Sony FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II Review & Sample Photos

This might be one of my favorite lenses that I have ever used. It is such a step up in terms of quality for the size that it seriously has been in my kit for a lot more than I thought it would be since I bought it. Using it for weddings, music festivals, landscape photos, and more, it has delivered time and time again, easily earning its place in my bag right next to bigger more expensive lenses.

My Favorite Features:

• Compatible with the Sony 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
• Great close to Macro ability for a zoom lens
• Weather sealed robust construction
• High end hobbyist or professional use lens
• Unbelievable image quality for a zoom lens
• Great size relative to the range
• Extremely good build quality
• Weather sealing for changing conditions

Design & Build Quality

While this lens is not a ‘G Master’ lens, I have been hard pressed to find a difference in the build quality between this and its f/2.8 sibling. With an all metal construction and solid weather sealing it is a lens that I feel comfortable using in any weather situation.

This is a full featured lens, with a compliment of switches and buttons to control things like image stabilization, focus distance, stabilizer mode, and even having a couple custom buttons on it that can be programmed to whatever you want in the camera menu. While it does lack the aperture ring of the f/2.8 version, I feel that as more of a measure to save in size, than any way to cut back on features in order to hit a price point. Since I’m more concerned with size and weight when looking for a lens like this, I am totally ok with the trade off there.

This lens is significantly smaller than both the version 1 of the 70-200 f/4 and the 70-200 f/2.8 GM 1 and GM 2, which is really appreciated for me in my pursuit of weight savings for when I get out in the mountains.

The 70-200 f/4 is a standout choice for pros who are wanting a lighter kit that still delivers the results. But at a compelling price that makes it a lot more accessible for hobby photographers and videographers as well.

Hands-On Testing / Field Use

I have been using the Sony 70-200mm f/4 for about 2 years now and it has quickly become one of my most used lenses for landscape and outdoor photography. I have taken it up quite a few mountains with me, out in some torrential rainstorms, on boats in the ocean, pretty much all over. And it hasn’t missed a beat. Honestly some of my favorite photos I have taken in New Zealand were taken with this lens.

My wife and I took our kids on a tour around the South Island of New Zealand here in January and my main camera/lens combo was the Sony A7RV + Sony 20-70mm f/4 G and the 70-200mm f/4 G OSS II and honestly, I couldn’t be happier with what I was able to get.

Starting off from where we live in Christchurch, we cruised through Arthurs Pass, about 2 hours away, to get our trip rolling.

Once we were through Arthurs Pass we headed southwards on the West Coast of the south island of New Zealand and stopped off for a couple days at Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier. The last time we had been there it rained the whole time, so we were fortunate this time to mostly avoid the bad weather!

Franz Josef Glacier is one of those places that just has some magic in it, and I was very happy to have a decent telephoto lens with me to get landscape photos of all the little details.

One of the best mornings I have had since moving to New Zealand happened the morning we were going to head out from Fox Glacier. I got up in the cold and the wet and headed out to Lake Matheson for sunrise. The view potential from Lake Matheson is pretty huge, as it has great views of the 2 highest peaks in New Zealand, Aoraki Mt Cook and Te Horokōau Mount Tasman.

After a bit of a lackluster start to the morning, with clouds swirling over the high peaks, suddenly as the sun rose from the east the scene exploded with light and texture.

The 70-200. f/4 G OSS II really was the perfect lens to use in combination with the 20-70mm f/4 for an unpredictable landscape shoot like this. With constantly changing light and clouds and reflections on the glass still lake I might have changed lenses a few more times than normal between those two, but my favorite photos all came from the 70-200 f/4.

Macro Ability

I’m going to take a quick sidebar here to talk about the surprising macro ability of this lens. It is surprisingly good. At a 2:1 macro this lens has fully replaced my Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens (which I have since sold) given its superior versatility. For most general macro photography (other than specialized supermacro of insects and such) this has been a really solid option for those forest details that I love to capture.

Milford Sound

Once finishing up in Fox Glacier we headed southwards once again towards Queenstown, New Zealand, and one of the bigger outings of the trip. We were going to Milford Sound, one of the most beautiful places New Zealand has to offer.

Aoraki Mt Cook National Park

After a big trip through the Southern part of the South Island, we had one more stop before heading home to Christchurch. Aoraki Mt Cook National Park. One of my favorite places in New Zealand.

After a long road trip around southern New Zealand we really were ready to get home! After our outing in Mt Cook National Park we headed back to Christchurch and I went through the massive amount of photos I took. I came away with some of my favorite photos I have ever taken in New Zealand on this trip, and the Sony 70-200mm f/4 G OSS II was one of my most used lenses.

Comparison to Similar Products

There area few similar products around for the Sony system:

• Tamron 70-180 f/2.8. Similar size, faster aperture, no image stabilization, slower autofocus, larger.
• Sony 70-200mm f/4 V1: Same aperture, image stabilization, not quite as sharp, cheaper, larger.
• Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 Sport: More expensive, faster aperture, much larger size.