Sony today introduced its furthest reaching E-mount lens, the FE 100-400mm F4.5–5.6 GM OSS Super Telephoto Zoom.
The new full-frame lens offers fast, precise AF capabilities, a lightweight, portable design and a variety of professional functions and customisability.
The FE 100-400mm GM model produces corner-to-corner sharpness throughout the lens’ zoom and focus ranges and rendered ‘bokeh’ or background defocus, ensuring the finest details are brought out in every subject and scene.
The complex design features 22 lens elements configured in 16 different groups, including one Super ED (Extra-low Dispersion) and two ED glass elements, all working together to minimise chromatic aberration and ensure the ultimate resolution is captured.
The lens also has Sony’s original Nano AR coating, which reduces unwanted reflections.
Features the combination of a double linear motor and a Direct Drive SSM actuator, it ensures precise, quiet operation.
The double motor system allows rapid focus lens drive acceleration to capture the sudden motion that is common with sports and wildlife photography, while high precision positioning control and a newly optimised AF algorithm ensure the subject is quickly found and focused on.
In a Sony first, the lens has a zoom torque adjustment ring, allowing the user to adjust the level of torque in the ring to zoom faster or slower depending on their shooting style. There is also a focus hold button that can also be assigned to variety of functions including focus mode selection, AF area selection or the popular Eye AF lock feature.
The lens weighs in at a mere 1,395 grams (49.3 ounces), making it among the lightest in its class. The telephoto zoom lens is dust and moisture resistant, and has fluorine coating on the front lens that makes it easier to remove dust or grease. There is also a removable tripod mount.
The new FE 100-400mm GM lens features built-in optical image stabilisation, and a minimum focusing range of just 0.98 metres (3.22 feet), which maximises its versatility in the field, and a 9 bladed circular aperture design that produces soft, beautiful bokeh.
The FE 100-400mm GM is compatible with both the 1.4x (model SEL14TC) and 2.0x (model SEL20TC) teleconverters, allowing photographers and videographers to shoot up to 800mm on full-frame cameras and approximately 1200mm (35mm full-frame equivalent) on APS-C cameras.
Replacement lens hood (model ALC-SH151) for the new lens will also be available.
The new FE 100-400mm GM Super Telephoto Zoom Lens ship this July for about $2,500 US and $3,399 CA. The availability of the new FE 100-400mm GM Super Telephoto Zoom Lens in Asia Pacific countries will be announced at a later date.