What’s Changed? The Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS II improves on the prior model with a revamped autofocus system that can handle AF-C mode while shooting with AF/AE tracking at up to 120 fps. This benefits fast burst shooting for wildlife and sports photography and high-speed/slow-motion video.

Normal-Range Zoom. When used on a full-frame camera, this lens covers the wide to normal/short telephoto focal range, making it a great all-purpose lens. With an APS-C sensor camera, you’ll have a 43-105mm focal length equivalent, meaning that you could use the FE 28-70mm as a portrait lens. The variable f/3.5-5.6 aperture isn’t quite fast enough for low-light shooting, but the image stabilization system allows you to shoot at lower shutter speeds which can help compensate for dark environments.

Optical Design. With a seven-blade diaphragm, this lens produces pleasing bokeh and the overall lens design reduces field curvature, coma, and other aberrations for accurate, natural-looking results. It has an internal focusing mechanism with a linear motor for quiet and quick handling but note that this lens does not internally zoom, so the barrel will physically extend a bit upon zooming. Despite this, the Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS II travels well and is a great “walking around” lens.