Product Reviews

I purchased this lens to use on my Sony alpha A77 & A57 cameras and I am so pleased I did. The images I have taken are so crisp and sharp, the autofocus is so quick and more to the point silent, a great plus point when photographing wild life. Another great feature is the zoom range and the images are so good right through the zoom range. As my cameras have cropped sensors this give the equivalent of 105 to 600 mm lens. The only down side is I now need to save up for a body with a full frame sensor

I travelled 400 miles return trip to get this Lens as it was the only one in the UK, and did not want it Being bumped about in delivery, worth every penny in fuel. I some times use a third party converter with it and it holds at F8. WELL WORTH THE MONEY IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT.

Got to be my favourite lens, pin sharp, smooth fast auto focus and fantastic clarity. Replaced my faithful Minolta zoom for this with no regrets. Fabulous on my Sony a99ii and super long and just as good on my a77ii.

I bought this lens to replace the mark 1 version that has given good service over the years from Svalbard to the Falklands and from Japan to Churchill. The new lens gives sharp results and good colour like the previous lens, but with improved autofocus speed. Here are a few photos with my new lens from a safari to the Masai Mara a week ago.

Great additional lens solid well manufactured with good features a little heavy so may need support of mono stand or tripod

Although I haven't had time yet to extensively use and test my SAL 70–400mm F4–5.6 G SSM II, the test shots I have taken with my a99M2 and a77M2 show fantastic levels of sharpness and clarity with great colour and contrast. The lens also autofocuses when using my 3rd party, Kenko Pro 300 2x converter on the a99M2. As I mentioned I haven't used it extensively yet, but my only slight gripe is, I find the balance a little front heay at 400mm on the a99m2 with batterie pack/grip.

I own a number of Sony lenses that I am very happy with but eventually bought the lens I really wanted for wildlife (and other) photography. The build quality of this lens is very good. The auto focus is also very fast and quiet and the picture sharpness and quality gives you a professional grade super zoom lens. I would definitely recommend this lens to anyone wanting the best possible results.

A good lens, i use it for wildlife photography, the lens is easy to use, auto focus extremely fast and quiet .picture quality is excellent

I've taken very few shots with this lens because it has failed twice. The focus (both manual and automatic) is stuck. This time it is stuck at about 40 ft. The first time stuck at less than 30 feet. I will have more spent in repairs than I have in the purchase of my other high quality lenses.

Definitely the best zoom lens currently on the market for Sony. The build quality is excellent. The focusing is very quick and much faster than its predecessor. The focusing is also silent due to the SSM motor. Thee focus and zoom rings is very smooth to operate. All the photos I have taken so far with the lens has been tack sharp. The IQ of photos taken on the lens is not far off from prime lenses if not identical. The lens will complement any Sony camera and works particularly well with hybrid focusing system of the new Sony Alpha 99II. The photo of the squirrel was at 80% quality and heavily cropped.

Getting great results with this lens. Very sharp photos. Highly recommended.

I bought it two months ago and its living up to all its expectations. It could do with a 1.4 converter.

Had this lens a few weeks ,quick to focus great range.As a wildlife photographer good at tracking birds in flight with a77 sharp wide open

I purchased this lens to upgrade from my SAL70300G, and wow, what a difference! The 70-400 GII is fast and sharp even at the long end. It focuses nicely and can easily be used handheld as well as on a tripod. It is a pretty heavy lens, especially compared to the 70-300G I used before, but it's absolutely worth carrying that extra weight around.

i got the 70 > 400 just about 5 weeks ago & i am so glad i did , it is the best lens i have ever owned pic quality is second to none . Sony's done a real good job highly recommend this one .

I have used this lens a few times now and am very happy with the results. Auto focusing is very fast and quiet, the build quality is excellent. I am very happy with the resulting images.

I do a lot of birds in-flight shots and am one of those who like to travel light without having to carry any pods with me. The lens is reasonably well built, compact enough and coping well on both static and dynamic shots throughout the zoom range while handheld. The focus is fast and sharp. It works extremely well with both A77V and A77 Mk2 when it comes to locking on and tracking a fast moving subject. A great lens to have and am glad that I bought it. One little nag is that the lens is not weather sealed and doesn't has a zoom barrel lock. Therefore, when you carrying it around with camera facing downward, the zoom barrel will slide out on its own. A risk of surface dusts being drawn back into the inner housing when the zoom is pulled back in. Sample images below were all taken handheld.

The lens looks good and is good. I find the auto focus very quick and effective even hand held and the lens is heavy. Not a lens to be carrying long distances hanging from your neck!! A dream to use on a tripod, very pleased with build and picture quality.

I used the original 70-400mm on a couple of occasions and received the new one as a Christmas gift from my father. The quality is sharp and focuses much faster then the original model. Even at 400mm the images come out sharp and crisp. The only complaint I have is there is no lock on the lens when your walking. It will zoom all the way out to 400mm so be prepared.

bought to replace sigma telephoto lens, i have already noticed how much quicker this lens focuses and how much better the detail is it was well worth buying this lens

I bought this as a supplement to my 70-200 f2.8 to get extra."reach" for those distant subjects. I did wonder about the logic of owning two zooms with similar ranges but this lens is so sharp it rivals my 24-70 Sony Zeiss so I am certain it was a good idea. I don't think its been off my camera since I got it, it's that good!

Bought this specifically for wildlife and bird photography, so has proved great purchase with excellent build quality, fast autofocus and excellent colour reproduction on images

I purchased this lens three weeks ago and have used it hand-held ever since. Despite the weight (although this is reasonable for this type of lens) I have had remarkably clear shots with nice bokeh. Expensive, but worth every penny, and adds a new dimension to my photography.

Brilliant Lens. If you want the best 70-400mm for your Sony Alpha camera buy this lens. Third party lenses are cheaper but no comparison in image quality, build and focus speed. A must if you have A77 mark 2 camera.

Bought this to put on my sony a77mkii camera, all in all I think this is as good as any canon combo, l compare it to the eos 7d with 100 - 400 L which I also have, would definitely recommend the sony combo as superb.

I had been using a borrowed SAL70400G so I was already aware of what a great, sharp lens this is. My new lens is used with the A77 II and the focus is fast and accurate. This is a winning combination for bird photography. I love the tracking and focusing features of the A77 II What I am terribly disappointed about is the white finish on the lens outside seems to be substandard. I have had it just about a month and already there are several deep scratches in the paint finish and the body material shows through. I am careful with my equipment; it is not due to abuse. The lens is stored properly and not banged around when in use.

I ordered this lens from two different distributors. There was a monumental difference between the two. Obviously it didn't have anything to do with who sold it. They didn't manufacture it. The poor lens was soft all around. Seemed to have a focusing issue. Here's what you need to look for and expect with this lens. The better one, which I'm keeping, is unbelievably sharp when cropped to full size. It is hard to tell the difference between F5.6 and F8. That is a great feature because most lenses, including primes, need to be stopped down to obtain good clarity. It seems to nail the focus more consistently at 300mm than at 400mm. It is also "slightly" sharper at 300mm. I cropped the 300mm pics to the same size as the 400mm and 7/10 times they actually looked better. Now don't be mistaken. The 400mm shots were still as great. But some of the 300mm shots were just incredible. I cropped them as much as my computer allowed and they were still sharp. btw- the bokeh is creamy smooth on the good lens and completely harsh and jagged on the bad one. Yes, it's a little disappointing there can be that much of a difference between the lenses. One more exciting bit of info. My camera is the A58. This lens can only be better on the A99. Can't speak for the A77 since the image quality on the A58 is actually a little better per the online reviews. The purpose of this review is to let you know to expect greatness in this lens. If it doesn't "wow" you then return it and get another one. When you get one that performs the way it's supposed to, you will be smiling every day you use it. All of the other negatives such as the weight and flimsy hood will mean nothing when you see the pictures.

Excellent image quality at all apertures and focal lengths. Fast and responsive auto focusing but now need a camera that can keep up with it as my A99 is a bit slow in that department. The new A77 II might be the answer but it would appear that it is not as good as the A6000 in controlling noise at higher ISO's.

It is a very well built lens with super optics. Auto focus is fine. Great zoom range and really expect to get a lot of good wildlife photos with it. Works very well with both my A 900 and my A 99

This lens has the reach, sharpness, and bokeh that I wanted to compliment my Zeiss 24-70 for my a99. The two lenses effectively give me a range of 24 to 400 with two of the finest lenses in the market place today, bar none. The 70-400 is quick to focus, produces wonderful color and is a quality build. I would highly recommend this lens.

I have both the 70400G and the 70400G2. I don't really see a difference between the two. Sony says the G2 is faster focus, but I cannot tell the difference. They are both Very sharp at the 400 mm end and I use F8-f16 on both. The photo of the bug is at 100% of the pixel size and the wing is super clear. I shot that with the G2 at around 4-5 feet away. The firewood if over 100 ft away and is also at 98.9% of it's Pixel size and both were hand held with steadyshot on. You can save some money and buy the original G lens.

I had the first version. The difference in the speed and accuracy of focusing between version one and two is monumental. The first version was good until compared to this lens. This autofocus is scary fast and there is no hunting. The autofocus is whisper quiet as well. I would say this lens is faster in the focusing department than my 24-70 CZ. The sharpness is amazing throughout the entire zoom spectrum. I liked version one but I love version 2.. If this is any indication what the new 70-200/2.8 G is going to be like then I am ready to trade up to that lens as well. This lens will be used for many sporting events and wild life shooting. On my 99 I will even give it a shot with some inside sports work but we shall see. That is the only limitation with this otherwise perfect lens. It's a little slow at the high end of the zoom for poorly lit inside sporting event. But during the day this lens is a gem.

This is the best 70-400mm lens in the market. The focus is sharp even with full aperture at 400mm ,no another lens can compare. The G2 is much faster AF and less hunt . The contrast , sharpness and bokeh same better than the previous one too.I highly recommend this lens for serious wildlife and bird photography.Love the lens and finishing. I think Sony ask a very reasonable price for that upgrade super fast lens.