Great lens. Sharp at every focal length. As previously stated my copy was like the previous copies posted by chuck and Fred. I am going to use mine for landscapes and leave the primes at home. Btw at 105 wide open it's a great portrait lens. Great center sharpness and the bokeh is creamy
By design, f2.8 zooms fall away fast once past f4, the GM is entirely typical in this. They lose 10-12% in centers by f8 with little gain elsewhere. F4 zooms need to 'get out of bed early' to please their market. If the 55/1.8 was the key lens at intro of a7, this is the most important lens in this late consolidation phase. Sony will sell truck loads of them. Slow lens triumph in the practical world.
'I am going to use mine for landscapes'
I have long believed this is the way to go, then build around the central focal lengths if needed. It's practical, it works, no lens changes for most shots.
I've just compared the 12-24/4G vs 24-105/4G both at 24mm. They are very similar in every way. (color, resolution, contrast, etc.)
The 24-105/4 @ 24mm 'wide open' shows more field curvature but the corners are noticeably sharper. It's also slightly sharper at center and mid.
They are both about the same weight and size. The 24-105G is only about 75g heavier when both have their front/back caps on.
IMO, it's an amazing landscape combo. Two zoom lenses without noticeable compromise in resolution or contrast.
I always refocus at center after each change in aperture.
Chuck
I see. If I refocus at every aperture, I get similar results, except that f/4 is as good as it gets for the corners until about 50mm and above where the corners benefit slight at f/5.6.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I've just compared the 12-24/4G vs 24-105/4G both at 24mm. They are very similar in every way. (color, resolution, contrast, etc.)
The 24-105/4 @ 24mm 'wide open' shows more field curvature but the corners are noticeably sharper. It's also slightly sharper at center and mid.
They are both about the same weight and size. The 24-105G is only about 75g heavier when both have their front/back caps on.
It's an amazing landscape combo. Two lenses and you are done!
Very interesting.
I’d be interested in knowing how both compare to the Batis 25 if you or anyone else has one.
As you can see the zoom does very well compared to the prime. (both great copies)
From my test today, the 24-105/4G did even better than the 12-24/4G at 24mm so I'm expecting the 24-105/4G will be comparable to the Batis 25 in terms of resolution and contrast.
As you can see the zoom does very well compared to the prime. (both great copies)
From my test today, the 24-105/4G did even better than the 12-24/4G at 24mm so I'm expecting the 24-105/4G will be comparable to the Batis 25 in terms of resolution and contrast.
Right, I forgot about that. They both look very similar to me in that test, but that says a lot about the zoom!
These results are very impressive. I never ever expected a 24-105mm (or equivalent) to yield such good edge performance on a high-resolution sensor, and I've tried them all across all systems. I like the 24-70GM but use it only for landscape type work so don't need f/2.8, so the weight savings and extra range from this would be awesome. Thanks to all who have posted samples and findings!
Fred Miranda wrote:
Even better: 12-24/4G, 24-105/4G and 100-400GM + extenders.
Still light with only three lenses covering 12-800mm!
This is exactly the kit I’ve taken out on my last 2-3 outings. 12-24 G, 24-105 G and
100-400 GM plus 1.4x teleconverter. It all fits very nicely in my Peak Design Everyday Backpack including my large filters for the 12-24 G and my Lee 100mm filter set for the 24-105 G & 100-400 GM. Makes for a nice fairly light daypack with focal lengths for just about anything I would need.
Chuck Coyne wrote:
This is exactly the kit I’ve taken out on my last 2-3 outings. 12-24 G, 24-105 G and
100-400 GM plus 1.4x teleconverter. It all fits very nicely in my Peak Design Everyday Backpack including my large filters for the 12-24 G and my Lee 100mm filter set for the 24-105 G & 100-400 GM. Makes for a nice fairly light daypack with focal lengths for just about anything I would need.
It's nice they all take 77mm filters...except that the 12-24G needs a separate set of modified 77mm filters allowing them to fit inside its hood.
Fred Miranda wrote:
It's nice they all take 77mm filters...except that the 12-24G needs a separate set of modified 77mm filters allowing them to fit inside its hood.
Yes I have a set of 77mm filters that I use for the 12-24 G and another set for the 24-105 G when I want a real light 2 lens kit. It works very nicely but I do have to be very careful removing the 77mm filters from inside the 12-24 G’s hood. I’ve nearly dropped one more than a few times when trying to change a 6 ND for a 10 ND or when taking the CPL out to put an ND in 😩
Fred Miranda wrote:
Even better: 12-24/4G, 24-105/4G and 100-400GM + extenders.
Still light with only three lenses covering 12-800mm!
That is my kit exactly and in the Everyday Backpack 20L I still have room up top for the FE 50mm macro. The only lens I'm missing is the Laowa 15/2 and there is room for it as well. Just an amazing amount of possibilities in an incredible concise space.
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