Sony FE 20 to 70mm F/4 G

Phil Rudin · Issue 132, May/Jun 2023 · pp. 25–28

Products mentioned: Sony FE 20-70mm F/4 G, Sony FE 24-70mm F/2.8 GM II, Sony A7R V, Sony A1, Marelux MX-A7RV housing, Marelux 180mm optical glass dome port, Marelux 230mm optical glass Fisheye port II, Sea & Sea M77 correction lens, Backscatter MF-2 mini strobes, UWTechnics TTL flash converter, Inon Straight Viewfinder Unit II, Marelux Flexibuoy, Nikonos 15mm

For decades, just about every lens and camera manufacturer around has had several versions of the versatile full frame 24mm to 70mm lens in F/2.8 or F/4 apertures. These are lenses with the standard 34 to 84 degree angle of view. Most manufacturers have also added a 24mm to 105mm F/4 with a 23 to 84 degree AOV extending the long end of the lens. I have used both of these focal lengths for years finding them great for things like travel photography but a little narrow for underwater work. I have friends that do fish I.D. work that find the 24mm to 70mm focal length very useful and it has been supported by all of the U/W housing manufacturers for years. These are lenses that can be used with the smaller 170/180mm dome ports without a huge loss of image quality. They provide a smaller system size compared to using the more common 16mm to 35mm zooms with a 230mm dome port. Sony has recently …