Sony 300mm f2.8 GM - Thoughts

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sathsy2020

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Hello,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have been doing wildlife photography as a serious hobby for sometime now. Not an expert and would rate myself 4/10. I currently shoot with Sony 200-600G lens

I understand 600mm f4 is a lens in a class of its own. Sony recently released 300mm f2.8. I got to experience it with 1.4x TC and it boggled my mind.

I have also been suffering from a frozen shoulder + rotator cuff symptoms for sometime.
Question for this group:

1. 300 + 2X might be pushing it a bit and I have heard / seen from multiple people that there is a marginal loss of IQ.
2 300 +1.4X + shoot in crop mode (I understand it is just the field of view and not really a tele) results are mind boggling.
3. Sony 600 F4 is a 5 year old lens and what are the odds in the next 2 -3 years (8 year refresh cycle), sony releases a lighter lens (say 5 lbs - wishful thinking)

Given my current situation, what would you do.

Things I shoot often:
1. Local riparian preserve - shore birds
2. Warblers during season
3. Bird in Flight

BTW, a big, big big fan of @Steve and his educational videos!!! Love Love Love it

A few random shots so the thread gets some attention :) (All shot with Sony A1 + 200-600G lens)
nighthawk-20240504-DSC07620-ARW-20240504-4.jpg
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Some beautiful shots! Not a Sony shooter, but think the question is similar to one asked by all photographers of their gear. Weight versus quality of the gear/photos. I am sure a 600mm f/4 would be better, but the difference in weight is substantial. You don't say how old you are, but indicate some health issues. A couple of my friends are Sony shooters and got the 300mm f/2.8 and use it primarily with the 2X TC and find it works quite well and clearly is much lighter than their 600mm f/4.
PS. No one can tell you whether Sony will be releasing a new 600mm f/4, so your guess is as good as any ones.
 
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Thank you. Mid 40’s. Other than the recent shoulder issues pretty healthy guy but the frozen shoulder/ rotator cuff has been kicking my rear and. Still doesn’t stop me from going out to shoot every weekend.

The weight and size is the biggest attraction for me.
ricardo00 said:
Some beautiful shots! Not a Sony shooter, but think the question is similar to one asked by all photographers of their gear. Weight versus quality of the gear/photos. I am sure a 600mm f/4 would be better, but the difference in weight is substantial. You don't say how old you are, but indicate some health issues. A couple of my friends are Sony shooters and got the 300mm f/2.8 and use it primarily with the 2X TC and find it works quite well and clearly is much lighter than their 600mm f/4.
PS. No one can tell you whether Sony will be releasing a new 600mm f/4, so your guess is as good as any ones.
Click to expand...
 
I was using the 300 GM + 2xTC today. It's not quite as good as the 600 GM (which I also use) but it's close. One big advantage over the 600 GM is the MFD. It has become my hummingbird lens.
DH201044_web.jpg
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sathsy2020 said:
Wow. That’s fantastic. Do you often try to grab the 600 or miss it in field ?
Click to expand...
Having 71-year-old OEM shoulders, the 600 is no longer my walk-around lens. When I'm using the 600 there are no good photographs farther than 100' from the car.

Theses are from a few weeks ago. I had inadvertently left the eye AF on "human", which I rarely use, so the AF wasn't working as well as it could have but I'm pleased with the results.
selruf14.jpg
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This might be a good thread for you to check out

Sony 300mm with Teleconverters - sharpness

Ordered today, trading 100-400 and some older stuff. Nice! What other glass are you pairing it with?
bcgforums.com bcgforums.com

IQ is excellent and AF is great, even with the 2x. I do find a little bit of purple fringing in very high contrast images with the 2x but that is a 2s cleanup in LR.

Images like the Osprey in this post in that thread: https://bcgforums.com/threads/sony-300mm-with-teleconverters-sharpness.32001/post-395075

There is also a dedicated thread on fredmiranda as well: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1831884/0
 
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If you are after lightweight and you are okay with f/5.6 at 600 then this lens does very, very well with the 2xTC....
Here are some shots with the 2xTC on the A1:
April 21, 2024.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
April 21, 2024-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
April 21, 2024.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
February 24, 2024-6.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
February 24, 2024.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
February 24, 2024-7.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
February 24, 2024-5.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
February 24, 2024.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
 
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