Sony A1 Sony A1: Experience with the Sony FE 70-300mm Lens

[mapleleaf56]

Hi everyone
I’m purchasing the A1 today and I’m wondering if anyone has any experience using the Sony 70-300 with it..
I’m looking for a light walk around lens for when I go hiking on the trails rather than carrying my 200-600..
Any information would be helpful..

 

[spudhead]

Sorry Keith no to the question but glad to see you on here I think it been a while mate A footnote I had the 70-300 in a-mount and that was a really sharp bit of glass and I see no reason why the e-mount version would be anything other than sharp, also the 100-400 is a super super bit of glass even at 400mm

 

[dataylor1958]

I had this lens as I thought that 70-300 would be great for photographing my son's rugby. I ended up trading it in for the 70-200 F4 as F5.6 in the winter months was too slow for the shutter speed I required. Nevertheless, when the light was good, I was really pleased with the extra reach I had with the 70-300 and it is a truly versatile lens. As a general walk-around lens in good light you won't be disappointed.

 

[iamdlewis]

I had the 70-300G when I was using an A9 and it did a good job. The lens is sharp the focusing speed is good for 20 fps for objects the size of a hawk and larger. My issue with it was that for me 300mm and 24mp was not a good enough combination for the areas I was in the most often and I don't mind the weight of the 100-400GM. The lens was ideal for doing the tourist things (use the phone for the wide shots) but I just found I wasn't doing that type of stuff often enough. I have nothing bad to say about the lens, it just wasn't getting used.
With the A1 and the 70-300 you could basically get a ~21mp image using the APS-C mode and have an effective range of 105-450mm.
This is that lens with an A6000

• ILCE-6000
• Sony FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS
• 300.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/2000 sec
• ISO 160

 

[ddown]

I have one on order 5.6 vs 4.0 isn't much these days reach is more important to Me

 

[AlphaWorld]

I walk around with the 70-200 GM II, and it's a good combination for photography. Catch is that the white lens does attract more attention than I'd like.
When I want a slightly more discreet lens, I use the 135mm - still a big lens, but it's smaller, and black.

 

[pointreyes]

The 70-300 G is a nice lens, but you will not get 30 fps with it. A Sony lens with OSS that will support 30 fps is the APSC 70-350 G lens. That would be a 105-525 zoom with 21 MP files on the A1.

 

[UncleVanya]

Hi everyone
I’m purchasing the A1 today and I’m wondering if anyone has any experience using the Sony 70-300 with it..
I’m looking for a light walk around lens for when I go hiking on the trails rather than carrying my 200-600..
Any information would be helpful..

I use a Tamron 70-300 RXD on my A7Riii. I previously used the a-mount Sony 70-300 and the A-mount Tamron 70-300 SP. Both were fine, but the n newer Tamron is sharper and faster focusing. Optically I can find reviews that prefer it over the Sony 70-300 G and vice versa. For me the weight is what clenched it. The lens is an “always take” door to length, diameter and weight.

As an example, I took a short beach trip this week with my wife. I decided to take my a7rii to decide if I should sell it along with my FE 28/2, FE 85/1.8, ZA 24-70/4, and the Tamron 70-300/4.5-6.3 in a small Ape bag. The Sony 70-300 would never have been selected for that trip as it wouldn’t fit and there wasn’t room for a bigger camera case on this trip. I didn’t use the lens except for two days where we got out to some nature preserves. I also thankfully had it with me yesterday at lunch when we were seated at a dockside restaurant with a pier full of Pelicans!

To add context, I also own an a7riii and I’ve compared my Sony FE 70-200/2.8 GM with the 1.4x TC to the Tamron (280mm vs 300mm) and frankly at the same f stops the Tamron was sharper. Without the TC at shared focal lengths and f-stops the GM had a slight edge in real world shots but not much. Clearly the GM has far wider apertures and other capabilities that make it the better lens in most situations - but the Tamron has stupidly good optics.

NOTE: On your a1 this will be limited to a slower frame rate.

Beach trip 3/23 by -vanya_42nd-

Beach trip 3/23 by -vanya_42nd-

 

[mapleleaf56]

The 70-300 G is a nice lens, but you will not get 30 fps with it. A Sony lens with OSS that will support 30 fps is the APSC 70-350 G lens. That would be a 105-525 zoom with 21 MP files on the A1.

I use a Tamron 70-300 RXD on my A7Riii. I previously used the a-mount Sony 70-300 and the A-mount Tamron 70-300 SP. Both were fine, but the n newer Tamron is sharper and faster focusing. Optically I can find reviews that prefer it over the Sony 70-300 G and vice versa. For me the weight is what clenched it. The lens is an “always take” door to length, diameter and weight.

As an example, I took a short beach trip this week with my wife. I decided to take my a7rii to decide if I should sell it along with my FE 28/2, FE 85/1.8, ZA 24-70/4, and the Tamron 70-300/4.5-6.3 in a small Ape bag. The Sony 70-300 would never have been selected for that trip as it wouldn’t fit and there wasn’t room for a bigger camera case on this trip. I didn’t use the lens except for two days where we got out to some nature preserves. I also thankfully had it with me yesterday at lunch when we were seated at a dockside restaurant with a pier full of Pelicans!

To add context, I also own an a7riii and I’ve compared my Sony FE 70-200/2.8 GM with the 1.4x TC to the Tamron (280mm vs 300mm) and frankly at the same f stops the Tamron was sharper. Without the TC at shared focal lengths and f-stops the GM had a slight edge in real world shots but not much. Clearly the GM has far wider apertures and other capabilities that make it the better lens in most situations - but the Tamron has stupidly good optics.

NOTE: On your a1 this will be limited to a slower frame rate.

Beach trip 3/23 by -vanya_42nd-

Beach trip 3/23 by -vanya_42nd-

Thank you for your input.. I have the Tamron 70-180 f2.8 which is a fantastic lens.. so don’t need 70-200.. but I will research the Tamron 70-300 ..
Tamron have also brought out a 50-400 which sounds interesting.

 

[UncleVanya]

Thank you for your input.. I have the Tamron 70-180 f2.8 which is a fantastic lens.. so don’t need 70-200.. but I will research the Tamron 70-300 ..
Tamron have also brought out a 50-400 which sounds interesting.

That 50-400 is a nice option I agree. It is considerably heavier than the 70-300 Tamron but it may fit your needs better. I wanted a take anywhere lens - something that was a toss in the bag “just in case” option. I still think a 100-400 or the 70-200 GM II with a tc is a higher quality, more dedicated solution I’ll pursue at some point. But those options may not always go with me everywhere.

The other advantage of the kit I had with me was that all except the 28mm used the same 67mm filter size. Even so I didn’t break out the polarizer.