Zeiss Vario-Tessar 24-70/4 ZA in Sony FE mount is available 600 USD brand new locally,so seven years after my first test of this lens I decided to give it a second chance.
I had the silent hope that Sony have fixed or minimised at least some of the annoying issues obserwed in 2014.
Five brand new copies were examined and I finally picked up one of the two best for taking some real life pictures.
What I found still liking is Zeiss colours,contrast,compact size,weight and built quality.
Above average chromatic aberrations and distortions throughout the zoom range were pretty well corrected by the lens profile in Capture One Express for Sony.
Sharpness from 28mm to 60mm was also quite good.At 70mm stopping down 1f stop was fine to make it acceptable.Corners however and broad areas around them at 24mm were soft,even at f11,as in the 2014 copy,yet with sharper pictures sides.That softness was clear on flat objects,whereas 3D objects looked better.
So,recent results of the 24-70/4 ZA are a little better compared to 2014,but still not acceptable to me.Lenses like Sigma Art 24-70/2.8,Sony G 24-105/4 and GM 24-70/2.8 just set the acceptability level even higher.Yet this doesn't mean Vario-Tessar 24-70/4 ZA is a bad lens.No.It is good within it's limitations.
I posted the complete mating sequence 2 weeks ago in the Nature and Wildlife forum. To prevent an image overload in a single thread, I left out a few out of the sequence. Here is one of the outtakes at the very beginning, when the male falcon made the purposeful “attack” while the female was anxiously waiting...
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
A beautiful post. Lovely words and the visual you put with it is enjoyable.
chiron wrote:
Robert Frost's leafing time in the Northeast.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
by Robert Frost
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Peire wrote:
So,recent results of the 24-70/4 ZA are a little better compared to 2014,but still not acceptable to me.Lenses like Sigma Art 24-70/2.8,Sony G 24-105/4 and GM 24-70/2.8 just set the acceptability level even higher.Yet this doesn't mean Vario-Tessar 24-70/4 ZA is a bad lens.No.It is good within it's limitations.
I must be different than everyone else, because I think they all look fine. I truly enjoy using my copy.
I guess my mileage does vary.
I can't imagine how high these canyons are. The size of this place was insane. Again, super lucky with the light after a stormy afternoon. This will likely be my last shot from Canyonlands that I will share.
jstrawman wrote:
I must be different than everyone else, because I think they all look fine. I truly enjoy using my copy.
I guess my mileage does vary.
Yes,they look fine.Even the ones taken at 24mm.Yet sometimes 24mm corners are too soft for my taste.Besides it is a good lens.
Looking at Farmers Fields in shade with the rear of the image in Magic Hour warm light. Fields in the front have been harvested and cut and White Tail Deer can be seen in places in the full size image.
Image rotated 1.5 degrees (to level image), tripod mounted A7r and Leica R 28mm f2.8 Elmarit V2 lens.
ISO 100, f11?, 1/50 second.
Exposure Corrected +0.29 Stops.
October 14, 2020
Along Game Preserve Road near the intersection with Ruheton Hill Road, Lowhill Township, PA.
