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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
A precision zoom lens with bright aperture and fast, quiet auto-focus response. Specially designed for the APS-size CCD imager of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 camera, this superb G-Series zoom lens covers a broad range of frequent telephoto shooting situations. Its 35mm-equivalent range of 105-300mm zooming, fast f/2.8 aperture and quiet, high-speed SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor) auto-focus precision makes it ideal for long-distance sports and wildlife photography.
Lens Features
SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor)
A built-in lens motor for faster automatic focusing with high torque at low speed, quick start/stop response, and quiet, smooth operation.
ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass
Four precision ED Glass lenses correct chromatic aberrations and deliver visually accurate results even at full telephoto zoom extension.
Internal focusing system
Internal lens elements move, so the overall length does not change -- creating a zoom lens that focuses more quickly and doesn’t affect the balance of your camera.
2 DMF (Direct Manual Focus) modes
Allow you to quickly revert to manual focus by just turning the manual focus ring of the lens.
Versatile focus hold
Three focus hold buttons in different lens locations, plus electronic slider focus range selector switch.
Product Description
A precision zoom lens with bright aperture and fast, quiet auto-focus response. Specially designed for the APS-size CCD imager of the Sony α (alpha) DSLR cameras, the superb G Series SAL-70200G telephoto zoom lens covers a broad range of frequent telephoto shooting situations. Its 35mm-equivalent range of 105-300mm zooming, fast f/2.8 aperture and quiet, high-speed SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor) auto-focus precision makes it ideal for long-distance sports and wildlife photography.
FEATURES:
- SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor ) - A built-in lens motor for faster automatic focusing with high torque at low speed, quick start/stop response, and quiet, smooth operation.
- ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass - Four precision ED Glass lenses correct chromatic aberrations and deliver visually accurate results even at full telephoto zoom extension.
- Internal focusing system - Internal lens elements move, so the overall length does not change -- creating a zoom lens that focuses more quickly and doesn’t affect the balance of your camera.
- 2 DMF (Direct Manual Focus) modes - Allow you to quickly revert to manual focus by just turning the manual focus ring of the lens.
- Versatile focus hold - Three focus hold buttons in different lens locations, plus electronic slider focus range selector switch.
- Front & Rear Lens Caps
- Lens Hood
- Padded Lens Case with Strap
Available Warranties for This Item
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By E. Pletsch
Amazon Verified Purchase
This lens delivers everything that is promised. The build quality is fantastic. It is super fast and quiet. And of course, as everyone else has stated, quite heavy. It took a long time for me, as an amatuer photographer, to get up the guts (and cash) to spring for this lens, but there are no regrets.
I had suffered for years taking photos of my son's hockey teams with a moderate priced telephoto lens. I would spend hours post-processing the photos to brighten them, improve contrast, and frankly, I would toss more than half that I had taken. It was not a good use of time for a busy person. Now, I would say that better than 90% of my shots are keepers from a focus and brightness perspective. Now I just have to work on better composition!
As far as the weight goes, I had imagined that I could deal with it in the ice arena by using a monopod. The first time I tried it though, I found it way to cumbersome to quickly manipulate the position as I was perched on a bench shooting over the plexiglass. The action flows way to fast even at the top PeeWee level (11-12yr olds). I had much better luck shooting with it hand held although it becomes a strain on the neck and back muscles unless you are high enough to not reach to get over the glass. Eventually, I ended up shooting from the players bench. That is really the best location if your coach doesn't mind.
One other thing is that I dared not use the lens until I had something in front to protect it. It was a bit of a struggle to find a UV lens that was rated well enough to not impare the images from the G-series glass that I just spent so much money on. I ended up getting a B&W 70mm Multi-coated UV HAze 010 filter and have no complaints. Also, the lens hood is quite large which keeps things (e.g. hockey sticks, kids running with slushies) comfortably at bay.
I highly recommend this lens. It is top notch. I couldn't be more thrilled.
I had suffered for years taking photos of my son's hockey teams with a moderate priced telephoto lens. I would spend hours post-processing the photos to brighten them, improve contrast, and frankly, I would toss more than half that I had taken. It was not a good use of time for a busy person. Now, I would say that better than 90% of my shots are keepers from a focus and brightness perspective. Now I just have to work on better composition!
As far as the weight goes, I had imagined that I could deal with it in the ice arena by using a monopod. The first time I tried it though, I found it way to cumbersome to quickly manipulate the position as I was perched on a bench shooting over the plexiglass. The action flows way to fast even at the top PeeWee level (11-12yr olds). I had much better luck shooting with it hand held although it becomes a strain on the neck and back muscles unless you are high enough to not reach to get over the glass. Eventually, I ended up shooting from the players bench. That is really the best location if your coach doesn't mind.
One other thing is that I dared not use the lens until I had something in front to protect it. It was a bit of a struggle to find a UV lens that was rated well enough to not impare the images from the G-series glass that I just spent so much money on. I ended up getting a B&W 70mm Multi-coated UV HAze 010 filter and have no complaints. Also, the lens hood is quite large which keeps things (e.g. hockey sticks, kids running with slushies) comfortably at bay.
I highly recommend this lens. It is top notch. I couldn't be more thrilled.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By WWJDwithCA
Amazon Verified Purchase
Here's another item that while it is better than its competitors is it worth the extra cost?
Sigma no longer makes the 70-200mm f2.8 without stabilization, and there version with lens stabilzation is $1400, and I don't belive that has any value for us Sony users. I do not have any empircal evidence that lens stabilzation adds nothing when you have body stabilzation since I was unable to find anything written on this, and from a technical viewpoint it wouldn't make sense that they could work together in reduce vibration even further from in-body stabilzation.
So the Sigma with stabilzation cost twice as much as the old version, $1400 and has driven the old models in the used market to over $1000.
The Tamron is still very affordable at less than $800, but suffers from very slow focusing speeds. The optics test-out on par with the Sony lens and are superior to the Sigma. The Sigma's are fast, but suffer in optical peformance.
So one can easily argue that to get a 70-200mm f2.8 without any significant limitations one must go with the $2000 Sony lens, and several reviewers have posted comments to that extent. As with other pro quality equipment, its not of value to you if you are not going to be utilizing those features. So if you are really just going to be shooting portraits (or anything where autofocus is not critical), then the Tamron is an excellent choice. The Sigma is not an option new because I don't think it makes sense to purchase features that you cannot use. Look for the old Sigma in the used market, should be able to get a used model on Ebay for less than $900.
The Sony does have some features the others do not. There's an extra button that can double as a focus button or a DOF preview (if camera supports). I have an a580 and its supported and the DOF preview is quite slick; gives you a preview of what the background will look like at the current selected settings. Saves taking a setup shot and checking the screen.
Focusing is faster than the others, but is slow at low light (like most). Images are crisp and colors are excellent. Focus on the edges may not be as good as the Sigma or Tamron. All-around the lens has no signifcant weaknesses, and that's saying something. For us Sony owners you will not be able to bring a better tool, no question. Weight, could be an issue for many of you. All reviews of telephoto lenses say the lens is heavy, but this lens is a beast! It weighs more than my old 100-300 mm sigma lens, with 100 mm lens focal length. Obviously, its built like a tank as well, so take that for what its worth.
Question is it worth the extra $$'s??? I'm tempted to say "No" for most people, except me:) I only carry a few lenses and I want each of them to be the best I can carry in each class because I only have a few lenses. I used to carrry a Sigma 100-300 f4.0, and I found the lens to be less perferred for shooting video, I wanted something faster and shorter. If you do mostly outdoor then I think there are much more versatile lenses out there, like the Sony 70-400mm, where the extra speed is really of little consequence. I do a lot indoors without flash and this lens does rock for those applications, and now that I have this fast beast I can put converters on it and it will perform well, so it is very versatile in that regard.
It is the best 70-200mm f2.8 lens for a Sony DSLR camera, no question. The question is, is the extra cash worth it, and in all the cases where I've spent more money instead of being frugal, this is the hardest one to justify because the delta is just so enormous. If the lens were $500 cheaper, I'd easily recommend, but at the steep cost to ownership where this lens currently resides......
******* Review Updated*******************************
7/1/12
I was afforded the opportunity to use a Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 lens for a few weeks from a friend of mine, so I was able to make direct comparisons. Please look at the photos that I attached of each shot, trying to duplicate the same shots.
The biggest thing I noticed is that the focusing system of the Sony is far superior. I took some action shots and the Sony lens could rip off twice the number of pictures it seemed when asking it to re-focus between each shot. Also, notice the shots I took that tested it's focusing ability and the Sony just flat shinned. One image I took of a box with lettering and the background exposed and the Sigma could not lock, where the Sony immediately locked. The image of aloe vera lotion however was the most interesting shot; the image was a difficult shot to be able to focus on because the lotion bottle is clear and lotion is translucent as well, and then the back ground was very bright. Very difficult focusing task, and the Sony Shinned. The Sigma did lock, but you see for yourself that the image quality was poor on the bottle itself. I think the colors on the Sigma are good (if you like them warmer), and the bokah was slightly better where the Sony was a touch more harsh. However, the colors could be post processed into the image, so that's a non-factor, and the bokah of the Sigma was just a touch better on the Sigma.
The feel of the Sigma lens was impressive. The all black look, and solid feel was just as good as the Sony. The Sony lens looks like a Pro lens because of the "white" factor, but if I didn't know better I would say the Sigma looked better.
So from a performance perspective my testing clearly showed that the Sony is certainly better than the Sigma in nearly every way, and in some cases significantly better. I was told and read the Sigma would perform up with the Sigma from a speed and focusing ability, and clearly it could not. I'll update this review if I ever get a chance to compare the Tamron head-to-head, but from this review I cannot even recommend the Sigma lens at all. The Sigma I tested did not have the stabilization, and if they have not dramatically improved performance the $1400 for the new lens is a bust for sure! The only question remains is can the Tamron optically perform up with the Sony like people say it can for 1/3 the price, that's the only reason I leave my review at 4 stars because let's face it, my Sony copy destroyed the Sigma copy I tested.
Sigma no longer makes the 70-200mm f2.8 without stabilization, and there version with lens stabilzation is $1400, and I don't belive that has any value for us Sony users. I do not have any empircal evidence that lens stabilzation adds nothing when you have body stabilzation since I was unable to find anything written on this, and from a technical viewpoint it wouldn't make sense that they could work together in reduce vibration even further from in-body stabilzation.
So the Sigma with stabilzation cost twice as much as the old version, $1400 and has driven the old models in the used market to over $1000.
The Tamron is still very affordable at less than $800, but suffers from very slow focusing speeds. The optics test-out on par with the Sony lens and are superior to the Sigma. The Sigma's are fast, but suffer in optical peformance.
So one can easily argue that to get a 70-200mm f2.8 without any significant limitations one must go with the $2000 Sony lens, and several reviewers have posted comments to that extent. As with other pro quality equipment, its not of value to you if you are not going to be utilizing those features. So if you are really just going to be shooting portraits (or anything where autofocus is not critical), then the Tamron is an excellent choice. The Sigma is not an option new because I don't think it makes sense to purchase features that you cannot use. Look for the old Sigma in the used market, should be able to get a used model on Ebay for less than $900.
The Sony does have some features the others do not. There's an extra button that can double as a focus button or a DOF preview (if camera supports). I have an a580 and its supported and the DOF preview is quite slick; gives you a preview of what the background will look like at the current selected settings. Saves taking a setup shot and checking the screen.
Focusing is faster than the others, but is slow at low light (like most). Images are crisp and colors are excellent. Focus on the edges may not be as good as the Sigma or Tamron. All-around the lens has no signifcant weaknesses, and that's saying something. For us Sony owners you will not be able to bring a better tool, no question. Weight, could be an issue for many of you. All reviews of telephoto lenses say the lens is heavy, but this lens is a beast! It weighs more than my old 100-300 mm sigma lens, with 100 mm lens focal length. Obviously, its built like a tank as well, so take that for what its worth.
Question is it worth the extra $$'s??? I'm tempted to say "No" for most people, except me:) I only carry a few lenses and I want each of them to be the best I can carry in each class because I only have a few lenses. I used to carrry a Sigma 100-300 f4.0, and I found the lens to be less perferred for shooting video, I wanted something faster and shorter. If you do mostly outdoor then I think there are much more versatile lenses out there, like the Sony 70-400mm, where the extra speed is really of little consequence. I do a lot indoors without flash and this lens does rock for those applications, and now that I have this fast beast I can put converters on it and it will perform well, so it is very versatile in that regard.
It is the best 70-200mm f2.8 lens for a Sony DSLR camera, no question. The question is, is the extra cash worth it, and in all the cases where I've spent more money instead of being frugal, this is the hardest one to justify because the delta is just so enormous. If the lens were $500 cheaper, I'd easily recommend, but at the steep cost to ownership where this lens currently resides......
******* Review Updated*******************************
7/1/12
I was afforded the opportunity to use a Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 lens for a few weeks from a friend of mine, so I was able to make direct comparisons. Please look at the photos that I attached of each shot, trying to duplicate the same shots.
The biggest thing I noticed is that the focusing system of the Sony is far superior. I took some action shots and the Sony lens could rip off twice the number of pictures it seemed when asking it to re-focus between each shot. Also, notice the shots I took that tested it's focusing ability and the Sony just flat shinned. One image I took of a box with lettering and the background exposed and the Sigma could not lock, where the Sony immediately locked. The image of aloe vera lotion however was the most interesting shot; the image was a difficult shot to be able to focus on because the lotion bottle is clear and lotion is translucent as well, and then the back ground was very bright. Very difficult focusing task, and the Sony Shinned. The Sigma did lock, but you see for yourself that the image quality was poor on the bottle itself. I think the colors on the Sigma are good (if you like them warmer), and the bokah was slightly better where the Sony was a touch more harsh. However, the colors could be post processed into the image, so that's a non-factor, and the bokah of the Sigma was just a touch better on the Sigma.
The feel of the Sigma lens was impressive. The all black look, and solid feel was just as good as the Sony. The Sony lens looks like a Pro lens because of the "white" factor, but if I didn't know better I would say the Sigma looked better.
So from a performance perspective my testing clearly showed that the Sony is certainly better than the Sigma in nearly every way, and in some cases significantly better. I was told and read the Sigma would perform up with the Sigma from a speed and focusing ability, and clearly it could not. I'll update this review if I ever get a chance to compare the Tamron head-to-head, but from this review I cannot even recommend the Sigma lens at all. The Sigma I tested did not have the stabilization, and if they have not dramatically improved performance the $1400 for the new lens is a bust for sure! The only question remains is can the Tamron optically perform up with the Sony like people say it can for 1/3 the price, that's the only reason I leave my review at 4 stars because let's face it, my Sony copy destroyed the Sigma copy I tested.
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By D. Proko
Amazon Verified Purchase
It's important to get a quick autofocus lens that will deliver across a wide range of potential shoot options. I bought this one for the A700, using the Sony 2x converter, and despite ambiguous marketing writeups, I took a chance on the three components having FULL interoperability with the autofocus, etc. It met/exceeded all my requirements and they are fully compatible. I'll admit that them all being Sony components helped, and I've had nothing but good luck with all the Sony products I've bought. This lens, with the converter, creates a bit darker setup, but I bought it for airshows and distant scenery shots, and the camera automatically offsets for this. I am looking forward to many years of flexibility and enjoyment.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
love this lens WOWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Awsome lens, praying nothing ever happens to it. TACK TACK TACK SHARP images.
when my Ziess (God of all lenses) 24-70 can't reach out there i slap this baby in place
and... Read more
when my Ziess (God of all lenses) 24-70 can't reach out there i slap this baby in place
and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by TTALLY
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT optics with unparalleled results
Phenomenal results
I cosidered buying the zoom 70-200 with f2.8 or the 70-400 with f4-f5.6
Eventualy I bought the 70-200 with f2. Read more
I cosidered buying the zoom 70-200 with f2.8 or the 70-400 with f4-f5.6
Eventualy I bought the 70-200 with f2. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dan Glotter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Quality
This takes amazing pictures with the 2.8. Used this with the 2.0 TC on a tripod and it works great, money well spent.
Published 4 months ago by Josh
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great piece of glass that's on-par with Nikon/Canon equivalents
I came to Sony gear through a long and winding path of various systems. I started out on Minolta Maxxum film gear but quickly moved to Nikon stuff while film was still how we... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Justin Bregar
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Amazon Service
I bought this lense about a week ago. Got to do just a little experimental shooting with it, and quickly found that it intermittently caused a 2-4EV overexposure. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kevin R. Berry
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth it....
This lense is worth every penny. It is sharp at every focal point,even wide open. This lense is not for marathon use though. After a few hours it tends to get alittle weighty. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Sonysteve
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Lens
Overall this lens is a solid performer, and worth the money in my opinion although it is not perfect. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Andrew
5.0 out of 5 stars
that's what you deserve for really high quality pics
i'm a pro sony user for several years ( one of the few), i always work with that lens or the zeiss sony lens it's just amazing the quality you can get with it
Published 23 months ago by l. garroy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most accurate focusing lens I have ever owned!
This is one of the two hardest class of lens to be satisfied with along with the 24-70mm class. You either go third party to save some money or you go all in and get the best your... Read more
Published on April 11, 2011 by W. E. Hattersen
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Lens! You Get What You Pay
I had chance compare this with Tamron and Sigma. This one is worth it's price!
Just a friendly reminder: If you are using entry level camera, such as Sony A380 or under,... Read more
Just a friendly reminder: If you are using entry level camera, such as Sony A380 or under,... Read more
Published on December 19, 2010 by Z. Han
