Jack Thompson wrote:
That's a bummer about your experience focusing it. Have others found that to be a major downside of this lens as well?
Yes, me.
I had one, too, and sold it for the FE 70-200/4 and the 135/2 Apo Sonnar.
My lens was stellar when focused correctly, but shooting handheld ist difficult with A7rII. You have to manually adjust IBIS before every shot when changing focal length or switch IBIS off completely. With IBIS off and 300mm the viewfinder is so shaky (esp. when magnified), that you can hardly judge if your subject is in focus or not.
Nevertheless I'm lusting after one again, maybe I'll order one in Japan these days ...
Don't seem difficult to focus Mike Great shots
It will not be easy handheld but we'll see
Have not test my yet ..but will do so as soon as the weather is better but it seems to be bad this weekend
quick test 300mm
Handheld 1/5 iso 6400 IBIS set 300mm @5.6
Contax 100-300mm F/4.5-5.6 Vario-Sonnar T* by Ronny Olsson, on Flickr
Jack Thompson wrote:
That's a bummer about your experience focusing it. Have others found that to be a major downside of this lens as well?
It is not easy handheld but I rarely use tripod. Sometimes I have a tripod collar on which helps as there often is something to lean on. I always focus with magnification on (set on a button). One or two presses depending on contrast situation (ie how peeking performs at one press, i.e. if bad: full magnification).
Of course set IBIS accordingly. Reasonably close at least. Also make sure you have the latest firmware. One or two revisions ago Sony added IBIS through the viewfinder when magnified. Sony IBIS helps less at long focal lengths but is far from useless. It - at least - gives a full stop. Actual usage is not to be confused with the comfort of a living room sofa where I'd say you get 3-4 stops :-)
Fred Miranda wrote:
Let me share some pictures showing the Leitax (Contax to E-mount) rear conversion with a tripod collar designed for the Canon 70-200/4L lens.
Everything works so well and now my VS 100-300 is rock-solid and I highly recommend this set-up. The Contax to E-mount Leitax conversion is very easy to set-up and it's also very light comparing to using a regular adapter.
Fred, looking to pick up a leitax for my 100-300 VS and also the 70-200 tripod collar. Can you tell me if I also need the 25 Euro leitax spacer for the tripod collar or does it fit the leitax without it?
xpfloyd wrote:
Fred, looking to pick up a leitax for my 100-300 VS and also the 70-200 tripod collar. Can you tell me if I also need the 25 Euro leitax spacer for the tripod collar or does it fit the leitax without it?
Why is it so difficult to produce a modern version of this lens ? Is it due to lead glass no longer allowed or perhaps is the canon 100-400 mk2 what a modern version would be (if it had zeiss coating) ?
you2 wrote:
Why is it so difficult to produce a modern version of this lens ? Is it due to lead glass no longer allowed or perhaps is the canon 100-400 mk2 what a modern version would be (if it had zeiss coating) ?
Ming Thein compared the Canon 70-300L to the CY 100-300, saying they were extremely close optically, but he preferred the Zeiss rendering so went that route.
Ronny, great images. Others have mentioned that this is a challenging lens to focus but you have nailed it with a moving dog coming towards you. Not easy. Can you describe how this worked, what your keeper rate was, etc?
Great shots 
