Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS lens review (Full-frame & APS-C)

I love these f/4 tele lenses and this one, although a little older now, has a great reputation.

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All pictures taken by me on Sony a7R II and a5100 cameras.

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[AquaticBaboon]

One very nice thing about this lens is that there are lots of used copies for sale in very good condition which is how I got mine (saved about 50% compared to full price)

[matemarijan]

I'm not really interested in this lens. I just came here to tell how great your reviews are.

In the world of high energy cocaine-like delivery of other Youtubers I find your pace and calm reviews perfect.

[davelee]

Ive waiting for you to review this for so long.

[EoghanBell]

I literally picked up one of these last week. I'm loving it for landscapes Mostly but using it for some portrait photography jobs in the coming weeks.

[henry]

I've got one of these on my a6300. For landscape I absolutely love it. f4 isnt a problem for my shooting preferences so this is absolutely worth half the price of the f2.8 version

[cryptogerald]

I replaced the Sony with the Tamron 70-180. The 70-200/4 struggled at nightphotos with bright lights. A great Upgrade in my Opinion.

[peteryungcp]

This lens is a bit old now and 2nd generation might coming soon. In my opinion, should consider paying more to get the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II.

[anthonylee]

I just bought one yesterday (second hand but in as new condition) for my Sony a7iii and so far am loving this lens.

[cropperson]

I love to listen to your reviews, even for lenses I won't buy (because I shoot a different ssytem). You calm voice is very soothing in these uncertain times. Thanks again

[networm]

Wow yes! Finally the first 70-200 sony lens review! And surprisingly it's the very old one being launched amoung the first series of fullframe lenses by Sony introducing A7 series in 2013! And these great results really surprised me making me wondering how nice the new F2.8 GM ii version would be! BTW seeing the A7rii was another surprise! I bet it's footage was stolen by some aliens and they decided to give it back for the Earth Day!

[travelguy]

Good review, I hired this lens for a weekend and found the focal planes very difficult to master, at f4 f8 at 200mm with my A7r3 and using eye tracking I had a hit rate of 40 per cent, with a lot of out of focus issues. At 70mm it was much better I found f5.6 sharp and useable, but having to up my iso to give me a faster shutter speed was something I didn't enjoy, glad I rented, off to Italy in May and hiring the 2.8 as it's more versatile.

[MarcelVolker]

A good enough lens but perhaps showing its age a little. Hopefully once Sony are done upgrading their GM line with MkII versions they'll get round to also refreshing this one.

I went with the Tamron 70-180mm 2.8 instead, thinking that the brighter aperture would be more helpful when shooting moving subjects, and its short MFD (albeit with MF) is a neat little bonus. I like the Tamron, but I suspect I would have also been happy with the Sony.

[bjorn]

Wish you would review the Sony FE 70-200 f2.8 GM mark ii!

[HarrysonSalwani]

i hope sony 70 200 2.8 review will come soon ❤️

[samsonwrestle]

Are you sure mode 1 is for panning? Everywhere else they say mode 2 is for that, sadly i found it out myself too after i already shot video in mode 2.

[lifestylesew]

Hi Im new to all this, I bought a ZV-E10 for YouTube sewing videos, I would also like a lens for, bird /wildlife photos and close ups, landscapes. What would you recommend I look at. its all very confusing.

[regreg]

How long ago did you do this review?
I didn’t know you still had the A7rii.

[benni]

Sharpness is really good, even if slightly worse at 200mm. I found it really surprising though how slow the autofocussing was. Usually Sony really excells there, even at older designs i think. Personally i would just pay for Tamron 70-180mm F2.8. Used it cost around 1000 Euros. Sure, you lose some focal range, but in return you get better sharpness, similar autofocussing speed and most importantly a brighter aperture, which i prefer over the stabalization.

[TBKR]

Just picked a used one up for £650 in excellent condition 👌🏽 coupled up with my A7IV it’s a dream to use

[lapinuage]

finally you did it, Christopher, and i wanna get it more again so !! hahahaha
thanks a lot for this review, i'm planning to buy this lens since a while ^^