Lenses

First Impressions: Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM FE (Sony E Mount, Full Frame)

Chris Gampat
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04/27/2017
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Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Sony 100-400mm G master lens first impressions product images 3

Last Updated on 04/30/2017 by Chris Gampat

With the announcement of the new Sony a9, the new Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 G Master FE lens was slightly overshadowed by all the new tech in the camera. However, this new lens is also one that is very important for the specific crowd that camera is targeted to. The Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 G Master is designed for sports shooters, wildlife photographers, and photojournalists who need a whole lot of reach. During our testing period with prototype models, we found the 100-400mm lens to be really useful in many situations, but we’re going to need to give it more testing to give a final verdict.

Here’s our first impressions thus far though.

Tech Specs

Specs taken from the Sony page listing.

Lens Specifications
MOUNT
Sony E-mount
FORMAT
35 mm full frame
FOCAL LENGTH (MM)
100-400
35 MM EQUIVALENT FOCAL LENGTH (APS-C)
150-600
LENS GROUPS / ELEMENTS
16-22
ANGLE OF VIEW (35 MM)
24ﾟ-6ﾟ10′
ANGLE OF VIEW (APS-C)
16°-4°10′2
MAXIMUM APERTURE (F)
4.5-5.6
MINIMUM APERTURE (F)
32-40
APERTURE BLADES
9
CIRCULAR APERTURE
Yes
MINIMUM FOCUS DISTANCE
3.22 ft/0.98 m
MAXIMUM MAGNIFICATION RATIO (X)
0.12-0.35
FILTER DIAMETER (MM)
77
IMAGE STABILIZATION (STEADYSHOT)
Optical SteadyShot
ZOOM SYSTEM
Manual
TELECONVERTER COMPATIBILITY (X1.4)
SEL14TC
TELECONVERTER COMPATIBILITY (X2.0)
SEL20TC
HOOD TYPE
Round, bayonet type
Size & Weight
DIMENSIONS (DIAMETER X LENGTH)
3-3/4 x 8-1/8″ (93.9 x 205 mm)
WEIGHT
49.3 oz (Without tripod mount) 1,395 g (Without tripod mount)
What’s In The Box
  • Hood (model): ALC-SH151
  • Lens front cap: ALC-F77S
  • Lens rear cap: ALC-R1EM
  • Case
  • Other: Tripod mount

Ergonomics

The Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 G Master lens looks a lot like the company’s A mount 70-300mm lens offering. However, it’s probably also decently more compact in some ways. What you’ll see from the start is this greyish white outline, the G master branding and the control rings.

On the side, you’ll be able to spot more controls. This lens has OIS, focus limiters, etc.

Of course, a lens like this doesn’t all zoom internally. Instead, it becomes quite a bit larger when working with it at the longer end.

Build Quality

Though we didn’t get the chance to test this lens out in the rain, we got a bit of ice on it from the skating rink we went to. Sony’s website states it isn’t 100% weather sealed either.

Ease of Use

Using this lens would probably be easier when shooting sports if it were in the hands of a professional sports photographer who has the motor skills to be zooming and composing at the same time when a subject is moving through the scene. It’s pretty tough to be honest. If you’re shooting something like wildlife though, it could be a bit easier providing that the camera and lens get the critter in focus.

Autofocus

When working with the new Sony a9, the autofocus with this lens is pretty stellar. It’s capable of keeping a moving subject in focus with relative ease. However, again, I need to do more in depth testing in an environment not controlled by Sony.

Image Quality

I’ll be the first to admit that trying to get athletes in focus most of the time was pretty simple. However, I’ll also admit I’m not a sports shooter. With that said, these are some of the samples I came back with using this lens.

First Impressions

I’m surely going to need to do more thorough tests with the Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 lens but so far it’s shaping up to be quite a great option for sports photographers. I look forward to seeing how it does with soccer, wildlife, and more.

autofocus build quality ergonomics hockey lens sample images sony Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM FE sports weather sealing
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.