Thinking of getting the Sony 70-350 to go with my A7cR.

[davidzvi]

I bought the Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 Macro G OSS II Lens to go with my new Sony A7cR. The "R" version came with the add-on grip, so true handling is pretty good. But after using it for a bit, it's not really what I want for my kit. I want something smaller, lighter, and with more reach.

I think I really only have two options:

Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD
Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS Lens

Both are smaller and lighter. Between these 2 the Sony is the smaller and the Tamron is the lighter. Both are smaller and lighter compared to 70-200 f/4 + either the 1.4 or 2.0 TC to equal their reach. The 2 lenses are pretty close in sharpness from the reviews I've read with the Sony having a slight edge.

At the moment I'm leaning toward the Sony hence the thread subject. Yes, I know the Sony is an APS-C lens. The reviews I've seen show it has almost no vignetting at 70mm wide open. So I can get the true 70mm on the wide end and since I'm starting with 61mp, I'm not worried about resolution.

I've seen a thread or 2 here about using it on a FF body. Serious downside? Occasional sporting events and random nature walks, but these are NOT a serious part of my interests.


Here are 3 recent times the reach would have been nice attached. Looked up and saw the Great Blue Heron, actually surprised the shot was that good. The Eclipse speaks for itself, but since I only had the 200mm I didn't bother spending the extra for the filter so only took shots when filter was not needed. And the duck? I didn't even know what it was, I just took the shot to try and zoom in and figure out what it was.

 

[DaveC Oz]

I bought the Sony 70-350 not too long after its release to go with the A6000 I was using at the time. I stayed with it when I upgraded to the A6600, Last year I also got the A7cR. Initially I used the 70-350 in APSC mode, but I have since taken up weight lifting in the form of the Sony 200-600. Each to there own, what suits me won't necessarily suit others, but now that I'm getting used to the 200-600 I find the APSC lens stays at home a lot. In fact I'm seriously thinking of selling it to fund other wish list items. Just for reference the following 2 shots were taken with the 70-350 on the A7cR in APSC mode. If it has the reach you want it's a good option, but I would tend towards a full frame just to still have the "cropability" of the 61MP still available.
70mm

• Sony E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS
• 70.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3000001907349
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 100

350mm

• Sony E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS
• 350.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3000001907349
• 1/500 sec
• ISO 160

 

[davidzvi]

I bought the Sony 70-350 not too long after its release to go with the A6000 I was using at the time. I stayed with it when I upgraded to the A6600, Last year I also got the A7cR. Initially I used the 70-350 in APSC mode, but I have since taken up weight lifting in the form of the Sony 200-600. Each to there own, what suits me won't necessarily suit others, but now that I'm getting used to the 200-600 I find the APSC lens stays at home a lot. In fact I'm seriously thinking of selling it to fund other wish list items. Just for reference the following 2 shots were taken with the 70-350 on the A7cR in APSC mode. If it has the reach you want it's a good option, but I would tend towards a full frame just to still have the "cropability" of the 61MP still available.

Thanks for the info. Those images are pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. I'm done with weightlifting. I was never into birding. But I was a pro event shooter and normally carried a pair of FF bodies for events (24-70/70-200 + flashes). I picked up m4/3 as a lighter fun system during that period. I no longer shoot events, but still hooked on smaller systems.

Wondering how much vignetting there is through the range at f/5.6 or f/8 in FF mode? From what I've read, there is very little at 70mm and you can get more than just the 26mp APS-C crop at 350mm.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I went in kind of the opposite direction to you, I have the A6700 and bought the full frame Tamron 70-300mm. In short, I regret my choice. I should have ponied up and dropped a few more hundred dollars on the Sony 70-350 for its slightly longer reach and OSS feature. That said, the Tamron is a little lighter (80g) and $400 lighter on the wallet.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

For reference, here is the Tamron 70-300 on the A6700:

• Galaxy S23+
• 5.4 mm
• ƒ/1.8
• 1/60 sec
• ISO 800

• Galaxy S23+
• 5.4 mm
• ƒ/1.8
• 1/60 sec
• ISO 640