Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

i will be following this post. i see a lot of really great images captured with lens, but have to say that my results are sometimes questionable. i always assumed it was operator error.

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

Then I truly believe the lens is fine. Tripod with VR might work against each other.
I hand hold my 200-600 and have never had an issue. In fact, that lens is one of the sharpest, if not the sharpest zoom in the market at that range.
I truly believe it is operator error. Again, that lens is really, really sharp.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

I use the FE200-600 on an A7S, A7 III and A7R V with excellent image quality. My only gripe is the lens will not come to infinite focus if I use it in cold weather, i.e.: below about 0°C.

When you use a long lens remember that atmospheric conditions can significantly impact image quality.

bwa

FE200-600 les on Sony A7R V

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MountainDave

The image does look soft and dull. I use Canon myself but a friend gets really good results with this lens. Have you tried any handheld? Have you tried taking shots less than 50 ft. away? Sometimes atmosphere can really mess with a long lens. Take closeups of something near to you at maybe 7.1 or 8.0 with a shutter of 1/800. Set ISO to get it. You should be able to get crisp images handheld. Try 400, 500 and 600. Some long zooms get softer at the maximum. Reviews would tell you if that's the case.

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

In general, this lens has a reputation for being very sharp.

Without the actual image (not the thumbnail), it’s impossible to troubleshoot your image. See CHG_CANON’s response for ‘Store Original’ when posting. Without that, everybody is just speculating with no real data to help you with. The RAW file would be best, not a SOOC jpg. If you have Dropbox or Google Drive (or other online drives), post your raw file there and provide a download link to UHH if you want the best advice.

With telephoto lenses, there is a lot of technique and finess involved in getting a sharp image. Another way of saying it, “It’s easy to create an out of focus image with a telephoto lens”. Here is a link to a YouTube video that describes some techniques for improving focus using the Sony 200-600 lens. However, it can apply to any tele.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngaic2KPpyc

In addition, there can be mechanical/electrical problems with the lens. But you want to rule out all the other possibilities before going down this route. Some hardware problems can occur if, for example;

1) the focusing motors are slow
2) your bumped or dropped the lens. The impact could have caused the lens to tilt or decenter. Both can cause soft focus problems.

Here’s a link to a method to check for lens decentering you might try before sending it in, unnecessarily, for an expensive repair.

https://photographylife.com/good-bad-copy-of-lens

Hope this help, just a little, but without the image file, we’re all just speculating.

Mike

Larryshuman

Try using Topaz Denoise AI. It has a sharpening feature in it also.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Not only is it hard to see any issues from just a thumbnail, but that’s not a great image to judge a long zoom lens. Where was your focus b point? I’d recommend picking an actual subject that you can focus on.

wmurnahan Loc: Bloomington IN

I love mine. Find it very sharp and I mostly hand hold. I've shot Jupiter and can blow up the image and see the eye and it's moons.

tca2267 Loc: Florida

I have the Sony 200-600which I use on my Nikon Z8 and Z9 and its Great....sharp and fast...Sound like you may have gotten a bad copy.

Pat F 4119 Loc: Branford, CT

Ok, here are new raw samples, so the EXIF info should be intact. You'll notice that the last photo was taken with a 70-200mm, f2.8II, and it seems to be sharper. I used an A7RIV body.

I'm curious to know whether I'm simply expecting $15k performance from a $2k lens. Thanks.

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CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I would review the review sites and find people speaking to the 200-600 lens performance at specific apertures and specific focal lengths. Is wide-open at any focal length the best option for this lens?

When I download the uncropped 200-600 attachment and open that in the Sony Imaging Edge viewer, even the converted JPEG looks better than the posted attachment. That would indicate there's opportunities for more sharpening and contrast in your editing approach in LR.

So, you may need to practice and consider 'how' best to use the 200-600, both in your exposure technique and your post processing. Comparing it 1 to 1 to a higher quality lens such as the 70-200 may show some of the limitations of the longer and cheaper zoom. But again, I think your usage and editing approach can narrow the gap.

Pat F 4119 Loc: Branford, CT

OK, thanks. I think I will confirm with Precision Camera, the local authorized Sony service center, that my copy meets all of all specifications, then, I'll also work on my post processing. Again, the images I posted had no corrections whatsoever. Thanks for your help.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Once again. Your subject matter sucks for evaluating that lens. You didn’t buy that lens to shoot landscapes, (I’m assuming). Pick a subject, not a scene.
Also, what did you focus on? I don’t see any real difference between the lenses and any slight differences could be the result if different focus points. I’d also except that longer zoom to be a little bit softer at the edges.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I don't see any equipment issues. Save the UHH blame the equipment approach for someone else's time waste. See the comment above about this lens not being a landscape tool. When I compared the front of the boat, even with the AF points removed by Adobe, I see a valid point of comparison.

Basics of noise processing

Basics of Lightroom Sharpening

Beyond the ideas above for Lightroom, consider pulling your RAW originals into the Sony software and make another assessment of the 200-600 to the 70-200 at the AF points of both images.

Pat F 4119 Loc: Branford, CT

A boat is not a subject?