Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G vs Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II

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FE 20-70mm F4 G compared with FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II

	SonyFE 20-70mm F4 G	SonyFE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II
Overview
Released
Released	February 2023	January 2026
Optics
Lens type
Lens type	Zoom	Zoom
Focal length
Focal length	20–70 mm	28–70 mm
Maximum aperture
Maximum aperture	f/4	f/3.5–5.6
Minimum aperture
Minimum aperture	f/22	f/22–36
Optical construction
Optical construction	16 elements in 13 groups	Nine elements in eight groups
Special elements
Special elements	Two AA advanced-aspherical elements, one aspherical element, three ED glass elements and one ED aspherical element	Three aspherical elements and one ED glass element
Coatings
Coatings	Fluorine coating on the front element; optimised antireflection coatings without a maker Nano AR designation	–
Diaphragm
Diaphragm	Nine rounded blades	Seven rounded blades
Angle of view
Angle of view	94°–34° full frame; 70°–23° APS-C	75°–34° full frame; 54°–23° APS-C
Mount and compatibility
Mounts
Mounts	Sony E	Sony E
Image circle
Image circle	Full frame	Full frame
Image circle detail
Image circle detail	Full-frame coverage; 30–105 mm equivalent field of view on APS-C	Full-frame coverage; 42–105 mm equivalent field of view on APS-C
Teleconverter support
Teleconverter support	Not compatible with SEL14TC or SEL20TC	Not compatible with SEL14TC or SEL20TC
Focus and stabilisation
Autofocus
Autofocus	Yes	Yes
Minimum focus distance
Minimum focus distance	0.25 m	0.3 m
Maximum magnification
Maximum magnification	0.39×	0.19×
Optical stabilisation
Optical stabilisation	No	Yes
Autofocus detail
Autofocus detail	Two XD linear motors; internal focusing; compatible Alpha 1 30 fps bursts require maker-specified shutter-speed and AF conditions	Linear motor; AF during zooming and up to 120 fps AF/AE tracking with compatible cameras. Sony internal measurements; continuous speed depends on conditions and is slower in AF-C
Focus distance detail
Focus distance detail	Autofocus minimum 0.30 m at 20 mm or0.25 m at 70 mm; manual focus minimum 0.25 m throughout the zoom range; Linear Response MF	Minimum focus 0.3 m at wide angle and 0.45 m at telephoto
Magnification detail
Magnification detail	Maximum magnification 0.39×	–
Stabilisation detail
Stabilisation detail	No lens stabilisation; compatible bodies provide stabilisation	Optical SteadyShot; coordinated body/lens stabilisation and Active mode support depend on camera compatibility. No lens-only stop rating published
Video features
Video features	Reduced focus breathing and focus/axis shifts during zooming; compatible-body breathing compensation may alter field of view and quality. Body Active Mode requires compatibility and slightly narrows the field of view	Breathing compensation supported on compatible cameras; enabling it slightly changes field of view and image quality and may not completely compensate breathing
Design
Dust and moisture resistant
Dust and moisture resistant	Yes	Yes
Filter diameter
Filter diameter	72 mm	55 mm
Maximum diameter
Maximum diameter	78.7 mm	72.5 mm
Length
Length	99 mm	83 mm
Weight
Weight	488 g	293 g (better)
Controls
Controls	Aperture ring with click on/off and Iris Lock switch, AF/MF switch and two customisable focus-hold buttons	Zoom and manual-focus rings; focus mode and stabilisation selected on the camera; no aperture ring, switches or buttons
Zoom design
Zoom design	Extending zoom barrel; 99 mm main length at the wide-angle setting	Manual zoom with small changes in overall length
Filter detail
Filter detail	72 mm front filter thread does not rotate during focusing	55 mm front filter thread
Weather resistance
Weather resistance	Dust- and moisture-resistant design; not guaranteed completely dust- or moisture-proof	Dust- and moisture-resistant design; not guaranteed completely dust- or moisture-proof
Weight detail
Weight detail	Approximately 488 g lens; separate hood and caps excluded	Approximately 293 g lens; separate hood and caps excluded
Lens hood
Lens hood	ALC-SH174 petal bayonet hood	ALC-SH132 petal bayonet hood
In the box
In the box	ALC-SH174 hood, ALC-F72S front cap, ALC-R1EM rear cap and soft case	ALC-SH132 hood, ALC-F55S front cap and ALC-R1EM rear cap; no case listed
Release detail
Release detail	Sony Europe specified February 2023 availability; Sony North America specified March, as did Photography Blog. Main date retains earliest maker regional month. Sony confirms F4 maximum aperture and two focus-hold buttons; Photography Blog’s F2.8 aperture-ring line and sibling 24–70 model reference are not imported	Sony Australia specified mid-January 2026, ahead of Europe and North America February 2026; main date uses January month precision. One qualifying full exact review read: Bryan Carnathan, The Digital Picture, retail-sourced lens, April 2026. Sony Alpha Blog explicitly reuses original-version optical testing and Ken Rockwell redirects performance to original-version testing, so neither is counted as a second independent exact-model test; review summary omitted. Unverified fluorine coating and switch-gasket assertions in The Digital Picture omitted because absent from the read exact Sony specification/feature pages