**This is not meant to be a technical lens review—but rather my thoughts on whether or not I will be using the lens in the future.
I recently borrowed the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 lens from my good friends at B&H photos for my Patagonia trip. I wanted to use the lens in place of the Sony 200-600mm lens because I wanted the additional reach to shoot the pumas with and I heard it was sharp at 800mm. I also thought I could put the lens to the test in the field and get a good idea of whether or not to add it to my lens line up. I’ll be referring to the two lenses as the 2-6 and the 4-8 from now on to save time.
So, after shooting and carrying around the 4-8, I would like to share my thoughts on why I won’t be keeping the lens. AND the good features about the lens for those of you that are considering purchasing one.
The 4-8 is a bit heavier than the 2-6 BUT it also has 200mm more reach. it does not use the same replacement foot as the 2-6, it uses the SF-04 by Leofoto. I needed to use a plate since I didn’t have time to get the new foot before I left. I like to carry my lens by the foot as I never use a strap.
The lens is an f/6.3 to f/8, it starts off at f/6.3 then jumps quickly to an f/8 at 600mm’s. The 2-6 that I already own is an f/6.3 at 600 mm’s. I’m not fond of the backgrounds when using the f/6.3 but they are manageable in terms of softness but with the f/8 unless you are shooting with sky, water, distant backgrounds, against the snow or soft backdrops your images can look kind of documentary and that does not appeal to my style of photography. Also, to maintain a decent shutter speed at f/8 you need to crank your ISO. That hurt me in the field when the light was low. It’s unfortunate because the lens is priced very reasonably (I did hear that it just jumped up $500.00 since I got it) AND the additional reach is very nice and comes in handy for wildlife and birds.
I like the internal zoom just as the 2-6 has and I liked the feel of the lens in my hands. I handheld it, used a tripod, and shot action and portraits. I climbed around rough terrain up and down and never felt the lens was a burden. My images at 800mm were sharper than I had expected. I think they would have been sharper if I could have used a lower ISO.
My action shots with 4-8 using my Sony A1 body were fine. But I did not shoot any birds in flight so I can’t completely speak to that. When I used the crop factor in my camera my action shots were not quite as sharp. It could have been the wind as we struggled with high winds during the trip on quite a few of the days.
Overall, the lens is decent for the money. I can see it being a viable lens for many photographers. I can’t help but think after this trip that a 600mm prime lens will be back on the table for me…
If you have any thoughts to share, please leave them in the comments so that others can benefit from your experiences. Thanks.
*And PS-I have no skin in the game here.