OpenTube

Sony's Lightweight 400 and 600 GM Telephoto Prime Lenses

Mark Galer's Alpha Creative Skills

44,047 views

Sony Lightweight Telephoto Lenses
Gallery of High-Definition Images: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD4SCW
Preorder the 400 GM lens from B&H Photo: https://bhpho.to/4xQXwHW
Preorder the 600 GM lens from B&H Photo: https://bhpho.to/3TxiL2z

The FE 400 F4.5 and FE 600 F6.3 GM primes offer lightweight, and more affordable, alternatives to the FE 400mm F2.8 and FE 600mm F4 G-Master primes. Weighing in at less than 1 k / 2.2 lbs (without the lens hood and lens foot attached) they are just 1/3 of the weight of their larger cousins. They are also much lighter and more compact than FE 100-400 F4.5 GM and FE 200-600 G telephoto zooms. For those photographers who are prepared to use teleconverters and/or APS-C/S35 mode to fine-tune their angle-of-view, they offer yet more choice for photographers interested in wildlife or fast action sports photography.
This lens review looks at competing lenses from both Sony and other manufacturers and strives to help Alpha photographers make a more informed purchasing decision when choosing a telephoto lens.

Sony 1.4x Teleconverter from B&H Photo: https://bhpho.to/3QEDM6p
Sony FE 300mm F2.8 GM from B&H Photo: https://bhpho.to/49nQdf9
Sony RX10 V: https://bhpho.to/4xdArhq
Sony E 70-350 G OSS (APS-C Lens): https://bhpho.to/40frSCn
Wotancraft Pilot 10L Sling Bag: https://bit.ly/4mkLv83
Wotancraft Easypack 21L (Backpack): https://bit.ly/3SRVdoW

00:00 Introduction
02:46 G-Master Features
06:03 Competing Telephoto Primes
10:22 Existing vs New Primes
18:59 Quality with 2x Teleconverter
21:53 300 GM vs 400 and 600 GM
25:05 Telephoto Primes vs Zooms
25:59 Choosing a Telephoto
32:07 My Recommendations

Mark Galer is a Sony Alpha Ambassador for Australia.
Join Mark Galer on Patreon for the best Alpha Support and Guidance. A single $10 Membership fee includes access to over thirty 1-hour member-only seminars, 'over 30 downloadable' eBooks + cameras setting (CAMSET) files (there is no contract or commitment beyond the first month). Patreon: markgaler
Mark's supporting website: http://www.markgaler.com

If you find Mark's work for the Alpha community helpful please consider making a donation to support the creation of new learning resources for Alpha users. Go the Donations link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/alpha...

#SonyAustralia #SonyAlpha #SonyAmbassador #SonyAlphaANZ #sonydigitalimagingambassador sonydigitalimagingambassador

20 Comments

@AlphaCreativeSkills Creator 2 weeks ago Pinned

Join me on Patreon for the best Alpha Support and Guidance. A single $10 Membership fee includes access to my 300 to 700-page camera-specific eBooks + Over thirty hours of member-only seminars + cameras settings files + access to the Raw files from the lens and camera reviews (there is no contract or commitment beyond the first month). https://www.patreon.com/markgaler
Buy Mark a Coffee: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/alphacreativeskills

@AndrewJones-tj6et 2 weeks ago

Best review I've seen of these new Sony lenses. Very informative indeed, thanks Mark.

@SamandSteve 2 weeks ago

Fantastic review as always Mark. Both are very tempting

@PANKB 2 weeks ago

Excellent review, Mark! 🤩 So grateful that Sony wanted me to test these, I had so much fun. I was blown away by how much quality and reach they have been able to put into these compact and lightweight lenses 🥰 They are definitely ‘game changers’ for my work!

@simonjpierce 2 weeks ago

Fantastic review/s Mark! Thanks so much. Great to have those comparisons.

@AndrzejZalewskiYT 2 weeks ago

Thanks Mark for examples, not only they show excelent quality of new lenses, but your photos are pleasant to look at :)

@JeffreyMcPheeters 2 weeks ago

Thanks, Mark. Very happy to watch your very thorough and balanced comparisons.

@VABrowneMDPhD 2 weeks ago

These are both phenomenal lenses! Kudos to Sony and Nikon for developing similar lightweight 400 mm and 600 mm prime lenses that will be extremely popular among sports and wildlife photographers!

@laurentlhc 2 weeks ago

Thanks 🎉 for this video as you said its only a personal choice .For me definitely the 300 GM with TC .But thanks Sony to produce such amazing lenses.😊

@dalef3583 7 days ago

36:30 Thank you for bringing it up. Someone needs to make an apsc long prime.

@EagerSnake 2 weeks ago

Is incredible, ABSOLUTELY incredible the amount of work Sony has done to produce these two beauties.
Is also unfortunate how different Sony is working nowadays in all fronts. You see how they develop and organize their businesses in the camera deparment and is a massive difference compared to movies or videogames, where they are actually destroying their reputation just because they are more interested in money.
In any case, absolutely, again, incredible. Thank you Mark.

@earthtellsmars 11 days ago

Thank you for your work! Please review Sony 50 - 150mm f2 as well.

@chrisgill5532 3 days ago

Top-notch review Mark - thanks! - but as far as I can see you have not posted images taken with the TCs. I think the market for the 400, in particular, will largely revolve around use with TCs, and it would be great to see some results.

@derekmidgley 13 days ago (edited)

Excellent review and comparisons, thank you. As I routinely stop my 300mm f2.8 & 2x TC combo down to f6.3 'anyway' the new 600mm is hugely tempting as it will save my tired shoulders +- 600 grams ( TC off ). Plus I suspect it could focus slightly quicker than the other combination. What I do for birds!

@Dubs_Gaming 2 weeks ago

36:20 As someone with a A6400, this slide hits home for me and many other apsc shooters looking for fast telephoto/wildlife lenses. We have no choice but to buy full frame glass, which is expensive at wide apertures. Maybe one day we will get something great!

@sgpork 2 weeks ago

I have the 300GM .. so skipping the 400 but I will definitely buy the 600.

@BrianKushner 2 weeks ago

600 F/6.3 GM at the same weight as the 70-200 F/2.8 is INSANE!!!

@gsrox2007 2 weeks ago

The new 600mm paired with an updated a6900 with precapture will be my weapon of choice for small birds.

Switch to the 70-350 for everything else

@joint831 2 weeks ago (edited)

Thanks for the comparison with the GM 300/2.8. I own that lens, and I use it with a 1.4x teleconverter 80% of the time. With the 2.0x teleconverter, I have to stop down to f/6.3 or f/7.1 to get good sharpness. Now I’m considering the GM 600mm as a supplement to my current lens. It won’t offer any improvement in image quality, but it would significantly reduce the weight and likely provide faster, more reliable autofocus. But the price... Right now, I effectively have 600mm for free. Sony’s GM lineup is definitely missing lightweight 500mm f/4 and 800mm f/6.3 lenses.