Sony's premium Telezoom Lens, the 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM II (Price: $2199.99), is the best for Sony's Amont SLR system. The premium price comes with a wider coverage area and stronger build quality than the 70-300mmF4.5-5.6 G SSM II (1,149.99).
It produces crisp images at the higher zoom levels. The zoom can be resized to improve performance. This is a great option for Sony photographers. However, telephoto performance may be more important. Tamron SP150-600mm F/5-6.3 DiVC USD G2 (1,399.00 Amazon). This telezoom is affordable and works with A-mount SLRs.
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Design
Although the 70-400mm is smaller than an average 70-200mm F/2.8 zoom, it can be extended when zoomed. The shortest part measures 7.7x3.7 inches (HW), weighs in at 3.3 pounds and can support 77mm front filters. It has a metal barrel that is not black like many professional telezooms. This is Sony's choice to keep the internal components cool in sunlit conditions.
Included are front and rear caps, soft carrying cases, and a retractable hood. You can adjust the orientation of circular polarizing filters by removing the cover. The cut-out window retracts so you don't have to take the hood off.
It's also long enough to allow you mount your lens on either a monopod or tripod. You can use the rotating collar to mount your foot so that you can take photos in landscape or portrait orientation. To lock the foot in place, or allow it to move freely, a large thumbscrew can be found.
You will find the zoom ring towards the front of your lens. The knurled rubber cover makes it easy to grip and is marked with the numbers 70, 100 and 135, 130, 200, 300 and 400mm. It is located in the middle of barrel, and has textured rubber. The barrel has three Focus Hold buttons, located between the two focus rings. There is also a switch to set the focus range and change to manual focus. You can also set a custom range of focus in the camera if you purchase the Alpha 99 II at Amazon ($3,198.00).
Focusing distances as close to 4.9 feet (1.55 meters) are possible with the lens. The lens has a solid magnification of 1:3.7 at 400mm, which allows objects to be projected onto the sensor at close-to-one-third their actual size. You also have a lot of work distance to do portraits and general photography with fewer focal lengths.
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Image quality
The lens was tested with the 42MP full-frame Alpha 99 II. It's an excellent performer, according to Imatest. It captures images at 70mm f/4 with 3,115 lines per photo height using a center-weighted test. The clarity is very even from one edge to the next. The image quality increases at f/5.6 (3621 lines), f/8 (3934 lines) and f/11 (3925 lines), but then falls off at f/16 (3.718 lines) as well as at f/22 (2.739 lines).
At 135mm the maximum aperture has narrowed to f/4.5, and image quality is still superb—3,540 lines with strong performance from edge to edge. You get sharper images with f/5.6 (33,854 lines), 3.998 lines, and 4.002 lines. The expected decrease is at f/16 (3.707 lines), f/8 (3.998 lines), and f/22 (2.884 lines).
At 250mm, things aren't quite as sunny. The maximum aperture has narrowed to f/5.6, but sharpness has also dropped quite noticeably to 2,291 lines—just a little better than the 2,200 lines we want to see at a minimum from a high-resolution system. In simple terms, clarity has dropped from extraordinary to just acceptable.
It is possible to stop at f/8. Sharpness increases to 3,587 lines and remains at that level at f/11 (3.805 lines). Expected drops are seen at f/16 (3612 lines), and f/22 (2 718 lines).
The lens performs well at 400mm f/5.6, with approximately 2,263 lines. However, clarity drops towards the edges and mid-section (1,921 line) of the frame. The average score at f/8 is 2,805 lines. This lens has solid performance throughout most of the frame and only 2,015 lines on the edges. You'll need to stop down to f/11 to enjoy sharp, even performance from edge to edge—3,369 lines. The image quality is still excellent at f/16 (3 324 lines), but you shouldn't use f/22 (2 339 lines).
Although distortion is not absent, it is very controlled. At 70mm there is negligible barrel distortion, while at 135mm and beyond it's just 1.1% pincushion distortion. This is a minor effect that JPG photographers can reduce by using in-camera correct. Adobe Lightroom CC contains a profile that allows you to correct distortions with just one click.
It is nearly impossible to have corner illumination. The dimming at 70mm F/4 is about -1.1EV. This adds an extremely slight vignette. It's negligible for longer focal lengths and at wider apertures.
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Conclusions
For A-mount SLR photographers, the Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6G SSM II is an excellent telezoom choice. The image quality is excellent and the range of images can be seen from good to exceptional. For best results you need to reduce the aperture if your subject is beyond 250mm. This should not be an issue as long as there's enough light.
A prime lens such as the Sony 300mmF2.8G SSM II (£7,499.99), or the 500mm F4G SSM (12,999.99) are better options, though they're more costly. Our favorite telezoom available in A-mount is still the relatively affordable Tamron 150-600mm G2—but it's a heavier lens with a different range of coverage, so there's probably room for both in your kit.
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