Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens review with samples (Full-frame & APS-C)
The one you've all been waiting for. Many thanks to my friend and brother Simon for loaning me this great lens for a few weeks for testing.
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All pictures taken by me on Sony a7R III and a5100 cameras.
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Great review! Thank you Christopher
Congrats on the new camera
I always look forward to a new review from you Chris, cheers.
now i cant wait for your review about the the Tamron 150-500 :O
Just got this lens a couple of weeks ago along with an a7riiiA and love this combination!
Great review. I'd love to try it myself one day.
This lens is a gem! Just like the 90G and recent GM primes, it is showing the photography world what Sony is capable of 👍
Pity Sony don't expend the same R and D, + interest in general to the huge base of apsc owners.
@@robertcudlipp3426 there’s already a comprehensive line-up of APSC glass and compatible 35mm glass. Full frame has become very affordable compared to just 5 years ago, it makes sense to spend the resources on FullFrame development.
Nice! Just got this lens!
Another great review. Thank you. I have been debating between this lens and the one from Tamron. You’ve persuaded to go for Sony.
Hope to watch on reviews and test of the new Tokina atx-m lenses for the Fuji X system soon. Btw I love your reviews
Nice little tele lens - well done Sony !
a good review as the normal :) I was hoping that you may get your hands on the new RF 100 macro or the RF 14-35 F4 love to see what you think about them and what the RF14-35 f4 is like against the the RF15-35 f2.8
yesssssss..finallyyy...thanks chris
My favorite lens !
I have the Sony 200-600mm 5.6-6.3 G Lens, but it is only until Prime Tele Lenses arrives, fx 300mm 4.0 (or 4.5), 400mm 4.5 (or 5.6) and 500mm 5.6. The 200-600 performs very well with Sony A7RIV which I often use in crop APSC mode (26Mp).
On my A73 I have found this lens to give really excellent results. When previewing images on Lightroom after a session where I have used various lenses I can always immediately tell in the thumbnails which shots were taken with this 200-600 by the overall image quality. I think this is an excellent lens particularly when used at long Focal lengths which is where most buyers will use it even with the limitations of f6.3. The IS, for me, is good enough. It's not a cheap lens however in general cheap long lenses are not often great.
What's your thoughts on low light with this?
@@jimmydproductions5409 It's as good, if not better, as you might expect. IQ is excellent and any noise from using a higher ISO can be minimised with Topaz Denoise AI which is, in my opinion, the best digital noise reducer. To get better results you would need to spend a fortune.
I see, so Sony doesn't wanna lend u lenses... That explains everything. Thank you so much, your reviews are the best I've ever seen.
Thanks for the review. I've been waiting for this. I think you have just persuaded me to leave Canon and stick with Sony because of this specific lens.
@@godsinbox It has internal zooming making it much better in rain and snow, and the GM has an annoying lens creep.
@Colm Malone You are not the only one. But in my case I will buy Sony gear in ADDITION to my Canon gear. A Sony body will be married with this lens.
It would be nice to see a side by side comparason to the Sigma 60-600 EF with the MC-11 on the new body and congrats on the upgrade to gen 3!
think it’s not a question if you need decent AF
Nice video. I would like to see the new Tamron 150-500 tested on an APS-C body
Very honest review, unlike the other payed "reviewers" that praise it as the best superzoom. I wonder how this stands up against the Sigma 150-600 Sports or 60-600 Sports.
Thanx Cris
Would you recommend this or the Tamron 150-500 for APSC?
I own a 100-400 lens and Sony a7iii. My question is if anyone can help. I would like a little more reach. Do I go for the 200-600mm lens or the a7riii and crop ? Many Thanks!
chris i know this is random but can we get a 35mm comparison with the sigma 35mm f2 contemporary vs sony 35mm f1.8 vs samyang 35mm f1.8 it’s a few of us that want to see the more budget friendly 35mm’s face off
Can you possibly do an add-on test with either of the teleconveters? Really interested to see how the 1.4X and 2X would affect image quality etc.
APS-C body + 2x tc with this would be cool. 1800mm
@@jeroenvdw the result is no different from cropping the center part of this full frame a7r3…
1.4x tc is excellent and almost never comes off my set up!
@@bikingmoments Except potentially greater pixel density in an area of the image circle.
If you have a high resolution camera like the A7riii OR iv, don't bother. Just crap you image. What teleconverters does is just crop in for you, it can't give you any more resolution than the lens already has. Considering teleconverters can affect auto focus speed, just crap in might give you better result.
Very nice lens.
May I request a review of the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR? Thank you so much, as always, for all these consistently awesome reviews. I really adore the fact that you have a fixed format of testing and that I can always expect the same for every single one of your videos (even the ones before you moved to the current home)
Its a great lens, I love it.
Not interested in Sony stuff but I appreciate the pro and consistent reviews. Always good stuff.
I use it with my A7R4 and love it. It also performs extremely well in the A7R4’s 26MP APSC mode. Agree when shooting under overcast skies, you will need to punch up that ISO quite a bit! The only real down part of this lens is it attracts attention everywhere it goes 😂
I have a camouflaged waterproof case on it. It’s an awesome lens!
Hi, I'm looking at buying this combination, have you had any auto focus issues with it? I'm looking at doing bird photography. Does the higher ISO needed present a problem on the R4? Thanks for your help.
@@mrbassett4388 I have the A7iii paired with this lens and it’s awesome truly a 50/50 hybrid camera :)
@@NoxCast hater
@@mrbassett4388 Check out Stefano Ianiro channel!
this or sigma 150-600mm for cheaper in second hand price ? I am using my a7 iii
Amazing video. If there’s one thing I learned… always shoot f8 with this lens for maximum sharpness.
honestly, for the focal length, sharpness and af. this lens is an absolute steal. the price absolutely beats the canon out to the safari
How do you test these lenses? How do you photograph the image?
Went owl photography the last couple with days with my 70-200mm, and it's not cutting it, I'm going to upgrade to this one
who would have guessed
Thanks Chris for this honest review. I considered switching from Nikon D850 and Tamron 150-600 to Sony camera and this lens. I am not convinced. Keep on reviewing with your high standard.
Consider renting out the camera + lens combo to get a feel for it before committing thousands on them.
I believe that especially image quality could look nicer than he shows on chart. It looked less sharp to me. I don't know did he use tripod and turn off stabilization on the less while taking photo of chart but most of time I get much better results like that If I am on high shutter speed.
Image stabilization was off, camera securely mounted on tripod, 10 second electronic shutter used to elimination vibration, low ISO, and manually focussed carefully
Where are the sample RAWs?
Wait did I miss the APSC part ???? 😅😅😅😅
Good lens
I have sony a6400 camera with sony 200-600 mm lens. At 400 mm focal length images are sharp ,but at 500-600 mm focus length images comming blurry.I use Tripod. What is the reason of blurry images ?
Low shutter speed
I keep waiting for Canon, or Sigma, to copy the design of this lens. But if I get to the point where it's time to upgrade my body and they still haven't, then it's 100% a switch to Sony for me. This lens is just great.
I heared there is significant focus brething at 600mm and at minimum focus distance! so? which is it?
200mm
Sir iam confuse that which lense shoul j buy should i buy the canon 50mm 1.8 or the youngnou 50mm 1.8 does the youngnou lense have good quality and light from canon plz help
Now This lens has a new competitor the tamron 150-500mm f5 - 6.7 🔥
its got some plastic elements inside instead of glass and isnt any better than this, soft in corners apparently :-(
@@jukeboxjohnnie plus 100mm less and darker aperture too...
Nah
@@jukeboxjohnnie who knows, I hear it has field curvature. that doesnt mean it is soft, just need to watch the dof calcs. The back focussing issue, if real, is a bigger concern (until firmware fixed)
So wrong about it not being able to resolve more than 42mpx and you seem to contradict that by saying how good it is on apsc. That’s the equivalent to a higher density of the a7riv sensor
Kindly review sony G micro primes and do comparison with Sigma I lenses 🙏 compact & perfect glass ❤️🙏
this lens is worth the money
Bit puzzled by your comments about aperture with this lens, when reviewing the Canon 800mm f11 you seemed a lot less concerned?
Very different category though, and price tag. The 800/11 competes more with mirror lenses in my opinion.
@@HesselFolkertsma I like many look for advice and reviews on lenses before making the purchase. There are contradictions between the review of this lens and the Canon 800mm. Not sure what you mean by the Canon competing more with mirrorless lenses as the Sony is only for mirrorless
@@barrieatherton9792 I wrote mirror lenses, not mirrorless lenses.
Not sure what you're talking about here. In my review of that 800mm lens I talk a lot about its limited aperture and the problems that causes. And you have to bear in mind that it costs less than half the price of this Sony lens while having an even longer focal length and being much more lightweight. So it all balances out
Сменил RII на RIII? Поздравляю!
I'm a Canon (R5) shooter and have no intentions of ever switching ever. But I still watched all of this. 🤣
I switched to Sony much more compact and not to mention way better dynamic range. The R6 scored 90 dxo sensor while a7iii scored 96. I switched and love this lens combo a7iii 200-600mm g
Pleeeeease test Nikon 200-500mm f5.6
You can’t ask for a better wildlife lens at $2000
On it's own it's a good reason to adopt the Sony system.
Yeah it is very good. Best value wildlife lens that is native.
I have a really random request. But I think it could be done quickly and get a good bit of views... Can you do a speed booster test on your M6 with every EF lens you have on hand? Just straight to the test chart, head to head, as many lenses as you can. And maybe you could do a like 'top 10' format with the best performance and the worst performance, as I never know which EF lenses are gonna have horrible vignette or awful corners when you mount them through that speed boosting glass. THANKS!
Oh man, you're giving me anxiety just thinking about the amount of work that would entail haha :-)
@@christopherfrost Lucky for you they seem like they're just gonna discontinue all non RF lenses so take your time it will all be the same options forever :D lol
Nikon's 200-600mm Z lens can't come out soon enough. Super envious of Sony shooters right now having this lens available.
Nikon is selling to Sony. The z9 is really a Sony z9 camera.
@@lewcehjitl3282 Not true. Nikon just acquired both Sony and Canon today. Gonna be interesting how this plays out. I heard people will need to send their Sony and Canon gear back to Nikon to be rebranded.
Chris now has a a7riii. Ah.
Why are all your photos blurry ?
I have been Canon user since 2004 and I ditched Canon solely for this lens lol
Why are APSC sensors more demanding than a fullframe 42mp sensor?
Higher pixel density. The 61MP sensor has a 26MP APSC area in crop mode, similar to his a5100. However, his A7R III has fewer pixels than that, when you use its APSC area.
0:55 why is that? maybe Christopher frost is too honest.... Keep up the good work!
Probably just a difference in how they run things. Doubt they harbor ill will towards Chris, who's given their lenses great coverage.
I would take this over the Canon RF 100-500mm which is now more than double the price point of the Sony at least over here in Hong Kong. The Canon is just way overpriced.
I rented this lens once, I was pretty satisfied with it, but I wouldn't buy it since it's only usable for bird photography or zoo/safari trips. I would rent it again when I'd go on safari :)
Disagree. I’ve taken amazing cityscape and landscape photos with it.
I was trying out my copy to photograph squirrels in a park in Bangkok. Nearby was a young man taking portrait shot of 3 ladies, so I turned to try out a few shots at distance. Seeing the big lens they invited me over. Everyone was surprised by the quality of the head and shoulder photos, so I shared the photos.
@@markwalker8374 cool story bro
No you're wrong most of my best images in landscape came from this lens 200600mm take your time for rush..you'll be amazed my fav.location mountain top of Pensylvania and poconos valleys especially during fall love it.
I would rather choose the sony 70-350g,which has similar focal length(full frame equivalent).
Wouldn't the equivalent aperture be something like 6.3-9 on that one since it's for APS-C? So much darker.
@@jeroenvdw Equivalent aperture is, precisely, equivalent depth of field. So it won't be darker. ps. The aperture of the lens on my smart phone's camera is only f2.4. So according to your theory, the equivalent aperture will be around f16 or even darker? In this way the camera will be completely Useless.
@@CopperSmith1 Please add spaces after commas, periods and question marks.
@@logitech4873Thank you.I didn't know the rule.
3:05 yesterday tony northrup showed his 200-600 has serious focus breathing at 600 when trying to focus closeup at 600....maybe issue with copy!!
Nope, issue with the knowledge!
@@networm64 I was really confused of what they said, could you elaborate and enlighten us please?
The focal length changes as you change focus distance. Lots of lenses exhibit this. It’s not great but, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
@@gameshoes Which is not the case with this lens
@@TheRealJamesWu Well as someone demonstrated in comments it's the matter of angle of view which will be different when you add an extention tube. This will happens to any other lens using them on! Not onoy this Sony lens!
I wish Nikon could release such a lens for their Z mount system.
Buy a Sony camera they own Nikon all Nikon sensors are Sony sensors. The new Sony Z9 is all Sony.
Review the rf 14 35 f4L as soon as possible
I'm really interested if the 70-350mm video (kzhead.info/sun/mNOLZtaZgHR-fWg/bejne.html) shot at 3mins 50sec is on full zoom and therefore comparable to this video 1:34 (again at full zoom?) It looks like 350 - 600mm isn't so much of a big leap, and carrying on using the 70-350mm might be my better bet rather than spending so much on just a little more reach.
Nikon f 500mm pf with ftz review plz
Hello Christopher. I think you have bad copy of the lens. Mine is superb sharp on every focal lenghts and wide open. It is a bit weird that corners were sharper than center because corners shall be a bit weaker while center is superb. Not sure what could be the cause of this. However I heard that quality could vary a bit due production inconsistency especially in the begining when production started.
Sony will not loan you lenses? Why is that? Is it because you give honest and non biased reviews?
I don't know why, really - perhaps they just don't like my style (TBH lens manufacturers do not ask you to make specifically positive reviews of lenses when they lens them out)
What’s the point of a tripod mount if it’s wobbly?
It's not wobbly on my copy, not sure how it even can be wobbly with that clamping mechanism.
@@logitech4873 its wobbly so it can combat any earthquakes
This lens is pretty good ! But damn she is way to big, definitely not for me lmao I prefer those canon lens even if they are more expensive and a less reach, at least using them for a long period of time make them more pleasant to use
You can go smaller if you reduce the aperture, but then it becomes useless for sports and wildlife where you need a minimum of 1/1000 speed. The ISO goes really high.
@@adamadamisit's not a question of going smaller it's more the material they use tbh, it feels premium for sure but it makes it very heavy 😓 the sigma 150-600 C is lighter, even if sigma is not know to make light lens 😂
Wow, heye I'm the first to watch this video man.
Looks like A7R3 produces better colors than A7R2.
Hmm, not sure about that. Maybe. But it's high ISO image quality is certainly better and a lot of these pictures were taken at high ISOs, so that will improve the colours there
You're not the only one that finds the tripod mount wobbly. It's a poor design for a $2k lens and it's connected to a tiny plate with small screws. Sony skimped on this feature for certain
Imagine not letting this man review ur lenses lol
@@godsinbox Yeah you’re right, im quite new in all of this, but i tought a 2k telephoto lens would be better, not only at range. Tought it was going to be like perfect lol But that talks a lot about sony as a company. If you got nothing to fear about the quality of your lens, then you should not be afraid.
10:07 Somebody's a fan of Phineas and Ferb :3
Not sure why, but Chris's wildlife shots taken with the 200-600mm look really soft...The Sigma 150-600 he tested looks a lot sharper. Also, the Sony 200-600mm may seem well built, but it's got two fatal flaws...A very flimsy mechanical design for the mount and the tripod mounting foot (Note how Chris noticed his mounting foot moving in the review). Several users have reported the mounting foots breaking clean off, but worse still, you only have to drop the lens once with the camera attached and the whole mount breaks off! When that happens, and I have heard of at least three times it has, it is not user repairable and the user has no choice but to send it back to Sony for repair...But as that sort of damage is not covered by Sony's warranty, the user has to pay for that repair, and of course the postage...A very expensive and time consuming process. No such problems with the Sigma 150-600 Sport or Contemporary versions...They appear to be built like tanks in comparison.
Sharpness is a bit disappointing though, especially considering the aperture. It's awful on APS-C! I'm no expert though, so I guess it has to do with the limitations of that focal length? Anyway, I think Sigma 100-400 is sharper (although 400mm of course).
The AF of that lens is not even comparable. And dn't worry about the results on apsc I've seen dozens of channels using it on a6400 and 6600 and they all are happy and results are great!
I regularly drive along the Information Super Highway *beep beep*
Always when i see the name of that lens, i think there should be an R between the G and the O... :-P
3:22 haha. it missed!
How stupid did this lens look mounted on the a5100? Even my smallest full frame lenses make my a6000 look more like a toy than it already does.
Even the 70-350mm Sony lens on my A6400 isn't balanced very well. I can't imagine using this lens on the A6XXX without a monopod, wobbly tripod mount or not.
Gosh I hated mine and sold it, didnt perform at all 61mp even after firmware updates really disappointing. I use an olympus 40-150 with 1.4 converter now and dont feel Ive lost much over this lens on full frame
You've lost a lot of size and weight, I bet. I'm tempted to try micro 4/3 to shoot sports because it seems like a much smaller kit.
@@slimphotog Yes its a lovely light option. I dont believe OM Digital intends developing the system further but it doesnt matter, im enjoying using it now
Could you declare about the problem you had with the combo? Me looking at the results Stefano Ianiro gets with this lens on his a7r4 about a couple of years before he switches to A1 tells me another story
@@networm64 Yes, the lens just doesnt resolve well at 61mp. I know my expectations are high as I shoot 100mp GFX and GM primes on my a7r4 bodies, I wouldnt expect it to be as good as a GM prime, but to my eyes it wasnt anywhere near. I did all the firmware updates, sent it to sony to be checked and I do know how to shoot telephoto lenses. In the end I think im just used to very clear sharp detailed pictures with the other gear I mentioned and the 200-600mm cant match it. By all means go ahead and buy it if you like the other guys pictures, but when youre sat at your monitor and click the 100% button you may be disappointed. If you look at Christopher's review its actually not at its best at 6.3 which is exactly where you want to use it, and hes only shooting 42mp too
Actually my sigma ef 150-600 is as sharp as this sony lens. Although AF is 10x snappier on native lens. Sony bokeh is quite busy, Sigma is much better in this department.
It's only bc this lens is rated "G" and not "GM." GM lenses have very smooth bokeh and close to perfect sharpness.
Lol no
Yeah. A friend has the Sigma EF 150-600 and it seems as sharp as my 200-600 @ 600/6,3. I wouldn't call them "competitors" though because no Tamron or Sigma 150-600 exists for E-mount and particularly somewhat dim teles are perhaps not the funnest to adapt.
@@Vantrakter Sigma works really fine via MC-11, although Sony 200-600 got much better AF.
I bought this. I hated it. If you shoot small wildlife it will drive you crazy. The problem is the minimum focus distance at 600mm. It is 17 yards. So, when a cute warbler perches on a twig 10 feet away, you can't get a shot. For sports, safaris, and Canada geese it would be great. I sold it and got the Sigma 150-600mm Sport. So much better for what I shoot.
Not sure that's correct,. 17 yards is about 17 metres! It can focus as close as 2.7m I think, which is also less than 10 feet. Usually tiny birds won't let you any closer than that anyway.
Not quite as sharp as the Sigma 60-600 though.
A Sony lens without focus breathing? 😅
24-70 GM?
Why not to mention F7.1? That's the reason I disliked.