gwilliams6

Not in most folks' price range, unless you are a top sports or wildlife pro, but a great new lens from Sony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkh00IOqhkg&feature=push-u-sub&attr_tag=pwD1-xQ3dq-ha45n-6
Sony introduces new E-mount 400mm f2.8 and it smokes Canon and Nikon 400mm f2.8s

Sony 400mm f2.8 is significantly lighter, faster focusing and better balanced, AND in testing with a Sony A9, the faster reading stacked sensor in the A9 coupled with revolutionary faster focusing motors in the Sony 400mm lens, can ACTUALLY track,focus, and shoot at a full 20 frames per second. Nikon and Canon 400mm f2.8s on their fastest bodies can only actually accomplish 10 or 11 frames be second as their 400mm f2.8s need to pause a fraction to reset lens focusing motors between shots. . The Sony combo yields 80% more frames captured and in focus, per burst, with NO viewfinder blackouts like in ALL DSLRs. . A game-changer. !!!

At $12,000 US this Sony lens cost $800 more than Nikon's 400mm f2.8 and $2000 more than Canon's 400 f2.8.
Watch above link as Tony and Chelsea Northrup explain why this Sony lens is worth $12,000US.
Expect this lens to become a new favorite among sports and wildlife shooters and should entice even more pros to switch to Sony. Works great with 1.4x and 2X converters also. Cheers

BTW Sony 500mm f4 and 600mm f4 E-mount lenses are up next.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

A lot of miss information in this post. Canon is closer to 14 fps. And that is just one example of the several mistakes in your post.

cdayton

I just bought a Sony a6000 because it is light and compact. Do you think this is a lens I need for travel?

snapshot18

cambriaman:

If you think that is costly, try the Sigma 200-5000mm f2.8 EX DG APO IF for a cool $26,000.

How many can I sell you?

Diocletian

I'd say that is the perfect carry-around lens. Just put tiny wheels on the back and you can take it ANYWHERE!

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

I watched this video earlier today. Granger thinks this lens blows away the completion when it comes to focusing speed when it works, although occasionally it didn't want to focus.

I don't think its the lens since I have experienced this with both the A7R3 and 6300. Its a glitch in the cameras which I hope Sony will address.

gwilliams6

Wrong again billnikon, when Canons fastest 1D is paired with the Canon 400mm f2.8 the most that was achieved was 11 fps captured and in focus. That is due to the fact that the focusing motors in both the Canon and Nikon 400mm f2.8s have to pause to reset the focusing motors after each exposure. Sony's new revolutionary faster motor in its 400mm f2.8 does NOT have to pause between shots to reset the focusing motor so it can truly shoot at 20fps. this testing was done at an actual MLS game in New Jersey. It is fact not fiction.

Sony set out not to match Nikon and Canon, but to outdo the competition and it has. Know your facts. Even though the Canon and Nikon fastest bodies are rated for more fps, in actuality they cant achieve better than 10-11 fps captured and in focus when attached to their older tech 400mm f2.8s. And the Sony achieves this actual 20fps with full AF-C and Eye-AF, and NO viewfinder blackouts, which NO DSLR can achieve, not even $6000 US Nikons and Canons. BTW the A9 sells for $4500 or less. That is why all real-world testers of the Sony 400mmf2.8 say it smokes the Nikon and Canon. All testers agree to the Sony's advantage. ALL TESTERS. And that advantage is why real-world testers say the Sony 400mm f2.8 is worth its $12,000US price tag. Wake up to the new reality billnikon.

Cheers

Diocletian

To all you nikon/canon users out there....But I think buggy whips are coming back, too!

Logan1949

Okay, If I had the money to spare, I would definitely buy it. I like long telephoto, fast focusing, high detail, and wide apertures. It would work even better than the 100-400mm GM lens on the Sony A9 camera with the 2X extender. It would be great for distant or small subjects.

[edit P.S.] On second thought, I would not buy it. I do most of my shots handheld, and six pounds of lens is just too much to carry around all day. The 70-200mm or 100-400mm will have to do.

gwilliams6

Yes folks, only money-making pro shooters who need this focal length and aperture speed will spend for this lens. It is not a general purpose item. Most of us Sony users will do quite well with our 70-200mm f2.8s with 1.4X or 2X extenders, or 100mm-400mm f4.5-5.6 lens, or the Sigma or Tamron 150-600mm f5-6.3 lenses. But nice to know that this lens has evolved to this level of performance. Cheers

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

Yep, don't think it was designed for us daily run of the mill 'average or amateur' photographers.....but would I love one but have to stay with my 100-400

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Also, the a9, a7riii, and the newest affordable a7iii, all have the newest battery, which solved the previous Sony full frame mirrorless battery drain problems. Sigma Art lenses are now being produced for Sony's E-mount FF cameras.

gwilliams6

Bob Martin and Nick Didlick, the acclaimed award-winning professional sports photographers, have been testing prototypes of new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS with α9. This is what they told us in their own words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmo85mOQGk4

Quantus5

Last year Sony completed the Holy Trinity of lenses in their G-Master FE lens lineup.

And now Sony finally came with a strong answer for Indoor Sports Photography and short range Outdoor Sports, and a good response for long range Outdoor sports. So for indoor professional sports photography -- the "glass" reason no longer exists.

Now the only missing lenses are 500mm and 600mm for longer range Outdoor sports photography and wildlife. And then there will absolutely nothing for the nay sayers to talk about.

The 500mm should arrive sometime in 2020, and note you can use 1.5x and 2x tele-converter with the 400m -- to get 600mm and 800mm, although you do lose the normal lisht stops by using tele-converters.

In any event -- this lens is an interesting read -- highly superior in the fast auto-focus department than the Nikon and Canon equivalents. Well done Sony!!

Quantus5

Good video. Several quotes from the video from Bob Martin and Nick Didlick. They are just their opinions, however they are both world renown sports photographers.

Bob Martin : "The combination of the a9 and the 400mm is the best I can get. It's the best I can buy."
Bob Martin : "This is the best 400mm 2.8 I've ever used. For me now I've got my standard lens."
Bob Martin : "The optical performance with the 2x tele-converter is quite phenomenal"
Nick Didlick : "The autofocus was really impressive"

Nick made a lot of other statements about the high quality of the photos. They both had nothing negative to day about the lens.