The Sony 70-200mm f/4 G II Macro and 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS are each workhorse telephoto lenses, and deciding between them usually comes right down to sharpness, pace, and suppleness in real-world use. These lenses serve totally different functions relying on the way you shoot, and figuring out the place the variations present up can prevent from second-guessing your selection later.
Coming to you from Tim of Alpha Shooters, this detailed video compares autofocus and sharpness between the Sony 70-200mm f/4 G II Macro and 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lenses. Each lenses carry Sony’s XD linear focus motors, so efficiency is anticipated to be related, but the testing reveals small variations when paired with teleconverters. Tim runs side-by-side autofocus trials at totally different distances, with and with out the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, after which strikes to a motocross monitor to check real-world topic monitoring. This issues in the event you depend on fast-moving topics or push your lenses past their native focal vary. The testing reveals delicate however clear variations as soon as teleconverters are within the combine.
The video additionally contains side-by-side sharpness comparisons at 200mm and past. Right here, the GM lens persistently edges out the f/4 in sharpness, even when the distinction is usually small. Beneath shut inspection, textual content and positive particulars in clothes and helmets seem crisper via the GM, particularly with the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. Lighting situations often performed a task, however the sample repeats throughout a number of checks. The takeaway isn’t that the f/4 underperforms, however somewhat that the GM provides you slightly extra readability when the small print matter most.
One other level to note is how every lens behaves below totally different lighting. In good gentle, autofocus efficiency is nearly equivalent, however when situations get darker, the f/2.8 aperture reveals its benefit. Tim factors out that whereas each lenses saved up with motocross motion, the broader aperture allowed the GM to really feel barely extra responsive in less-than-ideal gentle. When you’re usually working in dimmer conditions, that benefit might weigh closely in your choice. Take a look at the video above for the complete rundown.
