In stark contrast to its recent FE 100-400mm f/4.5 G Master lens, Sony has announced the 100-400mm f/5.6-8 OSS, the most affordable full-frame 100-400mm lens on E-mount.

The new $850 telephoto zoom lens may lack the “G” series classification of Sony’s 10-year-old 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS, but it arguably better serves a very similar audience for significantly less money. It incorporates much of Sony’s more modern technology, including a pair of linear autofocus motors and support for 120 frames per second continuous shooting. Of course, Sony a9 III owners aren’t itching for a consumer-grade zoom lens, but the point is that a lot has changed in Sony’s Alpha landscape since the 70-300mm was released.

As expected, there are some trade-offs for Sony to hit its aggressive price point with the FE 100-400mm f/5.6-8 OSS. The lens has a relatively slow aperture, for starters, hitting f/8 at just 220mm. The lens also lacks Sony’s latest autofocus and optical technology, opting for standard linear motors rather than XD ones and fairly standard glass.

Among its 15 elements, the new 100-400mm lens features a pair of ED elements and two aspherical lenses. It also features a nine-bladed aperture. Sony admits that the lens will not deliver the resolution, overall image quality, or bokeh of its G or G Master lenses, but the company promises good quality.

With the 100-400mm lens’s slower aperture and relatively unsophisticated optical design comes a relatively compact and lightweight form factor. The lens weighs just 654 grams (23 ounces) and is only 164.5 millimeters (6.5 inches) long. The lens extends a bit as the user zooms, as expected. It ships with a lens hood and accepts 67mm filters.

Sony’s new lens is nearly 500 grams lighter than Sigma’s $1,049 100-400mm f/5.6-6.3 DG DN OS Contemporary lens, making it the lightest and most affordable 100-400mm E-mount zoom lens.

The Sony 100-400mm f/5.6-8 OSS lens is not quite a macro lens, but it nonetheless delivers strong close-up performance thanks to its 0.41x maximum magnification. This gives the lens quite a bit of versatility, which is clearly one of Sony’s key objectives. A 100-400mm telephoto zoom lens is a popular choice among many budding photographers, offering significantly more reach than a typical kit lens.

Pricing and Availability

The Sony FE 100-400mm f/5.6-8 OSS lens will be available in September for $849. It is available to preorder now.

---

Image creditsPhotos by Erin Thomson for PetaPixel