Review: Sony 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens
Let me start at the end. If you are a wildlife photographer, need 800mm reach and either can’t afford the more expensive primes (e.g. 400mm f/2.8, 600mm f/4) on which you can add a teleconverter, need portability (think weight and length) or focal length flexibility, this is a lens you may want to consider.
If you already have the Sony 200-600 f/5.6-6.3 G, but really need a little more reach and cropping won’t do it for you, and losing an f/stop isn’t that important, you may also want to consider it. Otherwise, well, read on.
Build
At 346mm long and weighing 2475g this lens is not super light, but I could hand hold it for quite a while without a break.
Weather-sealed, the lens is designed to be dust and moisture resistant (note not 100% dust and moisture proof) and the front element has a fluorine coating both to help repel contaminants and make it easier to clean.
Coming with a reversible lens hood, it has two things I really like from Sony (and so continue to wonder why all other manufactures don’t offer this); a flocked interior to help prevent unwanted reflections and an opening at the bottom so you can easily use a circular polarizing filter without having to take the hood off.
With a circular shaped silicon rubber front edge, this design also allows you to more easily (but not advisedly) rest and balance the lens face down on flat ground when changing lenses. I like that.
The filter thread is a relatively large 105mm, but this is not a complaint as it’s necessary for such a lens. More on that later.
It feels solid to hold, and if I had one criticism, it would probably be the tripod collar is not designed to come off. A disappointing issue as this can make packing/fitting it into a backpack more difficult, and I do carry all my large lenses in a backpack.
Some may also complain that the tripod foot doesn’t fit an Arca-Swiss head straight up, and I get that. It’s frustrating for those of us using that system. If the tripod collar was removable and then interchangeable, what a great double solution that would be.
Maybe next time. But it does come with 1/4-20 UNC and 3/8-16 UNC screw sockets which means you can attach your own Arca-Swiss plate, and for others there is compatibility with a wide range of other tripods plates.
Internally
Internally there are 27 elements in 19 groups with six ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements; the latter designed to help control chromatic aberration.
Driven by two linear motors, focusing is via an internal zoom which means the length of the lens doesn’t change when zooming, so the centre of gravity stays pretty much the same.
This makes handling more stable. This lack of barrel extension/reduction also means there is a reduced chance of dust/moisture being drawn in.
Externally
Externally there are five toggle switches to control: AF/MF, focus zoom range (Full / near - 10m / 8m - ∞), OSS (vibration control On/Off), stabilisation modes (of which there are three:1 = ‘standard’, 2 = ‘panning’ and 3 = ‘erratic’), and a switch to turn on Direct Manual Focus (DMF) mode.
For those who have never used DMF, this mode allows you to tweak the autofocus, or shift it significantly to a new range, even when you are using autofocus.
It’s a feature that can be useful in if the AF locks onto the wrong subject and you need to adjust focus quickly. Speaking of adjusting focus quickly, there are three customisable focus hold buttons on the barrel.
Image quality
I used the 400-800 f/6.3-8.0 on my Sony’s A1 Mark II and whilst I’m normally not a pixel peeper, when doing a review I sadly become one.
What struck me was how sharp the images could be throughout the whole focal length.
I wasn’t expecting that. Even at a 75% crop at the 800mm, the images were sharp. Also in the right light, the end image could be really crisp but beautiful.
Also the bokeh was nice and natural and even the bokeh balls were generally fine especially in the middle - although this isn’t the type of lens you’d used specifically for creating beautiful bokeh balls.
Given the lens weight and focal lengths you’ll be shooting at (especially if attaching a teleconverter), the lens should probably be used with at least a monopod, and it’s not really for panning.
Regardless, most of the time I shot handheld (I like a challenge) and whilst I have no idea how many stops the image stabiliser gives you, I was comfortable shooting 800mm at 1/400th and I’ve read of people shooting as low as 1/60th, but I couldn’t do this hand held unless it was resting on something solid.
My best was 1/125th, sometimes…
Autofocus/zoom/focal distance
The AF on this lens doesn’t disappoint given what it is, but as a wildlife photographer, it’s not really the focal length you’d use in super dynamic situations, for example small birds flying quickly across the field of view.
Having said that, it works well for larger birds at a distance flying across and the subject coming towards you, especially in good contrast situations.
What did surprise me was the minimum focal distance of 3.7m at 800mm. It counterintuitively for such a lene make me want to play with some close up work. (see Bee close up).
Green credentials
I’ve said this before and I’ll keep saying it, when we spend our money, we are on one level saying “I agree with what you do so much, I’m going to give you my money to encourage you to keep doing it”.
To this, Sony states “We are also transitioning to non-plastic packaging materials. Plant-based non-woven fabrics are used for product bags.” That’s a good thing. Not sure by when however.:(.
They also state their environmental plan is for a zero environmental footprint by 2050. That’s twenty-five years from now. Is that really acceptable? Something to ask a Sony rep if you ever meet one.
A word about two about some criticisms I’ve read
I have read other reviews on this lens, and I wanted to address a couple of criticisms have come up more than once.
1: Uses expensive 105mm filters
2: High minimum f/stop works best in good light
Yes, these issues are factually correct, 105mm filters are relatively more expensive, and given the relatively high minimum f/stop, it will work better (both focus speed and lower ISO noise) in good light.
BUT these observations relate basically to the laws of optics, not any issue with the lens itself.
Let me explain. The diameter of the front element of any lens is related to the focal range of that lens and minimum f/stop. It’s calculated by dividing the maximum focal length by the minimum f/stop.
So here, the calculation would be 800mm divided by 8. This gives you a front element diameter of 100mm.
To paraphrase Scotty from Star Trek “You canna break the laws of physics”. So add a few mm for the filter threads etc, and you get a 105mm filter requirement.
Sure, if you want a lens with an 82mm filter thread, you’d end up with a f/10 lens (i.e. 800mm/82), and who would want that?
Similarity, if you wanted a faster lens (say f/5.6), the front element would need to be 142mm in diameter (i.e. 800mm/5.6), and that would be a lot larger, a lot more glass, a lot more weight and cost a lot more.
The wrap-up
After a month and about 1,000 frames, the 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens is a solid performer, but it does show the limitations of high f-stop lenses (and that’s not Sony’s fault).
If you already had the 200mm-600mm (f/5.6-f/6.3) and said “Doug, what should I do?”, I’d say “It’s a tough question. I feel this new lens is sharper, and would give a better result than putting a teleconvertor on a 200-600mm, but do you need the extra 33% reach? Maybe consider investing in a new higher megapixel body and crop in. You’d pick up an f/stop.”
But if you didn’t have a 200mm-600mm, and really wanted to play mainly at the 700-800mm focal range, I’d say “Given the sharp image quality, it doesn’t weight much more than the 200-600, if you have shoot in good light, and price is no issue, it’s worth considering”.
The results
HANDLING ★ ★ ★ ★
This is a large lens, but it has to be based on physics. The internal zoom is good and keeps things as stable as possible and can be used for short periods hand held.
IMAGE QUALITY ★ ★ ★ ★
Good detail from wide open and to the edges, and impressively consistent at all focal lengths. Bokeh is fine.
FEATURES ★ ★ ★ ★
With 5 toggle switches (AF/MF, zoom range, OSS On/Off, OSS modes and DMF), weather sealed, nice minimal focus distance, a fluorine coated front element and six ED glass elements, this lens has most the features the non-professional wildlife photographer who needs a super zoom will probably need in the field.
VALUE FOR MONEY ★ ★ ★
At $4,199 RRP, compared to the Sony 200-600mm at $2,399 (or the Canon 200-800mm at around $3499), this lens is not cheap. And being a lens that will always be used in the field, the 2-year local warranty bothers me.
Canon offers 5 years for their 200-800mm, so why Sony don’t address this (especially as their lens is more expensive) I am unsure.
Nevertheless, it does offer good value for money. If compared to the 200-600mm, a small jump in sharpness and reach (whilst also losing an f/ stop) is worth nearly $2,000, well then of course. If not, then…