Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G Review

Introduction

The Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G is a supertelephoto zoom with a great balance of characteristics. It’s long enough for distant wildlife photography, yet portable enough to carry with you. It’s not the brightest telephoto out there, but f/6.3 still allows for reasonable photos in low light. On top of that, the ability to zoom makes it very flexible – and most of all, the $2000 price is much less than you’d spend for an exotic supertelephoto like a 600mm f/4.

All of those things cannot be said about, arguably, any other Sony FE lens at the moment. For example, the Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 is an impressive lens if you need maximum reach, but the f/8 aperture on the long end will make low-light photography a little harder. Meanwhile, the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 is reasonably bright and portable, but 400mm may not be long enough for very small or distant subjects. That puts the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G in a somewhat unique spot in the company’s lineup.

It’s not that there are no alternatives. The Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 (which I’ve already reviewed) and Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 are both close competitors, and they also cost a bit less at $1400 and $1500 respectively. I’ve had good experiences with both Tamron and Sigma in the past, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a lens from either of those companies. However, I also understand that for sports and wildlife photography, where autofocus reliability and precision are especially important, why some photographers would only ever consider a first-party lens. You’ll also see on the Comparisons page of this review that the Sony is sharper than the Tamron head-to-head, so there’s another reason to consider spending the extra $500. (I haven’t yet tested the Sigma in the lab, unfortunately, but will update this review once I have.)

In any case, it should be pretty clear why the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G is such a popular lens, at least on paper. But how does it perform in practice? Well, I already gave away part of the answer by saying that it’s sharper than the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 (which is, itself, not a bad lens by any stretch). However, the answer doesn’t stop there. I’ve extensively tested the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 both in the field and in the lab, and my fellow Photography Life writer Libor Vaicenbacher also tested a copy of his own in the field. Based on our experiences, this review covers every aspect of the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3’s performance that you may have been wondering about. Here’s what you need to know!

Build Quality

The Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G is a well-built lens with the characteristic white barrel found on most of Sony’s longer telephoto lenses. The build feels sturdy and reassuring in-hand.

I mentioned in the intro that this lens is portable enough to carry with you, and that’s true, but it also isn’t a small lens. The 200-600mm weighs in at 2115 grams (4.65 pounds) and measures 318 millimeters long (12.5 inches). This is about the same as the other lenses in this class – for example, the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 weighs 2100 grams, and Nikon’s 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 weighs 2140 grams. While you certainly will notice the weight of any of these lenses, they’re still within reason. I found it possible to handhold this lens without issue for long stretches at a time, which I can’t say about my past experience with 600mm f/4 lenses (though maybe I just need to hit the gym a little more :)

One of my favorites things about the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 is that the barrel does not extend when you zoom in. This is somewhat uncommon in zooms today, but it’s always a nice feature to have, especially for a lens that you expect to use in adverse weather conditions. I felt no concern bringing out this lens in the rain, knowing that the internal zoom and extensive weather sealing would be enough to survive anything other than a dunking. And that proved true in practice – I never ran into any issues despite using it in some pretty rough weather. All things considered, this lens is built very well.

Now let’s cover the handling features of the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G.

Handling

The Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G handles nicely. There are a variety of different controls that should allow you to quickly achieve the settings you’re after. Namely, the lens includes a function button (duplicated four times around the lens) along with four control switches (two for focus settings, two for image stabilization settings). The lens also has a removable tripod foot, which many photographers will want to replace with an Arca-Swiss compatible foot like this one.

It is not quite as fully-featured as Sony’s exotic lenses, though. For example, the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM also has a custom control ring / focus hold ring on the front of the lens, along with additional switches for your function presets, beeping sounds, and full-time direct manual focus. Some of that isn’t necessary – I don’t think many people need a switch for beeping sounds – but an additional control ring on the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 would have been welcome, in my opinion.

Still, this is a small thing. The lens still has more handling-related features than most other lenses today, and it isn’t meant to compete directly with lenses like the 600mm f/4 GM in the first place. It’s meant as a budget alternative, and given that, it punches well above its weight in the handling department.

Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G Specifications

• Full Name: Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS
• Mount Type: Sony E Mount
• Focal Length: 200mm to 600mm zoom (3× zoom)
• Angle of View (Full Frame): 12°30′ to 4°10′
• Maximum Aperture: f/5.6 at 200mm; f/6.3 at 400mm and beyond
• Minimum Aperture: f/32 at 200mm; f/36 at 400mm and beyond
• Aperture Blades: 11, rounded
• Filter Size: 95mm
• Lens Elements: 24
• Lens Groups: 17
• Special Elements: 1 aspherical, 5 ED glass
• Anti-Reflection Coatings: Nano AR Coating
• Fluorine Coated Front Element: Yes
• Image Stabilization: Yes
• Internal Focusing: Yes
• Internal Zooming: Yes
• Control Rings: Zoom and focus
• Function Button: Yes (duplicated in four positions)
• Focus Motor: Direct Drive Super Sonic Wave Motor
• Minimum Focus Distance: 2.4 meters (7.9 feet)
• Maximum Magnification: 0.2× (1:5)
• Mount Material: Metal
• Weather/Dust Sealing: Yes
• Dimensions (Length × Diameter): 318 × 112 mm (12.5 × 4.4 inches)
• Weight: 2115 g (4.65 lbs) including tripod foot
• MSRP: $2000 (check current price)

The next page of this review covers the optical characteristics of the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3, including focusing performance and sharpness tests in the lab. So, click the menu below to go to “Optical Features”: