70-400

steelhead3 · Apr 15, 2009

I just received my 70-400 yesterday, had to wait a day (snowing in Oregon) to play with it. I'm really impressed, it is very sharp. It is hand holdable and fits nicely in a backpack. The one quibble is that the hood which is very large has to be used or stored somewhere. When mounted reverse, the shooter can not operate the zoom ring. This hood is very light weight and seems fragile, I hope I don't have to replace it in the future. The focus is much slower than the70-200, but still good. Sharpness competes w/ my 100mm macro and that is my sharpest lens. Mike

WinstonInBoise · Apr 15, 2009

It's more robust than it seems. I have given mine a few shots; one of them hard enough to knock it off the lens. Neither the lens or the hood are the worse for it.

I can't find any evidence that anything has happened to either.

I find the "weight lifting" beneficial ;-)
--
Winston

BackToSlr · Apr 15, 2009

steelhead3 said:
I just received my 70-400 yesterday, had to wait a day (snowing in
Oregon) to play with it. I'm really impressed, it is very sharp. It
is hand holdable and fits nicely in a backpack. The one quibble is
that the hood which is very large has to be used or stored somewhere.
When mounted reverse, the shooter can not operate the zoom ring.
This hood is very light weight and seems fragile, I hope I don't have
to replace it in the future. The focus is much slower than
the70-200, but still good. Sharpness competes w/ my 100mm macro and
that is my sharpest lens. Mike

I agree it is sharp, and i have learned to appreciate the light hood after a single session. It is much sharper that my old Canon 100-400L, very impressive and quiet.

Full time DMF is a joy to use and hugely aids the focusing

Cheers,

N

Fearless_Photog · Apr 15, 2009

steelhead3 wrote:
The one quibble is

steelhead3 said:
that the hood which is very large has to be used or stored somewhere.
When mounted reverse, the shooter can not operate the zoom ring.

No kidding, why on earth would you have the hood reversed when actually using the lens? The only reason it can be reversed is for transportation or storage, and the reason it exists is to reduce flare, improve constrast, and give added protection when you're using the lens. I've seen people with DSLRS walking around frequently with their hoods reversed while using the camera, do they just not know what they're for?

steelhead3 · Apr 15, 2009

When hiking through brush (wildlife lens), the hood catches on everything close to it. The hood compromises the ability to get the shot. If you shoot on a tripod or in a set situation the hood can be an asset against flare

Fearless_Photog · Apr 16, 2009

steelhead3 said:
When hiking through brush (wildlife lens), the hood catches on
everything close to it. The hood compromises the ability to get the
shot. If you shoot on a tripod or in a set situation the hood can be
an asset against flare

I shoot mostly wildlife year round and I've never encountered this issue, I usually point my camera straight down when walking through any kind of really heavy brush and don't have any issue with it catching on things. Also, if you're having this issue, wouldn't all these things the hood is catching on just be hitting the front element or filter? Still doesn't explain having the hood mounted in reverse when actually using the lens either.

JohnyP · Apr 16, 2009

I almost never use the hood. In fact on my recent trip to Hawaii, I've left all of them at home whenever we went out. Haven't noticed any difference yet.

KingBolete · Apr 20, 2009

Is the sharpness you rave about throughout the zoom range? Lots of long zooms lose it at the long end which seems to me to be the most important part of a telezoom (the short end is likely to overlap a less ambitious lens, after all).

Has anyone had a shoot off between a tamron 200-500 or a sigma 150-400 or sigman 150-500?

FEM2008 · Apr 20, 2009

You are right, the performance of 70-400G at 400mm is the worst (out of the range) for this lens, but it sure beats everything out there, wide open. It certainly exceeded my expectations, and is probably pretty close to a prime lens.

I can't compare it with the Tamron, but here are a couple of quick and dirty shots taken with the A700 this weekend. This will give you an idea on the performance. All were handheld with SSS off. Cropped in Photoshop elements (I know it does not give the best results, but I am not using my regular PC to edit at the moment). The Jpeg (4 &5) are standard quality (not fine) out of the Camera. No in-camera sharpening applied either.

1- SAL-70400G @ 400mm F5.6, 1/1000. RAW processed in PS Elements 7, no sharpening, 25% crop

2- SAL-70400G @ 400mm F5.6. RAW processed in PS Elements 7, No sharpening, 100% crop

3- Same as above but sharpened using Smart sharpen (amount = 100, Radius =1), 100% crop

4- SAL-70400G @ 330mm F5.6, 1/640. Standard Jpeg unprocessed (in camera settings: 0,0,0), 25% crop

5- SAL-70400G @ 330mm F5.6,Handheld SSS off. Standard Jpeg unprocessed (in camera settings: 0,0,0), 100% crop

--
FEM2008

robfitsy · Apr 20, 2009

Fearless_Photog said:
No kidding, why on earth would you have the hood reversed when
actually using the lens? The only reason it can be reversed is for
transportation or storage, and the reason it exists is to reduce
flare, improve constrast, and give added protection when you're using
the lens. I've seen people with DSLRS walking around frequently with
their hoods reversed while using the camera, do they just not know
what they're for?

If you have a filter which needs adjusting (c-pol, graduated ND), the hood gets in the way. If it is on reverse, you can adjust the filter, but cannot zoom. Leave it off you say? Yes, that is probably the best choice in the circumstances I described above.

FEM2008 · Apr 20, 2009

The 70-400g has a small door in the hood for adjusting a CPL filter. It works very well if the filter ring is knurld.
--
FEM2008

eye-spy · Apr 20, 2009

robfitsy said:
Fearless_Photog said:

No kidding, why on earth would you have the hood reversed when
actually using the lens? The only reason it can be reversed is for
transportation or storage, and the reason it exists is to reduce
flare, improve constrast, and give added protection when you're using
the lens. I've seen people with DSLRS walking around frequently with
their hoods reversed while using the camera, do they just not know
what they're for?

Click to expand...

If you have a filter which needs adjusting (c-pol, graduated ND), the
hood gets in the way. If it is on reverse, you can adjust the filter,
but cannot zoom. Leave it off you say? Yes, that is probably the best
choice in the circumstances I described above.

do you own this lens??? if so have you ever wonder what the little door in the hood is for??????????

--
Praise be to Sony for saving the A mount.

Photorer · Apr 20, 2009

Those images show once again that the glass is the most important!

Wow - resolution like that is amazing!

Great shots - and thanks for sharing them with us!
--
Still not enough time to take pictures....... Is there ever?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photorer/ http://www.afripixel.com

Ralf B · Apr 20, 2009

--
Ralf

http://ralfralph.smugmug.com/
10.000 slides still to scan........

busch · Apr 20, 2009

Not only is it sharp but I love those colors!

Great images!

--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch

GpnAZ · Apr 20, 2009

This lens is sharp throughout it's range. This was shot 8-10 miles away from the buildings with the 100% crop and you couldn't even see the lettering with the naked eye. I also have a Tamron 200-500 but have not done a comparison, although I find the Sony easier to focus.

http://www.MarkLarsonPhotography.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpnaz

FEM2008 · Apr 20, 2009

The lens has nice colors and bokeh. I was also amazed at flamnigo's deep colors. It was the first weekend out for the birds in the outdoor exhibit at the local zoo. So, the feather colors--dark from winter feeding-- had not faded any yet from the sun.

busch said:
Not only is it sharp but I love those colors!

Great images!

Thanks.

busch said:
--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch

--
FEM2008

robfitsy · Apr 21, 2009

eye-spy said:
do you own this lens??? if so have you ever wonder what the little
door in the hood is for??????????

Hehe, no I don't own it, I do own the 70-300G, and thought the hood was the same.

KingBolete · Apr 21, 2009

Looks good (though bad for the pocket book). I have the 200-500 so I was wondering if I should sell it and pop for the 70-400. A head-to-head at 400mm could be decisive in that regard.

ephankim · Apr 21, 2009

Sharp enough for me

And lovely colours. Nice shot!

--
http://photo.net/photos/eric.phan-kim

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