Amateur Photographer - UK (2021-11-27)

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 45

Shooting this dandelion flower

at the closest focus distance

at 200 mm gives an

excellent result

Sony Alpha 1 , 200mm, 1/800sec at f/5, ISO 100

A large, high-quality hood is
provided, which should help
shield the lens from stray light.
There’s also a padded case with
a strap, offering additional
protection for your lens.

Autofocus
The lens features internal
focusing and floating focusing
groups. This design improves
focus speeds, promising up to
four times faster AF than the
firm’s previous 70-200mm f/2.8.
Sony also says that focus
tracking capability while
zooming has improved by
approximately 30% compared to
the previous model.
Autofocus is extremely rapid
and confidence-inspiring, with
the lens and camera locking
onto the subject with very high

levels of success. In fact, the

only time I found there were any

focus problems was when I was

trying to shoot right at the lens’s

close focus distance. Using the

Sony Alpha 1’s bird detection

focus resulted in the camera and

lens focusing correctly on the

birds’ eyes with great success.

Performance

Images are incredibly sharp

even when shooting at f/2.8,

with very good levels of

sharpness across the frame

throughout the zoom range.

Although it’s worth noting that

you won’t necessarily see the

true sharpness of the lens

unless you have a look at the

raw images, as default noise

reduction settings reduce

the sharpness and detail

recorded in the camera’s JPEGs.

There is perhaps a very slight

fall-off of sharpness in the

corners at 200mm and f/2.8,

but this is minimal.

I struggled to find any photos

with signs of vignetting when

correction was switched on,

except at 200mm and f/2.8

when the corners of the frame

were slightly but visibly

darkened. But again this is

minimal and easily corrected in

software. Some slight

chromatic aberration can be

visible but, similarly, this is easily

corrected. Likewise if you take

photos without applying

distortion correction, then you

can see that there is very

slight pincushion distortion,

which is strongest at the

telephoto end. Overall, though,

there are very few optical

problems to speak of.

As promised by Sony, the

out-of-focus areas are extremely

pleasing, and particularly the

background blur. The lens

renders great-looking ‘bokeh

balls’, with none of the onion

ring effect you get from some

other optics.

Flare resistance is impressive,

with the lens being extremely

resistant to ghosting, even when

shooting with the sun in the

frame. Indeed multiple attempts

to induce flare failed to

produce anything of note.

Whilst it’s easy to read the

manufacturer’s website, and be

impressed by how good a lens

sounds, there’s always a level of

doubt. However, that isn’t justified

in this situation, as the Sony

FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II

simply performs exceptionally

well, producing sharp images at

both ends of the zoom range.

There’s beautiful bokeh on offer,

as well as crisp detail and

sharpness. Combined with a fast

and reliable focus system, you get

impressive shots time after time.

The lens offers additional

controls and features, including

an aperture ring, additional

switches for aperture click, direct

manual focus (DMF), and more.

Yet with a new optical design, it

gives a noticeably lighter overall

weight. Weather-sealing ensures

the lens is usable in a variety of

shooting conditions, whether

that’s in wet, humid, or dusty

conditions. The lens is also

impressively resistant to flare,

even when shooting with the sun

in the frame.

For those that already own the

original Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8

GM OSS lens, if you’re happy with

your results, then there may not

be enough reason to upgrade to

this lens. However if you’d like to

reduce the weight of your camera

kit, as well as gain access to

additional controls, then the new

II version is an excellent choice.

Price £2,6 00

Filter diameter

77mm

Lens elements/

groups

17, 14 (XA, Asph,

2x Super ED, 2x

ED, ED aspherical)

Diaphragm blades

11 (circular)

Aperturef/2.8-2 2

Minimum focus

0.4–0.82m

Maximum

magnification

0.3x

Length200mm

Diameter88mm

Weight1,045g

Lens mount Sony

E (full-frame)

Data file

LENS TEST Testbench

Verdict

GOLD

The background

bokeh is rendered

beautifully

Sony Alpha 1 , 78mm,

1/ 80 sec at f/ 2. 8 , ISO 500