This week I spent a few days shooting golden eagles from a hide in Northern Finland.
I normally shoot wildlife with Canon long lenses and use Sony (A7Riii) for landscapes, but on this trip I took along the 100-400mm GM lens to try it out for this kind of shooting.
I am sad to say that it did not pass the audition. The image quality, focus speed and focus accuracy of this lens are all great but it could not handle the weather. Within less than an hour condensation had built up inside the lens (behind the front element) making it impossible to shoot with. The lens is said to be "moisture resistant"... but it could not handle the conditions. It was a basic Finnish day, about -5C, dry and a little cloudy with occasional snow and the lens was protected from some of the elements by an overhanging roof... it could have been a lot harder conditions. The difference in temperature between the hide and the outside world was enough to cause the problem.
My companions in the same hide had no such issues with their Canon 100-400mm, Nikon 200-400mm and Olympus 40-150mm zoom lenses. It was an embarassing situation to be a Sony shooter
I contacted the retailer where I purchased the lens and have been told that this is a common problem and does not mean that the moisture resistance of the lens is faulty.
I am pretty disappointed.
Has anyone else had any similar issues with this lens or have you had more positive experiences in the same situation?
Andy