Review by Klaus Schroiff, published January 2018

Introduction

So the thing is - there's an urgent need for something good and reasonably affordable in their standard zoom lens lineup, and maybe the new Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS is capable of filling that gap. If you like, it is a member of Sony's G lineup - or "semi-pro" grade. It adds some extra range over the 24-70mm f/2.8 GM and gives up an f-stop. For many users, that's probably a sweet spot in this segment and at around 1300 USD/EUR, it's at least not painfully expensive by today's pricing standards (...).

The build quality may be a tad below what GM lenses are offering, but it's still up to professional standards. The construction is a combination of high-quality plastics based on a metal mount. The zoom and focus rings operate smoothly. Typical for such lenses, it extends when zooming out to the long end of the range, but there's no wobbling of the inner lens tube even when fully extended. The lens is also dust- and moisture-resistant. A petal-shaped lens hood is also part of the package.

The AF system relies on Sony's Direct Drive SSM (DDSSM), which is pretty fast and silent. Focus accuracy is usually spot on. As usual, manual focusing works "by-wire". This may not be everybody's taste, but we have no issue with this. A focus hold button is also provided.
The lens does, obviously, feature an image stabilizer (OSS). We haven't found any official figures about its efficiency, but we'd rate it around the 3 f-stop mark. Your mileage may vary here depending on the degree of coffee intake during breakfast.