New Sony lens: standard zoom with more wide angle
17.1.2023
Translation: machine translated
Sony is expanding its range of lenses. From February 2023, there will be a lightweight standard zoom with extra wide-angle latitude. I have already tried it out.
The latest lens from Sony is called the "FE 20-70mm F4 G". As the name suggests, it offers an interesting zoom range. 24 to 70 millimetres would be a classic standard zoom in 35 mm format. 20 to 70 millimetres is almost the same, but with a wider angle. Or to put it less technically: it fits more in the picture.
For landscapes and buildings, but also for indoor images, this additional wide angle is welcome. In my experience, shots in the mountains, for example, look more impressive with a very wide angle. Here is a comparison from the lowlands that shows the difference between 20 and 24 millimetres.
Source: David Lee
The corners are darkened at 20 millimetres, as you can see at the top left. But only in RAW format. In JPEG and video, the dark spots are automatically removed. Everything is also already corrected in the viewfinder image. In future, this will also be the case with RAW files. I was still missing the corresponding lens profile in Lightroom. No wonder: the lens was not even on the market at the time of testing.
Calculated primarily means that the distortion is corrected. Lines that should actually be straight are curved, especially along the edge of the image. When straightening, the outermost tip of the corners disappears from the image - the one that is darkened.
At F4, the latest Sony lens is not particularly fast. However, this is not usually a problem, especially in landscape photography. Carrying around a lot of weight is more of a problem, and that's where the 20-70 scores: it weighs just 488 grams. If you can also leave the wide-angle lens at home, your rucksack will be much lighter.
The first time I tried it out, I was impressed by the sharpness of the lens. Even at a wide-angle focal length of 20 millimetres, the corners of the lens are sharp - even at open aperture. Here is an example with f/8, because at f/4 the branches would not be in the focussed area of sharpness.
Source: David Lee
As is usual with the more recent lenses, Sony also uses linear XD motors here. This means that the autofocus works quickly, precisely and practically silently. Focus breathing is minimised both by the optics and by software. These two features also make the lens very suitable for video. Wide-angle is generally very popular there. On the one hand, the selfie perspective of vloggers only works with a wide angle. On the other hand, the image section often narrows in videos. A little more leeway in the wide angle is therefore always welcome.
Also known from other recent lenses: The manual focus always changes the same with a half or quarter turn, regardless of the turning speed. The closest focusing distance is 25 centimetres with manual focus and 25 to 30 centimetres with autofocus.
The aperture can be set directly on the lens and can also be adjusted continuously using a slide control. According to Sony, the latter is particularly useful for professional camcorders such as the FX6 or FX9, as these have a variable ND filter built in. This compensates for the differences in brightness caused by changing the aperture.
You can pre-order the lens now. It is expected to be delivered from February 2023.
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
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