Sony 200-600mmFull-Frame f/5.6-6.3 FE G OSS E-MountCompatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide Sony FE 200-600mm G OSS (covers full-frame and APS-C, 95mm filters, 74.7 oz./4.7 pounds/2,115 g without tripod foot, 8'/2.4m close focus, $1,998). bigger. I'd get mine at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield. This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
June 2019 Better Pictures Sony Sony Lenses Zeiss Nikon Canon Fuji LEICA All Reviews Sony vs. Nikon vs. Canon Full-Frame Sample ImagesTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide These are all shot hand-held as Standard JPGs; no RAW or FINE JPGs were used or needed. Soccer. Sony A9 at 20 FPS, Sony 200-600mm at 489mm, wide-open at f/6.3 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 3,200. bigger or full-resolution.
Goal! Sony A9 at 20 FPS, Sony 200-600mm at 211mm, wide-open at f/5.6 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 2,500. bigger. This was shot through red smoke celebrating a previous goal, so I removed the red haze with an RGB adjustment layer in Photoshop CS6 on my Mac Pro (late 2013).
Jumping over another player to get the ball! Sony A9 at 20 FPS, Sony 200-600mm at 275mm, wide-open at f/5.6 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 2,500. bigger or full-resolution.
IntroductionTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
The Sony 200-600mm is an excellent stabilized ultratelephoto zoom. It's super sharp, easy for me to hand-hold, focuses ultra fast and very easy to zoom with just a fingertip. Zoom and focus are both internal, so nothing moves or extends as you focus or zoom, making handing super fast and easy. Obviously it's super-sharp; just look at the sample images and know that these are all cropped — from 10MP images! (I turn my A9's resolution down to 10MP when I shoot at 20FPS so I can sort and edit them all fast. I made over 7,000 shots at this game.) AF is blazingly fast; all my shots are in focus. No worries here. This 200-600mm is fantastic for sports, nature and anything else for which you need an ultra-long lens. It is superior to other ultralong zooms because of its superior sharpness, ultra-fast focus and super-easy zooming. I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield.
New11-blade diaphragm. First camera-brand autofocus zoom that goes to 600mm.
GoodInternal zoom: just flick the ring with a fingertip! At 8' (2.4m) at 600mm it gives a whopping 1:1.5 (0.66×) reproduction ratio for ultra closeups! Three programmable focus lock buttons. 11-blade diaphragm. Dust and moisture resistant. Rubber bumpers on hood and lens. Hood and fuzzy-lined nylon carry sack included.
BadOffshored to China; not made domestically in Japan.
MissingTripod collar included, but lacks 90º clicks.
FormatTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield. This is a full frame lens, and I'm reviewing it as such. It works great on APS-C cameras, too, on which you may make the usual inferences.
CompatibilityTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield. This works on all Sony E-mount cameras, full-frame and crop-sensor. This includes all the variations of NEX, A9-, A7-, A6xxx and A5xxx series cameras. It will not work on any Sony A-mount DSLR or any Minolta MAXXUM 35mm SLR of any kind. Those use the old A mount which was actually the Minolta MAXXUM mount from 1987.
SpecificationsTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield.
NameSony 200-600mm model number. bigger. Sony calls this the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS: FE: Full-frame coverage, E-mount. G: means Sony's nearly best, but not quite as physically tough as the GM G Master lenses. OSS: "Optical Steady Shot" Image Stabilization. Sony's model number: SEL200600G.
OpticsSony internal optical construction. ED and Aspherical elements. 24 elements in 17 groups. 5 ED extra-low dispersion elements, which help reduce secondary axial chromatic aberration. 1 aspherical element. Internal zooming, only the zoom ring moves while the lens doesn't change its length. Front fluorine coating. Nano coating.
FiltersPlastic 95 mm filter thread.
Diaphragm11 rounded blades. Electronically actuated. Stops down to f/32-36.
Focal Length200-600mm. When used on an APS-C camera, it sees the same angle of view as a 300-900mm lens sees when used on a full-frame or 35mm camera. See also Crop Factor.
Angle of View12.5º ~ 4.2º diagonal on full frame. 8º ~ 2.7º diagonal on APS-C.
AutofocusDirect-Drive Super-Sonic AF Motor (DDSSM). No external movement as focussed, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Focus ScaleNo.
Infinity Focus StopNo.
Depth of Field ScaleNo.
Infrared Focus IndexNo.
Close Focus7.88 feet (2.4 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio1:1.5 (0.66×).
Reproduction Ratio ScaleNo.
Image StabilizerYes, but not rated for effectiveness
HoodSony FE 200-600mm G OSS with included ALC-SH157 bayonet hood. bigger. ALC-SH157 bayonet hood included.
CaseNylon draw-string sack with fuzzy inside and very light padding included.
Tripod CollarThe tripod collar doesn't come off, but the foot does come off the collar. Sadly there are no 90º clicks.
Size4.39" Ø maximum diameter × 12.52" extension from flange. 111.5 mm Ø maximum diameter × 318.0 mm extension from flange.
Weight74.7 oz. (4.7 pounds or 2,115 g) without tripod foot.
QualityMade in China.
AnnouncedTuesday, 11 June 2019, 10 AM NYC time.
Promised forAugust 2019.
IncludedLens. 95mm front and ALC-R1EM rear caps. Tripod collar with removable foot. Nylon drawstring sack.
Sony's Model NumberSEL200600G.
Price, USA$1,998, June 2019.
Optional AccessoriesTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield. It works flawlessly with the FE 1.4x Teleconverter or FE 2x Teleconverter.
PerformanceTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
Overall Autofocus Bokeh Distortion Lateral Color Fringes Maximum Apertures Mechanics Sharpness Teleconverters
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield.
OverallThe Sony 200-600mm is big, and works and handles great. It works much better than other lenses, mostly because it never gets soft, it focuses ultra fast, and it zooms internally with a fingertip without having to extend.
AutofocusAutofocus is fast; no worries here.
BokehBokeh, the feel, character or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is neutral to good. See Sample Images for more samples. Two guys on the ball. Sony A9 at 20 FPS, Sony 200-600mm at 382mm, wide-open at f/6.3 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 2,500. bigger or full-resolution.
DistortionThe Sony 200-600mm has moderate pincushion distortion at all focal lengths. If it bothers you, turn on your camera's automatic correction, or use these correction factors in Photoshop's lens correction filter. These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data:
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
ErgonomicsOnce you get over that this is a jumbo-sized lens and that only half the tripod collar comes off, this is easy for me to hand hold and shoot. Zooming is especially great: it zooms with just a fingertip.
FalloffFalloff is completely invisible, at least with the camera's default correction left ON. I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background; it will not look this bad in actual photos of real things:
Filters, use withThere's no need for thin filters. Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.
Lateral Color FringesThere are no color fringes as shot on Sony cameras, which by default correct for any that may be there.
Maximum AperturesIt's f/5.6 up to 300mm and f6.3 from 329mm and up:
Mechanical QualityThe 200-600 is pretty well made in China for a consumer-grade lens.
FinishPaint.
HoodPlastic bayonet. Hood has front rubber bumper.
Front BumperRubber.
Filter ThreadsPlastic.
Hood Bayonet MountPlastic.
Barrel ExteriorsAll plastic.
Zoom RingRubber-covered plastic.
Focus RingRubber-covered plastic.
Slide SwitchesPlastic.
Tripod CollarMetal. The collar doesn't come off the lens, but the foot does come off from the collar. If you lose the foot, the collar's stub has a standard ¼″ × 20 tripod thread.
Dust Gasket at MountYes.
MountDull chromed metal.
MarkingsPaint.
Made inChina.
SharpnessLens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness and blame crummy pictures on their equipment rather than themselves. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that. Getting that out ot the way, yes, this is an ultrasharp lens as my Sample Images show. If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/22 at ISO 1,600 in daylight through heat shimmer of rapidly moving subjects at differing distances in the same image. Sony's MTF curves confirm this, too: Sony's MTF charts at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm, radial (solid) and tangential (dotted).
Teleconverters
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at B&H or at Adorama. It works flawlessly with the FE 1.4x Teleconverter or FE 2x Teleconverter.
ComparedTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at B&H or at Adorama.
Versus SonyThis Sony 200-600mm zooms much better than other lenses. This 200-600mm zooms internally with just a fingertip, while Sony's 100-400mm is a "pumper" zoom where half the lens extends as you try to zoom.
Versus Adapted LensesThis 200-600mm will focus and perform much better than any other lens on a adapter. AF never works that great through an adapter; this lens is native to Sony's mirrorless cameras and its AF system is also optimized to these cameras — something that doesn't happen when adapting any SLR lenses to a mirrorless camera. This Sony zooms internally with just a fingertip, while Nikon's 200-500mm is a beast that takes your whole hand to turn the zoom ring and half the lens extends with it. Canon's 100-400mm is is much better made professional lens, but it also extends as zoomed. Tamron's 100-400mm is a much cheaper lens, which is also a "pumper" zoom where half the lens has to move in and out. It's also not going to be as sharp as the Sony 200-600. Tamron's original 150-600mm is nowhere near as sharp as this Sony, and is also a pain to zoom. I haven't tested Tamron's newest G2 150-600mm for sharpness or focus speed, but I do know it's also a pumper, not internal. zoom.
200-600mm or 600mm f/4 for birds?Easy choice! The 600mm f/4. Why? If you shoot them both at 600mm and f/8 there is no difference in sharpness, but that’s not how we shoot birds. Most likely you’d be using one or two teleconverters and losing a lot of light. You’d need the 2.5 times more light gathered by the 600/4 rather than the 200-600mm, which is only f/6.3 at 600mm. The 600/4 loves being on teleconverters. Put the zoom on converters and you’re losing more light than you’d like. In the real world we shoot these wide-open, and you want as much light as you can get at these ultralong focal lengths The 600/4 gathers 2.5 times as much light as the 200-600. In a magic fairyland even if the two were equally as sharp in the lab on the converters set to 600mm wide-open, once you start shooting you’ll have to use an ISO 2.5x as high with the zoom, or a shutter speed 2.5x longer with the zoom - either of which leads to softer images in the real world, teleconverters or not. Done.
User's GuideTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at B&H or at Adorama.
Controls, Sony FE 200-600mm G OSS. bigger.
AF - MF SwitchAF: Auto Focus. You have instant manual focus override by turning the focus ring at any time. It will try to ignore minor accidental bumps. MF: Manual Focus only.
Full / 10m-2.4m / ∞-10m SwitchThis is a focus limiter. Leave it in FULL. The 10m-2.4m position prevents the lens from autofocusing farther away than 10 meters (30 feet). Use this setting only if you're having a problem with the lens attempting to focus at infinity while you're shooting close subjects. Avoid this setting because you'll forget you left the lens set this way and lose photos while you try to figure out why it won't focus at a distance. The ∞-10m position prevents the lens from autofocusing closer than 10 meters (30 feet). Use this setting only if you're having a problem with the lens attempting to focus on irrelevant close items, or if for some reason the lens is "hunting" from near to far looking for distant subjects. Avoid this setting because you'll forget you left the lens set this way and lose photos while you try to figure out why it won't focus closely.
Optical Steady Shot (Image Stabilizer) SwitchesON / OFFLeave it ON unless you're on a very sturdy tripod, or if you're making exposures longer than a second on any kind of tripod.
Mode 1 / 2 / 3Mode 1: Normal. Mode 2: Panning. Mode 3: Random motion. Use this for sports.
RecommendationsTop Sample Images Intro Format Compatibility Specifications Accessories Performance Compared User's Guide
I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield. This 200-600mm is fantastic for sports, nature and anything else for which you need an ultra-long lens. It is superior to other ultralong zooms because of its superior sharpness, ultra-fast focus and super-easy zooming. I'd get this original Sony rather than futz with an adapted lens from another brand as no other lens zooms this well, and autofocus will be pokey with an adapted lens. My favorite uses for 600mm lenses are sunrises and sunsets. 600mm lenses both enlarge the disc of the sun and the orange area around it. Even lackluster sunrises and sunsets often have bright colors very close to the sun, and this lens enlarges them so much they explode! Mono Lake Sunrise. Nikon 600mm f/5.6 ED-IF, Nikon FA, Fuji Velvia (ISO 50). bigger. The amazing effects of a 600mm lens don't stop at shooting into the sun; shooting any reflections of a sunset in a glass office building or in the wet sand at the beach also make images that explode with color — even if it's a relatively lackluster sunset. I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap so I'm always ready to shoot instantly. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear without padding — which is never. The UV filter never gets in the way, and never gets lost, either. I'd use a 95mm B+W 010 UV filter to protect this lens. A better filter for twice the price is the 95mm Hoya EVO UV. It has special dirt, dust and smudge resistant multicoatings to stay cleaner longer. I'd get my Sony 200-600mm at Adorama, at B&H, at Amazon, or at Crutchfield. This 100% all-content website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, store demo or used lens. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
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10-11 June 2019