Archive 2014 · Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
p.2 #1Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
1A , 2B, 3B, 4B, 5A is the Zeiss, IMHO.
Color is different as mentioned earlier - more blue on Zeiss and yellowish on Sony.
I guess I would be happy with any of them - I sold my 28-70 before I had the time to do any shooting with it, as I'm just not a zoom person.
Color is different as mentioned earlier - more blue on Zeiss and yellowish on Sony.
I guess I would be happy with any of them - I sold my 28-70 before I had the time to do any shooting with it, as I'm just not a zoom person.
Mar 20, 2014 at 03:57 AM
p.2 #2Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Well, very interesting answers... without further ado, the results:
1A Sony 28-70mm
1B Zeiss 24-70mm
2A Zeiss 24-70mm
2B Sony 28-70mm
3A Zeiss 24-70mm
3B Sony 28-70mm
4A Zeiss 24-70mm
4B Sony 28-70mm
5A Sony 28-70mm
5B Zeiss 24-70mm
Summary:
- The vast majority clearly preferred the Sony lens over the Zeiss Lens (exception: pic #4). That was also my perception and preference. More comparisons are maybe required with architectural subjects though.
- Some guessed perfectly which one was the Zeiss or the Sony lens; others guessed it completely the opposite and the rest mixed them.
Conclusion:
1/ Blind tests are nice, because (although unscientific) the price tag or the brand do not influence the viewers' choice. You concentrate on the picture and its subjective quality.
2/ Even for the same price, the Zeiss lens would not be a good choice over the Sony lens. Considering it is 4-5 times more expensive than the Sony's zoom (i.e. when you buy the A7 bundled with the lens), that it is bigger and heavier, the Zeiss zoom is disappointing to say the least.
So, the Zeiss lens is going back. A shame because I was looking forward to a better IQ than the kit lens.
Thanks again for watching!
iso.light
P.S: yes, I checked twice to ensure I did not mix up the files
1A Sony 28-70mm
1B Zeiss 24-70mm
2A Zeiss 24-70mm
2B Sony 28-70mm
3A Zeiss 24-70mm
3B Sony 28-70mm
4A Zeiss 24-70mm
4B Sony 28-70mm
5A Sony 28-70mm
5B Zeiss 24-70mm
Summary:
- The vast majority clearly preferred the Sony lens over the Zeiss Lens (exception: pic #4). That was also my perception and preference. More comparisons are maybe required with architectural subjects though.
- Some guessed perfectly which one was the Zeiss or the Sony lens; others guessed it completely the opposite and the rest mixed them.
Conclusion:
1/ Blind tests are nice, because (although unscientific) the price tag or the brand do not influence the viewers' choice. You concentrate on the picture and its subjective quality.
2/ Even for the same price, the Zeiss lens would not be a good choice over the Sony lens. Considering it is 4-5 times more expensive than the Sony's zoom (i.e. when you buy the A7 bundled with the lens), that it is bigger and heavier, the Zeiss zoom is disappointing to say the least.
So, the Zeiss lens is going back. A shame because I was looking forward to a better IQ than the kit lens.
Thanks again for watching!
iso.light
P.S: yes, I checked twice to ensure I did not mix up the files
Mar 20, 2014 at 03:59 AM
p.2 #3Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
2A and 2B: Focal length and aperture? Are these shot at the same aperture or are both wide open?
Mar 20, 2014 at 04:04 AM
p.2 #4Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
So I guessed all 5 correct, which is surprising since almost everyone (except for Kokusai) guessed either the exact opposite, or just one from it.
Imho the Zeiss has better IQ, but not $1200 better.
Imho the Zeiss has better IQ, but not $1200 better.
Mar 20, 2014 at 04:08 AM
p.2 #5Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
I preferred the color and contrast of the Sony. I did not check the full size images, so I'm not even sure which lens has better resolution, but I am surprised that the Sony seems to have a nicer, richer drawing style to it. Thanks for the test.
Mar 20, 2014 at 04:15 AM
p.2 #6Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Thanks a lot iso light !
I was on the fence considering this, I bought the A7 with kit, but I wasn't sure if it was worth it making the investment for the 24-70, which was heavy, expensive, and not a lot faster than the kit. With your post, now I'm sure, so thanks again !
I was on the fence considering this, I bought the A7 with kit, but I wasn't sure if it was worth it making the investment for the 24-70, which was heavy, expensive, and not a lot faster than the kit. With your post, now I'm sure, so thanks again !
Mar 20, 2014 at 04:17 AM
p.2 #7Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
twoeye: good question. FL is 70mm for sure. I'll have to check the EXIF for the aperture. Looking again at the pics, it may be full aperture on both lens, meaning the Zeiss would be 1 stop faster than the Sony. Theoretically at an advantage for the kind of effect I was looking for.
Mar 20, 2014 at 04:26 AM
p.2 #8Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Oh, and one thing I meant to say originally - in number 4 (for both lenses, but more for the Zeiss): Holy Pincushion Distortion. That's terrible!
Mar 20, 2014 at 04:40 AM
p.2 #9Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
iso.light wrote:
Well, very interesting answers... without further ado, the results:
So, the Zeiss lens is going back. A shame because I was looking forward to a better IQ than the kit lens.
Thanks again for watching!
iso.light
P.S: yes, I checked twice to ensure I did not mix up the files
thanks for this interesting test!
I judged purely based on the small images and my prejudice that the Zeiss has better coatings let me to the conclusion that it was the lens with nicer rendering. Sorry Sony!
I think I should get another copy of the kit lens
briantho wrote:
So I guessed all 5 correct, which is surprising since almost everyone (except for Kokusai) guessed either the exact opposite, or just one from it.
Imho the Zeiss has better IQ, but not $1200 better.
I think you are one of the few who viewed the full images
Well, very interesting answers... without further ado, the results:
So, the Zeiss lens is going back. A shame because I was looking forward to a better IQ than the kit lens.
Thanks again for watching!
iso.light
P.S: yes, I checked twice to ensure I did not mix up the files
thanks for this interesting test!
I judged purely based on the small images and my prejudice that the Zeiss has better coatings let me to the conclusion that it was the lens with nicer rendering. Sorry Sony!
I think I should get another copy of the kit lens
briantho wrote:
So I guessed all 5 correct, which is surprising since almost everyone (except for Kokusai) guessed either the exact opposite, or just one from it.
Imho the Zeiss has better IQ, but not $1200 better.
I think you are one of the few who viewed the full images
Mar 20, 2014 at 05:43 AM
p.2 #10Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
That is very surprising. I chose the nicer image as the Zeiss each time, because I felt that the rendering was clearer and more "open", whereas the lens I chose as the Sony in each case had more muddy mid tones, which is distinctly not a Zeiss trait.
Given that Sony manufactures both, and that I have read comments from the Sony team before about how they felt their own lenses were superiour to the Zeiss lenses, I wonder if this is some kind of deliberate smear campaign, for Sony owners to start preferring Sony products rather than Zeiss? It sounds very conspiracy theory-like, but honestly, why would you make an inferior, but way more expensive lens? Regardless of the corner sharpness and all that, one would at least expect the Zeiss to have the usual clarity, which this copy does not share.
Given that Sony manufactures both, and that I have read comments from the Sony team before about how they felt their own lenses were superiour to the Zeiss lenses, I wonder if this is some kind of deliberate smear campaign, for Sony owners to start preferring Sony products rather than Zeiss? It sounds very conspiracy theory-like, but honestly, why would you make an inferior, but way more expensive lens? Regardless of the corner sharpness and all that, one would at least expect the Zeiss to have the usual clarity, which this copy does not share.
Mar 20, 2014 at 06:22 AM
p.2 #11Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Thanks for the effort.
You shot Zeiss at 70mm wide open?
You shot Zeiss at 70mm wide open?
Mar 20, 2014 at 06:43 AM
p.2 #12Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Jman13 wrote:
Oh, and one thing I meant to say originally - in number 4 (for both lenses, but more for the Zeiss): Holy Pincushion Distortion. That's terrible!
Why do you care about distortion in these lenses and calmly rely on software correction for the lenses in the system you use?
The beloved Panasonic 35-200 2.8 OIS shows a terrible 3.45% barrel distortion at 35 mm, in case you haven't noticed.
Oh, and one thing I meant to say originally - in number 4 (for both lenses, but more for the Zeiss): Holy Pincushion Distortion. That's terrible!
Why do you care about distortion in these lenses and calmly rely on software correction for the lenses in the system you use?
The beloved Panasonic 35-200 2.8 OIS shows a terrible 3.45% barrel distortion at 35 mm, in case you haven't noticed.
Mar 20, 2014 at 06:58 AM
p.2 #13Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Interesting test, what apertures was used in the shots?
Mar 20, 2014 at 07:26 AM
p.2 #14Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Hi all, the RAW files will be shared, so that you can directly inspect the files for yourself. I used the lens as I would in a real situation. So yes, one pic is FL 70mm at the widest aperture for the bokeh.
Please note: I do not work for Sony (as it seems it was implied), have any agenda against Zeiss (in fact the zoom will be exchanged for the FE 55mm) nor do I care about brands in general. What matters is the quality and then the quality-price ratio. IMO
Please note: I do not work for Sony (as it seems it was implied), have any agenda against Zeiss (in fact the zoom will be exchanged for the FE 55mm) nor do I care about brands in general. What matters is the quality and then the quality-price ratio. IMO
Mar 20, 2014 at 08:31 AM
p.2 #15Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
I will be very interested in seeing aperture values and FLs for each shot.
Mar 20, 2014 at 08:39 AM
p.2 #16Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
did you set white balance to the same value in these shot pairs or did you did you set it off the given spot in the photo/white card?
the zeiss lens shots seem clearly warmer in most of the shots (it's harder to say in the flower and door shots), which is also true of my experience with contax lenses – they are always noticeably warmer than any other brand. i'm curious because i've heard other people claim that modern zeisses have a much cooler color balance, but i don't have any i can test myself and have always thought the warmness was part of the zeiss look.
the zeiss lens shots seem clearly warmer in most of the shots (it's harder to say in the flower and door shots), which is also true of my experience with contax lenses – they are always noticeably warmer than any other brand. i'm curious because i've heard other people claim that modern zeisses have a much cooler color balance, but i don't have any i can test myself and have always thought the warmness was part of the zeiss look.
Mar 20, 2014 at 09:12 AM
p.2 #17Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
For me in #1 & #3, I much preferred the bluer sky of the Sony to the more cyan sky of the Zeiss. I couldn't get past that when making the evaluations, so I picked the Sony in both cases. This, however, would be easy to fix in post. For #2 I actually preferred the greater depth of field of the Sony to the shallower depth of field of the Zeiss. With the Sony most of the foreground branches was in focus, but I didn't like the mix in and out of focus of the Zeiss, so I picked the Sony. So, although I preferred the Sony in all three of these instances I did for reasons not associated with the lenses. For # 4 & #5 I picked the Zeiss. In these shots the higher resolution of the Zeiss was evident even at web size. In #4 in the centre and in #5 particularly on the right edge. So I am less sure this tells me the Zeiss isn't any better than the Sony, but rather that there are many times that factors other than the lens itself that make a shot.
Mar 20, 2014 at 10:24 AM
p.2 #18Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Aside from the warm/yellowish color cast from the Zeiss samples, they look very close when looking at this size.
The Sony kit lens is a steal.
Fred
The Sony kit lens is a steal.
Fred
Mar 20, 2014 at 10:26 AM
p.2 #19Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
I messed up on the church, and just could not tell with the flowers, but got the others which seemed obvious on my monitor without going to full size.
If any one has links to full size landscapes @ 24 with the zeiss and A7 I'd love to see them.
TY
If any one has links to full size landscapes @ 24 with the zeiss and A7 I'd love to see them.
TY
Mar 20, 2014 at 11:11 AM
p.2 #20Sony FE 28-70mm vs Zeiss FE 24-70mm Comparison
Phillip Reeve wrote:
briantho wrote
So I guessed all 5 correct, which is surprising since almost everyone (except for Kokusai) guessed either the exact opposite, or just one from it.Imho the Zeiss has better IQ, but not $1200 better.
Nope, as I stated I couldn't get access to the full size images.
Mar 20, 2014 at 11:29 AM