Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Review
Introduction
The Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS is the company’s latest super telephoto lens and the only one in a long while. The lens is aimed at the professional sports (in particular indoor sports) shooters but can also be used as a specialty lens for wildlife photographers. What makes this lens appealing to most wildlife photographers is the low weight and small foot print. tipping the scale at just 3.2lb/(1.44 Kg) it is lighter and shorter then the popular FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS zoom lens, even with the 2X extender attached to the back of the lens. The lens deploys the latest in optics and light-weight materials as well as dual-XD linear motors for rapid, high precision seamless AF. It supports 120 fps shooting with the A9 III and 30 fps shooting with the A-1. In the unboxing video below I compare the dimensions of the lens with both the 200-600 zoom as well as the 600mm f/4 prime.
The lens is priced at 5999 USD at the time of publishing this review which is a fair price for 2024. Adjusted for inflation the lens is actually much cheaper than the old Canon 300mm f/2.8 IS II USM which was also selling for 6000 USD more than a decade ago.
Handholding and design
The 300mm 2.8 GM is super easy to handhold. Being used to the 600 GM, the bare 300 is so light I hardly feel it when walking around, even with the 2X extender attached the lens feels much lighter and easier to carry along than the 200-600 zoom. the short barrel length makes handholding really easy. Following small fast and erratic birds such as swallows is incredibly easy with this lens, much easier than the 600 GM. Like all other super-telephoto lenses the 300 includes 4 programmable buttons directly on the barrel that can be assigned to perform different functions in the camera. Please refer to the Art and Science of Bird photography with Sony cameras, written by myself and Artie Morris, to learn about how to program these buttons.
Violet-green swallow. Shot with the A1 and 300GM + 2X TC. ISO-2500 1/3200 sec f/5.6. Handheld, processed with C1P. click on the image to enlarge
The Control panel includes settings for the AF limiter, OSS, as well as the full time manuals focus switch. I talk about these settings for BIF in detail in the same guide, in general you want to OSS to be set to ON at all times and set to mode 3. The manual focus ring in the 300 GM is very light to touch and sensitive, I recommend disabling full time manual focus to avoid inadvertently changing the focus plane when handholding this lens. If you use a LensCoat camouflage cover for the lens the extra friction from the neoprene material will also help mitigate this issue to some degree.
The lens is nothing but a joy to handhold day in and day out with the extender attached, it’s a great options for those lacking the strength to handhold the big six or even the 2-6 zoom.
The foot that comes with the lens is somewhat short. If you use a monopod or tripod, I recommend investing on a 3rd party Arca-Swiss foot.
Optics
These days, a super-telephoto lens from a top-tier lens maker like Sony is expected to be nothing but tack sharp corner to corner. The FE 300mm f/2.8 is certainly a text book example in this regard, as expected. For most wildlife photographers what matters more is the performance of the lens with the 1.4X and the 2X extenders.
To measure sharpness of the lens objectively one must use professionally made reference MTF targets under controlled conditions and use special software to crunch the results. While this is certainly interesting, I have not been able to locate my old reference target so I decided to use something closer to real-life instead. I purchased an assortment of (real) game feathers from Amazon and attached them to a cardboard. I photographed this home-made target from a distance of approximately 18 ft ~ 5.5m using the 50-mega pixel Sony A1 attached to the 300 GM + 2X TC followed by the FE 600mm f/4 GM and then the FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS zoom lens mounted to the flex-shooter head.
I use Capture One Pro software to process the RAW images as explained in my Capture One Pro guide, and then view the images side by side on my 32″ reference monitor at 100% view.
Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS vs. FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS + 2X TC vs. FE200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS. 100% crop from RAW, processed with Capture One Pro. Click to enlarge
click on the links below to download the full size JPEG save from RAW
Comparing the three lenses side by side, we can see that the 600 prime produced a tad punchier results, with a bit more micro-contrast, but the other two lenses are not far behind. It is surprising how close these three lenses perform under perfectly controlled conditions and close range shooting. Also note that the magnification of the 200-600 zoom lens is a bit lower than the two primes. This is due to the focus breathing effect (reduction in actual focal length as the focus distance decreases). If the focus distance becomes shorter this effect will become even more pronounced. Keep in mind that in less than ideal conditions, and as the subject distance increases the 600 GM prime will pull a bit more ahead of the other two.
The 300GM + 2X TC generally performs better than the 200-600 at longer distances, in less than ideal conditions like low light, and when the subject is not dead centered in the frame. Having said that the 200-600 is an excellent lens and still the best in its class at its retail price. The slight edge the 300 GM + 2X TC might have at 600mm in terms of sharpness over the zoom may not sound enough to justify the huge price gap between the two lenses. Of course the 300 f/2.8 has many other talents where the 200-600 cannot compete.
Images below show another comparison of the 300 + 2X combo against the 600 prime and confirm the previous findings. the 300 GM + 2X TC is not far behind the 600GM.
FE 300mm g/2.8 GM + 2X TC against FE 600mm f/4 GM. Shot with the Sony A1 click on the image to enlarge.
Samples below show real world field sharpness of the 300GM +2X TX combo with the A1. The A1’s 50 mega-pixel sensor can make the most out of this combo and allow just enough cropping for 600mm focal length to be productive when shooting an assortment of bird species.
Gadwall, shot with the Sony A1 and FE 300 GM + 2X ,1/4000 sec ISO-1600 handheld. processed with Capture One Pro. click on the image to enlarge
Killdeer, Sony A1 and 300GM +2X TC. ISO-800 1/3200 sec F/5.6 handheld. processed with C1P. click on the image to enlarge
Barn swallow, Sony A1 with 300 GM + 2X TC. ISO-1000 1/4000 sec handheld processed with C1P. Click on the image to enlarge
Least tern, Sony A1, 300GM + 2X TC. F/5.6 1/4000sec ISO-1600 handheld. processed with C1P. Shot from behind a fence. Click on the image to enlarge.
Forster’s tern. A1 300GM + 2X TC ISO-500 f/5.6 1/3200 sec. handheld. processed with C1P. Click on the image to enlarge
Swallow, Sony A1 300GM + 2X TC. ISO-1250, 1/4000 sec handheld. processed with C1P. Click on the image to enlarge.
AF performance
Another critical aspect of a super-telephoto lens for most of its intended users is the AF performance. The 300 GM features dual XD linear motors, the same kind fitted in the flagship FE 600 f/4 GM and as a result AF drive speed is much faster than the FE 200-600 GM. This makes a difference when capturing fast erratic action where focus distance can vary significantly and rapidly. I set the limiter switch to full as the AF speed is plenty fast even when searching from MFD to infinity.
Below are a few images made with the 300mm GM lens, given the poor conditions (low light, rainy weather) for some of these, the lens did a great job nailing these fast flyers
Gadwall, shot with the Sony A1 and FE 300 GM + 2X ,1/4000 sec ISO-1600 processed with Capture One Pro. click on the image to enlarge
Note that the following images were taken in low flat light.
Violet-green swallow. Shot with the A1 and 300GM + 2X TC. ISO-2500 1/3200 sec f/5.6. Handheld, processed with C1P. click on the image to enlarge
Purple martin. Shot with the A1 and 300GM + 2X TC. ISO-2500 1/3200 sec f/5.6. Handheld, processed with C1P. click on the image to enlarge
The examples below are particularly interesting, the least terns were nesting in a protected area in Southern California. To protect the fragile birds from predators electric fences were installed, and to keep people away from the nesting grounds, a tall permitter fence was also installed. This meant to get any shots I had to shoot through two fences, while the fences are both out of focus, the contrast was severely impacted. Somehow the AF managed to still function brilliantly and with a bit of extra contrast and sharpening applied in post processing the images did not look too shabby.
The fact that the combination of the lens and the TC could handle such extreme scenario- which is usually very unproductive- is yet another testament to the prowess of this combo.
Least tern, Sony A1, 300GM + 2X TC. F/5.6 1/3200sec ISO-1600 handheld. processed with C1P. Click on the image to enlarge.
Least tern, Sony A1, 300GM + 2X TC. F/5.6 1/3200sec ISO-1000 handheld. processed with C1P. Click on the image to enlarge.
Least tern, Sony A1, 300GM + 2X TC. F/5.6 1/3200sec ISO-1000 handheld. processed with C1P. Click on the image to enlarge.
Least tern, Sony A1, 300GM + 2X TC. F/5.6 1/3200sec ISO-1000 handheld. processed with C1P. Click on the image to enlarge.
Special applications for bird photography
It’s clear that the 300GM is a great lens, however a 300mm lens is often too short for general bird photography given that most wildlife is skittish. The 600mm f/4 was, is and will remain the ultimate lens for general bird photography for those who can handhold it but there are few cases where the 300 will produce more keepers
Travel with limited space : If you can’t take the 600, the 300 your lens. At f/2.8 and f/4 (with 1.4X TC) it can handle low light shooting and still reach 600mm, it is overall superior to the 200-600 zoom lens
Low light shooting : when shooting in dim situations, especially if the subject is relatively large or close the 300mm f/2.8 can be a great option. One example is shooting bald eagles in AK during winter when light is very low.
shooting from vehicle/ boat/kayak : the 300 is a great lens for these scenarios given small footprint. It is easy to pan and maneuver in a limited space.
Fast, small erratic birds: Such birds as swallows are really difficult to track with a big six rig, even for seasoned photographers. the 300 makes it much easier given lighter with and shorter barrel.
Environmental images / multiple subjects : if you want to capture a bit more of the habitat or capture more than one subject in the frame 300 is a great option.
Those who own both the FE 300mm f/2.8 GM and the FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 might ask which conditions favor the zoom over the prime. With the prime being superior in every measurable way, the zoom becomes even more specialized lens for bird shooters giving its place to the 300 prime for most scenarios.
The zoom is still useful and potentially superior for cases where the active distance can vary significantly, i.e. where the subject can pop unexpectedly at a random distance. A good example is shooting peregrine falcons from a high vantage point and with no line-of-sight to the nest. The birds can suddenly pop 10 yards away or 50 yards away. In such cases there is not enough time to take the TC off, or to put the TC back on to change the FL. With the zoom on the other hand, the photographer can instantly zoom in and out to frame the subject on the fly.
Verdict and conclusions
The Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM is a great lens and a welcome addition to the collection of super-telephoto lenses. It is not a primary or main lens for general avian photography given its modest focal length of “just” 300mm (which can be extended to 600mm) compared to a 600mm f/4 prime lens, that starts at 600mm and reaches 1200mm. But it has many special applications and is the king of the hill when the big six is unavailable. I would have personally preferred an FE 400mm f/4 GM that would give us an 800mm f/8 combo. I still miss the old Canon 400mm f/4 DO IS II which I found more useful for bird photography than the 300mm f/2.8, almost a decade back. But I can understand why Sony’s priority was a 300mm f/2.8 to fit in with both sports and wildlife photographers at the same time. But beyond that the lens is great, even the price such as it is in 2024. Therefore I can highly recommend this lens.
Video review of the lens and more analysis can be seen on my YouTube channel