had any issues with either lens with regards to sharpness from wide open but I never compared them in any formal way. I didn't use my Sony 24-105/4 much in the last 1.5+ years since there was no traveling due to Covid-19 and it was mainly a travel lens for me. It did work well in that capacity. After I got Sony A7C and started using it as my main E-mount camera I've been looking into adding more small and compact lenses that are a good match for it. 24-105/4 seemed a bit too big and heavy to be a great match for A7C and I decided to try out the Sigma it's quite a bit lighter at 470g and feels perfectly balanced on the A7C, and I don't need the extra reach so much + f2.8 could come in handy on a general purpose walkaround lens. Once I got the Sigma I still kept my 24-105/4 for a little while but I decided to trade it in after I had used the Sigma for a few outings and since I really liked it and I figured that I wouldn't need both in the long run. The Sigma lens feels slightly better to me in terms of feel of the zoom ring and focus ring, it's pretty pleasant to use overall and I've been happy with the shots I'm getting with it every time.
Nowadays I'm mostly shooting in Tokyo on my free time on long walks (especially on weekends) and I usually take just one lens with me. I'm rotating between some of my favorite primes (including CV 21/3.5, 35/1.2 SE, 40/1.2 SE, 50/1.2 SE) and the Sigma 28-70 any any of the 4 Sigma I-series lenses....Show more →
@Juha Kannisto. I also have the A7C and the 35i and 65i. How do you feel the Sigma 28-70 performs compared to the two primes?
I have the Sony 28-60 and it is a good lens but the two primes seem to have better detail and color. I also owned the 16-35GM and 24-105 when I had my A7R4 but want to keep my kit lighter but still have great lenses
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I don't have the 24-105/4 anymore so I can't compare them by any side-by-side testing now. I haven't had any issues with either lens with regards to sharpness from wide open but I never compared them in any formal way. I didn't use my Sony 24-105/4 much in the last 1.5+ years since there was no traveling due to Covid-19 and it was mainly a travel lens for me. It did work well in that capacity. After I got Sony A7C and started using it as my main E-mount camera I've been looking into adding more small and compact lenses that are a good match for it. 24-105/4 seemed a bit too big and heavy to be a great match for A7C and I decided to try out the Sigma it's quite a bit lighter at 470g and feels perfectly balanced on the A7C, and I don't need the extra reach so much + f2.8 could come in handy on a general purpose walkaround lens. Once I got the Sigma I still kept my 24-105/4 for a little while but I decided to trade it in after I had used the Sigma for a few outings and since I really liked it and I figured that I wouldn't need both in the long run. The Sigma lens feels slightly better to me in terms of feel of the zoom ring and focus ring, it's pretty pleasant to use overall and I've been happy with the shots I'm getting with it every time.
Nowadays I'm mostly shooting in Tokyo on my free time on long walks (especially on weekends) and I usually take just one lens with me. I'm rotating between some of my favorite primes (including CV 21/3.5, 35/1.2 SE, 40/1.2 SE, 50/1.2 SE) and the Sigma 28-70 any any of the 4 Sigma I-series lenses....Show more →
@offraildog I haven't compared them side by side but I feel Sigma 28-70/2.8 IQ is pretty equal to 35i DG DN and 24/3.5 DG DN. I have always felt that 65i has some extra oomph in the IQ department and it might be slightly better than the others or my copy might be more perfect, but 65mm is also relatively specialized focal lenght and 28-70 is a lot more versatile.
I have all 4 i-series lenses for E-mount for my A7C and I also have 24i, 35i, 45i L-mount versions for my Sigma fp but instead of 65i in L-mount I plan to add 28-70/2.8 DG DN to round up my L-mount native lens set as I think the versatility beats the extra IQ that 65i might have especially for a camera that has no IBIS such as Sigma fp. I've been always having a blast when shooting with the 28-70/2.8 DG DN on my A7C although I haven't yet used it as much as e.g. 65/2 which I got a few months earlier.
offtraildog wrote:
@Juha Kannisto@. I also have the A7C and the 35i and 65i. How do you feel the Sigma 28-70 performs compared to the two primes?
I have the Sony 28-60 and it is a good lens but the two primes seem to have better detail and color. I also owned the 16-35GM and 24-105 when I had my A7R4 but want to keep my kit lighter but still have great lenses
I had a chance to take a few quick test shots with this lens at a local store today on my A7r4. As I would mainly want this lens for stopped down (focus-stacked) landscapes, my interest is mainly in its corner performance stopped down to at least 6.3. I'm assuming mid and center IQ will only be better, so I'm looking for the weakest link (in large print). This copy was reasonably well centered - the LR corner a little different wide open but all four pretty similar by about 5.6.
Here is the extreme LL corner (100% crop on A7r4) at 28mm F6.3, corner focused, minimal default sharpening in CR.
At 70mm it seemed a little softer in my quick assessment.
My first reaction when I saw the images was that this lens seems decent but maybe not excellent if your goal is great IQ @60MP over the entire frame. But after applying a little small radius USM, the images actually look pretty good, which leaves me still undecided on this lens. But it's size and focal range certainly make it an enticing complement to my main WA/UWA lens. And on smaller sensors, it seems a great choice.
rvh23 wrote:
As I would mainly want this lens for stopped down (focus-stacked) landscapes, my interest is mainly in its corner performance stopped down to at least 6.3.
Will it also be double duty for portraits? Otherwise, I'd recommend looking into the 28-60/4-5.6
