Product Reviews

Bought this two weeks ago and took it for a day walking around a zoo yesterday. Hand held it and got great results. Easy to hold and move the zoom ring in flight whilst subjects moved closer or further. Very pleased.

I use this lens for aircraft and wildlife photography, replacing a Canon 70-200 with 1.4x convertor. The Sony is heavier and I have now ordered a monopod to go with it. The focus tracking, even in Mode 3 and with the 10m to Infinity setting is a bit randow sometimes, but once locked on to the subject images are crisp and bright.

Recent purchase for wildlife photography. I am really pleased with the quality and IQ of this lens and apart from weight which is common in these longer lenses I consider it to be one of my best purchases

Great lens. Hood, not so much. Comes off easily and is already peeling after light use.

Lens is fab, just sony make it so hard to claim, how do you get the cash back??

Used the lens for wildlife and Astro photography and although it’s early days I am very pleased with the sharpness and quality of the build. The lens feels solid, as is the tripod mount bracket and rotates easily to re-orientate the camera. Zooming and focus rings feel very smooth. Autofocus is fast and silent, shake movement eliminator works very well and I could not see any difference in still images with and without it selected, a must for video. The only negative with the lens is the weight, it is to heavy for hand held shots, I use a star adventurer mount for Astro photos and haven’t had any problems with the weight causing tracking problems. Check out the photos attached. The one standout positive I was very impressed in the sharpness of a f6.3 image looks just as sharp as a f16 which makes this an amazing lens.

I have had this a month and am delighted with the purchase It has great focus and reach and the bird eye AF works well with my A7m4

The extra reach over my Sony F4 70-200mm allows me to take photos which weren't previously possible at great points on a motor racing circuit

Light, Stable & Sharp what else do you expect ? Easy to use and pretty stable handled.

Decent performance at the price, especially with 2x converter.

I bought this lens so I could enter the world of bird and wildlife photography. I’ve only been out using this lens twice and I’m so impressed with it. The images I’ve taken so far are pin sharp. The lens focuses instantly and is dead silent. It’s heavy but I’m able to use handheld still.

I decided to upgrade my cameras to mirrorless full frame so purchased the Sony R7RIV together with the Sony 200-600mm lens. My main reason for this lens was because I take mostly wild life photos and this lens has proved to be excellent for this.

Having spent 10 weeks trying every setting recommended by expert Sony users who photograph birds, I have 10,000 photos taken with this lens. Every photo has soft focus and a high level of grainy noise. And not one is of a salable standard. Considering how many pro bird photographers use this lens and have websites full of sharp images produced by this lens, I am profoundly disappointed with this lens.

Bought this after reviewing and its everything i wished for what an excellent lens

Bought this a month ago for sports photography, it's paid for itself already

I bought this lens a few weeks ago. It performs very well. There is little evidence of vignetting. The only downside is, it is somewhat heavy.

Only had this lens 10days ago but first impressions are very positive, it’s more portable than I expected and fairly easy to hand hold (although I wouldn’t like to do it all day) image quality is excellent, the only downside so far is the position of the strap lugs

Just bought this lens, taken a few photos, what an excellent lens, to be able to go from 200 to 600 with a small twist of the zoom ring is remarkable, to photograph birds in flight is So easy and the lens is so sharp. I would say as regards value for money this is the best Lens I have ever bought.

Beautiful easy to use lens pin sharp and fast when paired with the A7iii

I’ve only had this lens for a couple of weeks and only just ventured out for a morning session. Having been used to a 100-400, this 200-600 blows it away. Apart from the obvious extra reach, it’s much sharper through the range and I feel it definitely performs way better too. At the moment I’m using an A7III and thoroughly enjoyed my first experience with this awesome lens.

I have used this lens for several months now both in the UK and abroad and find it to be a great product at an exceptional price. It is very versitile and compact for overseas travel.

A fantastic purchase. 200-600mm lens can zoom in to great detail with sharp images A good price compared to fixed 600mm lenses and ability to find subject at 200mm and then zoom in to dtail at 600mm excellent.

I have not had chance to use this as it arrived with a OSS problem. When the camera is turned on the lens OSS motors are working even when the OSS switch is off. I am currently patiently waiting for a reply from the Sony Authorised dealer. This does give me a good feeling moving forward about the reliability of this product and also because I am unable to use it I can not judge its design or picture quality.

A little on the heavy side but does a really great job

This lens is a masterpiece, for what you’re paying you get a lot! Image quality top notch and I could be happier. The only small point is I wish there was a way to tighten the zoom and the focus circle, sometimes it’s too easy to accidentally move them.

I bought this lens to use with both my crop sensor and full frame camera and I am very impressed with the sharpness of my photos I have taken even in low light.

Second one I’ve owned and very pleased with it takes lovely photos

The lens gets great results and has proves to be great for nature photography.

Absolutely great value for money if you are a wildlife photographer. You won't be disappointed in the results that this lens will get for your action shots.

Does not appear to be a great match with my Sony A7R IV. The shutter speed needs to be 4 to 5 x 1/focal length value which means shooting in very good/bright conditions or shooting at high ISO’s

The internal zoom is great when panning motorsport which has been my main use. When I’ve used it for wildlife it’s has delivered sharp images in those scenarios as well. It’s quite heavy on a Sony body but I’ve spent hours panning and I am not at all strong ! (Wish it wasn’t white !)

I have had this lens for nearly 2 years and I have managed to get some great photos with it.

I have been using this lens for around a year now. It IS possible to get great results from it but it is fussy about the cameras it likes and the light levels. I bought it to team it with my A7Riv. In retropect, this was a mistake since the combination of the aperture range of the lens and the high resolution sensor creates too narrow an operating window, esp if also teamed with the x1.4TC which I have had to stop using with this lens. This lens is best paired with something like an A9ii whereas I have now purchased a 100400GM lens for my A7Riv in order to give me a wider window in terms of aperture The other challenge is that the lens is really heavy. You MUST use it with a lens brace to save stress on the mounting point and even then, the camera can complain saying that the lens is not attached properly. The lack of a lens strap attachment point does not help. My advice is to buy a replacement lens foot for it as soon as you purchase it. This will help you to carry it. The weight has also required me to change my tripod Also, if you read the forums, there are a lot of bad copies around. I have had to change two lenses already That said, I have had some great photos from this lens and the optics are good for the price point

Bought this to accompany my new Sony A7M3 camera 9 months ago after extensive research. Have been a Canon user for almost 40 years. Made the switch to Sony,. Very happy with the results too. This lens is superb for wildlife & Bird photography

Had a while now. Takes getting used too as not used long lens before. I any length of use get a bit heavy and a mono pod helps. Just wish the tripod foot was arcs Swiss built in.

Bought the lens over 12 months ago - shot around 8000 images with this lens bare and with the 1.4 TC, impressive performance, sharp, contrasty images, handling is a dream, internal focus, quarter turn to zoom, good range and overall value for money - best prosumer lens I've used by far

What an amazing lens this is - for such a large focal length ,its suprisingly easy to carry around .I really like the zoom - 200mm to 600m in quarter of a turn - brilliant ! The build quality is fantastic too,as are the images ( amazingly sharp) - and I also love that it has internal zooming - stays balanced too You will not be dissapointed with this lens - I love it

so glad I changed completely from another make to Sony, with the 200-600mm lens I have been able to get excellent shots from a distance, and the manual focus is out of this world. A lot lighter than my previous 150-600mm lens enabling me to get hand held shots when need be.

I took this lense out into the African bush for 10 days wildlife photography in dusty and hot conditions. The lens was fantastic, allowing me to get sharp and clear images in any lighting conditions. Definitely recommend.

Great lens but a black colour or a dark grey options instead of a bright white finish which is easy marked

Fabulous piece of kit really excellent image caption although heavy to carry definitely requires tripod

Super telephoto's are always going to be niche and not to everyones requirements. However if you have the need then this lens is going to meet all your requirements. It is very well built, cracking image quality all contained within a relatively short form and more importantly non extending. Also check out the price point - cannot be beaten

I bought Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens and I'm so happy I did with the results I'm getting out of it.

Amazing lens. Ideal for wildlife and sports. Great colours, instant focus

I have had my lens for about 3 months I got the 100 400 first witch I traded in for the 200 600

Superb lens and value for money having moved to Sony this year after many years using a different brand .

Too many out of focus shots from this. Inconsistent AF and all too often just to soft. Forced me to switch from Sony to Fuji where you get much better after sales service.

My go to lens for wildlife photography. Good sharp lens for the price and reasonable weight for a lens this size. Internal focusing is a real bonus. My only hate is that there is no manual override on the focus switch like Nikon have on lots of their lenses, it’s either manual or auto.

Has to be the best long range on the market and ideal for when out on nature reserves and in hides.

I have had the 200-600 for a year now and it is a fantastic lens for wildlife as long as you keep an eye on shutter speed/iso setting. I have used it for sport and in good light it performs well. The 6.3 aperture can lead to you pushing the iso but with good holding technique you can reduce the shutter to get some great shots. I put mine on a monopod when out in woodland as it really helps with stability. It’s not the lightest and I use a wide peak design slide strap on the lens lugs and it’s fine to carry. If you want 600mm weight is just something you have to accept. It is permanently on my A9 and in the right light I use it with the 1.4 converter to get 840mm and it’s still very sharp.

I have had the 200-600 since they first became available in the UK. I needed to downsize from my Canon system (1Dx and 500f4) mainly for international's travel, but was bit concerned that the quality would not be there. No noticeable drop in quality at all! Plus the versatility of the zoom range. I love this lens. I also have the 100-400 and again, it is hard to see the difference in quality in real life situations.

This lens combined with the Sony A9 is so quick (focus wise) & sharp for bird photography. It's that good one of my shots of a Red Kite with a medical mask caught in it's legs appeared in the Saturday Telegraph (1/3rd page spread). I can carry it with the A9 + battery grip all day long as its not that heavy- I'm 72!!

Ok so I bought this lens two months ago it’s super sharp especially when you consider the price of it it’s a great price for a telephoto of this build quality

Had this a couple of months now and love it especially the way internal focus helps balance on a gimble

I am an experienced wildlife photographer with many years experience. I have been using this lens for many months now and I have to say that i am very impressed and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any wildlife photographer. Being a zoom it gives great versatility that you don't always get with a prime lens and I don't think it suffers in the image quality stakes. All that being said, if Sony produce a second version of this lens there are a couple of points that for me stop it getting five stars. Firstly there is no zoom lock. Most of the time this isn't a problem, however one of the lenses great features its silky smooth zoom action can be a problem when resting on a bean bag. You may find if you turn the camera following a subject the zoom can wind itself in and you are suddenly shooting at 300mm. The zoom moves from 200mm to 600mm in a quarter of a turn and with no zoom lock its easy to have this happen. Secondly it would have been great if this lens stayed at F5.6 all the way to 400mm instead of moving to F6.3 at 300mm. A lot of competing brands seem to switch at the 400mm point and as a wildlife photographer that extra light is valuable. Also it would be great if Sony sent me one to test when they build it. This lens would be pretty much perfect if these two points are addressed so I wouldn't let those points put you off. Its a stunner.

Great focal length range for the price; love the internal adjust so lens does not extend

I'm using this for video with the Sony FX6. Great performance and clarity.

Brought this a couple weeks ago and haven’t been disappointed, sharp images and up to 900mm zoom if you enter crop sensor mode

I have tried long zoom lenses from Canon and Sigma. This lens beats both hands down. The only things I would change are definite stops for near and infinity focus and proper 'grab and go' manual override for autofocus.

Great feeling lens, strong and durable without being too heavy. Great quality images, sharp and precise autofocus with my A7III.

Used this lens for more than a month, focus is amazingly fast. Picture quality is fantastic.

I bought this lens for bird and other wild life photography

Only had this a few weeks. Description clearly gives the weight but carrying it about really brings home what I’ve taken on. Rested it in bird hides and can just about manage hand-held. Balances OK on a tripod (must take the load: camera plus this closing in on 3 Kg). Much easier on a gimbal. Bought a cheaper one with no fancy stuff and it’s fine. I’ve still much to learn. I have the camera on auto everything thus far. Got some spoonbills (the knowledgeable ones told me). Missed a bittern! Come back to me in a few months when I can hopefully supply a better critique.

I bought this lens a month ago to go with my A9, the lens is great, the image quality is perfect and along with the intetnal zoom, this is my perfect lens for wildlife and sports.

Having purchased a Sony 200-600 lens I have found it to be a great usable lens, producing quality results. It is a good match for my Sony a7riv.

I’ve had this for a few weeks now and am constantly being blown away by how good it is, especially considering the price. I’m not going to go into full technical details as there are people who know way more about that than me who will have posted that info already, but as someone who has been using the lens for wildlife photography, I can say it is absolutely fantastic. If you’ve not used a focal length as long as 600mm before, it can take some getting used to but I absolutely love this lens and would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of buying.