Sony’s Evolved 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS Is for Sports and Wildlife Pros
Sony has announced the FE 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS, a new professional-grade telephoto zoom lens designed for wildlife, sports, and photojournalism.
This marks the first upgraded G Master lens not to adopt a “Mark II” moniker. It’s an interesting choice, as most photographers will likely consider the new 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS a direct replacement for the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS. However, it is not the same situation as the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II or 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II, as the new telephoto zoom lens adopts a different aperture. The move to a constant f/4.5 aperture means the lens is two-thirds of a stop faster at the long end than before, offering better subject separation and improved light-gathering at essential telephoto focal lengths.
It’s not the only thing about the new lens that is constant, as it also features an inner-zoom design, meaning it doesn’t extend in length as the photographer zooms. The older 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS gets physically longer as it zooms, which can disturb the balance and overall feel of the lens.
Sony promises exceptional resolution across the entire focal length range. The lens features an array of specialized optics, including two Super ED glass elements, one all-new ED XA element, one XA lens, and three pieces of standard ED glass. It also includes Nano AR Coating II. The ED XA element, which stands for extra-low dispersion extreme, promises to suppress all forms of aberration while minimizing onion-ring bokeh.
Speaking of bokeh, Sony’s G Master lenses always promise extremely smooth, clean bokeh, and the 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS is no different. The lens features an 11-bladed circular aperture, which is two more blades than its slower, older sibling.
The company also boasts impressive autofocus gains. The lens has four XD Linear Motors, Sony’s most advanced autofocus motors, and promises more speed, better responsiveness, and more precise subject tracking. Specifically, Sony says the autofocusing speed is up to three times faster, while tracking is up to 50 percent better. These are significant gains, especially given the high performance of the original 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens.
As far as close focusing is concerned, the lens can focus as close as 0.64 meters (2.1 feet) at 100mm and 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) at 400mm, resulting in a maximum magnification of 0.25x. This is not quite as close as the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6, which delivers 0.35x magnification.
The move to a constant f/4.5 aperture and an inner-zooming design means the lens is a bit larger and heavier than before. The 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS weighs 1,840 grams (4.06 pounds), up from 1,495 grams (3.3 pounds). The new lens has a wider diameter — 119.8 versus 93.9 millimeters (4.7 versus 3.7 inches) — and is longer, although not by much. When at 400mm, the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 is 289.6 millimeters (11.4 inches) long, while the new 100-400mm f/4.5 is 328 millimeters (12.9 inches) long. That said, the older 100-400mm lens could shrink down to 205 millimeters (8.1 inches), a trick the newer telephoto zoom does not have up its sleeve.
The lens works with Sony’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters as well, turning it into a 140-560mm f/6.3 or a 200-800mm f/9.
The 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS has four Focus Hold buttons, a rotating tripod collar with selectable clicking, an assignable function ring beyond the zoom ring that can do things like quickly switch to APS-C cropping and quickly move focus to close range or infinity, a security slot, a drop-in filter holder slot, focus mode switch, SteadyShot controls, and more. It is a professional-grade lens through and through, including its dust- and moisture-resistant construction.
Pricing and Availability
The Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS will begin shipping in early June for $4,299.99 in the U.S. and $5,599.99 in Canada. This is $1,500 more than the existing 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS in the U.S.
Image credits: Product photos by Erin Thomson for PetaPixel
