One lens costs $879 and the other costs $2,198, but does the difference in price mean a difference in quality?
In this video, Lee Zavitz for Zed Pro Media is doing some real-world testing to compare the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD against the heftier and pricier Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM for portrait photography. With the large price difference, not to mention weight savings (the Tamron weighs 1.2 pounds while the Sony weighs 1.9 pounds), many people are asking themselves if the Tamron can hold its own against the Sony G Master. If it can, that's more money in the pocket for other gear, and if it can't, that's $879 that could have went towards saving for the G Master.
Zavitz is using the Sony a7 III for his comparisons and he runs through various tests that while are not scientific or performed in a controlled studio, shows the capabilities of each lens in a much more realistic fashion.
What are your conclusions based on the video? It looked to me that the Sony had superior image quality, but I wouldn't say that it's double-the-price good. Let us know which lens you would pick in the comments below.
It's rarely "double the price" good. With lenses, you tend to hit diminishing returns pretty rapidly. The main question is how much you care about having the absolute best image quality possible or whether "good enough" is good enough. For me, there are only a few cases where I care about having the best optics that I can since it's rare that anyone is going to examine my photos close enough at high enough resolution to notice a difference. I tend to be far more concerned with things like weather sealing and AF performance as that affects my photography far more than pure optical quality.
And for some of us, image stabilization.
I never compromise on lenses and lenses like Sony 50/1.4 Planar make me happy on every shot. Top brand lenses also retain their value over time vs. digital cameras. I recently unloaded some Nikon lenses after switching to Sony. The digital cameras were worth very little. I have the Sony 24-70 and the 24 end is vital for me.
I feel like fstoppers become vultures, youl lpick up any piece of meat there is no matter the quality... good for you guys. less self respect and control of content - more views :)
update with the latest firmware?