I was part of BnC Birding Group that was invited by Sony to an overnight photo-shoot session in Fraser Hill; This is to introduce to us their latest telephoto lenses as shown in the poster display below. My first-hand review is basically on their affordable telezoom for start-up birders. It was recommended that the lens is bundled with their pro camera A9 because it is compatible with their sony teleconverter 1.4/2x without much drop in resolution (that's what they say).Other than that the AF still works even at F8.
As usual, I will be comparing the Sony with my current Fuji setup aka Fuji XF 100-400mm F4-5.6 telephoto lenses banded with Fuji XT-2 of 3 years now. Both are equal in reach namely 600mm and 24 megapixel output. This is what I have been asking from Fuji to come out with a 200-600mm telezoom range for better reach. So far Fuji is quiet about it. If Sony can come out with a good APS-C cropped proCamera body I believe they will pull many birders over including me. The other thing is there is no lens adaptor for FE lens to Fuji mount le...............
Affordability wise I must say Sony has finally done something right this time and Olympus and Fuji should be running scared................as the real mirrorless competition for the 600mm range is here! ....ie price range for enthusiasts say about RM15,000-18,000.00 bracket. Their G master FE600mm F4 is in a different league for pro birder which cost a whopping RM57 k for the lens alone!!!
Okay for this test I was shooting with the Sony FE handheld whilst my Fuji XF is on a tripod. In term of the weight; the Sony setup is about 2.7 kg which is about 0.7 kg heavier compared to my Fuji setup. It is still bearable but I rather have it on a tripod for long hours birding. Sony FE200-600 have internal zoom and its great with a smooth half turn you can reach 600mm range. But the physical length is in a permanent length of 12.5 inches as compared to 8.3 inches when the Fuji is retracted..... so for traveling it is a bit larger and heavier to fit in your hand carry. Small issue though.As usual, I will be comparing the Sony with my current Fuji setup aka Fuji XF 100-400mm F4-5.6 telephoto lenses banded with Fuji XT-2 of 3 years now. Both are equal in reach namely 600mm and 24 megapixel output. This is what I have been asking from Fuji to come out with a 200-600mm telezoom range for better reach. So far Fuji is quiet about it. If Sony can come out with a good APS-C cropped proCamera body I believe they will pull many birders over including me. The other thing is there is no lens adaptor for FE lens to Fuji mount le...............
Affordability wise I must say Sony has finally done something right this time and Olympus and Fuji should be running scared................as the real mirrorless competition for the 600mm range is here! ....ie price range for enthusiasts say about RM15,000-18,000.00 bracket. Their G master FE600mm F4 is in a different league for pro birder which cost a whopping RM57 k for the lens alone!!!
Sony can only provide one lens to be shared out amongst 20 pax. I only managed to use it for about 15 minutes in the afternoon session at Jelai port. The lighting condition was good without any harsh sunlight. So this is just a brief review of the photo output and my personal opinion of a layman bird photog ok.
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| Pic1 actual - Sony A9 & Sony FE 200-600mm G telezoom lens shooting at 25-30 ft out 1/500s f7.1 Comp -0.71 |
1. Unlike their G master lens which has Fluorite and an Xtreme Aspherical lens the dynamic range of the FE200-600 still good and commendably equal my Fuji XF100-400 if not better. Fuji XF100-400mm has Fluorine and Super ED lens mind you. Anyway looking at Pic1 the white of the wings of the Oriental Magpie is still washed out even with a slight negative compensation. This is always being an issue with my Fuji output.
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| Pic1 cropped to full frame useable image |
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| Pic2 - Sony A9 & Sony FE 200-600mm G telezoom lens shooting at 25 ft out 1/500s f7.1 Comp -0.71 2. Color: Sony color of the picture out from the camera equal the output of the Fuji setup but Fuji vivid colors still have my preference . Sony is more neutral and can easily be boosted in post editing. |
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| Pic2 cropped to full frame and enhanced |
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| Pic3 Cropped - FE 200-600 shooting at 25 ft away 1:500s F6.3 focus point at the back of body feathers is tack sharp but tail and head soft. |
3. Depth of Field: at max 600mm range F6.3; the Sony 200-400 depth of field rather shallow depending where is the focussing point. You may need to up aperture stop to 8/9 My Fuji fair better in this area but not much at wide open.
4. Bokeh wise: Both FE & XF lenses display equally good background separation.
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| Pic3a Cropped FE 200-600 shooting at 25 ft away 1:500s F6.3 focus point is on the head is tack sharp but tail blur out |
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| Pic3b subadult LargeNiltava (F) cropped XF100-400 shooting at 20-25ft 1:160s F5.6 ISO800 focussing on body ; the subject bird in sharpness thru out. |
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| Pic3c Streaked Wrenbabbler cropped XF100-400 shooting at 20ft 1:160s F5.6 subject bird in sharpness thru. |
5. AF focusing Speed: I did not have the opportunity to shoot in low light condition. I would expect it will fare better than my Fuji XT-2 because Sony A9 is a full-frame sensor camera. Anyway during good lighting my experience with the camera; when it was not in spot AF mode it tends to hunt a bit and it is slow to catch focus causing a lot of missed shots. Both Sony FE200-600 and Fuji XE100-400 have older Direct Screw Drive only and not the latest dual Linear Motor of the Sony G master.
6. Shooting Distance of 35-40ft: At the limit distance for bird shooting experience; I manage 1 keeper out of 3-5 shot for static perched shot. For active bird shooting, it is in familiar ground of getting poor images for both the Sony and Fuji for my case.
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| Pic4 Cropped FE 200-600 shooting at 35-40 ft away 1:500s F7.1 with OSS on I got 1 out of 5 shots that is sharp when handheld. |
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| Pic4a: cropped and enhanced to suit is very useable. |
In conclusion, I would highly recommend the Sony FE200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G for any budding birders if they are already in Sony platform. It is in par with my Fuji setup and that is already a 3-star rating. As for me; I will remain with Fuji platform until Sony can come out with an affordable(say RM6,000) and good APS-C body.
Besides that I am not so familiar with the Sony setup and rather confused as you have go into the body menu to set your parameters and need to remember all the preset customising dials for quick adjustment of the ISO, AF mode etc.
Besides that I am not so familiar with the Sony setup and rather confused as you have go into the body menu to set your parameters and need to remember all the preset customising dials for quick adjustment of the ISO, AF mode etc.
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| Pic5 Cropped XF100-400 1/125 F7.1 ISO800 in open perfect casted light |
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| Pic6 Actual framing : XF100-400 1/125s F8 ISO800 shooting from a distance of 40-45ft in canopy shaded lighting |
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| Pic6a Fire-tufted Barbet cropped to full frame: XF100-400 1/125 F8 ISO800 shooting from a distance of 40-45ft in canopy shaded lighting. Do compare with Sony output Pic4....same same right? |
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| Pic7 Silver-eared Mesia Cropped to suit XF100-400 1:125s F8 from a distance of 30ft in open cast lighting |
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| BnC participants group photo Thank you Sony |
Great event dear friend. So have you decided to change system to Sony yet?
ReplyDeleteIf you compare my Fuji photos they are matching in IQ. However with the latest A7 IV with 61 mp with APS-C crop factor built in it is very tempting bro
ReplyDeleteFuji better come out with a bigger bazooka 300-600mm will be good
ReplyDeleteagreed friend. Fuji needs to catch up on lenses. especially telephone lenses.
DeleteJuly August birdlife not so good
ReplyDeletehopefully from October onward will be better. Let's go friend
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