Sony 100-400mm Using Aps.c A7r4

Barn Owl Sony A7r4 Sony 100-400

I sat in my hide today waiting for the Barn Owl to land on the post i placed out side the hide. It didn’t take the bait and kept quartering around the field. I had chosen the Sony 100-400 today to do the video on the post so as you can imagine the owl looked so far away dropping down from the 200-600 but still with the APS.C mode on the A7r4 i switched to see what i could get. The light was poor and i decided to use ISO 500 but after looking at them i was under exposed so a tweak in that direction would have given me better image quality.

But my learning was harsh but i know if the Barn Owl comes close i will get some great images with some nice light to help me as well.

The Lovely Sharp G Master

When you have a choice of lens to fit to a 61mp camera you open up so many photographic opportunities. Its a joy to have a camera i can use and get so much joy out of, no need to look anywhere else for a long time to come. This is the first time in my career i have felt so at ease with my equipment and confident that what ever i film i have faith in the glass and the sensor that produce such amazing images, with detail up matched.

When you don’t need to Sharpen in post process it tells you one thing that the image is sharp enough. This is the first time when i edit that i just crop and maybe increase my exposure or shadow, other than that all my images are just right. I feel by using the A7r4 for Wildlife, Portrait, Street, Creative, Landscape and other styles of photography i have learned about the camera and no what it can produce. So by using the camera everyday for over 12 months has paid massive dividends.

100-400 G master with 1,4 ext fitted.

While out yesterday i wanted to test the 1.4 Ext on the 100-400 and just test it on a few random objects for image quality as i always think by adding more glass to any lens will effect IQ. So the Flag i took was at 100mm then 400mm then i used the APS-C mode.

So for anyone that is not familiar with the ext the lens becomes 140mm at 100mm, 400mm becomes 560mm and using the APS-C mode becomes 840mm

The last image is cropped to show the IQ you get after using the ext and cropping right in using the massive 61 mp

100-400 +1.4 EXT 560mm

100-400 + 1.4 ext using APS-C mode

Cropped from first image in set

All images were Handheld using Steadyshot mode 1.

Hope this helps anyone thinking of a camera that will capture images this far away.

The last images are of the little dog i captured running for its ball.

There was no ext fitted for these images.

The Beach Action Sony 100-400

Today with the sun shining made way along the coast slowly with the waves crashing in it felt lovely with the ice cold east wind blowing on my bald head, but feeling of walking again free with no worries about my right ankle it just felt great. I walked for about 3km and on the way i was looking out for people with dogs. The dog in full flight is great practice for panning and testing the different settings on the camera and glass.

So today instead of my trusty 200-600 i took the G Master 100-400 out with the Sony1.4 ext in my pocket. I soon found a lady with a young German shepherd who kindly let me take a few shots of it running for the ball. I used the Tracking Zone for these with the Green square locking onto the dog and never loosing focus, sadly the back ground was to busy so i was only happy with one image.

Sitting down for a while it was very quiet on the beach then i saw a Spaniel carrying a huge log from the sea, no it was not going to give it up so with the 100-400 it made life very easy to capture the action before it anyway near me.

What i love about the 7r4 is how far you can be away from your subject and still have the confidence to take a picture knowing you can crop until your hearts content and still retain fantastic image quality.

Then a lady came on the beach with a 18 month old dog that had a lovely coat on, so i asked her would it be ok to take some images of her dog. The first few were a bit to close so i let her walk up the beach and on her return i took some of the dog running towards me.

Making my way back to my car i noticed the Ferry out at sea a thought it would be a good idea to show people who are thinking of the Sony A7r4 how you can capture things way out in the distance. So i took 3 images of the ferry, the Ist image was at 100mm, then one at 400mm then using the APS-C mode i took the final one.

Sony 100-400 Everyday Use

I

Day 1

So Dark it wouldn’t be fare to test any lens in this light.

Day 2

Clouds Clouds and rain

Day3

Heavy rain. Clouds.

Day 4

O how lucky you are if you live in a sunny part of the world, or just a place on earth with dry weather and decent light.

Before my blog I would just like to inform anyone who does Photography that I live in the United Kingdom and the Light is poor bad and difficult to plan a day out with the camera. That is why I change my style in winter to Street and Portrait and creative photography. So when the images to support my simple review on the 100-400 lens are displayed have in mind it’s probably done in in low or dad light.

Making this a more fare review rather than %99 of reviews that are done in Sunny Parts of the world with Big Birds moving slow.

have owned the Sony 200-600 and the Sony 100-400 for just over 12 months using then on the Sony A7R4. My main style of photography is wildlife and I must confess that the 200-600 has spent more time on my camera than it’s bigger relation.

I read many people’s opinions that they sell there 100-400 and don’t use it enough, but my question is, if this lens is more expensive have the Sony title of G Master on it then it must be a cracking lens.

I was with Canon for 9 years having both 100-400 models the MK1 and MK2, the MK2 is still in my opinion the best wildlife lens for all round birding and wildlife. Being on my 7Dmk2 with a 1.6 Crop factor was ideal.

Dustin Abbot who gives a very in depth review on all the products he covers has stated clearly he was in the same opinion to me that the Canon 100-400 was hard to beat, but has agreed he would get better performance from the Sony G master.

He would not make that statement if the Sony did not impress him like it did.

I think a lot of the time we don’t put a lens through its full potential and that’s why my new aim is to use the Sony 100-400 for a few days shooting all manner of Photography and see what the results are.

Heading into my local village will give me an opportunity to try some street photography without getting in top of people. Also the Dog lovers walk and run the little critters on fields where I live so that is another area I will be looking at.

Versatility

I think sometimes when you have 2 wildlife lenses it’s going to be a case of getting to know just one because you can’t shoot both at the same time, but my thoughts are just say I had just the 100-400 would my opinion have been the same as when I just had my Canon 100-400.

Yes I was using a Crop Sensor body so I had more reach, but the tracking focus ability is far superior than tha Canon. So as you know I use the Sony A7r4 and it’s common knowledge that it has 61mp and with a press of the Button on the lens or on the Camera body I can switch to APS-C mode. Still giving me more megapixel than a lot of Apsc camera bodies. So from 6mp I go to 26mp still have the same focus speed and tracking a Lightning AF system that produces amazing images.

I wish I could contact Sony and tell them an honest opinion on this lens. Yes there are hundreds of diagrams and technical reviews all over the internet but when your buying a lens the average person just wants to know if the lens produces an amazing image in the right hands.

Let’s put the record straight, I have heard and seen many comments about the 200-600 having focus issues not just one lens but many. Can I be honest and say my images speak for themselves and if Sony were producing bad products it would kill their camera industry.

So my question is a simple one. Could it be User Error not the A7r4 or the 200-600?. People just decide I will become a photographer and go out and buy the best equipment thinking the advanced technology will take an amazing image they can post on Facebook. It takes years of practice to become a wildlife photographer. So there disappointed and start slagging the equipment off giving bad reviews and causing people to think twice about making the purchase.

I don’t have to justify what I say my images speak for themselves. But I want to give my 100-400 a chance and show what a great lens it can be. No charts or comparison to another lens, just a guy with 10 years experience with Canon, Olympus, Nikon, Sigma, Tamron, Sony and other Cameras and lens so I w

Also in my thinking will be a few portrait images of my wife Ruth in the local nature reserve to get an idea how good the Bokeh is at the 100 distance. So to summerise I will be covering.

1. Action
2. Street Photography
3. Portrait
4. Architecture
5. Macro