Is there actually a single zoom lens that fits every Sony camera out there without needing some weird adapter? Im moving from an old crop sensor body to a full frame A7iv next month for my wedding videography gig in Chicago, and my head is spinning trying to figure out glass compatibility. I was reading on some reddit thread that all E-mount lenses work on both crop and full frame bodies, but then another forum post said full frame lenses vignette heavily on APS-C unless you use crop mode which kinda defeats the whole purpose. My budget is around 1200 bucks max for a do-it-all travel zoom that I can slap on whatever Sony body I grab in a rush. Do they make one ultimate all-in-one zoom or am I just dreaming here...
Yeah you arent dreaming, basically any E-mount lens fits every Sony mirrorless body native without any adapters. For your budget and the A7iv upgrade, grab the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2. It works great on both crop and full frame, though on a crop body you just lose some wide end. Im super satisfied with mine for events, no complaints at all.
^ This. Also, if you want something that pushes wider and stays native, take a look at the Tamron 17-28mm F2.8 Di III RXD. It completely fits your budget and stays under that grand mark. Since you mentioned wedding videography in Chicago, having a wider end for tight venue spaces is an absolute lifesaver. E-mount is super flexible. Full frame glass on crop bodies just gives you a tighter field of view because of the 1.5x crop factor, which is why people talk about vignetting or crop modes. But putting a full frame lens like the Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS on your new A7iv gives you stabilization and reach that handles almost an entire event day solo. Just watch your low light at f4 during the reception.
Re: "^ This. Also, if you want something that..." - totally agree on the Tamron love, but for a true do-it-all wedding zoom on the a7iv, I'd look at the Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 Di III VXD. Okay wait, that busts your budget a bit, so honestly grab the Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS instead.
- Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS: Perfect range for weddings, has image stabilization which is huge for video, and stays right around your $1200 budget.
- Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2: Brighter aperture, but you miss out on that extra reach at the telephoto end.