What Is Wrong With This Lens? - Sony 200-600mm long-term review
2022 ж. 26 Мам.
34 155 Рет қаралды
I've been using the Sony 200-600mm telephoto zoom lens for about a year, and it seems like a good time to share a few thoughts. Do I still think it is as good as I did when I got it? Let's find out!
Great review. The 200-600 is an absolute banger of a lens for the price. Using it with the A7 IV, and it's fast, sharp and an excellent performer. Had the A7 III last year, but pairing this with the A7 IV is so much better. Keep it going, looking forward to more vids.
Thank you! I plan to get the A7iv as soon as the budget allows - I think Sony made every improvement I had hoped for, and then some. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I use my fingers for the zoom ring but keep my thumb for focusing rather than trying to find it while looking through the viewfinder.
My man. Don't listen to all the KZheadrs and switch to a7IV - ASAP! On paper or when watching all these reviews, it might seem that there are not that many improvements compared to the old a7lll but in practice, the camera is night and day compared to a7lll - yes, it's that much better! Especially the AF speed and accuracy and the color science improvement (it still leans on the the greenish/blueish side very slightly but it's incomparably better now!) where now you don't have to spend a billion hours color correcting before you can start editing! And the 33MP jump, although not noticeable, you can now crop your images by 30-35% (up to 40% actually) and still have about the same quality image that an a7 lll would take and that's more useful than you might realize!
Oh, yeah, I agree 100%! I definitely want to get the A7iv... As soon as I feel like it works into my budget I intend to get one. And, yep, it might not be as ground breaking of a release as the A7iii was in its day, but all those improvements and refinements add up to a worthy upgrade. I would probably buy it just for the articulating screen - I'm a big fan of ground level portrait orientation for small subjects, and I'm tired of having to lay on the ground to do it... haha! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@carlculpepperimages unless you're planning on getting an a1, the a7IV is a really great choice. For video, it's currently even better than the A1, due to allowing bird eye AF in video mode. Unless you're planning to shoot a lot more action than i can tell from the photos you showed today, the a7IV will be awesome for you. The thing that annoyed me about it, was the rolling shutter in electronic mode.
@@Shawns_snapshots Thanks, Shawn! I think the A7 iv would fit most of what I currently do for stills. Plus, I wouldn't feel like I have to change bodies to my A7S iii every time I want a quick video clip in 4k 60p. Hopefully, I'll be ready to get the A7 iv soon, but I've been trying to acquire a few more lenses before buying the next camera body... there might be an A7 v by then... haha! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I don’t have any experience with the a7 iii, but I can absolutely confirm that the a7iv is an amazing camera
Thx for the review
Thanks for watching!
Great review, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Love the Chosen shirt you are wearing with the review!
Fantastic Lens use it with the A9ii and it is fantastic combination for wildlife. Coming from Nikon D5 with 200-400 the weight, extra reach end handling is fantastic.
Thanks so much. You sold me on getting one!
I hope you'll enjoy using it as much as I do! Thanks for watching and commenting!
There is a 3rd party foot that I had bought for my lens which has an excellent fit and finish, and I think slightly lighter. I think I got it off eBay and was a reasonable price considering build quality, and works great with my tripod. I saw someone discuss shortly I bought the lens, and haven’t taken it off. I pretty much only bought this lens with a Sony A7R3 (initially bought the A7R4 and had focus issues so returned it) to photograph birds in my backyard. I had been shooting with a Tamron 150-600mm on a Canon 70D, and then on a Fuji 100-400mm on an XT2 which I enjoyed. But once I got the Sony combo, I was literally blown away. Shooting pics through my house windows were crisper than shooting outside with the other lenses (as I bought in the winter). Once spring hit and I was able to shoot outside, I knew I wouldn’t touch the other lenses (sold the Tamron). It is difficult to travel with on a plane with other gear, so I have kept my Fuji 100-400 as part of my flying travel kit. But for any road trips, it’s the Sony that comes with me for wildlife, and I still use the Fuji XT2 with other lenses for landscape.
Great review. And BTW, nice shirt. 😊
Hi Carl I use Kirk for the lens foot. I love this lens too, it’s usually my go to for all around wildlife.
That looks like a good solution for the lens foot. Thanks for the tip! I'll probably pick up one of those. And thanks for watching!
I shot wildlife daily, I have this attached to my A9 and I have no real issues, I get great images every outing..
Hey 👋👋 My 200-600mm just arrived today and when I saw the guy bringing the box I started to crumble... I thought that it's a fridge he's delivered. I will love it for sure but I was totally unaware how bog and heavy this is. A beast! I need to start working out more to build muscles to support it. However, yes, I needed your video very much to reassure me because I was for a split second worrying that I've made a mistake. But I suppose when you want that extra reach you need to take this wight on. Thanks a million 👋
Congrats on getting the 200-600! I think you will really enjoy it. It is well worth the weight (and the wait)! And, yes, I think the size and weight comes along with a full frame lens with these specs. At least it's a lot smaller than a 600mm f/4. Thanks for watching and commenting - and good luck with that new lens!
Love the focal length range. With a high resolution camera it si the perfect with a cropped sensor to shoot from far when necessary. The internal zoom and focus is great when using a bean bag. I think its a perfect match for a SONY R IV, R V or the A1. Its a great buy for your money...
Love the lens and the shirt. Great review.
Thank you! And thanks for watching!
thanks alot 💜
I have the a7sIII and this lens and happy with the combo overall, but now I'm fighting to fork the money for the a1 to have both the 4K@60fps 1.5x crop mode and the 8K@30fps (now it's 4:2:2 instead of 4:2:0 with the latest firmware update) with the ability to crop 2x or even more and still maintaining a relatively sharp 4K image or upscale it using 3rd party AI software if cropped further. 8K@30fps would be for static birds and for extreme macro combined with 5x magnification it can be pushed to 10x and more! In that regard the Sony a1 feels like reasonably priced especially that it's sharing the same sensor with their new Venice 2 cine-alta camera, their top tier cinema camera.
There's no doubt that the a1 is a monster of a camera. And you're right, that camera's resolution and performance can open up a lot of amazing possibilities. And it's priced appropriately for a flagship mirrorless body. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Love my FE200-600G. I use it with an a6400. Yes, its a weighty beast but you can get used to finding a comfortable position for hand held. I just bought a gimbal for my tripod though, and thats a game-changer for stills and video.
Is it true the aperture is 6.3 at 400mm?
Carl, glad to see you back,, Looks like you got your new house done. Good vid, glad you have birds in you area, me, living in Portland Ore,, as a kid remembering all the song birds,,Robin Red breasts every ware, Chick-A-D's, now I never see them, what has happened? For me, hard to make Videos in these troubled times, Thanks
Thanks, Neal! Yeah, the house is coming along. Although, I'm still trying to figure out how to work, and live, in it. The original part of the house is 120 yrs old, so the floor plan wasn't conceived with modern living in mind... haha. Sorry to hear that you're not seeing those birds in your area anymore. There must be something that has changed in the environment there? Thankfully, we are loaded with more birds (and a menagerie of other critters) than I would have ever imagined. I agree, these troubled times can be depressing and demotivating. And that's a huge part of why we moved out into a rural area. Things aren't very convenient, and I miss being closer to friends, but it's a lot easier to ignore the madness of the world here. I firmly believe the glory of God's creation still abounds. And photography/videography is a great way to shut out the madness of the world and to focus on the good things (no matter how small) that might be in our presence. I'm sure the desire to make videos will return to you soon. Good to hear from you and thanks for watching! God bless!
Love the shirt!
Good lens. Usually, I shoot small subjects at almost minimum focusing distance (2.5 - 10 meters). It gives a small depth of field. It means that I have to use ~f/7.1-12 aperture, and I won't get any benefits from Sony GM 600mm f/4.
The exact video I was looking for, posted just one day earlier. Talk about luck.😊 I really like your way of putting important details with a casual toned conversation style video. Please keep them coming - I've subscribed.👍 I am contemplating a shift from my Nikon set up (D850 with 300 f2.8 & 1.4x TC) to Sony (a7iv with 200-600mm). The reason is I wish to make more videos now and want a lighter gear. Am I going right?🤔
Thank you so much! And thanks for subscribing! As for switching from your current setup to Sony: By all accounts, Nikon produced one of the greatest DSLRs with the D850. But mirrorless systems appear to be the future, and they have a lot to offer. I got into the Sony system for the exceptional auto focus (in video), the lens selection, and the fact that they have cinema cameras that share the E mount. Like I mentioned in this video, I haven't gotten an A7iv yet, but I am confident that it is a great camera. And of course the 200-600 is a killer lens. Nikon is making some great mirrorless cameras now, as well, but they haven't had as much time to accumulate a full array of lenses yet (although, I'm sure they will). Generally speaking, you probably wouldn't go wrong with any of the top brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, Panasonic)... But, for now, Sony seems to be a bit ahead of the pack with their mirrorless lens lineup and certain areas of the technology. Stay tuned and good luck with your gear decision!
@@carlculpepperimages Thank you. This helps quite a bit.
Want a tip for sharp photos. Go sit in a bird hide. Most sharp bird photos that you see are either photos of birds that dont move much or scare easily, shot from a photo hut or camouflaged people. Wildlife photography can be a pain in the ass. I have the 200 600 but im getting frustrated with it. Its really hard to just walk around in a forest and take some epic photos
I am satisfied with af speed. Specially if it has gone in infinity then bring back is very slow
is it good for a Sony Alpha 7SII?
I have the same camera and lens but having trouble with not getting sharp photos. I us it hand held and use shutter priority and Aperture priority.
Handheld shooting with this lens will require a steady hand and a reasonably fast shutter speed. The old rule of thumb is to set the shutter to approximately twice the focal length. For example, 600mm = 1/1250 (camera's closest to 1200). This lens has good stabilization, so you should be able to lower the speed with practice. But keep your subject's speed of movement in mind, too (birds and small animals can be very quick). Also, try the three different settings for the lens' stabilization, depending on how you are using it. I normally leave the OSS switch on the mode 1, but your needs could be different. I also use a tripod whenever possible. I hope that helps. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@carlculpepperimages thank you 🙏
Hi Carl, which camera body are you using with this lens? I'm using it with A7iv and I found the bird eye is not sharp and with noise. Do I need to update the firmware of body and lens?
Like you, I'm mostly using the A7iv (since December of 2023). I haven't noticed any issues with the sharpness using it with the 200-600. However, I feel that this lens requires enough light to have a reasonably high shutter speed to get sharpness and lower the ISO. Having said that, I use noise reduction on a lot of my photos. I always find it is easier to clean up the noise in an image than to do any meaningful sharpening of a blurry photo. I also still find that I get better results with spot focus area placed on the bird's eye than relying too much on the camera's bird subject recognition. And, if there is enough light, it is good to stop down to around f/8 - f/11... just a bit more depth of focus can make big difference in what appears to be sharp if the bird is close to you. I hope that helps. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Sony IBIS has supposedly been significantly improved in A7RV
I run same lens and same body (a7iii) having hard time getting good focus on birds that are a bit distant. Any suggestions?
It's always worth trying a variety of focus strategies in order to find out what works best for you and the situation. More distance will always make it more difficult to get sharp and in-focus results. Not only can the camera struggle to attain focus, atmospheric conditions can have a major impact on the clarity. Shooting in optimum light conditions will help a lot. I always preferred to use spot focus on the eye whenever possible. For moving or flying birds, one of the larger zone focus areas could be beneficial. In either case, I set the shooting mode on high - and I take quite a few shots in order to have a chance of getting at least one good shot. Studying the birds enough to predict behavior seems to be one of the best ways to get sharp photos with any camera... I'm still working on that, myself!
So I’m having issues with sharpness on my A1. What shutter speed do you suggest? I’m at 1/3200 @600mm and it just don’t give me that tack sharp image. Do I need to be using a tripod with this lens? And what mode for stabilization do you use mostly? 1 for still tripod, 2 for horizontal motion and 3 for both vertical and horizontal?
@@njrtech I will try the ibis thank you very much!
@@morganwalstrom9900 I agree with everything madmaxx72 said. I would add that it is important to choose the appropriate focus mode/area and focus settings on the camera for the type of shooting, subject and conditions. Best of luck, and thanks for watching and commenting!
Higher ISO might be an issue as well. If you shoot at higher ISO's the image can get grainy and edges will look blurry.
I have the same combo: 1. If your ISO is too high, your images can look unsharp, even if they are not. I try to stay under 3200 iso, 640 ISO being still very very good, while allowing higher shutter speeds. 2: Panning speed ! Even at 3200/s, if you pan faster or slower than the bird you're tracking, the image will not be tack sharp. 3: heat distortion. Shooting in conditions with high heat distortion simply just sucks, and you can't do much except stop down and pray. For portraits: your shutter speed is probably too high, causing your ISO to skyrocket. You should be able to shoot handheld 1/500s with no issues whatsoever. Yes, there will be some unsharp shots due to motion blur, but that's what 20fps are for. If the lens is too heavy to hold stable, try a monopod, tripod, or the 100-400GM.
I feel your pain. I kept getting soft images when shooting 400 to 600mm with the lens on the original A9. Finally gave up on it and reverted to the Sony 100-400mm.
Can you put the link for the plate
Here is a link to the plate that I attach to the foot. www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/986283-REG/manfrotto_500plong_video_camera_plate.html
Hated it. Drove me crazy until I figured out its minimum focus distance at 600mm was 17 yards. I was used to the Sony 70-400mm A-mount lens which had a much shorter minimum. I shoot wildlife, especially birds, and especially small birds such as warblers. This lens was useless for that so I sold it and got the Sigma 150-600mm sport. It is so much better for what I shoot. For sports, big beasts, air shows etc. it is probably great. For me, no.
1. Focus breading use x1.4 teleconverter for small subjects.
Yes, I still need to try that.
I have had similar success while using the tele as well!
This lens with Sony A1 it's just fantastic..
Merci pour cette analyse précieuse. Je suis sur le point d'acquérir cet objectif en remplacement d'un Sigma sport 150 - 600 de première génération. Presque 1000 grammes en moins...
Je suis content que vous ayez trouvé cette vidéo utile ! Je n'ai aucune expérience avec cet objectif Sigma, mais je suis très satisfait du Sony 200-600. Merci d'avoir regardé et commenté !
so a7ii would not be a good match for the lens.
While the newer bodies offer more capabilities (better speed, low light perf., video specs, etc.), I'm sure you could still get good photos with the A7 ii/200-600 combo. However, each generation of newer bodies has improved the ease of use and increased the possibilities. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I agree this lens is why I want to switch to Sony!
I had better luck with the a1 and not so much with a7rv.
2.4 kilograms is not heavy 😂. Try a 600mm handheld.
whats wrong is the sony is fat + huge. it also cannot focus closer then 8 feet. and frankly its not sharper then my canon 100-400mm II w/1.4x iii combo. Yes my max is 560mm with that but it's still fast with a simple sigma mc-11 adapter on my a6500. and weighs about 30% less and truly portable (hiking). ps i own both but i'm likely selling the sony...
I had the Sony 200-600mm, but I sold it, because it is too big and heavy for hiking and it have IBIS problems with Sony A7R series cameras.
Only with the A7riv.
@@markrigg6623 Are you 100% sure of that, I saw one that have a A7RV who had problems.
@cameraprepper7938 It's the first I've heard of that on the latest model. I own the a7r iv and v and use them with that lens. Don't make up your mind just on one instance of something .People get settings wrong, may have been a genuine fault somewhere that's a one off. Etc etc.....
@@markrigg6623 No it is not about settings and my local professional shop says that Sony knows about the with the IBIS in the R-series that do not work well enough with some Lenses with stabilizers, but Sony will not confirm it in public. I my experience, it is at longer distances the IBIS most often have trouble, at sorter distance there are not as often trouble and that is bad, because I buy a long tele Lens for shottin at long distances most of the time.
Why didn't you address the one issue that everyone is concerned with? The erratic focus. This lens is capable of taking tack sharp photos, but for every one like that, I have to take 10 - 20 pics that are unacceptably blurry. From the research I've done, it looks like this is a very common problem with this lens and so far Sony hasn't come up with a solution for it.
I did not address because I have not experienced any issues with that.
Yeah I would take forum complainers with a grain of salt. I do not have erratic focus issues. You also have to account for user error since a lot of people assume leaving the af in wide will yield good result and they think the camera will do everything for them. Also people don’t understand that they need much higher shutter speeds. Another thing to remember is that the only people who voice their opinions are the people who have issues. The only time my af went erratic was when I was in wide and there was a ton going on in the scene
@@mrwashur1991 I'm no professional, but then, I'm not a rookie either. I've been shooting seriously for almost 10 years and I've been using this lens for almost a year. For now, I'm assuming there's something I don't know about this lens, but I have yet to find the right settings to get consistently good results. When everything works right, the results are excellent, but not consistent, and I throw away way more photos than I'm used to.
@@festerbestertester1658 I have the same problem. I personally use a6400, and I say it's like 1 (2 max) of sharp photos on every 10 I do.
It's specifically when it's mated to the A7r4 that it's famous for crap autofocus.
For me the lenshood is terrible to put on.
Yeah, it can be a bit fiddly to make sure it's on there straight... especially if when I'm in a hurry. But the hood, itself, is quite nice.
Click bait title. His answer: VERY LITTLE.
Hands down, this is the best value / quality that you can buy for a lens in the 200-600mm range. Of course the lens is going to be heavy though any telephoto lens with a range like this is going to have some weight to it.