400mm f/2.8 FE preorder at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, FocusCamera. In EU at Calumet.de and ParkCamera.
Marc Alhadeff got his new Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM lens and posted a full review. The conclusion:
If you are a Sports or a wildlife photographer, the Sony 400mm F2.8 GM OSS is your dream lens.It delivers outstanding images and is highly versatile thanks to the 2 TC that can transform it into
- 560mm F4
- 800mm F5.6
Verdict
- Outstanding sharpness at all aperture from centre to corners
- No loss of speed or sharpness when used with TC1.4 TC2.0
- Extremely fast and efficient AF when coupled with A9. Very good otherwise
- Capable of capture very high speed animals : 1/32000 sec possible with A9
- Very good blurry background most of the times and 3D effect
- Lightweight for this kind of objective 2.8kg
- Very well balanced , can be used handled for 30-60min without issue
- Outstanding build quality
- Very good usability : all preset function, special function ring to set a distance or enter in crop mode
- Drop in CPL filter possible
- Light but solid transport case including space for the 2 TC
Of course
- It is pricey : 12000 Euros
- You need to use high shutter speed to avoid blur
- best used with monopod or Tripod with Gimbal
Points of attention
- Lens hood fixation system : you need to attach it to the lens by screwing a knob. The Lens hood is in carbon fibre and can be sensitive to shock (980 euros to replace the lens hood if you break it!)
- Sometimes not perfect blur with noisy background
And Patrick Murphy-Racey posted the very first unboxing video of this lens:
400mm f/2.8 FE preorder at BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon, FocusCamera. In EU at Calumet.de and ParkCamera.