Sony FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II Zoom lens
£1,749/$1,698
A worthy upgrade to the original lens
1 The lens comes with a petal-shaped hood which, like the lens, is finished in white.
2 Extensive weather-seals have been incorporated to reduce the risk of dust in the lens.
3 The lens features a removable tripod mounting ring that maintains an excellent balance.
The Sony FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II has a tough act to follow. The original had good glass, fast autofocus, decent optical image T stabilisation and upmarket handling, though we were underwhelmed by the lens’s edge/ corner sharpness at both ends of the zoom range. This Mark II version sets out to take everything up a notch or two.
Key features
The Mark II shaves 15 per cent off the length and 46g off the weight of the original. It features 19 elements in 13 groups, including three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and a Super ED element, aiming to boost sharpness, contrast and colour quality while minimising chromatic aberrations. Another upgrade is an autofocus system that Sony claims is 20 per cent faster than the original lens, along with a virtually silent operation for videographers. The optical stabiliser also features a mode for tracking erratically moving subjects.
Build and handling
The lens feels compact and lightweight, measuring 82x149mm and weighing in at 749g. The zoom and focus rings work smoothly and precisely while the lens comes with a petal-shaped hood and has extensive weather-seals to reduce the risk of dust getting into the lens.
Performance
Performance is top-drawer and there is an improvement in edge/corner sharpness at both ends of the zoom range. The autofocus system is fast, ultra-precise and quiet. It doesn’t have class-leading image stabilisation but all other aspects of overall performance are fabulous.
