A77 Zeiss 16-80 vs A900 Zeiss 24-70

[deathvalleydave]

Hi David,

In practical terms, if I'm a landscape hobbyist photographer with the A900 Zeiss 24-70 combo, I just had a question for you with regards to the A77 Zeiss 16-80 combo - I saw that you said it was very sharp - well, resolution wise (and without using a tripod), does the A77 Zeiss 16-80 combo match the A900 Zeiss 24-70? Is there any difference? Is one sharper than the other, are they about the same? Thoughts?

Thanks,
Dave

[David Kilpatrick]

I have not made much use of the 24-70mm, only to try it at events. It has the same T* coating and Zeiss glass look as the 16-80mm but no matter about the cost, 70mm on full frame doesn't do what I want. So when I got the 900, I tried many different lenses. First I had the 24-105mm which would be a perfect range for me, but it's really not a good lens on full frame. I also had a 28-75mm KM f/2.8 and I felt that met the need for a faster lens, but not enough range. I bought a 28-105mm Minolta RS which was really very good indeed, far better than the 24-105mm. A little later I found another new 24-85mm Minolta RS. I used these for a year and found I tended to prefer the 24-85mm. I also owned a Tokina 24-200mm for a short time, it was surprisingly good in parts but overall not up to standard. The range was more than useful.

One of my main reasons for not using the A900 has been the problem of a single walkaround or main lens. Much though I like the 24-85mm, it requires me to change lenses for something much less versatile (70-300mm) far too often. I have to carry two lenses even just for landscapes and street scenes. So the camera has been neglected. When the A55 appeared, the A900 was almost retired because the range 16-80mm (24 to 120mm equivalent) is just SO much more useful to me. We do have a 16-105mm which I bought because that range would be the perfect APS-C lens - but it's not as good a lens, and I do not like the results much so I gave it to our daughter to use.

Now, with 16-80mm CZ on 24 megapixels, I have another 20% magnification by cropping and I can not think of a better allround combo for landscape and general photography. The question of trying the 24-70mm on 900 never occurs to me as the 16-80mm on A77 is a reasonable f/3.5-4.5, the screen is always bright on EVF, and the high ISO results are about a stop better than the A900 so I do not lose any low-light capability.

David

[artington]

Interesting observations, David, particularly about the a900. It seems to me that the real advantage of full frame comes at the wide end of the lens spectrum and this applies whether one is taking about the a900 vs APS-C or M9 vs M8. For this reason my a900 is permanently coupled to my Minolta 17-35/3.5G which is an absolutely brilliant combo. My a700 has gone now and I think I will go for the NEX-7 in preference to the a77 in the 1.5x arena mainly because it will take M-mount lenses but also because I rarely need long lenses and if I do I do have the 70-300G for the a900 or, if I need speed, my wonderful Minolta APO 200/2.8 with matching 1.4x converter. I have to admit, though, that the latter is sorely neglected now my son has grown away from school rugby matches. Of course a good, if somewhat heavy, walk-around lens for the a900 is the trusty Minolta 28-135 although it does suffer from having rather a long MFD. All that said, the Zeiss 16-80 / a77 does seem to offer a great all-round combination for general shooting.

[Lonnie Utah]

I think it's a pretty universal conclusion that if one is simply talking sharpness, that the Zeiss 24-70 is pretty much the sharpest lens in the Sony stable of zoom lenses. I've gotten unbelievable results out of it on my A900....

[deathvalleydave]

Hi David,

Thanks very much for your input. Am I correct in stating that the A77 also has slightly better DR? I saw on DXO they gave it 13.2 ev for DR, whereas the A900 has 12.3? Also, am I correct in stating the A77 has better jpegs (in terms of noise, etc.)

Plus, the A77 has sweep pano and auto HDR - would you be willing to provide your thoughts on these two jpeg super-features, as I like to call them...

Thanks,
Dave

[David Kilpatrick]

I have not yet had a chance to use the Auto HDR function, but I can confirm the panorama feature is as solid as the A55/NEX, and of course the horizon level display really helps with shooting pans.

I don't actually think the JPEGs are significantly batter than the A900, and the dynamic range figure seems to be more of a technical thing than a real benefit - highlights still burn out in sunset skies for example, and you can't recover any more from the A77 file than from A900.

Let's just say I could use either camera and doubt that anyone could tell the results apart. ACR 6.5 does make a big difference, if I was stuck with in-camera JPEGs only I would find the A77 a bit restricting.

David

[deathvalleydave]

Hi David,

With the rumored Nikon D800 and Sony A99 upcoming - could you maybe comment on why I would want to get the A99 over the D800? I have some people pressuring me to swithch to Nikon so we could share lenses... but, any reason you might recommend the rumored A99 over D800? Apologies if I'm talking as though these cameras are already out - but any insights you might provide - that would be great!

Thanks,
Dave

[OneGuyKs]

Hi David,

With the rumored Nikon D800 and Sony A99 upcoming - could you maybe comment on why I would want to get the A99 over the D800?
Dave

Two reasons

(1) Price. D800 would be 1.5 to 2 times more expensive.
(2) In-body image stabilization. There is no Nikon prime under 100mm that has lens stabilization.

[redsim74]

...if I need speed, my wonderful Minolta APO 200/2.8 with matching 1.4x converter. I have to admit, though, that the latter is sorely neglected now my son has grown away from school rugby matches.

Mine will likely go towards funding the A77. I got it a few years ago for a reasonable price, great lens but few opportunities to use it.

[mikeriach]

........ So the camera has been neglected. When the A55 appeared, the A900 was almost retired .......

I'm hoping there will be some secondhand A900's appearing shortly!

Mike