[intro music] Sony's newest lens might be their most versatile yet. The Sony FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II Is a mouthful of a name, But it is that because this is a lens
that does a lot of things very well, Up to and including doing 1:2 macro
throughout the whole zoom range. This is a lens well worth getting excited about
if you're considering a new telephoto zoom. More on this after a word from our sponsor. Today's episode is brought to you by Fantom Wallet, The minimalist modern wallet that is now
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when you're ready to check out. The 70-200 G Mark II has shrunk in size a bit,
but that's in part because, like Canon, They have switched from an internally-zooming design
to an externally-zooming design. Sony's design isn't quite as compact as Canon's,
but that's for a good reason. The Sony is fully compatible with Sony's 1.4x
and 2.0x teleconverters. The lens is 150mm in length, But extends to right over 200mm
when zoomed out. It is just 80mm in diameter, And weighs 862 grams with the tripod collar, And 794 grams without. The lens is thoroughly weather-sealed
to make sure there is no dust Or moisture intrusion during use. The tripod collar is fully removable, And my only complaint is that the foot
is not Arca-Swiss-compatible. There is no aperture ring here, but there are
a total of five switches – an AF/MF switch,
One to control full time direct
manual focus, a focus limiter, Then two switches to control the OSS
and its operation. A zoom lock on the right side locks the lens
into the 70mm position for transport. There are a total of three focus hold buttons So that one is available regardless
of shooting orientation. The front filter thread is 72mm. There are
nine rounded aperture blades, And the color-matched lens hood
is a unique petal design. The minimum focus distance varies
according to the focal length. As little as 26 centimeters at 70mm, And 42 centimeters at 200mm. You can achieve a maximum magnification
of 0.50x, Or a 1:2 macro at any focal length, Which really adds to the versatility of the lens. And the maximum magnification increases to 0.75x
with the 1.4x TC, Or to a full 1:1 magnification with the 2x TC. Maximum focal length is 280mm
at F5.6 with the 1.4x, Or 400mm at F8 with the 2.0x. Build quality is excellent. The zoom ring moves very smoothly,
as does the manual focus ring, Though with very light weight. Sony's OSS is improved here
and provides great stability. I had no problem hand-holding a 1/3 of a second
exposure at 200mm, Even on the high-resolution Sony A7RV. Autofocus comes via quad XD linear focus motors,
and provides near-instantaneous focus. You can go from close to distant in a split second, And even achieve very fast focus
when focusing near the macro range. I was able to get the full 30 frames per second
on my Sony Alpha 1 When tracking basketball action, While achieving consistently well-focused results. Focus on animals, even through obstructions,
proved no problem. And I also had excellent focus results with people. Even shooting photos or video of my bees
delivered excellent results. Video pulls were smooth and well damped,
and I saw very little focus breathing. I also had good results with my hand test,
with an accurate return to my eyes.
Autofocus for sports, portraits, wildlife,
and video was all excellent, As are the focus results at macro range.
This is an outstanding focus system. Similarly excellent is the image quality. It is impressively consistent all across the zoom range, With excellent sharpness at 70mm
in the center and midframe, And with the corners just a tiny bit behind. Stepping down to F5.6 or smaller
makes little difference, Except for a slight improvement in those corners. At 100mm, the center and midframe performance Is about 1% worse than at 70mm, But the corner performance is significantly better –
about 10% better. At 135mm, the lens is the strongest, with
excellent sharpness everywhere, even at F4. The 200mm performance is very similar to
100mm, and remains excellent. The lens is slightly less sharp with the 1.4x
teleconverter attached, but is still excellent. And real-world results at all tested focal lengths
look fantastic. There is some pincushion distortion throughout
the zoom range, but very little vignette. Adding the 1.4x teleconverter actually
corrects the distortion. I saw no chromatic aberrations of any kind, Resulting in a very high level of contrast
and sharpness. Bokeh, however, remained soft and creamy
at various distances And throughout the zoom range. I also found that the macro performance was strong, With good rendering of fine details up close. Flare resistance was also good. In fact, the new Sony 70-200mm F4 Macro
G OSS II Is pretty much good at everything.
Well, maybe except for opening up to F2.8. And as such, should be a top target for those
that want to save a thousand dollars off the price Of the 70-200mm F 2.8 GM II. If you want information, please look
in the description down below For linkage to my full text review,
or you can watch the definitive video review. There are buying links there as well. Please like and subscribe. Thanks for watching. Have a great day,
and let the light in. [outro music]
