p.55 #2 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
Thanks for posting the samples iamso78.
I will repost what I said a few pages back as I think the sharpness comparisons are becoming a mute point as they are so close it doesn’t matter one way or the other.
I believe these are the factors one should look at in deciding to own one or the other or both:
* Size (both deployed and packing): 1-4
* Weight: 1-4
* Max aperture: depends on focal length
* Available focal lengths at given aperture: 2-6 if going for the >400 (which I think anyone buying a 2-6 must be looking for), otherwise 1-4
* MM/MFD: 1-4
* Ease of zooming: 2-6
* Non-extending facilitating better balance?: 2-6 (not sure if this will really be a factor)
* Extra features (OSS Mode 3, 3 range limiter): 2-6
The final variable will be AF. Difficult to test but sounds like it will favour the 1-4 at least in the extreme use cases.
I’d like to hear from the new owners how it balances in the hand and impressions on Af compared to the 100-400/TCs.
p.55 #3 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
FWIW, just got an updated order confirmation that says “Backordered from supplier, due:Aug 9th”
I know I wasn’t first in line so maybe missed out on the first batch that they have now assigned to the first orders. Or Sony is short shipping to this store?
Oh well, can’t shoot till Aug 10th anyways at the earliest due to other commitments.
p.55 #4 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
I will probably add a 200-600 one day but also keep my 100-400gm. I think it would be great to have both. With my 100-400 and 1.4 I can shoot BIF or subjects at distance and if I see something close by swing around and capture a picture because of its MFD. Going to wait and hear what people have to say that end up with both. Also ordered the A7RIV so don’t want to bite off more than I can chew financially. The 200-600 sounds like a great lens though regardless.
p.55 #6 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
I’ve pretty much decided I will put my name down for a IV when I pick up my 200-600, hopefully next week. For those not impressed with initial photos popping up from this lens, remember that while everyone wants to run out and use their new gear, right now most of the northern hemisphere is roasting in the middle of record hot summer, and that can really mess up 600mm shots. I can literally watch the atmosphere make my images go "wavy gravy" in my viewfinder when zooming in on critters, even at 400mm. The more zoom, the more distortion, especially in hot weather conditions. Something to keep in mind.
p.55 #7 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
MedicineMan404 wrote:
Yes will be a blast using the 200-600 on the Riv in crop mode.
We're returning to Conowingo in November-December for the test run.
Let me know when you are heading up to Conowingo, I may finally get to meet you in person. Hope the eagles will be in abundance in year. I know even folks from other countries come to Conowingo for the eagles. I once talked to a lady from California who was staying near Conowingo for a week, she said to photograph bald eagles catching fish, Conowingo is THE place because the actions are so frequent (in a good year of course).
p.55 #8 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
arbitrage wrote:
Thanks for posting the samples iamso78.
The final variable will be AF. Difficult to test but sounds like it will favour the 1-4 at least in the extreme use cases.
I’d like to hear from the new owners how it balances in the hand and impressions on Af compared to the 100-400
/TCs.
Weather is really crap this weekend here in Melbourne, Australia. I am also more interested in the AF performance with teleconverters and that would probably decided whether I am keeping it or selling it for a loss.
p.55 #9 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
kdrk888 wrote:
Let me know when you are heading up to Conowingo, I may finally get to meet you in person. Hope the eagles will be in abundance in year. I know even folks from other countries come to Conowingo for the eagles. I once talked to a lady from California who was staying near Conowingo for a week, she said to photograph bald eagles catching fish, Conowingo is THE place because the actions are so frequent (in a good year of course).
I will! Cono is a place to go just to experience the photography culture. I remember my first time walking down the row of photographers and thinking of the all the money on top of all the tripods.
It's a neat area too. Poof can only stand so much patience testing and heads off on foot to the state park a couple of miles walking away. I sit there like a goof hoping for 'that' shot.
p.55 #10 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
MedicineMan404 wrote:
The 200-600 should ship with a monopod.
I bought the very nice iFootage Cobra-II C-180 carbon fiber monopod to use with mine which is on pre-order. Great new product that I can use for this lens and with its tripod like foot use for video shooting as well. Also bought the Komodo small video fluid head to use with it. Seems easier to use than a gimbal in my opinion. I do own a Wimberley WH200-II and know its not appropriate for a monopod IMHO.
p.55 #11 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
arbitrage wrote:
The final variable will be AF. Difficult to test but sounds like it will favour the 1-4 at least in the extreme use cases.
I’d like to hear from the new owners how it balances in the hand and impressions on Af compared to the 100-400/TCs.
AF performance vs 100400GM on a9
AF modes: Wide & Tracking: Wide
Short answer: I agree 100% with Alex Phan assessment, I am in the 5% that want the best AF performance, so this lens isn't for me. I just finish returning to the retailer after a morning AF session with 1.4x, 2x teleconverters on Galah BIFs (cockatoos) (didn't test naked lens AF since I wont be using as naked lens).
Long answer: Main reason for returning the lens is the AF acquire speed&responsiveness isn't that great with teleconverters (with 2x is pretty bad when subject is 1/3 filled in frame and moving fast across the frame). Galah bank quite erratically when they are approaching to land on the ground, the AF acquire speed just isn't fast enough to grab it b4 I could response by panning to keep it in frame.
I imagine Swallows BIFs will be a very good test to see the AF performance b/w 200600G & 100400GM, and I can confidently say 100400GM will acquire the subject faster with teleconverters vs 200600G with teleconverters.
Another good AF comparison scenario will be motorsports, F1 & motoGP, cars/bikes coming out of fast corners where you don't have the luxury to acquire focus & track (fast moving subject across the frame) using Wide AF mode. F1 examplemotoGP
Moreover, I also experience AF not as reliable (drop subject or fail/slow to acquire subject) when subject is approaching MFD.
p.55 #13 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
davidnumrich wrote:
How well does it retain focus on a subject while zooming? Furthermore, how about the 100 - 400?
I would assume the 200600G does a better job since the zooming is internal (like the 70200GM), but does anyone have any impressions in this area?
Zooming in you'll have to refocus, as zoomed out focus is not precise enough. Zooming out, it retains focus almost perfectly.
p.55 #14 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
Itsed65 wrote:
I’ve pretty much decided I will put my name down for a IV when I pick up my 200-600, hopefully next week. For those not impressed with initial photos popping up from this lens, remember that while everyone wants to run out and use their new gear, right now most of the northern hemisphere is roasting in the middle of record hot summer, and that can really mess up 600mm shots. I can literally watch the atmosphere make my images go "wavy gravy" in my viewfinder when zooming in on critters, even at 400mm. The more zoom, the more distortion, especially in hot weather conditions. Something to keep in mind....Show more →
Yup. This was pretty bad on the initial wave of reviews from the Sony events. People seemed to compare the quality of heat waves...
Lens deliveries have started in Germany. So I took some shots in an underground parking lot at night. No heat waves at all:-) 100% crops and ful res test shots
p.55 #15 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
iamso78 wrote:
AF performance vs 100400GM on a9
AF modes: Wide & Tracking: Wide
Short answer: I agree 100% with Alex Phan assessment, I am in the 5% that want the best AF performance, so this lens isn't for me. I just finish returning to the retailer after a morning AF session with 1.4x, 2x teleconverters on Galah BIFs (cockatoos) (didn't test naked lens AF since I wont be using as naked lens).
Long answer: Main reason for returning the lens is the AF acquire speed&responsiveness isn't that great with teleconverters (with 2x is pretty bad when subject is 1/3 filled in frame and moving fast across the frame). Galah bank quite erratically when they are approaching to land on the ground, the AF acquire speed just isn't fast enough to grab it b4 I could response by panning to keep it in frame.
I imagine Swallows BIFs will be a very good test to see the AF performance b/w 200600G & 100400GM, and I can confidently say 100400GM will acquire the subject faster with teleconverters vs 200600G.
Another good AF comparison scenario will be motorsports, F1 & motoGP, cars/bikes coming out of fast corners where you don't have the luxury to acquire focus & track (fast moving subject across the frame) using Wide AF mode. F1 examplemotoGP
Moreover, I also experience AF not as reliable (drop subject or fail/slow to acquire subject) when subject is approaching MFD....Show more →
Thanks for your report. Let me be sure I understand your conclusions. Are the following statements consistent with your conclusions?
1. The bare 200-600 operating wide open (e.g. f/6.3 at 560-600mm) focuses more slowly than the 100-400 + 1.4X TC operating wide open (e.g. f/8 at 560mm)
2. The 200-600 + 1.4X TC operating wide open (e.g. f/9 at 840mm) focuses more slowly than the 100-400 + 2X TC operating wide open (e.g. f/11 at 800mm).
There is no direct comparison for the 100-400 bare, or the 200-600 with 2X TC.
Case 1 is important to me since I am not happy with the 100-400+1.4x because of the f/8 limitation. That pushes the shutter speed to slower values, so I am hopeful the 200-600 with 1.7X faster shutter will give better results. Of course if it does not focus quickly the results will be worse. You say you did not test the bare lens so maybe you have no real tests for case 1.
I don't care as much about case 2 since IMO the 100-400+2X is too slow for anything that moves quickly. I rarely use it. If you are saying the 200-600+1.4x TC is even slower than the 100-400+2X, that is pretty bad IMO.
Can you clarify your conclusions about the cases above?
p.55 #16 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
kdrk888 wrote:
Let me know when you are heading up to Conowingo, I may finally get to meet you in person. Hope the eagles will be in abundance in year. I know even folks from other countries come to Conowingo for the eagles. I once talked to a lady from California who was staying near Conowingo for a week, she said to photograph bald eagles catching fish, Conowingo is THE place because the actions are so frequent (in a good year of course).
I was there last two weekends. Still plenty of birds around and when they started generating in the afternoon it turned on. The benefit of going now is that the crowds aren't there like they are in the late fall/winter. I simply won't go when it's a circus atmosphere because it reminds me of the opening day of trout season in PA... tons of people and very little space.
p.55 #17 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
149113 wrote:
I was there last two weekends. Still plenty of birds around and when they started generating in the afternoon it turned on. The benefit of going now is that the crowds aren't there like they are in the late fall/winter. I simply won't go when it's a circus atmosphere because it reminds me of the opening day of trout season in PA... tons of people and very little space.
p.55 #18 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
dclark wrote:
Thanks for your report. Let me be sure I understand your conclusions. Are the following statements consistent with your conclusions?
1. The bare 200-600 operating wide open (e.g. f/6.3 at 560-600mm) focuses more slowly than the 100-400 + 1.4X TC operating wide open (e.g. f/8 at 560mm)
He said he didn't test the bare lens.
To quote myself (naked G against GM+TC1.4 on swallows):
* focusing speed for distant birds seems very similar; faster when the 10m limiter restricts it not to go too far astray (the GM limiter allows a much wider range)
* focusing speed at closer distances seemed faster on the GM without TC; with the TC I can't really tell as I lost focus too often (A7R2)
p.55 #19 · Pre-order: Sony FE 200-600 f5.6-6.3 G OSS ($1,998)
dclark wrote:
Thanks for your report. Let me be sure I understand your conclusions. Are the following statements consistent with your conclusions?
1. The bare 200-600 operating wide open (e.g. f/6.3 at 560-600mm) focuses more slowly than the 100-400 + 1.4X TC operating wide open (e.g. f/8 at 560mm)
2. The 200-600 + 1.4X TC operating wide open (e.g. f/9 at 840mm) focuses more slowly than the 100-400 + 2X TC operating wide open (e.g. f/11 at 800mm).
There is no direct comparison for the 100-400 bare, or the 200-600 with 2X TC.
Case 1 is important to me since I am not happy with the 100-400+1.4x because of the f/8 limitation. That pushes the shutter speed to slower values, so I am hopeful the 200-600 with 1.7X faster shutter will give better results. Of course if it does not focus quickly the results will be worse. You say you did not test the bare lens so maybe you have no real tests for case 1.
I don't care as much about case 2 since IMO the 100-400+2X is too slow for anything that moves quickly. I rarely use it. If you are saying the 200-600+1.4x TC is even slower than the 100-400+2X, that is pretty bad IMO.
Can you clarify your conclusions about the cases above?
I think most would agree 100400GM+1.4x AF performance (speed/acquisition/responsiveness) is pretty much the same as naked lens on a9. So for case 1, naked 200-600G will probably be same, didn't test naked lens cannot say for sure.
I don't think 100-400GM+2x on a9 is too slow for anything that moves quickly, I shot 2018 Aus MotoGP (public attendance, from bad vantage point) coming out of fast corners using that combo, samples on my Flickr page. Sample 1Sample 2Sample 3
As I mention earlier, Swallow BIF would be the easiest AF comparison test, or goto a motorsports events @ fast corner taking panning shots.
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