The Spanish site DSLRmagazine (google translation here) tested the new Sony FE 24-240mm lens. Those are some of the findings:
Cons:
– I’ts slow at the tele end (f/6.3)
– It relies heavily on in camera digital correction. RAW files have to be worked out in postproduction and may look very different from the JPEG.
– The weight of the lens moves the balance towards the lens (tremor issue at handheld shooting). Keep it mind if you use it on High Megapixel camera.
PROS:
– One the good side the RAW images taken at the tele end need little adjustments.
– Absolutely no flare issues
– negligible chromatic aberrations
– Image quality is very good (particularly JPG. With RAW you may have to work a bit).
Overall the reviewer says that the lens is very good for the one goal it has been designed: Travel zoom for amateurs and enthusiasts.
To the same conclusions comes Quesabesde (google translation here). This is not a lens for those who care about ultimate image quality, this is a lens for those who want to have good quality in a light package.
All new FE lens preorder links:
In USA at:
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Sony 90mm f/2.8 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Sony 24-240mm FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Sony 28mm f/2.0 FE at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, FocusCamera, Sony US.
Sony Fisheye Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Ultra-Wide Conversion Lens for FE 28mm F/2 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Fisheye Converter for E 16mm F/2.8 and E 20mm F/2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony Ultra-Wide Converter for E 16mm F2.8 and E 20mm F2.8 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
In Europe at:
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 90mm f/2.8 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 24-240mm FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Sony 28mm f/2.0 FE at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Wide Angle converter at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Fisheye converter at Sony Germany, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Wide angle converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
Fisheye converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, AT, CH, SE, FI, NO, PT.
In Asia/Australia at:
Sony 24-240mm FE lens at Digitalrev, CameraPRO, Sony Australia.
Sony 28mm FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Sony 90mm FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 FE lens at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Wide angle converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
Fisheye converter for 16 and 20mm lenses at Digitalrev, Sony Australia.
57 Responses
Got mine 2 days ago. So far, so good. Its a much better lens than I expected. Yeah, it gets a little soft past 100mm and there is some light pin coushining a you can see little corner problems at times.
Its nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. Its not a fast prime it is slow but its certainly reasonably sharp.
I think its a very good overall “general purpose” vacation lens. Its got fantastic range and excellent stabilization.
When you include video shooting, there is no other lens like it for FF.
Its a bit over priced but the build quality is solid and is really is a nice multi purpose lens. II think it “does it all” with good B+ quality.
Thats my overall score for it: B+
Thanks for the posting! Finally some useful information.
Great review. I have have had mine since Monday. I think it is a A- on the A7R and I second the B+ for A7II. It’s just a little sharper and with a little better 3D look rendering paired with the A7R sensor. I am finding I am getting better shots now with the OSS working terrific with A7R giving you more stable shake free shots. Of course more stable at lower shutter speeds than with the FE35 and FE55 of course. I would like to add the perfectly stiff, no creep zoom ring feels perfect and not too stiff and feels better than any zoom I have used before. A great useful lens for those days you sometimes just want to leave your heavy kit bag at home.
Odd claim about RAW really; presumably there’ll soon be an Adobe profile for it which can be applied automatically on import, so at least for lightroom users there’ll be no need to ‘work’ on the images more than any other lens. Perhaps ditto for other software….My only issue with it is just that if you want a convenience lens what are you doing carrying around full frame? I’d go a smaller format – perhaps even M43. A lot more convenience for a bit of IQ drop. but for every trade off there’s someone that finds it the right one: a little more IQ than a smaller format with all in one lens, and a bit more convenience than changing lenses on FF
The odd thing is that OM-D M43 is same size as A7II. Even M43 f2.8 zoom is almost same size as this FE24-240, while providing a lot less range.
Adobe Raw 8.8 & DNG coverter are out with new Sony lens corrections!
Not super impressed with the IQ on anything past 100mm on either review. Soft. Until I can get my hands on it and try firsthand, I’d give it a C rating. Kind of reminds me of the Sony 28-70…the one that sits on my shelf and never gets used. I end up taking two primes because I can’t justify the poor IQ. For an all-in-one lens for an amateur, the 24-240 seems just fine though.
I wonder how much the picture quality and convenience weight/size compares to my a6000 + 18-200(black)? I get that it’s full size sensor and all, but is there significant difference din the end result. My super zoom, which is crop designed is about as big as I feel comfortable on A6000 frame.
Nothing like paying 1k for mediocrity.
Exactly what I thought.
So true, so true.
I think the price tag is what’s bringing this lens down.
How is f/6.3 slow? For a superzoom its normal. Name another 24-240 FF lens that is faster.
F6.3 is just slow in general. Even for cheap telephoto, F5.6 at 300mm is normal.
What FF 24-240mm superzoom is f/5.6 at the long end?
Now you’re just being a fan boy.
There are no other FF 24-240mm lenses.
That doesn’t make the lens any faster.
Yes you are right, f/6.3 is pretty fast. *facepalm*
Someone has already invented a solution for larger lenses without making camera body bulkier. Now, if Sony just stopped mimicking old film SLRs and gave this opportunity, TOGETHER with moving EVF forward.
There’s an even better solution…
http://tomtiger.home.xs4all.nl/zenit/cover_b.jpg
(insert appropriate in soviet russia phrase here)
Laugh all you want, but this is steady and convenient.
Which grip are you refering to?
The Soviet rifle-like one
We are the Russia. Lower your shields. We will add your territory to our own.
You frighten me. (But not as much as Americans do.)
Why?
Americans are not nice — that might bomb you into ashes, but it is universally accepted that it’s okay to bomb if you don’t annex afterwards
Was made by government to track HOOLK. HOOLK to fast and SMAAAASH!
Made by HOOLK!
for half or at least 2/3 of the price, I wouldn’t think twice and just buy. but at that price, I expect more IQ and not just a native e-mount lens with all the flaws of yesterday’s superzooms… Personally I would go for the Tamron 28-300/F3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD. Having a bit less wide angle, more zoom and over 300€ less…. and any e-mount user should be very used to use that LA-EA3/4 adapter now…. and that Tamron cannot rely on in-body corrections, so should be easier to work with the RAW files in any software.
But that’s just my opinion… if you really want to have a native e-mount lens, there is no other option than the sony 24-240…
24mm is almost infinitely more versatile than 300mm at the long end. The 24MP will more than make up for 240mm vs 300mm. Also, the LA-EA4 is bulky and slow and the tiny AF points bunched in the center are useless. Please compare apples vs apples before posting nonsense.
nonsense? fact is:
-that you will get a 1000€ lens that is not capable of taking acceptable pictures without in-camera correction (or an equal post processing). not “just” the usual 3-5% distortion…
-the Tamron is less expensive
-if you need the long end, (e.g. for today’s solar eclipse!) than 24mm are in no way more versatile than 300mm!
-24MP with 300mm will bring you closer than 240mm with 24MP
-the Tamron is 2cm shorter than the Sony. The LA-EA4 is something like 3.5cm long. Well…1.5cm… very much more bulky…. but the Tamron weights only 540g compared to the 780g; nearly a factor of 1.5!
maybe you should get your facts right before posting…?
“that you will get a 1000€ lens that is not capable of taking acceptable pictures without in-camera correction” lol, that is too harsh, we still need more comprehensive review and comparison for that.
Even when Sony released the lens, a lot people will know that there will be a lot of compromise if your superzoom lens start that wide. it’s alot easier to design zoom lenses that start from 28mm rather than 24mm.
Any real photographer will want 24mm over 28mm at the wide end. If you think 240mm @ 24MP is unacceptable but 300mm @ 24MP is, then you are obviously not a photographer, just a gear head that can read specs off a piece of paper but with no actual talent.
well.. since you defeat that zoom that much you seem to be really interested in… what tells us about your passion?
But instead of replying with facts you just behave like… well… not so educated at all…
Superzooms aren’t meant for real photographers anyway.
28-300mm will suit more for the casual users who will most likely be the target for this lens.
“Image quality is very good (particularly JPG. With RAW you may have to work a bit).” LOLWUT?
yeah you know with the vignette and distortion correction, just wait the for the lens profile.
Yeah what does jpg vs. raw have to do with the lens? The lens doesn’t know.
LOLWTF? Of course you have to work with RAW, that is the whole point of RAW!
Because jpg are processed in camera.
Basically the image is total crap until it is processed and corrected.
This is a lens for people buying expensive FF cameras to look more like a professional but then care more about convenience. Quite a large chunk of the market I’d say, perhaps 90% of FF users. FZ1000 would be a better solution for their needs – perhaps not for their egos. If you buy FF and don’t use primes your doing it wrong.
You still benefit from the larger sensor, having infinitely better ISO, which is the prime reason to buy FF for those 90% that you’ve mentioned.
Blurry telephoto images are not rescued by larger sensor, neither is better high ISO making images sharp. Bad lens, bad photo.
Why not? Better ISO => shorter shutter speeds => less blur.
This is an advert for APSC E mount!
Just more overpriced rubbish for an overpriced range of cameras which were never designed for a any lens over 200mm. (Sony themselves have stated that it is very difficult to make a long lens for the E mount).
Please elaborate on this. Are they saying longer lenses would be too costly, or that they would have limited quality?
I think they said the design of the mount makes it hard to develop on lenses with any focal length over 200mm.
People….this is a good quality “general purpose” zoom. We got folks here that say “it sucks, id rather have my bad of fast, sharp primes with me”
Cmon….really? Of course it wont replace your primes. Of course it wont replace your 70-200. You dont use this lens for paying jobs either.
This is a lens you take to the zoo or Walt Disney Word with the family. You get good pix with a great range and you dont need to swap primes all day long.
Folks,…quit being so “photo snobby”. This lens is VERY good for the purpose its designed for.
“Of course, a superzoom is a trade-off, is a trade-off, is a trade-off.”…
…according to this reviewer:
http://joerghaag.com/2015/03/18/first-contact-sony-fe-24-240mm-f35-63/
And he is of course quite right.
It looks hilarious.
Hilariously awesome…is what…you meant to say.
Looks balanced
I don’t know, looks good to me. Maybe not 1k good but seriously…The pictures I’d say are on the very good side. One lens and done. I hope it can fit in my fanny pack.
1. Make it a DSLR, dump EVF (only feggits do not know a OVF)
2. By intruducing OVF, ban all feggits from userbase
3. Put all Sony users refusing to buy OVF into reeducation camps b/c they are feggits
4. After reed camp they have learned to love OVF and be hetero and not
spread AIDS, mirrorless and EVF is photographic equivalent of AIDS.
M43 users getting reeducated…the real sheet happens whent he cameras are not there. FE users will join soon…time to repent is near.
WORSHIP THE MIRROR
Go away. SAR already re-educated you.
Lel, I think Sony A$$ Rumors turned you into a feggit
Admin, please ban @disqus_f3NNTjExpP:disqus. He is a key supporter of the feggitization of the photographic world.