Sony 20-70 f4 impressions after one week trip to Japan

[alexpler]

So I've been using the 20-70 since January and I was quite happy about it, but I was intrigued how it would perform on a long trip to Japan, where many different situations can occur. Like you may know, my main interests are street and architecture, but during this trip I hoped to enjoy cherry blossom season (hanami in japanese) and shooting flowers is not my field so I was unsure about using the lens for that.

I had the 40mm f2.5 in my bag as well in case I needed a lighter lens or slightly faster. In the end there was no need for that, as the 20-70 got me covered on all the situations. The focal range is versatile enough and at the same time there's not that big difference between both ends so it got natural to find the right focal length for each situation, fast and on the go. I even managed to get a picture of a geisha that I just casually met on the way to my restaurant. I only got one chance because I didn't want to disturb her and the lens performed really well. It was dark, there were other people in the street, but the AF worked just great.

Also I'm quite happy with the almost-macro performance of the lens: thanks to the close focus distance and the beautiful bokeh at 70mm, I got many shots of the cherry blossoms that I didn't thought as possible with this kind of lens.

Only in night photography or indoors sometimes I wished for a faster lens, but even then I found it reliable combined with the high ISO performance of the camera and IBIS. Ideally a 20-70 f2.8 would be amazing but much larger and heavier, so no that convenient for everyday use.

Another aspect I wondered how it would turn out is the discretion of the lens. It's much bulkier than the lenses I took on my previous trip to Japan (28-60 kit lens and 50mm f1.8), and then I noticed that japanese people were really aware if you tried to take a casual picture where they might appear. But the 20-70 was discreet enough in most situations and would go mainly unnoticed, so I'm happy about this too.

I shoot around 3500 pictures during these 8 days and I have yet to select and edit them and will post some of them on the forum, but I wanted to share the impressions of the lens after the heavy use of these days, hoping that it's helpful for anyone searching for an all-around travel lens.

 

[spudhead]

IT is on my short list Alex I really need to change the Zeiss 24-70 f4 I use for travel, glad you like it

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Sounds like a great trip Alex. You're also lucky to get a picture of a Geisha, multiple sources have recently said that due to harassment by photographers and tourists, Geishas are trying to avoid us and some places completely ban cameras now.

 

[alexpler]

Sounds like a great trip Alex. You're also lucky to get a picture of a Geisha, multiple sources have recently said that due to harassment by photographers and tourists, Geishas are trying to avoid us and some places completely ban cameras now.

Yeah, cameras or people at all aren't allowed at some alleys in Gion area. However the geisha I saw was on another geisha district, and also on a public street (right next to my restaurant). It's always important not to disturb her, getting the shoot from as distant as possible and let them walk away, as they charge for the journey from their house to the teahouse where they are hosting the party, so any detour as small as it may be, may suppose for a higher cost.

 

[alexpler]

IT is on my short list Alex I really need to change the Zeiss 24-70 f4 I use for travel, glad you like it

Give it a try if you can. I'm not a fan of wide angles but I found the 20 end of the lens surprisingly fun to use.

 

[davidzvi]

The 20-70 and A7cR are WHY I now shoot Sony. I might have come to Sony a little earlier when the 20-70 was announced. But I was an M43 Olympus shooter and value a small kit with a couple of outliers. The 20-70 is a little bigger than I would like, but the range is worth it.

 

[alexpler]

The 20-70 and A7cR are WHY I now shoot Sony. I might have come to Sony a little earlier when the 20-70 was announced. But I was an M43 Olympus shooter and value a small kit with a couple of outliers. The 20-70 is a little bigger than I would like, but the range is worth it.

Glad you took that step! A7c was the reason for me haha.

I think the upcoming 24-50 might be the perfect size (just slightly smaller and lighter than the 20-70, more fitting to the compact series) but I still prefer the range of the 20-70.

 

[davidzvi]

Glad you took that step! A7c was the reason for me haha.

I think the upcoming 24-50 might be the perfect size (just slightly smaller and lighter than the 20-70, more fitting to the compact series) but I still prefer the range of the 20-70.

I like the idea of the 16-25 and 24-50. But why the 20-70 pushed me over was a trip to Greece last year. I used an OM-1 paired with 8-25mm (16-50mme) and 12-100mm (24-200me). I could have gotten 90-95% of the keepers with the range the 20-70 offers.