Re: Sony E 70-350mm G for A7R4 / A1 vs. 100-400 GM?
markpariente wrote:
I shoot this exact combination (A7R4, Sony E 70-350mm G OSS) and I love it. I'm not a huge wildlife shooter, but having such a relatively light telephoto lens I can toss into my backpack and pull out when I need to is great. I don't mind the 26.2MP APS-C resolution as it's plenty, especially since you get 525mm FF equivalent focal length so you can frame distant wildlife tighter than you could with the FE 100-400mm GM. The aperture range is basically the same as the 100-400GM for equivalent focal lengths (ie. they're both f4.5 at 70(crop)/105(ff), and f5.6 at 266(crop)/400(ff)) so you aren't losing any light.
The other surprising benefit is that IMO the E 70-350 G has very good image quality. It's sharp, probably a tad less so than the 100-400GM but it definitely punches above its weight (considering the G designation). The bokeh rolloff is smooth and the bokeh rendering is pleasing.
I think it all boils down to whether you want a compact setup that's easier to carry around (hence you're more likely to take it with you) vs. the ultimate resolution and image quality. I upgraded from APS-C to FF recently but I've had the 70-350G for a while and shooting with it on the A7R4 I realized I don't really need to buy a FF telephoto lens (100-400GM or 200-600) because I know that I wouldn't carry those around as often as I carry the 70-350.
So glad to get your feedback, Mark. I'm going to be keeping the 100-400. If I would decide to take it abroad my driver usually serves as assistant so I walk with one bag and, if safe, keep a second in the vehicle. I can imagine some scenarios where I would take one of my photo shipping cases on the plane including 100-400. Yet when traveling light, I can forsee that for me it wouldn't be redundant to keep both.
When it's just me, if image quality checks out vs. 100-400, I'd carry the 70-350 and shoot exactly as you do, 26.2MP in crop mode, often at f6.3.
Apr 26, 2021 at 10:36 AM
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