First impressions of the Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G

Friday 20 January 2023, 13:31 by Nando Harmsen | 5,284 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Sony has launched an interesting new standard zoom lens. It is the FE 20-70mm f/4 G. It has an unusual zoom range compared to what you normally see. It is also a very compact lens.

I received a sample from Sony Nederland for a short review.

The new FE 20-70mm f/4 G.
In some respects, it is an unusual choice by Sony to launch a 20-70mm zoom lens alongside the FE 24-105mm and FE 24-70mm zoom lenses. They are very similar when it comes to zoom range.

The main difference is the extra 4mm of focal length at the wide-angle end of the zoom range. If you often shoot at the wide-angle end, these extra 4mm can help you get just a little more into the frame.

Although 4mm may not seem like much, this shows what it means in practice. It makes quite a difference. This is an in-camera JPEG.
The Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G is a remarkably compact and lightweight lens. At 488 grams and 9.9 centimetres in length at 20mm, it is easy to handle. It does become considerably longer when zoomed out.

It is a compact lens that becomes considerably longer when zooming in.
The lens has an aperture ring that runs from f/4 to f/22. With an iris lock, you can lock the aperture ring to select the aperture manually, or set it to the A position and control the aperture with the camera.

There is also a switch that turns off the aperture clicks, which is useful if you use it for filming.

Details of the lens, with an aperture ring that can be locked and with the option to turn off the clicks. And one of the two programmable buttons.
Because the lens is so small, this has consequences for the image. There is quite a lot of barrel distortion, and there is very strong vignetting from 20mm to 24mm.

At 70mm there is a pincushion effect.
If you enable the in-camera lens corrections, this distortion and vignetting will be corrected. In other words, you are very dependent on lens corrections.

At the time of writing, Lightroom Classic does not yet recognise this lens, which means these lens corrections are only available when you shoot JPEG. You do not have these corrections with raw files.

With the in-camera lens correction, the image looks better. For now, however, this is only available with in-camera JPEG photos.
I used the lens while filming and photographing a concert. For video, you obviously do not have to worry about the strong vignetting, as it falls outside the frame because of the 16:9 aspect ratio. In photography, the dark surroundings also hide this problem.

With this kind of photo, you obviously have little trouble with vignetting or distortion. (Sony A7 IV + FE4/20-70G at 44mm, ISO800, f/4, 1/125s)
The FE 20-70mm has a minimum focusing distance of 25cm, both at the wide-angle end and at the telephoto end. For wide-angle shooting, you do have to select manual focusing, otherwise it is limited to 30cm. This gives a maximum magnification of 0.39x.

The maximum magnification is 0.39x at the minimum focusing distance of 25cm and a focal length of 70mm. This is the image on the right. On the left is the minimum manual focusing distance of 25mm at 20mm. In-camera JPEG to have the lens correction available.

A (provisional) verdict

If you often need more wide angle than telephoto, the FE 20-70mm could be a good lens. Its small size and low weight make it easy to carry, and the camera and lens combination is not very heavy.

A concert photo in raw format where the pincushion effect is clearly visible. (Sony A7 IV + FE 4/20-70G at 70mm, ISO3200, f/4, 1/60s)
It is useful that the lens offers semi-macro capabilities. This gives you plenty of options in use.

There is considerable distortion and vignetting, so you are dependent on lens correction. To make full use of it, you are currently still limited to in-camera JPEG.

Vignetting at 70mm. Raw file without lens correction.
The lens has a recommended retail price of 1,600 euros, which is quite a considerable sum. An alternative is the FE 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master for just a few hundred euros more. Or you could choose an FE 24-105mm f/4 G, which is considerably cheaper.

A clip from the concert by Palais Ideal, partly filmed with the Sony A7 IV and the FE 4/20-70 G. The 20mm focal length came in handy here. If you look closely, you can also see me at work making this footage.
If you already own a 24-70mm or 24-105mm, there is little reason to choose an FE 20-70mm. Which lens is most suitable for you depends on your own preferences.

If you do a lot of filming, the FE 20-70mm f/4 G could be a very interesting lens. Its low weight and focal length range can be very useful for that.

With thanks to Sony Nederland for making this lens available.

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