Performance
The Sony 24-240mm OSS lens performed well on our test bench. Autofocus was fast and precise and it locked on to the subject even in reasonably low light. We observed prominent darkening of corners at the wide-angle end at f/3.5. This reduced gradually with narrowing apertures and vanished around f/8. The lens produced heavy flare along with purple fringing. We did not see any perceptible distortion throughout the zoom range.
JPEG images were extremely sharp. At 24mm, the sweet spot was f/11. F/5.6 and f/8 also were equally sharp. Sweet spot shifted to f/16 towards the telephoto end while f/8 and f/11 also provided sharpness close to the sweet spot. The coatings did not produce any unwanted cast.
Value for Money
The Sony 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS retails at an MRP of Rs. 69,990. At this price, this ‘slow’ lens is on the expensive side. |SP
FINAL SCORE 80%
Design and Build Quality 18/20
Key Features 16/20
Ergonomics 17/20
Performance
Autofocus 4/5
Metering 4.5/5
Noise Control 4.5/5
Sharpness 3/5
LCD/EVF 3/5
Auto WB 4/5
Sub-Total 23/30
Value for Money 6/10
PLUS
• Sharp images throughout
• Excellent build quality
• Distortion well controlled
• Weather-sealed
• Fast AF
MINUS
• Strong flare and Chromatic Aberration
• Too slow
• Expensive
VERDICT
The Sony 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS is a slow, but versatile lens that can be considered a do-it-all solution for your everyday imaging needs. It provides sharp images throughout the zoom range. However, the lens could be too slow, especially at the telephoto end, for many serious imaging scenarios when the subject is not too bright. Certainly recommended.
Sujith Gopinath
