I’ve always found the 100-400mm focal range really useful, but recently wondered if I need a need a 100-400mm lens.
I own (and like) the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6, but also have the wonderful 70-200 f/2.8 Mark II, and when I add my 1.4x tele-convertor, I have a 98mm – to 280mm f/4 lens that is faster, small, lighter and sharper than my FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6.
And, if I use a new 50MP + body, I can just crop in to get closer. So when Sony launched their 100-400mm f/4.5, knowing it would be a little heaver and larger than either of the above combinations, I was curious: would it be worth upgrading?
If cost isn’t an issue, and you want a sharp, fast 100-400mm lens, that really isn’t that heavy or large (given what it is), well maybe yes, but read on.
The build
At 328mm long and weighing 1840g, this lens is 400gm heavier and 113mm longer than the 100-400mm f4.5-5.6.
With an inner zoom (which means centre-of-gravity shift is minimised when zooming) and being nicely balanced, it’s solid to hold and I can use it easily without a break for ages.
As one would expect for a GM Master lens, it’s weather-sealed, dust and moisture resistant (note, not dust and moisture proof), the front element has a fluorine coating that both helps repel contaminants and makes it easier to clean.
Like many of the Sony lenses, it comes with a flocked interior (to help prevent unwanted reflections, reversable lens and circular shaped silicon rubber front edge that allows you to more easily, but unadvisedly, balance the lens face down when changing lenses: something I have always liked.
The front filter thread is 95mm, however it also allows the option to use a smaller 40.5mm drop in filter at the body end which I like.
One criticism I have is the tripod collar is not designed to come off easily. For a relatively compact lens like this I think this is an oversight as it’s something I’d like to put into my bag with many other things.
Because the foot protrudes a bit, I needed to rotate it sideways, losing valuable packing space. Also it doesn’t fit an Arca-Swiss head straight up, but with 1/4-20 UNC and 3/8-16 UNC screw sockets you can easily attach your own (or many other types).
P.S. Sony, if you’re reading this, what if the tripod collar was easily removable and interchangeable with say an Arca-Swiss head. What a great double solution: maybe next time?
Inside
Internally, there are 28 elements in 20 groups with 3 ED elements, 2 Super ED elements, and 1 ED XA (Extra-low Dispersion extreme aspherical) element (out of 28 total elements) – all adjusted to minimise colour bleeding, and the latter designed to suppress distracting onion-ring bokeh.
Driven by four linear motor drives, focusing is change when zooming and so the centre of gravity stays pretty much the same
This makes handling more stable and the lack of barrel extension/reduction theoretically also means there is a reduced chance of dust/moisture being drawn in.
Externally
Closest to the body is the drop in filter holder.
Following that there are five toggle switches near the body to control: AF/MF, focus zoom range (Full, 4m – ∞), OSS (vibration control On/Off), three stabilisation modes (:1 = ‘standard’, 2 = ‘panning’ and 3 = ‘erratic’), and a switch to turn on Direct Manual Focus (DMF) mode: a useful mode which allows you to tweak the autofocus or shift it significantly to a new range even when using autofocus.
Next is the tripod foot which has a tripod collar ring-clicking select switch.
When on, as you rotate the tripod collar it physically clicks into place every 90-degree letting you quickly and accurately snap your camera between horizontal (landscape) and vertical (portrait) orientations.
It’s not something I’d probably use with such a lens, but hey, it’s there if you want it.
Next is the manual focus ring which is fine, however I did find that when tuning more than a few degrees, my hand hit that the tripod collar foot easily, forcing me to shift hand positions. Very annoying.
Did I mention I wish they would make that foot easy to take off and put back on?
Next is the zoom ring which works well and by the flick of a switch can be made to turn smoothly or with more effort – thereby technically holding the focal distance in place if moving it around.
To this feature, its’s OK, however I still did find that even when placed on ‘tight’, there was some focal range creep especially at 400m when walking around and holding the camera by my side.
Next along the lens is a function ring that can be programmed to do one of three things: As a power focus tool, as a focus recall pre-set to snap your lens back to a memorised focus distance, or switch between Full-Frame / APS-C crop (a feature I just don’t recommend using in any camera
Finally, there are four customisable focus hold buttons at the end of the barrel.
Image quality
I used the 100-400 f/4.5 on both my Sony A1 Mark II and the new Sony A7R VI. What immediately stood out was how sharp this lens is throughout all focal lengths and most used f/stops.
It drops a little from about 11, but who is going to buy this lens and then shut it down to 11? Nevertheless, its clearly better than the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6, but being a newer G Master lens, and more expensive, no surprises there.
The bokeh was generally nice, and I say ‘generally’, as to me it felt there were occasions if bright, straight-line objects (like grass or twigs) in the background weren’t way out of focus, and the centre was light, you might see a subtle dark edge that could be distracting.
What does this mean in reality? If you’re a birder shooting and lots or twigs/foliage are in the immediate background, you may notice this (well I did), but if your backgrounds are normally pretty clear, no problem.
There was no sign of vignette and when photographing back lit scenes I didn’t notice any flare.
Autofocus/zoom/focal distance
The AF on this lens doesn’t disappoint. Versus the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6, it’s definitely better. How much I couldn’t quantitatively measure, however Sony state it’s up to 3x faster AF with a 50% improvement in tracking performance.
That’s a great improvement. When manually focusing I did find, more often than I would have liked, that my hand could be blocked from fully focusing by the tripod collar foot. Ah, that tripod collar foot again…
Minimum focal distance is 0.64m at 100mm and 1.5 m at 400mm, which is pretty good, and a function ring can be assigned to control pre -set Focus.
The zoom is very smooth, and how easily it can moves can be adjusteds feature however I noticed on my model, at the 400mm end when walking and hanging the camera pointing down, there was a bit of creep finally settling at about 380mm
Green credentials
I’ve said this before and will keep saying it. Where we spend our money infers that one is happy to financially support a company doing what it does on every level. Sony state over 22% of the total plastic weight of this lens consists of recycled plastic.
To put it another way, that is less than a quarter. They also say in their environmental plan that by 2050 they will have a zero environmental impact. That’s twenty-four years from now.
As the world burns is that really acceptable? Maybe something to ask every Sony employee you ever meet is ‘why they won’t do better?’
The wrap-up
After a few weeks of use I found the 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS lens is clearly an improvement on the older 100-400mm f4.5-f/5.6, giving a much sharper image and lower f/stop capabilities at the longer focal lengths.
Sure, it’s a little heavier and significantly wider and longer, but that’s mostly a result of physics (i.e. a 400mm f/4.5 must have at least a 89mm front element (i.e. 400/4.5) and can’t be overcome).
If you already own the 100-400mm f/4.5-f/5.6 lens, I’d say this new version is well balanced, sharper, has faster autofocus, and gives me nearly a stop more at the long end.
On the downside, it’s heavier, a little larger and more expensive than the 100-400mm. I also wish the tripod foot came off more easily.
If I mainly shot in the 300-400mm range, I’d consider upgrading. Otherwise, I could use the excellent 70-200 GM OSS II f/2.8 and add a 1.4x teleconverter.
The results
This is a medium sized lens with a nice balanced internal zoom. Easy to handle I could use it for extended periods hand held. With the bolt on tripod foot sometimes blocking manual focus adjustment and making it not as easy to pack as it could be, it lost a star.
IMAGE QUALITY ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Good detail from wide open and to the edges, and impressively consistent at all focal lengths.
With 5 toggle switches (AF/MF, zoom range, OSS On/Off, OSS modes and DMF), weather sealed, nice minimal focus distance, a fluorine coated front element and ED glass elements, this lens has most the features sports and wildlife photographer who need a zoom of this range.
At $6,899 RRP, compared to the Sony 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 at $3,999, this lens is a big jump in price. And being a lens that will always be used in the field, the standard two (2) year local warranty bothers me.
Canon offers 5 years for their top end lenses so why Sony don’t address this continues to both surprise and disappoint me.
Nevertheless, compared to the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 it offers a good jump in sharpness, autofocus speed and tracking ability. Is all this worth nearly $3,000? that’s hard to definitively say.
