Sony 28-75mm f/2.8 SAM

I was new to full frame cameras when I purchased a Sony A99; this lens was available at a discount. I was satisfied with the lens performance, but would frequently read from the “experts” that the Zeiss 24-70 f/2.8 SSM was a better lens. Believing the experts, I bought the Zeiss with the intention of selling the 28-75. While waiting to sell my lens, I made a comparison using my own unscientific methods. I took various photos indoor/outdoor under identical conditions and found the lenses are very very close in image quality. If fact, the 28-75 frequently gave slightly better image quality at 28mm (not always) with the Zeiss giving slightly better image quality at 50mm & 70mm (not always). Frequently heavy duty pixel peeping was necessary to tell the difference; often there was none. The Zeiss contrast was consistently better than this lens. In the corners the Zeiss was consistently softer. As a result of closely examining hundreds of images, I sent the Zeiss back. I didn’t need two lenses that were nearly identical. If I had to do it over again I would have looked closely at the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8.
In this comparison, I included an old $85 Minolta 50mm f/1.7 lens. The Minolta is way too soft at f/1.7 but is very sharp between f/4.0 & f/8.0, better than both these lenses at the same f stops. Go figure.