*Sony FE 100-400mm f/5.6-8
OSS lens
* announced Aug 2026 as a budget lens
* nine-blade circular aperture; linear motor drive; supports continuous shooting with autofocus and auto exposure tracking at up to approximately 120 frames per second on the Sony a9 III
* supports in-camera breathing compensation, which corrects the framing shifts that occur as focus position changes during movie recording
* dust and moisture resistant design
* close focus to 0.86 m at the telephoto end and 1.13 m at the wide end, with a maximum magnification of 0.41x
* accepts the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter (SEL20TC)
* 654g;
* $US849
*Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM
OSS lens
*SEL70300G announced April 2017
*close focus 0.98m giving 0.35x macro
*Two Floating AF groups for Fast AF - both a Direct Drive SSM and a double-linear motor
*5EV OSS with panning mode switch
*3 Focus Hold Buttons
*focus limiter 3m - infinity
*77mm filter
*zoom ring smooth/tight adjustment BUT zoom creeps and there’s no way to lock it down;
*removable tripod foot;
*compact, 1395g (3.08 lb), 205mm (8.07”) in length (not extended)
*compatible with Sony FE 1.4x and 2.0x Teleconverters
*$US2498
*https://fstoppers.com/originals/fstoppers-reviews-sony-fe-100-400mm-f45-56-gm-oss-lens-251755
*https://www.ephotozine.com/article/sony-fe-100-400mm-f-4-5-5-6-g-master-oss-review-31417
* edges become much softer at 400mm (need f/11 for sharpest edges), and CA at edges also becomes highest at 400mm
* pincushion distortion: +0.34% at 100mm, +1.43% at 200mm, +1.47% at 300mm and +1.51% at 400mm
* https://www.dxomark.com/sony-fe-100-400mm-f4-5-5-6-gm-oss-lens-review-compact-and-optically-excellent-tele-zoom/
* sharper than any of its current full frame 400mm zoom peers including the Canon EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS II
*Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM
OSS
* announced May 2026
* four XD Linear AF Motors giving 3x faster AF than previous version, Floating Focus
* rounded 11-Blade Diaphragm
* RRP $US4,298
*Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD
* announced April 2021
* 82mm filter
* 25 elements in 16 groups, including one extra low dispersion element, five low dispersion elements, and two hybrid aspherical elements
* fluorine coating front lens
* moisture-resistant
* 7 rounded blades
* close focus 60cm at 150mm ranging to 1.8m at 500mm
* 21.1cm to 28.2cm long at 500mm
* 1.9kg
* $US1400
*Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G
OSS
* announced June 2019
* 24 elements in 17 groups including 1 aspherical element and 5 ED elements
* 11 aperture blades; close focus 2.4m
* DDSSM AF system;
* fully compatible with Sony's two teleconverters
*111.5mm x 318mm (4.38”x 12.51“);
*2,115g (4.6 pounds)
*$US1999
*A Youtube review
*not as reliable as the 100-400mm for AF of fast moving subjects or when panning when used on a a7RIV - may need a firmware upgrade
*Sigma 300-600mm f/4 DG
OS Sports
* 2025 model
* great lens
* 40.5mm drop-in filter option; HLA linear motors;
* 3.985kg
* ~$US6000
*Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM
OSS
* announced Nov 2023
* close focus 2m; 40.5mm drop in filter; 11 rounded blades;
* 264x124mm; 1.47kg (almost half the weight of the Nikon dSLR equivalent)
* $US5999
*Sony FE 400mm f/2.8
OSS GM
* mid 2018
* 11 circular diaphragm blades
* 23 elements in 17 groups, including 1 ED and 3 Fluorite elements; Fluorine coating
* close focus 2.7m / 8.9ft
* 40.5mm drop in filters
* Dimensions: 359 x 158.1mm (14.13 x 6.22″)
* Weight: 2895g (6.38 lbs) (almost 1kg lighter than the Canon and Nikon versions)
* $US12,000
*Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM
OSS
* announced June 2019
* 24 elements in 18 groups, including 1 XA elements, 2 ED elements, and 3 fluorite elements
* 11 aperture blades; close focus 4.5m
* XD AF motors plus Linear Response MF; 40.5mm drop-in filter slot;
* Compatible with the Sony FE 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
* 3,040g (6.71 pounds) - the lightest full frame 600mm f/4 lens available
* 163.6mm x 449mm (6.44” x 17.67“)
* $US12,999
=====manual focus E-mount full frame lenses =====
<note>
*consider purchasing MF lenses in Canon EF mount so they can be used on many camera systems - however, the ones below are available in Sony FE mount if this is what you prefer
</note>
====Carl Zeiss Loxia lenses====
*these premium lenses are designed primarily for Cine shooters
*they are COMPACT, weathersealed, all have same filter thread size and position of aperture and focus rings
*focus rings have a long throw for more precision work
*aperture ring can easily be de-clicked by turning a screw on the mount using their de-click key set
*can be a bit hard to remove from camera as sealing gasket makes it tight and there are few places to grab on the lens which doesn't turn
*they can be bought as a kit for $US6000
*Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8
*Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4
*Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2
*Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2
*Zeiss Loxia 85mm f/2.4
====Samyang Xeen Cine lenses====
*Xeen CF 16mm T2.6
*Xeen CF 24mm T1.5 $US2495
*Xeen CF 35mm T1.5
*Xeen CF 50mm T1.5
*Xeen CF 85mm T1.5
====Other MF lenses====
*Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL rectilinear
* widest rectilinear lens for full frame
* announced June 2020 to be available in Leica M, Sony FE, Nikon Z and L mount.
* 350g, 6cm long; close focus 12cm; 14 elements in 10 groups;
* 100mm wide filters can be used without serious vignetting via an optional 100mm magnetic filter holder
* 5-bladed aperture where a clean and appealing 10-point sunstar
* $US799
*TTArtisan 11mm f/2.8 fisheye
* announced Jan 2020
* 10 blades
* close focus 17cm
* 485g
* $US215
*Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6
* 14 elements in 10 groups
* close focus 15cm giving 1:4
* 5 straight blades to produce well-defined 10-pointed sunstars
* Clicked/clickless aperture can be toggled by a switch on the lens barrel
* can screw in a rear 37mm filter
* can use an optional 100mm front filter holder
* 70 x 90.9 mm; 496g
* https://laowa.com.au/product/10-18/
*
Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D lens
* reviews:
* http://www.diyphotography.net/review-laowa-15mm-f2-fe-lens-delivers-fine-results-fair-price/
* some distortion of stars
* much smaller and lighter, and cheaper than the Sigma ART 14mm f/1.8
*
Laowa 15mm f/4 wide angle 1:1 shift macro full frame lens
* +/- 6mm shift for APS-C cameras
* 110deg FOV; manual aperture ring; 14 aperture blades; 12 elements in 9 groups; 77mm filter; 410g; $US499
*Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift lens
* announced Oct 2020
* ±11mm shift and lens barrel can be rotated through 360° and it clicks every 15°.
* angle of view is 110°
* 65mm image circle diameter
* 17 elements in 11 groups incl 2 ASPH
* 5-bladed aperture creates 10-point Sunstar rendering
* 20cm close focus
* 597g
* lens support is specially designed for perfect panorama stitching as the optic axis remains unchanged
* $US1,199
* also available in Canon EF, Nikon F, Canon RF, Nikon Z mounts
*NiSi 15mm f/4 sunstar lens
* announced Jan 2021
* 10 straight blades for optimal sun star reproduction
* “edge-to-edge sharpness”
* 12 elements in 10 groups incl 1 ASPH and 2 ED
* close focus 0.2m
* 72mm filter
* $US579
*Voigtländer Nokton 21mm f/1.4 Aspherical lens
* announced May 2019
* close focus 25cm
* 12 blades; 62mm filter; 560g
* $US1099
*Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 Asph
* announced Feb 2018
* compact
*Voigtländer 35mm f/1.2 SE
* announced April 2020; €999
*Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 SE
* announced April 2020; €899
*Voigtländer 50mm f/1.2 SE
* announced April 2020; €999
*Mitakon 50mm f/0.95
*$799
*Meyer Optik Görlitz Lydith 30mm f/3.5 II
* coming in 2020
* close focus 0.15m; “watercolor-like bokeh”
* ZY Optics Mitakon Speedmaster 35mm T/1.0 Cine
* announced Apr 2021 Super 35 image circle not FF
*Meyer Optik Görlitz Trioplan 50mm f/2.8 II
* coming 2020;
* soapbubble bokeh and at shorter distances a light swirl is created in the bokeh of the image
* close focus 0.4m;
*Meyer Optik Görlitz Primoplan 58mm f/1.9 II
* coming 2020
* 12 aperture blades; swirling bokeh effect;
* “unusual design, in which a central dispersion lens is flanked by two groups of lenses, each acting as a converging lens. The rear group consists of a single biconvex converging lens, resulting in a subtle brilliance over the entire frame.”
*Meyer Optik Görlitz Primoplan 75mm f/1.9 II
* coming 2020; original optic designed in 1936;
* 14 aperture blades; unique, dreamy, creamy bokeh;
* “an enhancement of the Cooke triplet, in which a central dispersion lens is flanked by two groups of lenses, each acting as a converging lens. The rear group consists of a single biconvex converging lens. ”
*Meyer Optik Görlitz Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 II
* 15 blade, close focus 0.9m; revamped traditional triplet optical design with soap bubble bokeh
* €999
* https://www.meyer-optik-goerlitz.com/en/lenses/
*see also
Sony FE macrophotography lenses**