Sony GM FE100-400 lens: initial Tests of my lens & with TC's

[gclevy]

Tested the new GM FE100400 lens on my A7RM2 today with a quality printed color and B&W target.  The GM100400 is an excellent sharp lens at f6.7 and outstanding at f8 and f11.  Wide open (f5.6) at 400mm it is quite good but some blurring of 2 & 3 point type is seen.  At f8 2 point type is SHARP at 400 mm and almost equally sharp at 560 mm and f8-11 with the Sony 1.4X TC.  The 100-400mm lens even operates reasonably well at 800mm with the Sony 2X TC, where 3 point type is fairly good and 6 point type is sharp.  Of course contrast is lowered with the TC’s but not significantly for the 1.4X TC.  No chromatic aberration was noted with this lens.

 

I compared the GM 100400 with my (generation 1, 2014) Tamron 150-600mm lens. With a Sigma 2X TC at 720mm,  3 point type was good and 5 point type reasonably sharp.  Without TC, at 600mm the Tamron is known to be much less than optimal and in this comparison test that proved to be the case: at 600mm very good type had to be 5-6 point type and even larger type could not be said to be truly sharp.  Plus all tests required chromatic correction with the TAMRON lens.  I did not test tonight at 500mm with the TAMRON, which should give better results than the 720mm using the 2X TC.

 

In each test I moved the tripod so as to fill the frame with the target, so there is no correction needed for distance.

[gclevy]

forgot to put my website in the posting:  georgelevyphotography.com

 

[jonneymendoza01]

Nice. Will you say that you see next to no iq and af loss with the 1.4x?

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[gclevy]

YES!  Seemed like IQ was not significantly reduced.  I have not tested AF performance but I left the 1.4X TC on the lens and should have some response later this week.

[gclevy]

I have posted a few new pics on Viewbug.com where I am georgeclevy.  Flying hummingbird moths and some chicks being fed right on my porch.  Good captures and focus at 20 shots per second with the A9, the GM 100400 and 1.4 TC (at 560 mm).  Check out my website too: georgelevyphotography.com

[longislandphotographer1089]

Just picked up the Sony GM FE100-400 from Brad at Berger Bros. I absolutely love it for sports photography! It's a solid and sharp telephoto lens! Give me a call at 5168164921 if you want one, I heard they only have 2 left. 

[gclevy]

Several weeks with the GM 100400 on both my A7Rm2 and A9 (where it has been attached most of the time with the 1.4X TC) have confirmed boy first post.  The 1.4X TC dies bit appreciably degrade IQ of this fantastic lens.  Now I have not used the TC on my more demanding A7R M2 as yet....    Also focussing has been crisp and fast, even with the TC on my A9.  See my website for photos.....georgelevyphotography.com

[a6k]

Several weeks with the GM 100400 on both my A7Rm2 and A9 (where it has been attached most of the time with the 1.4X TC) have confirmed boy first post.  The 1.4X TC dies bit appreciably degrade IQ of this fantastic lens.  Now I have not used the TC on my more demanding A7R M2 as yet....    Also focussing has been crisp and fast, even with the TC on my A9.  See my website for photos.....georgelevyphotography.com

 

gclevy, I'm having a little trubble wit da typos. 

"boy first post"

"dies bit appreciably degrade.."

 

Please and thanks. Also looking forward to the report on the a7R2 with the lens plus TC.

[tinplater]

gclevy, I'm having a little trubble wit da typos. 

"boy first post"

"dies bit appreciably degrade.."

 

Please and thanks. Also looking forward to the report on the a7R2 with the lens plus TC.

I'm hoping dies bit means does not.

[gclevy]

Sorry for the typos.  Yes, I did mean that the 1.4X TC does NOT significantly degrade the great IQ of this lens.  You can see many shots at georgelevyphotography.com under "2017 Update page".  Yesterday I shot the A9 with the 100-400 lens without the TC but at 400mm limit.  I was shooting butterflies and did have some difficulty autofocussing with center and zone and wide area settings.  But it did settle down.  I was near the short distance limit of the lens.  

[Chrissie]

I hope I'm not hijacking anyone's private topic. But since this is about testing this particular lens, it thought it would well fit in here.

I also tried to stick to some advice which I received in this thread. In particular there is now significantly less atmospheric haze between the target and the camera, also ISO has gone down to 200.

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This is a bird feed from a hollow coconut shell, filled with some seeds. Bird is a "Blaumeise" or "Eurasian blue tit", (Cyanistes caeruleus).

Shot taken with an a9, Sony 100-400 GM at 400mm, f5.6, 1/400 sec., ISO 200.

 

Shot taken from the inside of a room, through a double-pane insulating window, from a tripod mount, wireless triggering, manual focus, spot metering, no corrections applied. No sharpening.

 

Comments welcome.

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

The feathers show good detail. That means detail would be very good with some sharpening. Feather detail is the most important thing in Bird photography, at least to some birders. So, in that respect, you can be pleased with the photo.

[Chrissie]

Thanks for your feedback, Jaf.

 

I have already played with sharpening in C1 , but I intentionally presented this shot unmodified, to separate lense performance from post-processing skills.

 

It was not fully sunny that day, so I didn't have the chance to stop the lense down. Since those little feathery bastards are really nimble, I had to go for a short shutter speed with priority.

Next thing I'll try is a camouflage and weatherproof camera-and-lense-hood, which would allow me to place the tripod outdoors and closer to the target, to get more of the sensor covered. That should definitely improve raw details also.

[babyleon]

Has anyone used this lens for video?  I find the OSS unacceptable for video and would like to hear the experience and opinions of others with respect to video.  Thanks!