Sony FE 100 400mm F 4 5 5 6 GM OSS Review | 54 Data compared

The Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS is a highly compact, lightweight telephoto zoom lens that delivers exceptional optical performance, particularly on full-frame and APS-C E-mount cameras. Its standout feature is its impressive, uniform sharpness across the frame at the prized 400mm focal length, which surprisingly surpasses its mid-range performance and outclasses rivals like the Canon EF 100-400mm and Sigma 120-400mm. The lens is packed with premium features, including a sonic-type double linear autofocus motor for fast, near-silent focusing, an optical stabilization system offering up to five stops of shake reduction, weather sealing, and a fluorine coating to deflect dirt. Furthermore, it boasts remarkably low lateral chromatic aberration across all focal lengths, making it a powerful tool for sports and wildlife photographers. Despite its stellar performance, the lens has a few potential shortcomings, most notably some visible vignetting in the mid and outer zones when shot wide-open at 400mm, though this can easily be corrected via software. Additionally, it is not a "fast" lens due to its maximum aperture range of f/4.5 to f/5.6. Testing also revealed that it has...

The Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 G Master OSS is a highly capable, professional-grade telephoto zoom lens optimized for sports and wildlife photography on Sony E-mount cameras. Weighing just 1395 grams, it features a relatively lightweight magnesium-component frame integrated with 17 weather-sealing points and a fluorine-coated front element. The lens handles superbly using a smooth-to-tight zoom friction ring and an advanced DDSSM focus motor assembly that pairs flawlessly with high-speed bodies like the Sony a9 to deliver near-flawless, silent tracking. Optically, it offers exceptionally high wide-open resolution at 100mm, vanishingly low chromatic aberrations, minimal distortion, and excellent close-up versatility via a 0.35x maximum magnification ratio. Despite these strengths, the reviewer notes several downsides, primarily its steep retail price of $2500 USD, which makes it more expensive than rival lenses. Additionally, Sony's own 200-600mm G lens provides similar overall performance and more reach at a much lower cost. The lens also quickly drops to its smallest maximum aperture of F5.6 by 162mm, and the out-of-focus background bokeh can look somewhat busy or nervous in transitional zones. Ultimately, while the reviewer is conflicted...

The Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS is a highly versatile telephoto zoom lens built for professional outdoor use, featuring an excellent metal construction with dust- and moisture-resistance, a useful torque adjustment ring to prevent zoom creep, and an incredibly fast DDSSM autofocus system. Optically, its primary strengths include excellent center sharpness and very good outer-field quality at the 100mm wide end, a highly impressive close-focus capability with a near-macro 1:2.85 maximum magnification, and a remarkably smooth background bokeh that outperforms typical long telephoto zooms. Its effective image stabilizer (OSS) offers roughly 4 f-stops of stabilization with two separate modes for general use and panning. However, the lens falls somewhat short of the high expectations set by Sony's premium G Master label and its steep $2500 USD price tag. Optical performance experiences a steady downward trend as you zoom in, causing the outer image fields to noticeably soften at 400mm. In RAW files, the lens exhibits higher-than-average vignetting (around 1.5EV light falloff at wide-open apertures), mild-to-medium pincushion distortions, and average lateral chromatic aberrations, though all of these are cleanly masked...

The Photography Life review highlights the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS as a versatile, professional-grade telephoto zoom offering exceptional sharpness across its range, fast autofocus, and excellent close-up capabilities. Conversely, the lens is limited by disappointing weather sealing, high cost, and significantly degraded autofocus performance when using 2.0x teleconverters.

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🦅 The Imaging Resource Review details a professional-grade super-telephoto zoom lens crafted for sports and wildlife photographers who demand uncompromised performance. Tested on full-frame Sony A7 II and APS-C A6500 bodies, this $2,500 G Master optic delivers incredible center-to-corner sharpness across its entire 100-400mm focal range, even when shot wide open. Driven by a double linear motor and Direct Drive SSM system, its autofocus is blazing fast and reliable for action shots. Additional standouts include robust, weather-sealed construction, a smart lens hood with a polarizer window, excellent control over flare and vignetting, and a highly impressive 3.22-foot close-focus distance. Despite its stellar rating, the reviewer highlights several ergonomic and low-light shortcomings. Physically, the lens becomes significantly front-heavy when mounted to smaller crop-sensor bodies like the A6500. Mechanically, the manual focus ring feels loose and lacks precision, while the sturdy tripod foot proves quite difficult to detach from the collar. In terms of shooting performance, the autofocus occasionally hesitates near its close-focus limits at 400mm. Finally, the maximum aperture narrows rapidly to f/5.6 past 160mm, requiring users to rely heavily on...

The WideScenes review of the Sony FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens highlights its exceptional versatility for, and on-barrel physical controls like AF/MF switches, focus limiting, and optical stabilization. A significant advantage noted is its high-performance, compact design (compared to fixed focal length alternatives) that extends to a 150mm–600mm equivalent on APS-C bodies. However, the review points out that the lens is a "mammoth" unit, posing challenges for extended hand-held shooting due to its weight. The reviewer strongly recommends tripod or monopod use to prevent the need for faster shutter speeds and higher ISO, which can introduce image noise.

The Alpha Shooters review heavily praises the Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens for its exceptional real-world performance across sports, wildlife, and aviation photography. The reviewer highlights major pros, including outstanding corner-to-corner sharpness across the entire zoom range, a fast, silent, and accurate autofocus tracking system, and highly pleasing bokeh. Additionally, the lens features robust dust and moisture resistance, effective built-in Optical SteadyShot (OSS) stabilization, and a highly functional zoom ring tension adjustment to control mechanical torque. It also doubles as a phenomenal macro tool thanks to its tight 3.22-foot minimum focus distance and 0.35x maximum magnification. However, the review details a few notable cons, primarily centered around the steep premium price tag of approximately $2,500. On a structural note, the manual focus ring is criticized for feeling a bit too loose, making it easy to accidentally bump out of focus during use. While its low-light tracking is generally solid, the lens can occasionally struggle and hunt for focus on distant or small subjects under dark forest canopies or heavy gray skies. Performance is also compromised when paired with...

The Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS is a premium, robust G-Master telephoto zoom lens that transforms into a highly versatile 150-600mm full-frame equivalent lens when paired with APS-C bodies like the Sony a6400 or a6500. Designed with dust- and splashwater-tight gaskets, it includes dual linear motors that provide exceptionally quiet, fast, and precise autofocus, though it can hunt slightly in low-light environments. Optically, the lens delivers outstanding sharpness across the zoom range, performing at its best at wide-open apertures with virtually negligible vignetting and distortion on APS-C sensors. It features highly effective built-in image stabilisation, a customisable zoom smoothness ring, four dedicated lens switches, a focus-hold button, and a practical removable tripod foot for easy storage. Furthermore, it boasts a close minimum focusing distance of 98cm for an impressive 0.35x magnification, which can be further boosted using 1.4x or 2x teleconverters. Despite its spectacular optical prowess, the review notes a few key drawbacks. Its hefty price tag serves as a major entry barrier, making it significantly more expensive than alternatives like the Sony FE 200-600mm G lens. Physically, the...

The Sony FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM OSS review highlights this super-telephoto zoom lens as a premier, high-resolution option designed specifically for Sony's E-mount mirrorless cameras, particularly optimized for full-frame bodies like the professional Alpha A9. The primary pros of this lens include its exceptional image resolution across the entire zoom range, very swift tracking capabilities powered by dual-focusing groups, and incredibly attractive bokeh (out-of-focus background rendering). Additionally, it features excellent structural benefits such as optical image stabilisation that seamlessly couples with a camera body's built-in stabilisation, a customisable zoom ring stiffness adjustment to prevent barrel creep, and a surprisingly short minimum focusing distance of 0.98m that allows it to achieve an impressive 0.35x maximum magnification for macro-style close-up photography. On the downside, the review identifies key cons centered around the physical footprint and targeted usability of the optic. The lens is notably one of the largest in Sony's mirrorless lineup, measuring 94x205mm and weighing 1,395 grams, which makes it feel heavy and unbalanced on compact bodies like the original A7 series or A6000 crop-sensor cameras. Another handling limitation is that...

Ken Rockwell identifies the Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS as a top-tier, ultra-sharp zoom for Sony cameras, specifically highlighting its exceptional performance, speed, and close-focusing capabilities. The lens features fast, precise autofocus that pairs perfectly with high-speed bodies like the A9, along with built-in optical stabilization and a robust, weather-sealed design. Conversely, the review notes significant drawbacks, including a high price point and a lack of a true mechanical manual focus ring, relying instead on an electronic encoder that provides an inferior, less reliable manual override experience. Additionally, Rockwell notes the zoom mechanism is somewhat stiff and feels less refined mechanically than its Canon competitor. Ken Rockwell

The Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS is a highly capable, premium telephoto zoom lens tailored for wildlife and sports photographers using full-frame FE-mount cameras. Its standout features include an exceptionally fast and quiet dual linear motor autofocus system that keeps pace with rapid movement, an excellent close-focus distance of 3.22 feet yielding a strong 1:2.9 magnification ratio, and superb build quality featuring weather sealing. Optically, the lens delivers excellent sharpness in the center across all focal lengths, outperforming comparable telephoto zooms wide open and maintaining strong edge-to-edge clarity through most of its focal range. Additional user-friendly design touches include a customisable zoom smoothness adjustment ring and a lens hood featuring a sliding door to easily adjust polarising filters.