Jack Flesher wrote:
I’ll add a couple generalization insights. The newer GM ii and OSS ii versions of Sony glass are all essentially excellent, to the point they equal or exceed other brands similar focal and aperture. Older GM versions can show some sample variation, ditto older G versions. Newer G versions are also universally very good.
I recently moved to the A7R6. In my current lens stable, the 24-35/2.8 GM ii and 70-200/4 G OSS ii are in a word spectacular, and from wide open across the entire zoom range. The 70-200 also loses virtually nothing with the 1.4x converter attached. (It also focuses to half life size, so you also get impressive “macro” performance if that matters to you.). I had the 400-800 and it is also quite good optically if you need that range. In the end I sold it and am planning on getting the new 600/6.3 instead. My 20-70/4 is very good, but not in the same league as the 24-70 GMii. The latter is so good optically, I’m finding it difficult to grab the smaller, lighter, broader range 20-70 even for travel.
Finally there are a couple 3rd party lenses of note. The Tamron 50-400 is quite good for the money, from most accounts as good or better than the older Sony 100-400/4.5-5.6. (I demoed one but in the end 400 wasn’t longer enough over my 70-200 plus 1.4x for what I wanted, so passed on it. But if I felt I wanted the 300-400 range more frequently, I would get one.) The 35-150 is well respected across brands, and offers a very useful focal range for lifestyle work. I have one coming just because of that fact, but haven’t personally tested it yet. Finally, the new Tamron 12-20/2.8 is nearly as good as my 24-70 GMii, which is impressive for that ultra-wide range, not to mention it’s also relatively compact and lightweight.
Side note on 3rd party lenses with Sony. Sony has historically limited framerate with 3rd party glass to 15 fps. There is some speculation they may open full rate up for Tamron lenses as Sony and Tamron recently partnered.
On my current short list are these Sony lenses:
15-25mm* f/2.8 (though I may continue to use my Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L with an adapter for a while)
24-70mm f/2.8
70-200mm f/4 “macro”
100-400mm f/4.5
1.4x TC (and _maybe_ the 2x, though still on the fence about that.)
- - -
*corrected a typo here. Thanks to Jack for catching it.
Jack Flesher wrote:
I’ll add a couple generalization insights. The newer GM ii and OSS ii versions of Sony glass are all essentially excellent, to the point they equal or exceed other brands similar focal and aperture. Older GM versions can show some sample variation, ditto older G versions. Newer G versions are also universally very good.
I recently moved to the A7R6. In my current lens stable, the 24-35/2.8 GM ii and 70-200/4 G OSS ii are in a word spectacular, and from wide open across the entire zoom range. The 70-200 also loses virtually nothing with the 1.4x converter attached. (It also focuses to half life size, so you also get impressive “macro” performance if that matters to you.). I had the 400-800 and it is also quite good optically if you need that range. In the end I sold it and am planning on getting the new 600/6.3 instead. My 20-70/4 is very good, but not in the same league as the 24-70 GMii. The latter is so good optically, I’m finding it difficult to grab the smaller, lighter, broader range 20-70 even for travel.
Finally there are a couple 3rd party lenses of note. The Tamron 50-400 is quite good for the money, from most accounts as good or better than the older Sony 100-400/4.5-5.6. (I demoed one but in the end 400 wasn’t longer enough over my 70-200 plus 1.4x for what I wanted, so passed on it. But if I felt I wanted the 300-400 range more frequently, I would get one.) The 35-150 is well respected across brands, and offers a very useful focal range for lifestyle work. I have one coming just because of that fact, but haven’t personally tested it yet. Finally, the new Tamron 12-20/2.8 is nearly as good as my 24-70 GMii, which is impressive for that ultra-wide range, not to mention it’s also relatively compact and lightweight.
Side note on 3rd party lenses with Sony. Sony has historically limited framerate with 3rd party glass to 15 fps. There is some speculation they may open full rate up for Tamron lenses as Sony and Tamron recently partnered.
On my current short list are these Sony lenses:
15-25mm f/2.8 (though I may continue to use my Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L with an adapter for a while) <-- corrected a typo here
24-70mm f/2.8
70-200mm f/4 “macro”
100-400mm f/4.5
1.4x TC (and _maybe_ the 2x, though still on the fence about that.)
Jack Flesher wrote:
I’ll add a couple generalization insights. The newer GM ii and OSS ii versions of Sony glass are all essentially excellent, to the point they equal or exceed other brands similar focal and aperture. Older GM versions can show some sample variation, ditto older G versions. Newer G versions are also universally very good.
I recently moved to the A7R6. In my current lens stable, the 24-35/2.8 GM ii and 70-200/4 G OSS ii are in a word spectacular, and from wide open across the entire zoom range. The 70-200 also loses virtually nothing with the 1.4x converter attached. (It also focuses to half life size, so you also get impressive “macro” performance if that matters to you.). I had the 400-800 and it is also quite good optically if you need that range. In the end I sold it and am planning on getting the new 600/6.3 instead. My 20-70/4 is very good, but not in the same league as the 24-70 GMii. The latter is so good optically, I’m finding it difficult to grab the smaller, lighter, broader range 20-70 even for travel.
Finally there are a couple 3rd party lenses of note. The Tamron 50-400 is quite good for the money, from most accounts as good or better than the older Sony 100-400/4.5-5.6. (I demoed one but in the end 400 wasn’t longer enough over my 70-200 plus 1.4x for what I wanted, so passed on it. But if I felt I wanted the 300-400 range more frequently, I would get one.) The 35-150 is well respected across brands, and offers a very useful focal range for lifestyle work. I have one coming just because of that fact, but haven’t personally tested it yet. Finally, the new Tamron 12-20/2.8 is nearly as good as my 24-70 GMii, which is impressive for that ultra-wide range, not to mention it’s also relatively compact and lightweight.
Side note on 3rd party lenses with Sony. Sony has historically limited framerate with 3rd party glass to 15 fps. There is some speculation they may open full rate up for Tamron lenses as Sony and Tamron recently partnered.
On my current short list are these Sony lenses:
15-24mm f/2.8 (though I may continue to use my Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L with an adapter for a while)
24-70mm f/2.8
70-200mm f/4 “macro”
100-400mm f/4.5
1.4x TC (and _maybe_ the 2x, though still on the fence about that.)
Sep 29, 2026 at 10:53 AM
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