Sony FE 200-600mm
£1,699/$1,999 Extend your reach without being weighed down
Extreme telephoto lens for Sony E-mount
Tamron and Sigma make high-performance 150-600mm zooms for Canon and Nikon DSLRs. The Tamron is also available in a Sony A-mount option, whereas Sigma’s MC-11 mount adapter enables use of its 150-600mm Contemporary and Sports lenses on Sony E-mount bodies. Designed specifically for E-mount cameras, this new lens from Sony is a more ideal fit.
The 200-600mm lens looks entirely like a supersized FE 100-400mm G Master zoom, and has a very similar control layout and feature set. The smaller zoom measures 94 x 205mm and weighs in at 1,395g. The upscaled sibling is 112 x 318mm and 2,115g, so it’s just over 50 per cent longer and heavier. On the plus side, the inner barrel of the 100-400mm lens extends considerably at longer zoom settings, whereas the bigger lens has a fully internal zoom mechanism and therefore a fixed physical length.
Quality glass includes no less than five ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and one aspherical element. Nano AR coating is applied to reduce ghosting and flare, and there’s a fluorine coating on the front element to repel grease and moisture. The lens also features an extensive set of weather-seals.
As in the 100-400mm, a DDSSM (Direct Drive Super Sonic Motor) is fitted, with the aim of delivering fast and accurate autofocus. The zoom and focus rings themselves operate with smooth precision, and the zoom ring has a remarkably short travel, which makes for speedy adjustments.
Performance
Sharpness and contrast are excellent and remarkably consistent, throughout the entire zoom range. Considering the relatively slow aperture rating and long focal lengths, sharpness and contrast need to be good when shooting wide-open, and the lens really excels in this respect. We wouldn’t normally talk about bokeh (the pictorial quality of defocused areas) for a lens with such a slow aperture rating, but it’s actually very good. Matthew Richards