Sony FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G Review

Up until now Sony hasn’t actually bothered to offer quality tele lenses meant for the E-mount. However, with the launch of the full setup camera lineup, Sony appears to have changed its course towards the luxury market. After the first full setup Zeiss offering, the innovative Sony FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G is the first expert level E-mount tele lens. The FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G is a full setup lens and thus compatible with the A7 series plus the APS-C design mirror less cameras.

Build quality

The body quality of the FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G is exceptional – there is no shaking at all and the controller rings run very well. It doesn’t extend throughout zooming and due to its internal focusing structure, the front component doesn’t revolve hence using a polarizer isn’t an issue - except if you connect the deep (white shaded-) hood. Sony offers a removable tripod base as part of the normal package. The lens is also moisture and dust resistant.

Distortion

The FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G boasts decent distortion attributes. At 70mm it displays a medium quantity of tub distortion (1.1%) varying to average pin cushion falsifications in the mid-array to stretched end. This can as well be completely compensated while starting digital auto-correction.

Resolution (MTF)

The resolution attribute is mostly remarkable. The focus resolution is finest at 70mm – it’s outstanding from f/4 to f/11. The edges are normally very good while the corners are somewhat weaker at f/4 however become equal from f/5.6 onwards. The lens best spot is the mid-range. The midpoint is a bit softer however, and the excellence in the outer picture area is much enhanced. The lens is even able to deliver outstanding results across the picture arena at f/8 which is actually rare, particularly for zoom lenses. There is a small performance drawback at 200mm. The middle is still very decent, followed by decent to extremely good edges. Nevertheless, the bends are soft at maximum aperture. Dropping down to f/5.6 improves the curves towards the excellence of the borders once more. The field curve is normally low.

Bokeh

The Sony FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G is fairly slow for an expert tele-zoom lens. Nevertheless it is certainly possible to attain a low depth-of-ground hence the bokeh (out-of-focus distortion) quality is a vital criteria. The FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G does an excellent work here. 

Verdict

The FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G is, certainly, a quality lens with just one or two weaknesses. Nevertheless, as previously stated in the outline, it's recommended not to couple this lens with the A7R. The A7R produces rather huge shutter pulsations that change everything while using tele-lenses - regardless of activated OSS. Nevertheless, the A7s and A7 ought to be capable of exploiting the very high potential of the Sony FE 70-200mm F4.0 G OSS SEL70200G. Therefore the lens is highly recommended.