8 22 June 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Sony FE 200-600mm
F5.6-6.3 G OSS
AndyWestlaketakesafirstlookatan
exciting new super-telephoto zoom
WEWOULDN’Toftenpreviewa new
lensthat’sonlyjustbeenlaunched,
butthenagain,it’snotoftenwesee
somethingquiteliketheSonyFE
200-600mmF5.6-6.3G OSS.For
a start,it’sthefirst600mmfull-frame
zoommadebya mainstreamcamera
company,eclipsingNikon’sAF-SNikkor
200-500mmf/5.6EEDVRasthe
longestsuchsuper-telephotozoom.It’s
alsoverypracticaltouse,thankstoan
internalzoomdesign.Perhapsmost
surprisingly,givenSony’swell-earned
reputationforeye-wateringprices,it’ll
costa competitive£1,800whenit goes
onsalein September.I hada chanceto
shootwithoneat a pre-launchpress
event,andI thinkit’slikelytobevery
popularindeedwithAlpha7-seriesusers.
In anagewheneverynewcameraand
lensseemstobeleakedontheinternet
beforelaunch,the200-600mmhad
a particularlybizarrestart,withan
unfinishedengineeringsamplesomehow
appearingonaninternetauctionsite.This
inevitablyfuelledplentyof wildspeculation
aroundthelens,andhowit might
comparetoexistingoptics. Let’s take
a look at the reality.At a glance£1,
■Internalzoom
■Opticalimage
stabilisation
■Direct-driveSSM
autofocusTripod
collar
Thesmoothlyrotating
collarhasa choiceof^1 ∕ 4 in
or^3 ∕ 8 insockets,andis marked
at 90 °intervalsforeasier
alignmentin
portraitformat.AF
stopbuttons
ThreeAFstopbuttonsare
arrayedat 90 °around
thebarrel,suchthatoneis
alwaysaccessibleforboth
landscape-andportrait-
formatshooting.Optical
stabilisation
Thisaddsa modefor
trackingunpredictable
movement,alongsidethose
forpanningandshooting
Techdetails staticsubjects.
The200-600mmemploysanopticalformulawith 24 elements
arrangedin 17groups,includingfiveextra-lowdispersion(ED)glass
elementsto minimisechromaticaberration,andanaspherical
elementto suppresssphericalaberrationandfieldcurvature.Nano
ARcoatingis usedto suppressflare,whilethefluorinecoatingon
thefrontelementis resistantto water/greasemarks.An11-bladed
diaphragm maintains a circular aperture for attractive bokeh.
Focus
limiterswitch
ThreeAF-distancepositions
coverlong-rangeshooting
from10mtoinfinity,
close-upsfrom2.4-10m,
andthefull
focusrange.Sampleimagesshow
strongdetail,evenat
maximumaperture
SonyAlpha9,582mm
1/2000sec at f/6.3, ISO 1000