In summary
Sony’s FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS lens is a good performer regardless of which E-mount camera you fit it to.
It fills an important gap in the company’s range and delivered excellent performance in our tests. It’s also well built and focuses quietly enough to enable it to be used when shooting movies.
As a ‘full frame’ camera body, the extended focal length range can cover a wide range of subjects, from portraits and scenery to sports and wildlife. With a cropped-sensor body, the effective 450mm maximum focal length puts you into the super-telephoto category.
Full review
Announced in late March 2016, the Sony FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS lens has been designed primarily for use on the company’s full-frame α7 bodies. It’s the first Sony α E-mount lens to reach a 300mm focal length and the company’s first E-mount zoom to cover a 70mm to 300mm range. Designed primarily for the company’s ‘full frame’ α7 cameras, it is also usable with the cropped-sensor models where it covers a focal length range of 105-450mm.
Side view of the FE 70-300mm f/4.5-F5.6 G OSS lens without its lens hood. (Source: Sony.)
The optical design of this lens features 16 elements in 13 groups, including four aspherical and two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements that together minimise chromatic and spherical aberrations plus Nano AR coating to reduce flare and ghosting. The nine-bladed iris diaphragm closes to produce a circular aperture for attractive bokeh.
The lens also includes Sony’s optical image stabilisation system and is sealed against dust and moisture. It is supplied with a petal-shaped lens hood and front and end caps plus a soft carrying case.
Who’s it For?
The ‘G’ in its name indicates this lens is part of Sony’s ‘Gold’ series, which indicates it’s a professional-grade lens. Its relatively high price tag confirms its position. (More on pricing in the Conclusion, below.)
As a ‘full frame’ camera body, the extended focal length range can cover a wide range of subjects, from portraits and scenery to sports and wildlife. With a cropped-sensor body, the effective 450mm maximum focal length puts you into the super-telephoto category.
There are plenty of features to admire in the SEL70300G lens, as listed below:
1. An linear SSM (Supersonic Motor) AF drive that is fast (though not blindingly so) and near silent, making it ideal for shooting movies as well as stills.
2. A minimum focusing distance of 90 cm, where the maximum magnification of 0.31x enables it to be used for close-up shots.
3. Built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation that works with the in-body Steady-Shot system in Sony’s cameras. However, it doesn’t offer special panning settings and won’t automatically detect when it’s tripod mounted.
4. Internal focusing that keeps the overall length of the lens relatively small and allows use of angle-critical attachments without requiring re-adjustment.
5. A dedicated AF/MF switch for rapid switching between focusing modes.
6. A focus range limiter with two settings: Full and three metres to infinity.
7. A focus hold button that can be used to halt autofocusing when more control over focusing on a specific area in the frame is required.
8. Dust- and moisture-resistant construction.
Build and Ergonomics
The SEL70300G lens is made from both metal and plastic components and build quality is generally very good. At 854 grams, it’s is not particularly light, and with a ‘closed’ length of 143.5 mm makes good partner for a ‘full frame’ camera. It’s less manageable on a smaller cropped sensor body.
Plenty of on-lens controls are provided. This lens is unusual in having the zoom ring near the front of the barrel with the focusing ring behind it. But this layout works well since the lens will be mostly used in AF mode.
The zoom ring covers roughly a quarter of the length of the lens barrel, beginning behind the bayonet mounting for the supplied round lens hood. Inside this mounting, the lens is threaded to take 72 mm filters. The zoom ring is roughly 31mm in width, with most of its surface clad in a thickly ridged grip band.
The trailing edge is smooth and carries markings for the 70mm, 100mm, 135mm, 200mm and 300mm focal length positions, which line up against a white line on the static section of the barrel behind the ring. A lock is provided to prevent the lens from extending when it’s carried facing downwards.
In the static band, which is roughly 20 mm wide, you’ll find the focus lock button, which lets you stop autofocus hunting if the lens tries to find focus and enables focus to be maintained after it’s acquired so you can recompose without changing were the lens is focused. Behind this band is the focusing ring, which is roughly 15 mm wide and has thicker ridging than the zoom ring.
Both the rings turn smoothly and positively. The lens focuses to just under one metre. providing scope for shooting close-ups at roughly one third life size. The stabilisation systems come in handy when the 200mm and 300mm focal lengths are used. They engage quickly and we estimate a competent photographer could expect at least three stops of shake compensation.
Performance
We tested the performance of the review lens on both the α7R Mark II and α6300 bodies and found it to be an impressive performer in our Imatest tests. On both cameras, the highest resolution in the centre of the frame comfortably exceeded expectations for each camera’s sensor.
With the α7R Mark II, resolution fell a little short of expectations towards the edges of the frame. But with the α6300, resolution came within a whisker of the expected figure for the centre of the image field. This is almost certainly because the edges of the frame are cropped with the smaller sensor.
Diffraction began to reduce resolution at around f/16 on the α7R Mark II but kicked in at a stop wider with the α6300. The graphs below show the results of our tests on each camera across the lens’s aperture and focal length range.
On the α7R Mark II.
On the α6300.
In most zoom lenses, resolution declines as focal length is increased. That wasn’t the case with the review lens, which revealed its best performance around the middle of the zoom range.
Lateral chromatic aberration was negligible at all focal length and aperture settings with both cameras, as shown in the graphs of our test results below. Once again, the disparity between them is largely attributable to the different sensor sizes. The red line on this graph marks the border between ‘negligible’ and ‘low’ CA.
On the α7R Mark II.
On the α6300.
No coloured fringing was observed in shots taken with either camera, suggesting that chromatic aberration is a minor issue with this lens. Backlit subjects were generally well handled. Shadows only blocked up in very contrasty conditions and even then, detail could be restored without intrusive noise when DNG.RAW files were processed in Adobe software. Flare artefacts only appeared when a bright light source was shining directly into the camera.
Vignetting wasn’t a serious issue with this lens, although edge and corner darkening was found in shots taken with the α7R Mark II at all focal length settings. With the α6300, only the 300mm focal length showed edge darkening to a noticeable degree.
Rectilinear distortion was also relatively minor, with slight pincushion distortion present throughout the zoom range. Both vignetting and distortion are easily corrected with in-camera adjustments or during post-capture editing.
Bokeh was generally pleasing, thanks to the ability to blur backgrounds with wider apertures at long focal length settings, although bright highlights were occasionally outlined.
The relatively slow maximum aperture tended to limit performance at shorter focal lengths, although most users would find it satisfactory.
Conclusion
There’s no doubting Sony’s FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS lens is a good performer, regardless of which E-mount camera you fit it to. It fills an important gap in the company’s range and delivered excellent performance in our tests. It’s also well built and focuses quietly enough to enable it to be used when shooting movies.
Sony has this lens listed at an RRP of AU$209 in its Australian online store, which is not exactly cheap and could be out of reach for many potential purchasers. B&H, which markets aggressively into Australia, has it listed at US$1098, which converts to AU$1430.47 at the rate of exchange when we checked on 28 February.
If you shop around you can find it for as low as AU$1400 on some local websites, although most retailers are offering it for between AU$1800 and AU$2000. Adding between AU$55 and AU$70 for shipping brings the price you’d pay to import this lens up to around AU$1500. To that you must add the mandatory 10% GST, which is well below Sony’s listed price.
We don’t recommend buying offshore, but with its current pricing Sony seems to be encouraging it. Doing so forfeits you the benefits of local consumer protection laws and after-sales service and does nothing to support local photo specialists.
If the price of the SEL50F14Z is too high for your budget, Tamron’s SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD lens (reviewed in October 2010) is currently selling for around AU$600 and provides most of the same features as the Sony lens.
SPECS
Picture angle: 34 degrees to 8 degrees 20 minutes (35mm); 23 degrees to 5 degrees 20 minutes
Minimum aperture: f/22-f/29
Lens construction: 16 elements in 13 groups (including 4 aspherical and 2 ED elements)
Lens mounts: Sony E-mount
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Linear actuator motor with internal focusing
Stabilisation: Optical SteadyShot
Minimum focus: 90 cm
Maximum magnification: 0.31x
Filter size: 72 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 84 x 143.5 mm
Weight: 854 grams
Standard Accessories: Lens front and end caps, hood (ALC-SH144), case
Distributor: Sony Australia; 1300 720 071; www.sony.com.au.
TESTS
Based on JPEG files from the α7RM2 camera.
Based on JPEG files from the α6300 camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 70mm, f/4.5 with the α7RM2 camera.
Vignetting at 70mm, f/4.5 with the α6300 camera.
Vignetting at 100mm, f/5 with the α7RM2 camera.
Vignetting at 100mm, f/5 with the α6300 camera.
Vignetting at 200mm, f/5.6 with the α7RM2 camera.
Vignetting at 200mm, f/5.6 with the α6300 camera.
Vignetting at 300mm, f/5.6 with the α7RM2 camera.
Vignetting at 300mm, f/5.6 with the α6300 camera.
Rectilinear distortion at 70mm with the α7RM2 camera.
Rectilinear distortion at 70mm with the α6300 camera.
Rectilinear distortion at 100mm with the α7RM2 camera.
Rectilinear distortion at 100mm with the α6300 camera.
Rectilinear distortion at 200mm with the α7RM2 camera.
Rectilinear distortion at 200mm with the α6300 camera.
Rectilinear distortion at 300mm with the α7RM2 camera.
Rectilinear distortion at 300mm with the α6300 camera.
α6300 camera at 70mm, ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/8.
α6300 camera at 100mm, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/6.3 .
α6300 camera at 135mm, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/5 .
α6300 camera at 200mm, ISO 100, 1/160 second at f/5.6 .
α6300 camera at 300mm, ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/5.6.
α7RM2 camera at 70mm, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/7.1.
α7RM2 camera at 135mm, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/5.6
α7RM2 camera at 200mm, ISO 100, 1/160 second at f/5.6.
α7RM2 camera at 300mm, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/5.6.
α7RM2 camera, 300mm focal length, close-up at ISO 200, 1/125 second, f/5.6.
α7RM2 camera, 300mm focal length, close-up at ISO 200, 1/160 second, f/5.6.
α6300 camera, 70mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/1250 second at f/4.5.
α6300 camera, 200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/1000 second at f/5.6.
α6300 camera, 300mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/1250 second at f/5.6.
α7RM2 camera: strong backlighting, 70mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/6400 second at f/4.5.
α6300 camera, 300mm focal length: ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/5.6.
Crop from the above image at 100% magnification.
α7RM2 camera, 300mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/5.6.
α6300 camera, 300mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/5.6.
α7RM2 camera, 135mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/160 second at f/6.3.
α6300 camera, 135mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/5.6.
α7RM2 camera, 288mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/60 second at f/5.6.
α7RM2 camera, 114mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/5.
α6300 camera, 135mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/5.
Rating
RRP: AU$2099; US$1198
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 8.8