Sony’s updated telephoto zoom is bigger, badder, faster

Product photos: Mitchell Clark

Sony has announced the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS, a full-frame telephoto lens that acts as a spiritual successor to the 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS from 2017. Of course, there are a few differences; it now features a constant maximum aperture, as well as an internally zooming design, though both things come with a cost (and not just a monetary one).

The 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS is made up of 28 elements in 20 groups, using a mix of Sony’s advanced optics. That includes two “Super ED” and three ED elements to reduce chromatic aberration, an “XA” aspheric lens and an “ED XA” (extra-low dispersion extreme aspherical) lens to suppress aberrations and reduce onion ringing in bokeh. It has an 11-bladed aperture, and a minimum focusing distance of 0.64m (2’1″) at the wide end, and 1.5m (4’11”) at the long end.

It uses four of Sony’s “XD” linear autofocus motors, which the company says will provide responsive tracking even when using the a9 III’s 120fps burst mode. It speaks to the ambition of making a lens that’s perfectly capable of shooting sports and wildlife. To that end, it can also be fitted with a teleconverter for extra reach.

There are a lot of controls on this lens (plus an extra one on the other side of the foot, hidden by a door).

The 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS has all the other bells and whistles you’d expect from this grade of lens, too. A bank of switches along the side let you control things like autofocus / manual focus, Sony’s “Full Time DMF” feature, applying a focus limiter, turning optical stabilization on and off, and choosing which mode it’s in. It also features four customizable buttons; they’re all assigned to the same function, but give you quick access no matter how you’re holding the lens. Behind them is a toggle function ring, and then the zoom ring, which has adjustable tension, and only requires a quarter turn to go from 100 to 400.

The rotating tripod foot – which is quite comfortable to hold thanks to its dual-texture design – has detents at 90° intervals, which you can set to be clicked or click-less. Finally, Sony has a solution for anyone who balks at buying 95mm filters for this lens: near the mount is a drop-in filter holder, which can accommodate (much cheaper) 40.5mm glass. The lens is sealed for dust and moisture, and has a fluorine coating on the front element to repel oils, dirt and water.

At 328mm (12.9″), the lens is a fair bit larger than the previous 100-400, which had an extending design and was 205 mm (8.1?) long at its shortest. It’s also heavier, weighing 1840g (64.9oz), versus 1495g (52.7oz). While that’s certainly not nothing, in my experience, it actually feels shockingly light given its size and specs. I was able to carry it around a wildlife area for two hours, often pointing it into the sky to take pictures of birds, without wearing my arms out. It’s also not immensely difficult to carry in a backpack, though it still physically takes up a fair amount of space.

Unlike Sony’s previous-gen 100-400, you can shoot at F4.5, even at 400mm. Sony a7R VI | Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS | 400mm | F4.5 | 1/400 sec | ISO 320 Out of camera JPEG Photo: Mitchell Clark

This lens is a more ambitious offering than its nine-year-old predecessor, both in terms of its aperture and its optical performance. It’s clear Sony is targeting professionals and enthusiasts who are shooting sporting events (like the upcoming World Cup) and wildlife, but who want the versatility of a zoom and don’t want to step all the way up to its highest-end telephoto primes. Those users will likely be willing to put up with the fact that the lens is larger and heavier for its speed at the long end, image quality and faster AF.

However, the lens is also coming in at a substantially higher price point than its predecessor, retailing for $4300, while the 4.5-5.6 will run you $2800. Still, for those who need the performance, Sony has clearly built a very capable option. It’ll be available starting in June, alongside the newly announced a7R VI.

Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS specifications:

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