Hi everybody and welcome back to SonyAlphaLab 😉 It’s been a while since I posted due to laptop issues and just life in general. The family and kids activities have really been taking up all my time lately and I must prioritize them first. Jase is now almost 3 and Layla is about to turn 7 July 31st… Life is just flying by and for those that have been following SAL for the long term, can you believe Layla is turning 7 already? I basically started reviewing cameras around the time she was born give or take…
In other life updates, my old MacBook Pro laptop was just not up to the task anymore and was failing me in a number of ways. This made doing anything website and review related a daunting task to say the least.
Well, I just got a brand New MacBook Pro, and it’s working like a super computer compared to the old one. I can’t believe how fast it is in fact! Lightroom for example was so slow it was absolutely brutal waiting for photos to render and just general use. Now they just load almost instantly and I was able to get so much done in a fraction of the time. My old MacBook Pro laptop was about 6 years old for those wondering. It was an awesome computer and served me well, but it was clearly time for an upgrade!
Here is what my New Macbook Pro looks like…
Sony FE 70-200mm GM Lens and 2X Teleconverter – Sample Photos
So, how about a few sample photos from the newer Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM Lens!!
So far I only had a chance to use the lens with the Sony A6500 which I reviewed Here on my Youtube Channel. However, the sharpness, clarity, and color are all marvelous no matter what E-mount camera you are using. I due plan to test this lens on the New Sony A9 at some point this year, so stay tuned for that!
I took a quite a few sample photos a while back with this lens and the Sony A6500 as I said above, but I also used the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter to see how the optical quality and focus tracking worked for sports shooting in particular.
Based on my testing, the 2x teleconverter came at the cost of some noticeable softness in the images. Without the converter the images were amazingly sharp, with the teleconverter not so much. The focus tracking seamed to work great with the converter based on my testing as well.
See the frames below for samples using the the FE 2x teleconverter…
Click photos for higher res version
And a few more snapshots…
Shooting into the sun for maximum glare effect testing. A noticeable loss of contrast and severe flaring for sure…
Here is another frame at and effective 400mm…
Even though the images are a bit soft, the overall sharpness is still pretty good in the real world I would say. The bokeh is still very creamy and pleasing to my eye as well. 2x converters in general are notorious for causing some softness which is why most people end up going with the FE 1.4x Teleconverter option. That unit offers noticeable better sharpness, but obviously does not offer the same amount of zoom. A give and take compromise must be made if you need the extra zoom. You never get something for nothing when it comes to optics, and you notice a little softness with the 1.4X converter as well, but not as much as the 2x unit from what I have seen and read. I have not tested the 1.4X teleconverter yet, but plan to next time I get the FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM Lens…
Sony FE 70-200mm GM Lens – Sample Photos
So now for some shots using the FE 70-200mmm f/2.8 GM Lens without the 2x teleconverter… Note the significant increase in sharpness! And again, I was using the Sony A6500 for these test shots!
Click photos for higher res version
Click photos for higher res version
Some high speed action shots… The snowmobiles were very fast and set-up for drag racing. Awesome to see and watch I must say!
Just look at how awesome this race machine is!! I would guess this is worth at least $30-40,000 US if not more…
My boy Jase.
Bones Jones and I did edit this file a bit…
Bokeh Ball Test:
I switched to manual focus for these quick Bokeh Ball style test shots…
Closing Remarks
As you can see the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM Lens paired with the Sony A6500 pretty amazing in every way as far as I can tell and holds up to the GM badge. The FE 2x Teleconverter does offer some serious extra reach at the cost of some significant softness when viewing the images. If you need that kind of reach however, it’s still a decent option I would say considering the size, weight, and cost. If I needed the reach, I personally would rather wait for the FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens to come out.
I hope you all got something out of this article and please feel free to ask questions and/or comment below as always…
Jay
