Sony SEL400F28GM FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens

We thought were living the dream a couple of years ago when we purchased the A9/ 200-600 combination. Well, the A1/ 400 2.8 combination is Nirvana. For years we had avoided buying a prime lens because shooting from a tripod costs too many shots, especially when trying to shoot flying birds. When we read the specs on this lens it was an immediate want vs. wallet dilemma. When want turned to lust, the mission to find one for sale somewhere in America was on. The lens arrived late last September right before our fall Yellowstone trip. Within an hour of its arrival, we threw it on the A1 and went searching for something to shoot. We found an egret in a shady corner of a shady pond. When the bird tool flight, we clicked the shutter. We looked through the viewfinder ... MoreWe thought were living the dream a couple of years ago when we purchased the A9/ 200-600 combination. Well, the A1/ 400 2.8 combination is Nirvana. For years we had avoided buying a prime lens because shooting from a tripod costs too many shots, especially when trying to shoot flying birds. When we read the specs on this lens it was an immediate want vs. wallet dilemma. When want turned to lust, the mission to find one for sale somewhere in America was on. The lens arrived late last September right before our fall Yellowstone trip. Within an hour of its arrival, we threw it on the A1 and went searching for something to shoot. We found an egret in a shady corner of a shady pond. When the bird tool flight, we clicked the shutter. We looked through the viewfinder skeptical of what we'd find. The way the autofocus had immediately locked on combined with the clarity of the shot just blew us away.Time after time this winter the autofocus on flying eagles was virtually instantaneous. When combined with the A1, the focus remains locked on the bird even when it flies through tree branches! If you're a serious wildlife photographer, amateur or professional, re-mortgage the house, sell the car, eat peanut butter sandwiches for a year....but, you have to have this lens.

Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSSThis lens was received on January 24, 2020. I am a birding photographer and have been using the A-mount Sony 500mm f/4 and Sony 300mm f/2.8 lenses for several years with the Sony A99M2 camera. This new 400mm lens is my first E-mount super telephoto. It replaced the 300mm f/2.8 A-mount lens and is being used with the Sony mirrorless A7R4 camera.I was very impressed with this new lens from the moment I took it out of the box. The case is very impressive. If you ever take a trip by air with this lens, I’m sure the case will keep it safe. When I took the lens out of the case, I was amazed at how well balanced it is. Most of the weight is at the camera end making the system feel much lighter than it really is.I realize that the mirrorless ... MoreSony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSSThis lens was received on January 24, 2020. I am a birding photographer and have been using the A-mount Sony 500mm f/4 and Sony 300mm f/2.8 lenses for several years with the Sony A99M2 camera. This new 400mm lens is my first E-mount super telephoto. It replaced the 300mm f/2.8 A-mount lens and is being used with the Sony mirrorless A7R4 camera.I was very impressed with this new lens from the moment I took it out of the box. The case is very impressive. If you ever take a trip by air with this lens, I’m sure the case will keep it safe. When I took the lens out of the case, I was amazed at how well balanced it is. Most of the weight is at the camera end making the system feel much lighter than it really is.I realize that the mirrorless cameras don’t require micro focus adjust but that is how I tested the new lens. I used the micro focus chart as my target to see if the lens would produce a sharp image. I was extremely well impressed with the sharpness of the image at f/2.8. When I stopped down to f/4 then f/5.6 and f/8 the sharpness of the image was awesome in the center of the chart and all that changed from one f/stop to the next was the depth of field.In the past two weeks I’ve put the new system through quite an extensive field trial and it has performed extremely well both with and without the Sony 1.4x tele-converter. The lens is easy to handle. It is very responsive. Focus is nearly instantaneous and very accurate. It’s an expensive piece of equipment but I believe it is well worth the price.

I bought this lens right before leaving for a 7-day photo workshop in Botswana. I am 5' 3 and was able to hand hold the lens on my A1 body with a battery pack when I needed more flexibility to get the best shot. I found the lens easily fit in my Think Tank backpack along with one other lens and 2 camera bodies. Nearly all of my photos were tack sharp and the combination of this lens with the A1 body was all I needed. I brought an extender but never needed it. I really debated between the 400 and 600 and if you have the A1 body, I think you'll be happy with the 400 - even for birding and higher ISOs needed for low light.