Sony 200-600 vs 100-400 + 1.4x Birds in Flight (Sony a7III)
A comparison of tracking birds in flight with the Sony 200-600 G and the Sony 100-400 GM + 1.4x teleconverter, shot on the Sony a7III.
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You can find detailed image comparisons between these two lenses on my website here: www.alphashooters.com/compare...
Note: I mentioned that I used tracking sensitivity 5 in the video. I actually should have been using 1 (locked-on) but somehow mixed them up! But even with it set to 5 both lenses locked on well and there were probably only a couple of instances where having it set to 1 would have helped.
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This KZhead video was recorded on the Sony a9 with the Sony FE 24 F1.4 GM lens and the Rode Wireless Go microphone.
Music: First song is Wildflowers feat. Christine Smit (HOW TO CARRY ON). www.epidemicsound.com/track/M... and the second song is While We're Young (Hallman Remix) www.epidemicsound.com/track/c...
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Amazing sample photos, you really make me reconsider 1.4 convotor for 100-400 GM. Keep making amazing videos
Thank you so much for the comparison I know it takes a lot of work really appreciate it
Amazing comparison as usual Tim .. thank you
I considered both and went with the 100-400. The 200-600 is just to big and weighty for long hikes and the occasional climb. With the 100-400 i crossed the alps. I miss reach sometimes, but the close focal range in the 100-400 is so much fun. Very different use cases. Both are very good.
Good choice! After hiking in the alps myself quite a bit I'd also be going with the 100-400 or even something smaller!
So professional! Really like you reviews!
Thank you! Glad you like them! :)
Thanks for the review and sample photos. I downloaded a couple of the raws of the red kite and processed to taste. Nice and sharp, but somewhat surprised to see that while the A7iii does handle noise well, it is not markedly better at ISO 800 than the A99 (the original one from 2012!) that I still use today. It's good to see the tracking ability and to dispel the myth that mirrorless cameras are too slow to track BIFs. I'm still stuck in the past using centre point and continuous AF, assisted by no AI and is probably why I have a very bad keeper rate.
Wow, what a fun and engaging thing to even watch. And I am more into race/sports shooting normally. Very informative and well done, thanks!
Thank you!
Wow - this was such a useful review! Thanks for taking us shooting with you.
Glad you liked it Brett!
Great video showing the comparison thanks for sharing the video 👍🙏
Glad you liked it Adrian!
Nice Tim! Great comparison and impressive how well it tracked the bird
Cheers Kenny. Both lenses track pretty well especially with the a7III. Makes it a little too easy at times 🙂
Thank you ! A super video!
Hey Tim, Great video! I am looking at the exact same set up as your first shoot (a7iii & 200-600), or possibly the a7Riii for the higher megapixels. I was wondering if you used the electronic shutter or mechanical for all photos you took? I hear that anything over 1000/1sec with the electronic shutter can cause lack of quality, especially in the background and exposure. I would also like to ask if you have any similar videos like this with the a7Riii and same lens? Do you think that the af is the same or just as good on the a7Riii as the a7iii? I can't decide. Many thanks:)
Good review thanks, what i was looking for.
Cheers Brae. Glad that you liked it! :)
Thanks for the sample photos. Could you please make a comparison between Sony a7III with 200-600G and Nikon D500 with 200-500 for Wildlife, Birding photography
Hi, thanks for the video. I have the Sony a7iv and the Sony 100-400 GM. Do you think the result would be any different now you can include bird eye AF and AF good to f13 with the a7iv? I actually have the x2 tc but with or without the TC, in or out of crop mode, at similar ISO and at 1/2000th and similar other settings you have, my images are not sharp. I have all indications it is in focus, green squares, including eye focus, single green square. Any thoughts?
Love your videos. I own the new a7 iv and I am loving everything about it. You mentioned something (Olympus e 1 dot something) can you please give some more info on this. Thank you and keep up with your great videos
Glad you liked it Antonio and congratulations on the new a7 IV! :) I was using the Olympus EE-1 Dot Sight. It sits in the hotshoe mount. However it's not a perfect fit and can wiggle a little. If you taper the edges of the sight mount then this provides a much better fit, otherwise some tape helps to firm it up as well. You can find a very good video review of it here: kzhead.info/sun/mtKNccZ6iod-jaM/bejne.html
Absolutely phenomenal photos, sir!
Thank you!
Amazing video
200-600 is really a monster. Tracking a bird against those trees is really a very tough job!
It’s a great lens for sure but the tracking really comes down to the camera that you mount it to.
EXCELLENT video., I have the A7iii and 100-400..hoping to get the converter at some point..(not about to buy a new lens). Would you consider creating a video of how you set up your camera for fast moving objects?? Again, thank you....great channel!!
Thank you Helen. I do want to do a setup video at some point but it will probably be a few weeks yet. With the a7III I’ll typically used AF-C and Wide Area Focus Mode for birds in flight. I’ll also set the AF Tracking Sensitivity to 1 (locked on). Shutter speed really depends on the light but normally 1/2000 or above. I’ll use the widest aperture on the lens that I’m using so f/5.6 for the 100-400 although f/6.3 is a little sharper. I’ll use Auto ISO quite often as well. Hope that helps a little for now.
THANK YOU for this information..greatly appreciated!!!
Hi I'm really impressed I also have an A7III but I do landscape photography with a Tamron 28/75 and a 14 mm but I didn't think the A7III was capable of making these shots so fast !! beautiful indeed now I have one more reason to buy this lens and make this stylus of photography more for me .. hunting for birds
How is the 14 mm for landscape, im debating between this one and the sigma 14-24
Excellant Comparison - really helped in making a decision. Thank You
Thanks L Pinto! Glad to hear that it helped you out :)
Awesome vid Tim
Cheers Fitz! Glad you liked it :) Tim
@@AlphaShooters I got the 200-600 this lens is heavy compare to the 100-400. Now selling my R3 & 100-400 :-)
Really useful demonstration. 200-600 G is a beast! It lowers the ISO and makes the image more sharp it seems with handheld. I have been struggling a lot. Ideally it would be nice to own both 200-600G and 100-400 GM, but it is just impossible to carry two lens when you hike or travel. Maybe the 100-400 GM is more useful for travel?
The 100-400 is definitely a lot more travel friendly! Although I still prefer the 200-600 for the extra reach plus it's cheaper! I use the E 70-350 on my a7R IV in crop mode when I want to travel really light or walk the dog! :) Tim
Superb, I can't believe how good your hit rate was.
Even better with the A9II hard to believe I know!
Thanks for sharing. Do you have a tutorial on how to set those tracking/focus .?
Sorry for the slow reply Otrebor, I'm afraid I don't have such a tutorial. Mark Smith has some really good tutorials on this though. kzhead.info/sun/rZ2hc9uninuBrZs/bejne.html
while you were shooting in continuous AF the AF was OFF. Also what were you using for the focus pt. Thanks
All the Best In Videography!
super review
Hi Tim, love your hand held work you are good!! I have both lenses and thinking of selling the 100-400 and purchasing the 70-200 + converter. Your thoughts?
Thank you Clement! If you don't need to shoot at 400mm very often then the 70-200 F2.8 GM would be a good option. Are you think about the updated Mark 2? I've done a video comparing the 100-400 with the 70-200 F2.8 GM II + 2x that you might find helpful. kzhead.info/sun/fb6MlK2SoXuaf3A/bejne.html
Amazing great job. This has answered all my questions to other you tubers Was this gigrin farm 👍
Cheers Jason. No this wasn’t Gigrin it was Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre. Gigrin is a little closer to me but I prefer Bwlch as you are not restricted to the hides, the landscape is nicer and you only pay for parking.
Very useful video and great shots. The 200-600 seems like a no brainer for anyone doing birds in flight photography.
Thank you. It’s definitely a great lens if you don’t mind the size and weight. It does get tiring handholding after a while but it’s worth it for the shots it delivers.
Excellent review, Bravo! Extremely helpful and very eye opening an informative, Great Shots, and great information. Thank you for all your efforts and for posting this very detailed and informative blog. All my best1`
Thank you very much Joel! Glad to hear that you found it helpful and thanks for dropping a comment! :) Tim
Wow the way that thing tracks those birds is unreal!!
It tracks as well as the a9 but takes longer to acquire focus.
Alpha Shooters because of this video I just bought this lens and sold my d500 and 200-500!
@@FrankDiNardi Glad to hear that it helped you to decide! I hope you get lots of great shots with it! :)
Thanks a bunch for the Video! I wish there was a good birding place where I live
No trouble. This place is a good two hours drive from me, I wish it was a little closer! They only fly around this spot for about an hour whilst being fed as well, so have to hope I get the shots in and the weather behaves!
Another fantastic video Tim,and great info as well mate. I have never seen Kites do an Osprey impression before,what was it after in the water ? And was this video taken at Gigrin ?,keep up the great work Tim and i look forward to your next video.
Cheers Colin. This was just after feeding time and some will drop the meat into the water then swoop down to pick it up again. No this wasn’t Gigrin it was Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre. Gigrin is a little closer to me but I prefer Bwlch as you are not restricted to the hides, the landscape is nicer and you only pay for parking. They have rather nice cakes too! :)
Haha Thanks Tim,will have to give that place a go one day .Ive been to Gigrin a few times and always enjoyed it,but heard alot of people praise this place you went to. Thanks.
The best video for making the telephoto decision on youtube. Not full of waffle makes a real change to see the lenses in full action and their mis focusses too...Great stuff. Keep up the great work..
Thank you very much! :)
Hi Tim, I wonder if can help me. I recently got a 1.4x TC. On my first test in the field I used it with my Sony 200-600mm on an A73Riii. Strangely I have found that whwn the A/F is set to Wide or Zone the camera only seems to work at 300mm or below on the focus barrel. This doesn't seem right to me. Any ideas please as to what settings or tests I can do to work this out. Thanks Brian
First of all thank you for sharing this interesting field test. I am thinking of changing the format and brand for wildlife photography. I currently have a Nikon D500 and Sigma 150-600mm Sport. The reason for the change would be to reduce the weight of the equipment for photography of bird flights and because of the Sony autofocus system that they say is the best, combined with the advantages of mirrorless, such as not making noise, very important thing for certain situations where animals are very suspicious. The problem is that I do not know how this lens would behave with the sony a6600, and on the other hand I do not think that this camera is up to the nikon D500. I think Sony lacks a more professional level APSC, what do you think? By the way, I am curious to know what you are wearing on top of the camera. It looks like a laser and is often used to help the camera focus when there is little light. What do you use it for, can you give references of the device in question? Thank you very much again for your videos.
Sorry for the slow reply Javier. Have you already made your decision? Although I've not tried either the 100-400 or 200-600 on the a6600 I know they will work well because they work great on my a6400. Hopefully Sony will come out with an APS-C camera with a professional body at some point, but don't hold your breath just in case! I'm using the Olympus EE-1 Dot Sight as it makes tracking birds in flight a lot easier.
Thanks for the video! Don’t know if this question has been already asked: why did you use f8 and not f5.6 with the 100-400? Thanks!
When you add the 1.4x to the 100-400 you lose one stop so that takes you down to f8.
That was an excellent video with one of my fav subjects thankyou just what I was looking for. Definitely getting the 200-600mm and it seems I've overlooked the capabilities of the A73 while deciding between the A9 and the new A7R4. The tip about the dot sight what a brilliant idea I'm guessing I wouldn't likely need that with an A9. Excellent shots well done.
Thanks Necip! Yep love shooting the kites. Sony doesn’t make it easy with so many good cameras. The a7III is certainly capable of nailing BIF shots, the a9 will do better with smaller and faster birds like puffins. With the a9II possibly being announced soon there should be some good discounts on the a9 or more used ones coming up. I’d still use the dot sight on the a9 as it really helps with locating birds in the sky and tracking them as it expends your field of vision. As you know it’s often difficult to to spot and track when you’re at 600mm through the EVF. Also means I can still wear my sunglasses so it’s much more comfortable on my eyes.
Em primeiro lugar, obrigado por disponibilizar seu tempo para fazer este vídeo sei o quanto é trabalhoso. Estou em um dúvida cruel , qual das duas lente compra para usar na Sony A6000, por favor me ajude . Preciso para filmar e fotografar vida selvagem.
Excellent video, I agree the 200-600 is better than 100-400 with TC also because you will have lower iso. I am glad the olympus works well for you, it is a keeper. with the big primes sony I use some adaptors so it will be a little higher on top of the hot shoe or I put them in the foot of the big lenses. I use track sensitivity of 1 to keep the bird on track , thank you
Thank Efrain. I'm definitely enjoying the 200-600. I hope to try it with the 1.4x and 2x on my a9 next. The dot sight is amazing, thanks again for the tip! :) I actually meant to use tracking sensitivity 1 (locked-on) for this test but for some stupid reason got 1 and 5 mixed up! Oh well, I'll double check this for the next test! Still, even on 5 it did a very good job of keeping track of the birds, but there were a couple of occasions where 1 may have helped.
Un bellissima recensione! un ottimo video che mostra in maniera impeccabile la qualità di entrambe le lenti.
Gracias!
Thanks Tim. I've used both lenses on BiF with a Sony 1.4 TC. The bigger combo is softer than the smaller in my copies, when both are racked out - unacceptably so, so I sold it. I'm also not a fan of the middle range focus limiter on the bigger zoom. How many of us can reliably distinguish between 9 and 11 m when shooting forest birds?
Hey Ern. Sorry to hear that you didn't get along with the 200-600, could be possible that you were very unlucky and got a bad copy? Mine is definitely sharper than the 100-400 + 1.4x combo when racked out. I guess the middle focus range limiter between 10m-2.4m is helpful for shooting subjects when you know that they are going to be within this range, like having a perch setup within this distance. But yep, not handy for forest birds if you don't know the distance. - Tim
Great video.
Yep. Great Video. Thankfully there is a mute button when the music comes on.
Amazing video bud. I’m in your a6400 group and just requested for the wildlife group. I’ve been trying to find a lens to get better shots of my blue and gold macaws, currently using the 18-105 but have been renting a few telephoto lenses to see what I want to buy. I feel the 200-600 maybe too much on a crop censor as I love the blur when extended to full focal length but not sure. Only been taking photos less than a year so will do a bit more research. Glad I found this channel. Thanks a lot bud.
Cheers Mikey! Sorry I've only just spotted this comment. Thanks for joining the groups! I see in the wildlife group that you went with the 100-400 in the end! :) Are you happy with it? Tim
Alpha Shooters yes. Such an amazing lens. Your videos were very helpful. Thanks again.
Thanks! You have an awesome channel! Just subscribed. Love your shots on Instagram as well. I now know that Mikey is your birds name and not yours, sorry about that! :)
Beautiful shots. Looks like with the converter you'll get less light. I was wondering if you could use 1/1500s or even 1/1000s so the ISO would be lower.
Thank you! Dropping the shutter speed will certainly bring down the ISO. 1/2000 is normally my safe speed for birds in flight but if you are panning nicely then you can get away with 1/1000 and lower.
Hi great companion tests. How would the a6400 compare with BIFand these lenses ? Any success at all ? Thanks.
Sorry for the slow reply Robert. The a6400 will work well for BIF with both lenses, although personally I'd go with 100-400 as the ergonomics of that combination work better. The larger 200-600 really suits the larger bodies of the full frame cameras better.
hi, thank you for the good detailed video of the pictures provided that I can judge it on the monitor and your confirmation is the 200-600 better than the 100-400 with 1,4 converter. Interesting would be a test with the 6000 series at 1.5 crop mode. Greetings Alfred from Germany / Bavaria
Danke schoen Alfred. Yes I do plan to do a video shooting the a6400 in crop mode vs the a7R IV in crop mode but this will probably be in the new year now. MfG, Tim
Wooow! This guys is how to properly make a test video! Great job! This is awesome work! Going for the 200-600 with A7iii at last! Currently on a6300 + 70-200 f4 for racing sports. Not happy with it!
Thank you! You'll love the a7III + 200-600 although you are definitely going to feel the extra weight over your current setup!
You can find detailed image comparisons between these two lenses on my website here: www.alphashooters.com/compare/sony-fe-200-600-vs-fe-100-400-gm/ 👉Discover our new community forum: www.alphashooters.com/community/ Note: I mentioned that I used tracking sensitivity 5 in the video. I actually should have been using 1 (locked-on) but somehow mixed them up! But even with it set to 5 both lenses locked on well and there were probably only a couple of instances where having it set to 1 would have helped. Affiliate links: Olympus EE-1 Dot Sight 👉Adorama (US) - adorama.rfvk.net/4nYPL 👉Amazon (UK) - amzn.to/32DDAcv Sony a7III 👉Amazon (US) - amzn.to/2NZuNxq 👉Adorama (US) - adorama.rfvk.net/ZzWBX 👉Amazon (UK) - amzn.to/2Ahzz1r Sony FE 200-600 G 👉Amazon (US) - amzn.to/31zRegi 👉Adorama (US) - adorama.rfvk.net/4BzjG 👉Amazon (UK) - amzn.to/33MypIG Sony FE 100-400 GM 👉Amazon (US) - amzn.to/31DdciD 👉Adorama (US) - adorama.evyy.net/mOBvy 👉Amazon (UK) - amzn.to/2Z9r5s1 Sony 1.4x (SEL14TC) 👉Amazon (US) - amzn.to/2Q3KLt8 👉Adorama (US) - adorama.rfvk.net/RN5Da My Sony Alpha Facebook Groups =========================== Sony Alpha Wildlife Shooters: facebook.com/groups/alphawildlifeshooters/ Sony Alpha Landscape Shooters: facebook.com/groups/alphalandscapeshooters/ Sony Alpha Portrait Shooters: facebook.com/groups/alphaportraitshooters/ Sony Alpha Sports Shooters: facebook.com/groups/alphasportsshooters/ Sony Alpha Wedding Shooters: facebook.com/groups/alphaweddingshooters/ Sony Alpha Urban / Street Shooters: facebook.com/groups/alphaurbanshooters/ Sony Alpha Macro Shooters: facebook.com/groups/alphamacroshooters/ Sony Alpha Video Shooters: facebook.com/groups/alphavideoshooters/ Sony Alpha Shooters Group (Everything Alpha): facebook.com/groups/alphashootersgroup/ Sony A7III Shooters: facebook.com/groups/sonya7iiishooters/ Sony A7R IV Shooters: facebook.com/groups/sonya7ivshooters/ Sony A6400 Shooters: facebook.com/groups/sonya6400shooters/ My Amazon Store for Alpha Shooters =========================== www.amazon.com/shop/alphashooters Connect With Me! =========================== Website: www.alphashooters.com Instagram: instagram.com/alphashooters/ Instagram: instagram.com/timothymayo79/ Facebook: facebook.com/AlphaShooters/ This KZhead video was recorded on the Sony a9 with the Sony FE 24 F1.4 GM lens and the Rode Wireless Go microphone. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thanks, very useful!
These were AMAZING. You tracking was superb. I actually found this video because I'm trying to find someone that's done a Sony 200-600mm with 2.0x teleconverter moon shots in crop mode, but I can't seem to find that anywhere.
@@stevenattaway Thank you very much. I've not shot the moon yet with the 200-600 + 2x but will do next time I get the chance to.
@@AlphaShooters Awesome, I would love to see it.
I have the Sony a73 and I'm about to get the 200 to 600. Are you holding down the shutter half pressed the entire time to get those Focus indicators on the flying bird constantly? I haven't had that same locked on experience without using lock on autofocus so far.
You'll only get the focus indicators when focus is locked on, either by half pressing the shutter button or using back button focus. I'm using back button here.
I enjoy your reviews. The music is hilariously bad though.
I liked it :) Personal preference I guess!
Hello , Between a Sony 200 - 600 mm lens And a Sony 100-400 F 4.5 - 5.6 with a multiplier of 1.4 to use on a Sony A7 IV which of the two solutions is better for sports photos at night with very good lighting?
Hello. I have the same combo A7iii + 100/400 + Tc1,4 but I have great problems with the sharpness and in general with quality. I see the video and you set (time aperture and ISO) and more or less are the same I use. May be there is any other setting reccomeded for the TC? with the A7iii and 100/400 only the rsesuts are very good. May we can see one raw of your shot? Thank you for your help
The 1.4x will soften the image slightly on the 100-400. You can find some sample shots in my article here: www.alphashooters.com/compare/sony-fe-200-600-vs-fe-100-400-gm/
Awesome tracking demo. I have the 200-600 and a7r2. Waiting to hear about a92 versus a9 and a7r4. Great video thanks!
Thanks Robert. Hope to do a similar test with the a7R III vs a7R IV vs a9 at some point soon.
Nice helpful video, will help many of us make up our minds. However I didn't like the choice of background music for the video.
Glad that you found the video helpful Nishit and sorry that the music wasn't to your liking.
nice video and nice music
thanks for this. Pls confirm sharpness of 100-400 without TC? if you have images pls share link.
There are images in my article here: www.alphashooters.com/compare/sony-fe-200-600-vs-fe-100-400-gm/
Is doesn't need turn of centre-Lock-on and lock on flexible sport focus point? I saw you shot flying birds or movable subject is enough to make Af-c and wide autofocus points? It is give sharp photos
Here I was using AFC and Wide Area Focus. I prefer this as it makes locking on to the birds anywhere in the frame a lot easier. I'm also using the dot sight which makes using a smaller focus area more difficult. I tend not to use the lock-on focus modes on the a7III very much as I seem to miss more shots, they work better on the a9 though.
I have the a7111 and 200_600 and I can't get the green dot tracking to work can you help?
감사합니다~
Thanks for this! Trying to decide if I need the a9 or if I can get away with the a7iii for birds in flight photography. My a7riii just can't give me the hit rate I'm looking for
The a7III will certainly do a better job at nailing birds in flight than the a7R III, but the a9 is still quite a way out in front. So yes you'll certainly get lots of keepers with the a7III but if you can stretch to the a9 then it's worth it. If the a9II is announced next month there should be some a9 bargains to be had, especially if you don't mind buying used.
@@AlphaShooters Why is the A7III better for BIF than the A7R III?
It’s locks on slightly faster and tracks better. You’ll also get more keepers with the a7III. That said, unless I was only shooting BIF I’d take the a7R III for the extra cropping power.
@@nicholasbedworth8872 handling 42mp while AF tracking with the same hardware as 24mp a7iii is a bit too heavy I guess. Same is the case with A7RIV vs A9II I guess. Plus the AF area is restricted in A7RIII
@@nicholasbedworth8872 It was announced after the a7iiir and they used much of the af tech of the a9 in the a7iii.
Thanks for your awesome video. I am considering moving from Nikon DSLR to Sony mirrorless system for bird photography. Which is the best affordable combo: Sony a9 + Sony FE 200-600? Your opinions and recommendations are very welcome. Greetings from Portugal!
Hi António. Looks like you’ve received a few answers to this in the wildlife group already. If you shoot a lot of birds in flight then the AF speed and zero blackout shooting of the a9 is hard to beat. If the a9II is announced soon then the a9 prices should fall too. The a7R IV could be an option as the AF is much better than the a7R III but I’ve not tried it myself yet. The 200-600 is a great wildlife lens and works nicely for birds in flight, definitely preferable over the 100-400 unless you want the lightest setup possible. I’m in sunny Tavira on holiday right now but fly back to the UK tomorrow 🙂
Hi, I can see that you have those replacement foot on the lens. Are those comaptible with 200-600 also compatible with 100-400? I prefer the longer one, but was wondering if the socket is the same.
I’m using the Kirk LP-68 foot on the 200-600 and the Kirk LP-65 on the 100-400. They have different mounts unfortunately so can’t be shared.
@@AlphaShooters Damn, I would prefer the longer one on 100-400.
Is there much image quality loss with the 200-600 + 1.4 TC?
so great
What scope do you have on your camera? Do you have a link? Will any of those type of scopes work?
I'm using the Olympus EE-1 Dot Sight and it works great. It just sits on the hot shoe. I don't have experience with other dot sights but I hear the Nikon DF-M1 Dot Sight is better built but is also twice the price. See links in the description field.
Nice test ! The a7iii af seems easy effect by background then a9 and a7r4
Thank you! The tracking modes on the a9 and a7R IV help these cameras to stay on the subject a little better than the a7III which doesn't have the same tracking modes unfortunately.
Hi, thanks for the video,,,,have you tried the 200-600mm on one of the new crop sensor cameras sony has? A6400, or similar,,,With better tracking capabilities? Would love to see a video, thanks a lot
Yes I have on the a6400. Unfortunately I don't have a video! I will try to make one but I'm limited with where I can travel right now unfortunately. The a6400 works very well though, very similar to the a7III. Tim
@@AlphaShooters thanks for the reply. I'm curious to see what can we achieve with this lens in the future cropped sensor cameras a7000 or higher. So far I'm happy with the lens. My a7iii is not fast enough for it. I dream about baby a9. Thanks again. Great videos
According to Tony northcrap the lag in the evf make it almost impossible to capture birds in flight. Even using the a9ii. My eyes where open in this video thanks.
Thanks
Nice Vedio!Is the a7r3 autofocus so good like a73?
Thanks Jason. The autofocus on a7R III isn’t quite as good as the a7III and you’ll have a few more misses but it’s still perfectly capable of shooting birds in flight.
Thanks for your response,I want to shoot surfing.
@@AlphaShooters What's the technical reason for the better autofocus on the A7III?
Wish I could tell you the exact technical reason Nicholas but unfortunately I don’t know. I just know what results I get from using them both.
Great Videos you are doing, great background music in your videos, can you please give info in your video. Can you tell me he name of the first song in this video? Thank you
Cheers Randy. First song is Wildflowers feat. Christine Smit (HOW TO CARRY ON). www.epidemicsound.com/track/Mtlj5OHzuW
Why do you use AF Track Sens on 5? Select [5(Responsive)] to focus responsively on subjects at different distances. Select [1(Locked on)] to keep the focus on a specific subject when other things are crossing in front of the subject. So the 1 is better to keep your birds tracked.
Hey Zsolt. I actually wanted to use 1 (locked-on) for this test but messed up and had it set to 5 instead! That was my bad. Although I find 5 is also pretty sticky on the subject unless something comes in front of the subject that you are tracking. Next test will be just the 200-600 with the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, will be sure to double check that I'm on 1 this time! - Tim
How do u do that on a cannon 600 d oh my
Hi Can you please reply me with the AF settings which you used to track the movement of the bird?. I have sony A7III and 200-600mm. But I cannot track the bird on flight like this.
Wide he used
I have a question, how you can crop the image without getting the noise or losing the sharpness of the image , am using a7iii and 100-400 and I shoot mostly at mid day with iso 100 and still I find noise at the images when I cropped them even tossing the sharpness. any help/tips please ?
If you are really cropping in tight you will always see noise even at ISO 100. You might want to experiment with Topaz Denoise AI.
What zoom value were you shooting? Can you take pictures while videoing? I am working on birds in-flight, shooting hand-held. I tried to take photos while videoing and may have, but did not see it, so will continue to experiment.
It is my understanding that one cannot take photos while in video mode. However, I have found a workaround. Before uploading videos to an SSD, I view my videos on the camera and choose sample frames to capture an image. See playback menu for option. I do this on my a7Riii and a1. Great way to get video and some photos of precious moments.
Will a7iii and 200-600 lens be a better combination than nikon d 500 with 150-500 nikon lens for bird photography
I can't really comment Aninda since I've never used the D500 + 150-500. There are quite a few people in the Sony Alpha Wildlife Shooters group on Facebook that I run switching from Nikon's and they seem to be very happy with the results that they are getting.
Helpful
Glad you think so!
How critical is real time tracking under such situations and how much of a difference does it make in getting critical focus and ease of use?? Thanks.
It's not critical but does help with tracking when other potential subjects come into the frame. See my video shot with the a7III that doesn't have real-time tracking so I was using the normal focus modes. kzhead.info/sun/d9x-n9yCa6CpaKc/bejne.html
I am in dilemma between Gmaster 100-400mm and 200-600mm which is better in image quality with sharper, clarity and others.?? Do you use any phase detection af on or off, turn on or off lock-on- af and do you used manual or electronic shutter on?
If you shoot closer to 600mm then the 200-600 is sharper than the 100-400 + 1.4x. Autofocus is very similar. Phase detection is always on and this was with the wide area focus mode, not any tracking modes. For any moving subjects it's best to use the mechanical shutter as you risk the rolling shutter affect ruining your images with the electronic shutter unless you are shooting with the a9.
Nice video!!! And I'm impressed with the A7III AF. So, between A7III and A6400, which one do you think is better for tracking bird in flight?
Thanks! There’s not really anything between the a7III and a6400 when it comes to birds in flight. The a6400 is nice as you have the crop factor but then if you are shooting in lower light the a7III handles higher ISOs better.
@@AlphaShooters What would the difference be between the a6000 and the a6400 for BIF? Looking to upgrade but is it worth it?
@@AlphaShooters I have the 200-600 with a6000 and it doesn’t get nearly as crisp as what you have. Of course I’m not the photographer that you are but I’m just wondering if the a 6400 is just superior with tracking and auto focus. Any help is greatly appreciated.
I’m also in 10:57 @foresterart shoes.. I don’t shoot bif though. fútbol.. currently using 70-200f4 and would like to upgrade my setup.. not sure if to buy a lens first or upgrade body…
sorry, i'm only seeing this video now. Have you tried 200-600 with 1.4 and sony a7 III?
Nice to see you again. Is your cute Frank fine? Thank you for a nice review!
Frank is well thanks. Unfortunately he doesn’t fly so wasn’t suitable for this test ;)
Do the Olympus dot sights fit the hot shoe of all sony cameras -A and E mount?
They fit all of the E-mount hot shoes, although there is a little wiggle room which I don't find to be an issue unless you knock the sight. I'm not 100% sure if the A-mount hot shoe is the same size as the E-mount so wouldn't like to say if this will fit or not.
Nice one. I have to say, after two months, I feel the 200 - 600mm + A9 (still haven't used it on my A7III) is a better combination for me: and I do not regret selling my 100 - 400mm G Master. I have been using my 200 - 600mm with my SEL14TC recently for Swallows and House Martins in flight and it works beautifully. AF is still blindingly fast and accurate. The only real difference in your settings and mine is I use sensitiviy 1 (locked on). I'm just about to go out shooting and have changed my A9 to sensitivity 5 (sensitive) to see how much difference there is. I also keep my lens stability at 1, as the camera has IBIS.
Thanks Pete. Same here. My 100-400 will be going soon although I'd keep both if I could afford to. I should have actually used sensitivity 1 instead of 5, somehow I got them mixed up! There are couple of instances where it may have made a differences otherwise even with 5 is still locked on pretty well. Need to double check that next time!
@@AlphaShooters. Yeah, I didn't use setting 5 for very long; setting 1 is far better for my purposes.
Thank you for the video,
It is really hard decision for which one can I buy between Gmaster 100-400mm or 200-600mm G lens. some people recommend Gmaster 100-400mm is better than others. Do you off Phase detention off, use auto focus mode continuous and Focus and wide. I saw you shot sharp images with missing focus with that setting..
Phase detection is always on, you can't turn this off. The camera will switch to contrast detection at f/11 and above. I was using AF-C and a wide focus area here.
@@AlphaShooters you being said phase Detention always ON but this video you keep Phase Detention OFF.
Great vid and lens! :) I wanna ask you as a Sony user, have you experienced any issues with a sensor dust attraction (particularly on a6400)? Maybe even some problematic, hard-to-clean sensor dust etc
Thank you John. Yes I'm always dealing with dust on my sensors unfortunately no matter how careful I am. I normally find a rocket blaster works for most specs but sometimes I'll need to use a cleaning kit for more stubborn specs. I use the VSGO DDR15 APS-C Sensor Cleaning Kit for my APS-C cameras like the a6400.
Awesome results. I wonder how much effect the EVF gonna cause to eyes considering the fact that A7 III EVF is the lowest graded EVF in the market right now.
Thank you! The EVF works just fine for birds in flight, I don't know of many people struggling with it. You can also use a dot sight if you don't like using the EVF.
Which type of Auto focus setting did you used for bridging ????
I was using wide area here.
Nice
Can I ask how you video at the same time as you shoot photos?
Hey Paul. I use the Atomos Ninja V to capture the screen output via HDMI. I'm still in M stills mode. Unfortunately when you have the HDMI Info Display (used to display camera settings/tracking etc) turned on then you are limited to recording in HD only, so no 4k video. Both LCD/EVF screens also blackout doing this and you can only use the Atomos display to see what you are shooting which is a tad annoying but using the dot sight helps a lot. Tim
Alpha Shooters Thanks Tim, I’ll give it a go
Excellent demo, thank you. Now I just need to find a way to justify dropping 2.5K CDN on this 200-600.. Any ideas? :D
Social distancing ( 600mm ) lol
@@Pvfotocr Oh man, it didn't take much longer after this that I ended up getting it :)
Have a look at 42St Cameras in NY, save a few $$$
what is that mounted on top of the body at 9:30?
Sorry for the slow reply Seth. That's the Olympus EE-1 Dot Sight.
I've seen other discussion about good copy, bad copy. This frightens me that all these manufactures have such bad QA that there are different "copies". Its not just Sony but I've heard this for the "others" too. So, if one doesn't have the liberty of owning both lenses (100-400 and 200-600), how would you know if you have a good or bad copy? Is a bad copy actually bad or just not as "good"? thanks!
Hey Greg. Unfortunately copy variation in lenses does exist. Often if a lens is decentered this may lead to softness in parts of the image. There are a couple of methods you can use to check a lens yourself. See these posts: www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/05/testing-for-a-decentered-lens-an-old-technique-gets-a-makeover/ and phillipreeve.net/blog/how-to-check-how-decentered-your-lens-is/ - I typically do these tests with all lenses that I buy. Sometimes a little decentering is nothing to worry about if the impact on image quality is very small and only noticeable when pixel peeping.
i'd love to get that 200-600mm but it is a little bit pricey so just waiting to see if Tamron might release something similar for the E-mount sometime soon.. 🤞 but if not then i might just end up getting it 😅
It’s a lovely lens but understandably still quite pricey. Hopefully Tamron or Sigma will come out with something similar for under $1000, but the question is when?
How did you record the camera screen?
I used the Atomos Ninja V.
@@AlphaShooters Thank you!