After my last thread in which i got some great info, it made me look at this lens. We are relocating from Utah to North Carolina next October, so I am wanting to photograph places I have put off for years and years. May not get another chance to visit (rental car 4WD have no chance getting to these places lol), so I am wanting the best IQ I can get.
The Leica lens I had (35-70/4ROM),I am seriously thinking about purchasing again. Selling it took forever, so it would be a lens i wouldn't ever sell. If i need AF at some point, I would have to buy a "duplicate lens".
The Sony seems to be the sharpest GM lens ever made? For those that have this lens, how does the manual focusing feel? The Sigma 14-24mm was silky smooth, and hoping for the same. And yes, I realize I am using a $2000+ lens that has autofocus as a manual lens Yes the lens is double the Leica, but is AF and easy to resell if I don't see a difference between these two lenses (from f/4 and on of course).
24-70 GM II is ok for landscapes though I think it is own territory is reportage and event photography. Af is fast and one can shoot f/2.8 with confidence. Bokeh is better than what I expected and ca has not been a problem.
I have sometimes been disappointed in sharpness in corners. Lens is very sharp but focusing plane seems to be strangely curved. I am not totally sure, just reflecting my experiences. I should made controlled experiments on this.
Biggest problem with 24-70 GM II is ghosting, it can be quite wild when shooting against bright light. Sunstarts are also not well defined. But what can be expected, 24-70mm is a zoom!? I attach to pictures to demonstrate this so you can take a look yourself (sorry for cross posting to other threads).
As a whole I like the lens. It is light and practical. I use 24-40mm focal lengths quite often in landscapes, making 28/35-70mm not an option for me. 24-70 GM II is much better than 24-105mm G in wide, and overall it has more contrast and character. Sometimes I miss 105mm tele reach as it can be very useful in landscapes.
THANK YOU for the detailed input, it is interesting on your experiences as I would have imaged it would have been "better" than the Leica, especially with ghosting and corner sharpness.
Dustin Gent wrote:
THANK YOU for the detailed input, it is interesting on your experiences as I would have imaged it would have been "better" than the Leica, especially with ghosting and corner sharpness.
Ghosting is a slight bummer, but not that different than many other zooms. Sharpness... I do not think it is a real problem. The pictures I posted are worst case scenarios in every way.
Overall I consider 24-70mm GM II the best midrange zoom I have used. Especially the range from wide to normal is very good - important for landscapes. I think 70mm is slightly weaker.
Most importantly, 24-70 GM II is the best normal zoom available in FE system. No brainer unless one chooses to go with primes. I use both zoom and primes
Yes the lens is double the Leica, but is AF and easy to resell if I don't see a difference between these two lenses (from f/4 and on of course). 
