two minute review
The 70-200mm f/2,8 lens is a classic and one of the most popular focal ranges available. Designed and used by a wide range of photographers, this type of optic is colloquially known as a "workhorse" lens due to its popularity and utility, so any new release is always of interest to photographers shooting portraits, events, wildlife and sports.
Any version of a new Sony G Master lens promises excellent image quality and features to match, and with the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II we see significant improvements over its predecessor. Collectively, these produce a much more complete lens that is aimed at taking both stills and video.
In addition, Sony has managed to significantly reduce the weight of the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II to make it more comfortable to wear for long periods of time, as well as to achieve a better balance with full-frame Sony Alpha bodies. handle. attached. It's a huge improvement that will no doubt be welcomed by photographers, but there's a lot more to get excited about.
Overall image quality is excellent and autofocus is quick and positive thanks to four high-thrust XD linear motors that deliver four times faster autofocus than the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS. In terms of design, the new lens is similar to its predecessor, but features a manual aperture ring with a click switch to enable or disable the aperture click, which is perfect for videographers.
Price and Availability
- Announced October 2021
- Costs € 2,800 / € 2,600 / AU € 4,000
The FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II was announced in October 2021 and is available to buy now for €2,800 / £2,600 / AU$4,000. This is the first Sony G Master lens to receive an upgrade and Mark II badge, and while the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS is still available to buy in stores, it's definitely worth the money. version if you are looking for a 70-200mm f/2.8 for your Sony E-Mount camera.
As with any high-end G Master lens, the price is next level. Of course, this will decrease slightly over time and the older version of the lens is likely to get discounts over time, so Sony photographers should be able to find the right lens for their budget. In addition, there is also the FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS for those on a tighter budget or who simply need a smaller, lighter 70-200mm without needing the maximum aperture.
Features
- The lightest 70-200mm f/2,8 lens
- Designed for photos and video.
- Dust and moisture resistant
When it comes to lenses, talking about features can be tricky because they don't always offer much more than just image quality, focal length/range, and maximum aperture. But with this lens, there's too much to cover in detail here, so we'll focus on the main points.
Most impressively, the weight of the lens has been reduced to 1045g from the previous version at 1480g (without the tripod mount). Not only is this an admirable achievement given that the lenses are similar in size, but it also makes the lens much more comfortable to carry and wear for long periods of time.
Other standout features include an aperture ring that can be set to "A" for camera control or used manually in stages or continuously for video. There's also an iris lock that keeps the aperture at the "A" setting for camera control or manual range, three modes of image stabilization for different situations, 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverter support, a focus distance 40-82 cm minimum, three modes customizable focus knobs and dust and moisture resistant construction.
Additional features include a focus range limiter and a full-time Direct Manual Focus (DMF) switch, which lets you override autofocus by turning the manual focus ring if AF picks up the wrong subject when "on." While useful, these features are fairly basic and are to be expected for a lens of this type and price.
Performance
- Fast and quiet AF
- Three image stabilization modes
- Internal zoom mechanism
In terms of design, the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II features Sony's standard white telephoto body and an internal zoom mechanism, meaning the lens remains one size fits all.
The fluorine-coated front element, to repel water and oil, is also set during tuning, allowing the use of filters. The lens is made up of 17 elements in 14 groups with two aspherical elements using extra-low dispersion glass along with two using Super ED glass which aims to reduce chromatic aberration.
The focus ring sits at the front of the lens with the zoom ring in the center, while the aperture ring sits between it and the tripod collar. All rings offer smooth operation with just enough resistance to prevent jerky movements that would occur when focusing or zooming while shooting video, for example.
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Autofocus is a key feature of the lens and the four high-thrust XD linear motors do a fantastic job of locking on to static and moving subjects quickly and quietly when single and continuous AF modes are selected on the camera. So while most videographers focus manually, they can be assured that in cases where they need autofocus to track moving subjects, quiet motors are unlikely to be detected via the camera's built-in microphone. or an external microphone built into the camera.
Additionally, for moving subjects or situations where the shutter speed is too slow to support the lens, image stabilization offers three modes; '1' is for standard shots at slower shutter speeds, '2' for panorama shots, and '3' for shots of subjects with unpredictable movement. They all work fine, although mode '3' is much less efficient at panning than mode '2', which is not surprising considering the applications for which they are intended.
Image quality
- Excellent sharpness and detail
- Wide open vignetting
- nice bokeh
As the lens of choice for a wide range of photographers, including nature, portrait, sports, landscape and event photographers, image quality is clearly an important factor, and the 70-200mm certainly doesn't disappoint, not on this area. It's not perfect, no lens is, but the overall level of image sharpness throughout the zoom range and between f/2,8 and f/11 is impressive.
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At f/2.8 there is fairly strong vignetting which is greatly reduced at f/4 with light, virtually unnoticeable vignetting at f/5.6. This completely disappears at f/8.
In terms of sharpness, f/2.8 is wonderfully sharp, even in the corners, and this increases gradually as you stop down, with the lens's sweet spot at f/8. Things look nice and sharp at f/11 too, but at f/16 diffraction kicks in and overall sharpness drops off drastically.
Still, most photographers rarely shoot at f/16 or higher with a 70-200mm lens, so for the vast majority of potential buyers this won't be a problem.
There is also a small amount of fading when the aperture is set to f/2.8 at 70mm when shooting at the 40cm closest focusing distance. But in other situations, no fringing or chromatic aberrations were seen in the test images, so they're great in this area overall. Also, fringes and vignettes can be easily removed in post-processing, although vignettes can be aesthetically pleasing in some situations.
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To test focused breathing, images of the antlers were sharpened and then merged in Photoshop. The results showed that there was some breathing, but the amount of blur around the edges of the merged image was minimal, so only a small area around the edges needed to be cropped. It's far from a scientific test, but it indicates how well a lens breathes and it's safe to say that it's not much in this case.
Should I buy the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II?
