danwu wrote:
The test results are mixed when comparing IQ with 328+2x. It's pretty consistent that 663 is better than 260. Some say it's obvious while others say only by a hair.
Maybe its the 2x TC copy variance accounting for mix results? I would also hope 600 6.3 would be better than 200-600! From what i read online 200-600 with 1.4x TC leads to poor results, but should be good with the 600 6.3.
Going to Japan in November
Will try to get the 400mm 4.5 there and shoot Japanese birds
Been told it may be a little cheaper than in the US due to weakness of Yen vs Dollar
pdog109 wrote:
Maybe its the 2x TC copy variance accounting for mix results?
From my testing TCs seem to have much less copy variation than lenses. Which did not come as a surprise as they have no moving parts. Similarly prime lenses seem to have less copy variation than zooms.
I mainly use the 300mm f/2.8 with 2x TC on an A1. For me the 600mm f/6.3 doesn't seem to offer much. It is a smaller diameter lens so it will gather less light and it has a longer minimum focus distance.
With the A1, if I need to crop, I can crop quite hard. If I was using an A9III, I might be interested in the new lens if I needed more reach because I could use it with the 1.4 TC. But in most action situations, I would rather crop an A1 + 300mm f/2.8 + 2x TC than not crop with an A9III + 600mm f/6.3 because framing would be so much easier.
I would probably buy a 500mm f/4 or a new version of the 400mm f/2.8 because at 125mm and 140mm diameter, they would be a good step up in light gathering. I would favour a 500mm f/4 to use with a 1.4 TC when used on the A1 but I would probably regret the likely longer minimum focus distance that might come with it.
All in all, the A1 + 300mm f/2.8 is a great, small, flexible combo.
MarcPec wrote:
I'm sticking with my 300GM & 1.4TC.
I agree with you. It’s like having three fantastic primes in one, albeit two of which involve a teleconverter. I still have my 600f/4 for winter and dark dreary days. I used the 200-600 for 1.5 years before getting the 600gm and being at 6.3 was really a challenge in the winter. Having the 300gm has really been a great experience and I use it often at all three focal lengths.
I have been following the conversations. I have gone back and forth how I could use the 600 f6.3.
I sold me 600 f4 GM few months ago because I use my 300 GM+2C TC so much. Its 2 meters MFD is great for photographing hummingbirds in my garden. I know f5.6 is merely 1/3 of a stop brighter than f6.3, but the background would be a hair smoother and the ISO a lit lower.
The new 600 f6.3 is about one pound lighter and 1'" shorter than the 300 GM+2X TC. It's wonderful but one pound lighter and 1" shorter aren't enough for me to sell the 300 GM. The 300 GM can't get to 840mm without stacking two TCs though.
At his point, I think I am going to sit tight and wait for a Sony 800 f6.3.. Judging from the size/weight of both 300 GM and the 600 F6.3, I would think Sony perhaps has the technology to make an 800 f6.3 that's even smaller and lighter than Nikon's 800 PF, without using Phase Fresnel. For now, If I really need to get to 800mm, I use the 400-800. I know, it's in a different weight class.
somersettr wrote:
I mainly use the 300mm f/2.8 with 2x TC on an A1. For me the 600mm f/6.3 doesn't seem to offer much. It is a smaller diameter lens so it will gather less light and it has a longer minimum focus distance.
All in all, the A1 + 300mm f/2.8 is a great, small, flexible combo.
It's not very flexible if you only mostly use it as 300+2x TC like I do. The few times I used it with 1.4x TC I was disappointed with how much I have to crop. I shoot birds so I'm always cropping a lot anyway. To me not much difference between 600 5.6 and 600 6.3, but the 600 6.3 doesn't have a big chunk of 2x TC glass in the way so it should be better. Looking for increase in image quality and AF, i think it'll better, just based on my thinking and not sony social media shills. Also, 2m vs 2.5m MFD is not much difference, I'm not concerned with MFD on a 600mm lens. When I used the 600f4, the 4.5m MFD was never a problem. How often do birds get within 5m? 5m distance seems the minimum they'll get in my experience, any closer you are invisible ninja and should get a job to be a hired assassin.
deevee wrote:
Going to Japan in November
Will try to get the 400mm 4.5 there and shoot Japanese birds
Been told it may be a little cheaper than in the US due to weakness of Yen vs Dollar
November is too close, you may have a hard time finding a shop which has it in stock. Not many so camera shops in Hokkaido will stock high end lenses like this.
deevee wrote:
Going to Japan in November
Will try to get the 400mm 4.5 there and shoot Japanese birds
Been told it may be a little cheaper than in the US due to weakness of Yen vs Dollar
Tariffs and taxes are different things. When you are abroad and buying something tax-free, you either get the product tax-free on purchase or when you are leaving the country you get the tax of the country where the purchase was made refunded. However, when entering your home country or economic region (in the case of the EU) you should declare the purchase if it exceeds the tax-free and duty-free limit, and then pay taxes and tariffs. So tax-free purchases are truly tax-free only up to a point. Of course, some people will travel and not declare the purchases when coming back home and I guess this is called smuggling.
ilkka_nissila wrote:
Tariffs and taxes are different things.
And here I was thinking a tariff is a tax on imports. But more to the point, any idea how much correctly importing a camera costs?
The 800 would be fantastic for me and a definite purchase. I just can’t bring myself to sell the 600f4 but do use it far less since getting the 300gm. The f4 is great in the winter or cloudy days.
Notice regarding the supply of lens FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS "SEL600F63GM" for digital SLR camera α [E-mount]
Thank you very much for your continued patronage of Sony products.
The lens for digital SLR camera α [E-mount] FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS "SEL600F63GM", which began to be ordered from September 29, 2026 (Tuesday), has significantly exceeded our expectations. It may take some time to deliver the product.
We are currently working hard to meet your requests as much as possible, so please wait for a while.
Notice regarding the supply of lens FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS "SEL600F63GM" for digital SLR camera α [E-mount]
Thank you very much for your continued patronage of Sony products.
The lens for digital SLR camera α [E-mount] FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS "SEL600F63GM", which began to be ordered from September 29, 2026 (Tuesday), has significantly exceeded our expectations. It may take some time to deliver the product.
We are currently working hard to meet your requests as much as possible, so please wait for a while.
I was hoping to pick quickly one up if the feedback from real world users was positive once the lens started shipping. Sounds like I might have missed the boat not preordering
Eh. It'll be nice to see what everyone says and if they're selling that many, you may be able to pick one up second hand fairly quick. My 200-600 will suffice for a while.
robert614 wrote:
I was hoping to pick quickly one up if the feedback from real world users was positive once the lens started shipping. Sounds like I might have missed the boat not preordering
Daran wrote:
And here I was thinking a tariff is a tax on imports. But more to the point, any idea how much correctly importing a camera costs?
It is a kind of tax, but it is not what is meant by tax in the term "tax-free" purchases, which refer to the sales tax or value-added tax that local country adds to the price of products and which travelers can be refunded when they leave the country.
At least on import to the EU, if you import the product legally when traveling after being refunded the tax in the country where you made the purchase, the local VAT is added to the price, along with a possible tariff which is typically a few percent. Together they could be >25% in the EU if the purchase cost is higher than a threshold of tariff-free imports. So it can be quite high. But in Europe we typically value what our tax money provides for us, including free education, low-cost health care, roads, etc. I don't know the current situation in the US, it seems international trade with the US is quite chaotic watching from the outside. You may still be able to save some money on specific purchases by buying from Japan even if you declare the purchases when entering the country, but how this now works I do not know, and whether all travelers are treated equally.
I know for example table tennis supplies can be really inexpensive in some cases in Japan, and those are more likely to be within tariff-free allowance for travelers than cameras or lenses. :-) And you might be able to find some products in Japan which you can't easily find elsewhere, e.g., in the second-hand market.
ilkka_nissila wrote:
At least on import to the EU, if you import the product legally when traveling after being refunded the tax in the country where you made the purchase, the local VAT is added to the price, along with a possible tariff which is typically a few percent. Together they could be >25% in the EU if the purchase cost is higher than a threshold of tariff-free imports.
Due to the EPA imports from Japan should be 0% plus VAT, so e.g. 19% when bringing something back to Germany (you pay the 19% VAT for pretty much anything local, too).
But when bringing something back to the US? 10% plus who knows which VAT?
Until you declare the purchase at customs. Sometimes customs will let everyone pass without declaring purchases. This was the case in 2025 when I purchased gear in Tokyo.
Notice regarding the supply of lens FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS "SEL600F63GM" for digital SLR camera α [E-mount]
Thank you very much for your continued patronage of Sony products.
The lens for digital SLR camera α [E-mount] FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS "SEL600F63GM", which began to be ordered from September 29, 2026 (Tuesday), has significantly exceeded our expectations. It may take some time to deliver the product.
We are currently working hard to meet your requests as much as possible, so please wait for a while.
Thanks for the update, major bummer though!
Guess I'll have to keep trudging out with the 300+2x TC brick in the meantime.
