p.1 #1 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
I want to complement my Voigtländer Apo-Lanthars, I thus do not mind manual focus. In practice I don‘t care if it is mf or af.
- High performance is paramount
- Low weight, ideally under 1000g would be very interesting
What are the options at 300mm?
(obviously I also have to consider adapted lenses)
p.1 #2 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
Hello,
you may consider:
AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4 PF ED VR lens + Monster AF Adapter F-> E Mount (LA-FE1).
This is the smallest 300mm solution I know.
I'm using the Monster-adapter with the 500 f5.6 variant of the Nikkor lens and it is great for wildlife. You can also use the Nikon Teleconverters for more variations (Do not use any other adapter, I tested a lot, they work less good or not at all).
Feb 04, 2026 at 06:52 AM
Steve Spencer Online • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #3 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
Knut. wrote:
I want to complement my Voigtländer Apo-Lanthars, I thus do not mind manual focus. In practice I don‘t care if it is mf or af.
- High performance is paramount
- Low weight, ideally under 1000g would be very interesting
What are the options at 300mm?
(obviously I also have to consider adapted lenses)
You best bet is probably the Sony 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 G. It is a very nice lens and comes in at 854g. There is also the Sony 70-350 f/4.5-5.6 G for APS-C which is even lighter at 625g, but of course it doesn't cover a FF sensor.
For manual focus you might consider the Zeiss Contax/Yashica mount 100-300 4.5-5.6. It comes in at 925g, so would also get you a lens under 1000g, but probably just over with an adapter. It is a pretty good performer, but most copies seem to be weakest at 300mm.
The Canon FD 100-300 f/5.6L is probably your lightest MF option at 710g and for a lens of its time (mid 80s) was a decent performer.
Canon also made a 300 f/4L in FD mount, but it was slightly over 1,000 grams at 1,060g and would weigh even more with an adapter.
These are in addition to the Nikon 300 f/4 PF described in the post above, which is definitely worth considering as well.
p.1 #4 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
Zenos_Licht wrote:
Hello,
you may consider:
AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4 PF ED VR lens + Monster AF Adapter F-> E Mount (LA-FE1).
This is the smallest 300mm solution I know.
I'm using the Monster-adapter with the 500 f5.6 variant of the Nikkor lens and it is great for wildlife. You can also use the Nikon Teleconverters for more variations (Do not use any other adapter, I tested a lot, they work less good or not at all).
p.1 #5 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
Steve Spencer wrote:
You best bet is probably the Sony 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 G. It is a very nice lens and comes in at 854g. There is also the Sony 70-350 f/4.5-5.6 G for APS-C which is even lighter at 625g, but of course it doesn't cover a FF sensor.
For manual focus you might consider the Zeiss Contax/Yashica mount 100-300 4.5-5.6. It comes in at 925g, so would also get you a lens under 1000g, but probably just over with an adapter. It is a pretty good performer, but most copies seem to be weakest at 300mm.
The Canon FD 100-300 f/5.6L is probably your lightest MF option at 710g and for a lens of its time (mid 80s) was a decent performer.
Canon also made a 300 f/4L in FD mount, but it was slightly over 1,000 grams at 1,060g and would weigh even more with an adapter.
These are in addition to the Nikon 300 f/4 PF described in the post above, which is definitely worth considering as well....Show more →
I have a tendency to fixed focals since I have noticed higher performance at the long end with these, especially since the zooms of the era were not quite as perfect as today. But I may be wrong.
Of the manual focus fixed focal lenses of yore - does any lens stand out?
I have a mf Tokina ATX 2.8/300, sharp from wide open, 1,5kg, but LOCA does not disappear before f5.6
So I might just es well go straight to an f5.6 lens and save some weight. But which one?
p.1 #7 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
The Contax Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 100-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens has probably the closest image quality to your Voightlander lenses, but getting hard to find.
The next best optical quality would likely be an adapted Canon EF 300mm f4L (the original non-IS version), or Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6L IS. These may be slightly over your weight limit with adapters, though.
The aforementioned Nikon 300mm f4 PF-ED would also be a good choice if you find a copy that is sharp at infinity (or not... depending on what you plan to use the lens for...)
The Sony FE 70-300mm G is very sharp at close distances, but performs poorly at longer distances at the 300mm end.
p.1 #8 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
The Pentax SMC-A* (green star) 300/4 is a killer little lens and certainly worth a look. If you're specifically looking for 300, I'd take that over any 70/100-300 zoom. They all lose quite a bit of resolution umph at their longest ends. The 100-400s tend to have much better performance at 300. The Nikon PF 300 is a good lens, but the back-lit performance was a problem for me. I greatly prefer their AF-S 300/4 D IF-ED (not to be confused with the AF 300/4 D that has screw-driven AF and overall lower performance) which holds contrast better and has a built-in hood. It's about 440g heavier than you want, though. The Canon EF 300/4 L (non IS) is lighter and has strong resolution, but still not under a kg. Even the FD 300/4 L is over, but does get closer when you remove the tripod mount (1060g).
I'd avoid the Contax Tele-Tessar 300/4 and any of the 300/4.5s from the various manufacturers- they all tend to be CA machines of one or more types.
p.1 #10 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
freaklikeme wrote:
The Pentax SMC-A* (green star) 300/4 is a killer little lens and certainly worth a look. If you're specifically looking for 300, I'd take that over any 70/100-300 zoom. They all lose quite a bit of resolution umph at their longest ends. The 100-400s tend to have much better performance at 300. The Nikon PF 300 is a good lens, but the back-lit performance was a problem for me. I greatly prefer their AF-S 300/4 D IF-ED (not to be confused with the AF 300/4 D that has screw-driven AF and overall lower performance) which holds contrast better and has a built-in hood. It's about 440g heavier than you want, though. The Canon EF 300/4 L (non IS) is lighter and has strong resolution, but still not under a kg. Even the FD 300/4 L is over, but does get closer when you remove the tripod mount (1060g).
I'd avoid the Contax Tele-Tessar 300/4 and any of the 300/4.5s from the various manufacturers- they all tend to be CA machines of one or more types....Show more →
There was a 300/4 AF Nikkor with shaft drive, but it was not a D lens. Given the size/weight vs. IQ I would not recommend it nowadays. (In the 20th century it was the smaller alternative to a 300/2.8 and decent with tubes at small apertures for closer use.) The AF-S was over a decade newer and much better, though the tripod collar gave you fits and the early S AF motors were not so reliable. If yoiu go with Nikkor, the PF would be the choice. Just be familiar with the PF look in challenging situations.
p.1 #11 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
Knut. wrote:
Of the manual focus fixed focal lenses of yore - does any lens stand out?
...
So I might just es well go straight to an f5.6 lens and save some weight. But which one?
A 300/5.6 manual prime with top-tier performance is an almost nonexistent beast. I own various compromises: Yashica 300/5.6 MLC (cheap, cheerful, purple fringing); Leitz Telyt 280/4.8 (soft, large, very heavy); Leitz Apo-Telyt 280/4 (heavy, exceedingly expensive); Nikkor 300/2.8 AF-I (even heavier and larger, auto-focus). The problem is the 300mm FL where chromatic aberration will swamp image quality when a standard crown/flint design is deployed. All the majors tried it, they all suck. Even with ED glass, the cost-sensitive designs are pretty mid.
The giant exception that I only discovered recently is the Canon 300/5.6 FL-F of 1969 which, admittedly, is unnaturally heavy and quite expensive (being a rare collectible). The magic is achieved with two fluorite elements (a world first), and an optical formula that avoids both ni-sen boke-aji and defocus color fringing. The build quality is Old World meaning even Canon cannot match this lens anymore. Who heard of a 300/5.6 with tripod mount and rotating collar?
Obligatory cat photo:
Canon FL-F 300/5.6, wide open, available light, ISO 100, A7ii on tripod, no sharpening.
p.1 #12 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
rico wrote:
A 300/5.6 manual prime with top-tier performance is an almost nonexistent beast. I own various compromises: Yashica 300/5.6 MLC (cheap, cheerful, purple fringing); Leitz Telyt 280/4.8 (soft, large, very heavy); Leitz Apo-Telyt 280/4 (heavy, exceedingly expensive); Nikkor 300/2.8 AF-I (even heavier and larger, auto-focus). The problem is the 300mm FL where chromatic aberration will swamp image quality when a standard crown/flint design is deployed. All the majors tried it, they all suck. Even with ED glass, the cost-sensitive designs are pretty mid.
The giant exception that I only discovered recently is the Canon 300/5.6 FL-F of 1969 which, admittedly, is unnaturally heavy and quite expensive (being a rare collectible). The magic is achieved with two fluorite elements (a world first), and an optical formula that avoids both ni-sen boke-aji and defocus color fringing. The build quality is Old World meaning even Canon cannot match this lens anymore. Who heard of a 300/5.6 with tripod mount and rotating collar?
p.1 #14 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
You can shoot Sony E 70-350 G (625g) in full frame mode (105-525mm).
If you are using a high res Sony body, It leaves you 36-40mp files after minimal cropping of vignetted corners.
I shot it with no cropping at all on wide end, 4:3 in mid zoom range in camera, 1:1 on long end in camera.
It's a sleeper lens in Sony lineup, AF accuracy is better than Sigma 100-400 DG DN and second only to GM.
Other option would be Sony FE 70-200 F4 Macro G OSS II with a 1.4x Teleconverter.
Also don't underestimate a fast sharp 135mm prime, that biting sharpness with shutter speed and ISO advantage, crops from this lens might impress you more than a slow 300mm.
p.1 #15 · Light weight manual or AF 300mm lens for Sony e-mount (can be f5.6) - what are the options?
Surprised no one has mentioned the Tamron 50-300 yet. It comes in around 650g, has AF, weather sealing, feels well balanced and can replace a bunch of other focal lengths for you. I got it to be a hiking lens but haven’t actually gone hiking with it yet (unexpectedly haven’t even been to the mountains in over a year). I just shoot a protest for several hours last week with it though, and it was the perfect thing for that, and didn’t really feel heavy even using it for several hours at a time.
