Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS reviews roundup: is it worth the price?
Released in 2016, the Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS is a versatile telephoto zoom lens designed for full-frame E-mount mirrorless cameras. It’s tropicalized, with a high-resolution image stabilizer over the entire zoom range.
It’s an is an excellent choice if you think a 200mm lens is a bit short: you’ll be able to use it for sports, nature and portrait photography.
Specs:
- Mount: Sony E-mount
- APS-C equivalent: 105-450 mm
- Optical stabilization: Yes
- Weather sealed: Yes
- Weight: 854 g (30,2 oz)
- Min. aperture: f/4.5
- Max. aperture: f/22-29
- Minimum focus distance: 0,9 m (2,96 pi)
- Filter size: 72mm
- Full-frame 70-300mm G Series F45-56 G Telephoto zoom, Nano AR Coating with Nano-precision structure, Optical SteadyShot for clear images even at full telephoto
- 35 mm full-frame. 9-blade circular aperture for smooth defocus background bokeh, 2x Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) glass elements reduces aberration, 4x Aspherical elements control spherical aberration and...
- Linear actuator achieves fast, smooth, quiet autofocus, Enhanced operability w/ direct control switches and buttons on lens, 105-450mm (35mm equivalent) w/ APS-C format cameras
What do the critics think of the Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS?
Overall, most reviews on the web say that the Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS is a fantastic zoom lens for Sony A7 or A9, easy to use and very versatile thanks to its extra wide range: you can shoot a great variety of subjects, from portraits to landscapes. With a Sony APS-C camera, a 300 mm lens turns into a 105-450 mm telephoto lens. However, if you shoot mainly wildlife, the focal range might not be long enough.
It offers an excellent image resolution, and its minimum focusing distance of 0.9 meters is also very useful for close-up shots. The integrated SteadyShot optical image stabilization effectively minimizes camera movement and its autofocus is fast and accurate for daytime photography. The 70-300 might struggle when it’s get dark.
The main negative points that come up most often in the different reviews are its narrow aperture and the loss of resolution at 300mm.
It’s also a bit on the heavy side, and the price is quite high for this type of lens.
Most reviews like…
- Useful telephoto zoom range
- Surprisingly sharp images and nice colors
- Excellent build quality
- Turns out great when matched on APS-C cameras
- Fast focusing in good light condition
- Good performance for distortion, CA and flare management
- Optical image stabilization works great
- Dust and splash protection
- Not excessively large and heavy
Most reviews don’t like…
- Expensive
- Focal range might be short for wildlife amateurs
- Resolution not that great at 300mm
- Variable aperture
- Some hunting when focusing in low light
For more infos about the positive and negatives sides of the Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS, check out the selection of reviews below:
Websites Reviews
Photographylife.com –4.2/5 (‘Overall, there is little doubt that the Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS is a good performer, and though it’s a little pricey for a relatively slow 70-300mm lens, it nonetheless remains an attractive option in Sony’s FE lineup.’)
Photographyblog.com – ★★★★½ Highly recommended (‘The Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS makes a solid case for itself by offering a useful focal range incorporating the longest reach of any E-mount lens, and all in a relatively compact package.’)
Thephoblographer.com – 5/5 – (‘There isn’t very much to complain about with this lens and I’d actually even consider it to be one of the best bang for your buck lenses that Sony offers. You get weather resistance, great image quality, decent autofocus, and a compact size for a little over $1,000. If you’re a travel photographer, I totally recommend this lens too. […] It’s well worth the purchase and highly capable overall.’)
Pcmag.com – 4/5 Excellent – (‘The Sony FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS is a crisp, all-weather telezoom. It offers a solid range, balances well with both APS-C and full-frame Sony mirrorless cameras, and delivers crisp results throughout its zoom range.’)
Photoreview.com.au – 8.7/10 (‘There’s no doubting Sony’s FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS lens is a good performer, regardless of which E-mount camera you fit it to. It fills an important gap in the company’s range and delivered excellent performance in our tests. It’s also well built and focuses quietly enough to enable it to be used when shooting movies.’)
Amazon users reviews
- Full-frame 70-300mm G Series F45-56 G Telephoto zoom, Nano AR Coating with Nano-precision structure, Optical SteadyShot for clear images even at full telephoto
- 35 mm full-frame. 9-blade circular aperture for smooth defocus background bokeh, 2x Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) glass elements reduces aberration, 4x Aspherical elements control spherical aberration and...
- Linear actuator achieves fast, smooth, quiet autofocus, Enhanced operability w/ direct control switches and buttons on lens, 105-450mm (35mm equivalent) w/ APS-C format cameras