Sony 24-105 f4 G vs. Sony 24-70 f2.8 GM... flickr bias

Jojophotomo wrote:

charley5 wrote:

Hi Everybody:

I have been trying to figure out which lens to get (mainly for landscapes) and I reviewed a long thread which covered this topic. I even instigated one myself. I was leaning toward the 24-105mm because it is almost or as sharp as the 24-70mm, is much lighter, I will rarely use f2.8, image stabilization, and of course the zoom range is significantly greater. It seems almost a no-brainer.

Yet, when I check the two flickr groups devoted to these lenses, I much prefer the 24-70mm. About 10% of shots from the 24-105mm I consider exceptional, whereas more than half of the 24-70mm I consider to be that. The bottom line is that i really like the look of the 24-70mm pics more. I can't describe why: more pop or 3D effect. I can't really put my finger on it.

But then I thought, well maybe there is an inherent bias operating here. Maybe people who are willing to spend a lot of money on the 24-70mm are also more serious about their photography. Not that you are not if you buy the 24-105mm lens. It is obviously possible to take fantastic pics with it, but they were a small minority in that specific flickr group.

So I am figuring maybe I shouldn't take these groups as serious examples of what these lenses can do. Or maybe the 24-70mm does indeed have a more appealing result to my eye. Interestingly, when I checked the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 group, it fell somewhere in between the the two Sony's as far as appealing to my aesthetic.

Any thoughts?

-Charles

Yes! I definitely have a few thoughts.

Apart from some AF performance in video (which, generally, you'd want MF for video anyway?), I think that you're imagining the differences between the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 and the Sony GM 24-70 f/2.8. The Sigma is everything that the Sony is, but for 1/2 the cost.

I say this as a 24-70 GM owner; get the sigma, go make photographs, and forget about it. I recently acquired he Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN which is unreal. It's an absolutely amazing little lens. So yeah, pick up the Sigma.

Okay. I shall look into the Sigma more closely. As I mention above though, there is a wider variability of quality control with Sigma lenses, and I may have trouble returning a bum copy if I had to do so. I am open to getting a Sigma.