Customer Reviews

Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 SSM Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

positives:
Very sharp wide open,
Nice bokeh,
Fast and Silent Focusing with SSM,
Nice Colors,
Build quality,
f2.8,
Internal zoom

negatives:
None realy, though for some weight could be an issue.
High cost, but you get what you pay for.

compared to:
Sigma 70-200 f2.8 HSM II
Minolta 70-210 f4 "Beercan"

For low light shooting without a flash with this lenses range it can not be beat I feel. It is very sharp wide open, much more so than the Sigma that I had previously. It produces some nice pleasing bokeh and colors. I should compare the beercan and it side by side to see which one has more pleasing boken but this lens is by far sharper. Focusing is silent on both this lens and the Sigma. The image quality of this lens is amazing! It blows the Sigma out of the water when wide open!
This lens is very well made with superb build quality and should last for years to come. Not sure what the life expected life span on the SSM motor is.
If you can afford it and you want the best f2.8 in this range then this is the lens for you.

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 money can buy. Well, I did both. Frankly I am glad I did. Other wise I would not know that I got a winner in the Sony version. Don't get me wrong I am not saying this is the lens that beats all comers. There are strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the equations.

I have this and the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 lens. Both give you tremendous images. In some regards the Tamron is ahead; it's less weight and renders a darn good image. The Sony is faster focusing [Duh!], quieter and locks on quicker than any lens I have ever owned (this includes Canon and Nikon lenses). The image quality of the Sony is amazing in that it captures everything! I mean everything! The color is first rate, the contrast is good - not Zeiss good but darn near - and it is super sharp. I had only one lens that, when I looked at the images in post, all I could think was just print it - the 135mm f1.8 ZA. This lens is close to being that good too.

To give you a reference I use all the Sony / Zeiss lenses except the 85mm f1.4 ZA (I can't let go of my Minolta version).

To be honest I didn't need the speed of focus. It does not make a big difference in what I shoot (mostly portraits). Now the accuracy that was something I didn't bargain on. With my other lens I would take multiple images to be sure one was dead on. With the Sony there is no need to hold things up to be sure you nailed it.

Is this lens perfect? No. Is it highly reliable - HECK YEAH! ...and you can't beat that.

I recommend this lens to anyone who wants the best overall package in this range and has the need for this level quality.

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, this lens is too much. a $700+ lens such as Sigma or Tamron is fairly enough. If you are using high-end camera, especially a full-frame camera such as Sony A850 and up, this lens will show you the absolute advantage against all other lenses!

Between the build quality and the image quality this lens earns it's price tag. The SSM is amazing for it is both quiet and fast... I for one will never buy a lens without this feature from now on.

Overall this lens is a solid performer, and worth the money in my opinion although it is not perfect. Here are some of the main attributes of the lens:

Mechanical/body: Very high quality metal with some plastics used, very smooth zoom and focus control with auto clutch. This lens is smoother than any of the Zeiss lenses in this regard, and has 3 focus hold buttons instead of the usual one. One really nice things about this lens is that the zoom is all internal so it does not extend to ridiculous lengths like most telephoto zooms; of course being an expensive lens it also doesn't rotate the front threads while focusing which messes up filter settings. I do hate the texture sony uses on the zoom/focus grip since it collects dirt really easy then looks ugly, even though it functions well enough as a gripping surface. The white paint used on this lens looks really nice, and better than the uglier off white of the canon L lenses, but it also makes stand out as an expensive lens which increases its chances of getting stolen. My biggest gripe however is with the lens hood: unlike the CZ lenses that have a nice metal petal shaped hood with plastic attachment ring, this hood is very cheap, flimsy plastic all around. It is felt lines though and has a nice slot to adjust a filter, but overall it is cheap in comparison the the build quality of other pro level lenses.

Optical Quality: Overall this lens is very sharp above f2.8, where wide open it is a little softer but still produces good images. Unfortunately this reduced resolution can't be fixed in programs such as lightroom like its other faults can, such as mild distortion and vignetting. This lens also has a slight chromatic aberration issue, especially in the corners which doesn't improve by stopping down. Overall this is not a very big issue though since it is easily corrected by software and it is not bad relative to other lenses like the sony 75-300 beercan lenses. I have read reviews on the internet claiming this lens has subpar bokeh quality, but that isn't my experience since it seems to produce very nice, creamy out of focus areas. Ghosting and flare control seem about the same as other sony lenses which is not that great, oh well I guess you pay for all those lens elements. I haven't tested this lens for coma.

Overall this is a great lens, but only if you need the fast focusing and extra stops provided by constant f2.8 aperture. If not, you would be much better off with either the 70-300G, which is 2 stops slower, but more compact, cheaper and has more reach. In this price range you can also buy the 70-400 which is an awesome lens as well, although 2 stops slower it is slightly cheaper and has double the focal length (but also has that atrocious silver finish and extends a lot during zoom).

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

This lens is very impressive! Very sharp, nice Bokeh, great colors. And of course all the obvious advantages that you can see from the spec: f/2.8 (good for low light and for shallow DOF), SSM (very fast focus).
Lately I learned about another advantage - you look professional when you carry this lens... I walked around in parades and concerts and people were happy to pose for me... Then they asked where it is going to be published... It was the first time that I could get shots of people without being afraid that they will break my camera.
However, the professional look can sometimes be disadvantage, and in general this lens attracts lots of attention. It is also big and heavy. And expensive.

Bottom line - I really love this lens and it produced many pictures that I couldn't get with other lenses (in terms of sharpness, colors and Bokeh). However, you should give it some time in order to get used to it and learn all the advantages (and disadvantages) of this lens. If you have the money - BUY 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. I work-out and even for me it gets a bit heavy after a while. Other than that it is in my opinion just an all around great lense to have. I use it for every kind of shooting that I do. It is a great portrait lense in that I can zoom in close without my subject even knowing how close.This makes for some truly memoriable candid and close-up shots. With the 2.8 aperture and proper distance, backgroud blur is "creamy". This is also great for sports, again that 2.8 aperture is great for field and indoor sports where flash is not allowed. This lense is also a really great nature shooter. Mounted on a tripod,monopod or just resting on a tree stump I have had great shots of everything. Birds,flowers,leaves and even bugs. The sharpness and the quiet smooth focus of this lense make all that possible. The only drawback that I have found in this lense is the price and availability. At the time I was trying to purchase it no one had one in stock.Had to wait 2 weeks for it to become available. The cost is a bit extreme. This lense cost more than both my cameras combined. If you are commited to being a Sony shooter, buy this lense. If not, try a less expensive Tameron or Sigma. All things considered I am completely happy with this lense. Affectionately its "my baby!"