Sony unveils 400mm f/2.8 lens

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Sony's long awaited 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens has officially been announced.

Scheduled to ship internationally from September, the 400mm lens weighs in at a relatively lightweight 2.7kg and fills in what was arguably the missing link in the Sony FE lineup, giving sports shooters and well-heeled wildlife photographers access to a proper fast super-telephoto following the announcement of the a9 last year.

The FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens features two newly developed high-speed XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors that drive the lens’s focus group, and according to Sony achieves up to a 5x improvement in moving-subject tracking performance over the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS.

The optical design includes three fluorite elements that promise help to minimize chromatic aberration and suppress color bleeding. The lens has also been coated with Sony’s Nano AR coating to suppress any unwanted reflections, glare, or ghosting.

As you'd expect, the lens is compatible with Sony’s 1.4x and 2.0x E-mount tele-converters as well, and can be used with an optional drop in polarising filter.

Built with a magnesium alloy and a strong, lightweight carbon fiber hood, the lens is also dust and moisture resistant, and its front element is coated with fluorine to resist dirt and fingerprints. There are also a number of hard controls on the lens, including customizable focus-hold buttons in four different locations on the lens barrel, which can be programmed for control of features such as Eye AF functionality.

There is also a ‘Full-Time DMF’ switch to immediately engage manual focus at any point, and a focus ring that features Linear Response MF for manual focus.

Pricing and Availability

The FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS will ship in September. Local pricing hasn't been announced, but it will retail for about $12,000US ($16,300AUD). The optional Drop-in Circular Polarizing Filter will ship in December for about $400US ($544AUD).

Edit: 5/7/18 - Local pricing has been confirmed, with the lens' SRP $17,999 AUD. Preorders are available now, with stock arriving in September.

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