Birds Sony A9 III + 200-600 Low Light Burrowing Owl Test

[sswildlife]

Did a low light test with the Sony A9 III and 200-600 on this cooperative Burrowing Owl. Settings: 1/60s, ISO: 12800, f/6.3 @571mm, Handheld with Bag for support. I used Adobe LR's noise reduction software, but I try to use it in moderation to not oversmoothen details. I typically don't like shooting above ISO 6400, but occasionally the situation demands a higher ISO.

• ILCE-9M3
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
• 571.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/60 sec
• ISO 12800

 

[iamdlewis]

What does the unedited raw look like?

Low light isn't what it once was since this is an A1, unedited RAW, edited and finally denoised

• ILCE-1
• Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS (SEL100400GM)
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 8000

• ILCE-1
• Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS (SEL100400GM)
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 8000

• ILCE-1
• Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS (SEL100400GM)
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 8000

 

[Unframed Dave]

Turned out well.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

this cooperative Burrowing Owl

Beautiful portrait!

 

[Chris 3754]

Great photos. What are your thoughts on the overall sharpness of the lens? I found it to not be as sharp as the Sigma 150-600 Sports, especially when wide open. Perhaps it’s me so I would like to get other’s impressions.

 

[sswildlife]

What does the unedited raw look like?

Low light isn't what it once was since this is an A1, unedited RAW, edited and finally denoised
View attachment 80133View attachment 80134View attachment 80135

I'm unfortunately not able to attach PNG screenshots. It was fairly noisy but well exposed. Great job salvaging this shot!

 

[sswildlife]

Great photos. What are your thoughts on the overall sharpness of the lens? I found it to not be as sharp as the Sigma 150-600 Sports, especially when wide open. Perhaps it’s me so I would like to get other’s impressions.

Hey Chris - I got this lens from a good friend of mine so I knew it was a sharp copy. I find this lens comparably sharp to my Canon RF 100-500mm, which I consider the sharpest zoom I've ever used. I think the fact that the Sony A9 III does not have an AA filter (and I believe the Sony A1 II also does not have one) really helps too. I would say this lens needs either the A9 ii/A9 iii or A1/A1 ii to perform well. I've heard it doesn't perform as well on the A7 bodies. Right now, I'm curious how it performs with the 1.4x and how that setup compares to the 400-800mm.