p.1 #1 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
I tried again. I realize the technique is imperfect but significant decentering will show up. I included center 200% crops for comparison. I think this one is fairly even at 24 mm even if ironically it may be a tad less sharp than ver 1 (might be tough to tell due to lighting differences. Unlike ver 1 ver2 seems a tad softer at 70 mm on the right. Sigh. One good thing about the exchange, I noted the new sales price and B&H has a 30 day price guarantee so saved a bit of dosh. What do you think? I am less apt to use F2.8 at 70mm for landscapes and modest corner issue should not matter for portraits, but still it is an expensive lens in my world. Thanks for looking.
p.1 #2 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
Zoom lenses, especially wide zooms, are known for optical flaws. That said I believe a G lens should be as expected, and a GM lens darn near perfect. To me, this one looks pretty good; not perfect, but pretty good. B&H is usually very good about getting you a good copy. Might be worth trying another copy, I think I would. But realistically this may be as good as they get. If so, Sony may need to revisit their GM designation.
p.1 #3 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
Thank you for looking. I have time for 1 or two more exchanges before a trip. I worry about getting a worse copy. I have hopes of a large print this trip so the 200% crops are not meaningless. I don’t know what to expect as far as copy variability with this lens. I would appreciate any more opinions. I should get it to FedEx today, if possible, if that is the prudent option
p.1 #4 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
I realize that my comments will likely not be very helpful, for you, but I am posting just for additional data points.
Based upon historical comments on various forums, this particular lens is fairly well known for de-centering problems. My copy was noticeably de-centered; however, in actual use (as apposed to testing) it yielded a lot of nice images with good sharpness.
I finally sold it and acquired the GM 28-70mm f2. What a difference! The f2 lens is a bit sharper, has noticeably more contrast, shows almost no de-centering and produces great bokeh! Highly recommended if you can absorb the cost and tolerate a few extra grams.
p.1 #5 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
For the new copy, at 24mm the upper-right still looks a little soft. Your 70mm set doesn't have comparable detail in the four corners to perform an evaluation.
p.1 #6 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
I tried multiple copies of the 24-70GMII, couldn’t get a good one, all were returned. I then tried the 28-70 F2 and managed to get a good one first time. I also got a good copy first time with the 24-50G.
p.1 #7 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
InFocus2014 wrote:
I realize that my comments will likely not be very helpful, for you, but I am posting just for additional data points.
Based upon historical comments on various forums, this particular lens is fairly well known for de-centering problems. My copy was noticeably de-centered; however, in actual use (as apposed to testing) it yielded a lot of nice images with good sharpness.
I finally sold it and acquired the GM 28-70mm f2. What a difference! The f2 lens is a bit sharper, has noticeably more contrast, shows almost no de-centering and produces great bokeh! Highly recommended if you can absorb the cost and tolerate a few extra grams....Show more →
p.1 #8 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
snapsy wrote:
For the new copy, at 24mm the upper-right still looks a little soft. Your 70mm set doesn't have comparable detail in the four corners to perform an evaluation.
Please elaborate. I can try again.
The lens is a better travel lens than the 28-70 f2 and the 24 mm is useful. I don’t want to stand on ceremony using overly rigorous testo, but i wish large print capability and may use at 24mm for astro at F2.8. Thank you for commenting.
p.1 #9 · Help me decide--should I exchange this Sony 24-70 f 2.8 GM II--trial #2
Michael Gordon wrote:
Please elaborate. I can try again.
The lens is a better travel lens than the 28-70 f2 and the 24 mm is useful. I don’t want to stand on ceremony using overly rigorous testo, but i wish large print capability and may use at 24mm for astro at F2.8. Thank you for commenting.
Position a small area of detail in the same extreme corner of each frame, something that's 320x320 at 2:1 perhaps. The spiky things at power line junctions are a good subject for this.
Also, if you could create a single composite image with images from all four corners, that would likely get a much bigger response of opinions.
