sonyalpharumors.com cited a "reliable" source saying an 100-400mm F4 GM will be released soon as the successor of the now 7-year-old 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM.
I am not sure whether this is a typo or not. 100-400mm F4 will be a totally different lens from 100-400mm F4.5-5.6. If it is indeed 100-400mm F4, I cannot believe it will be less than $4000 or even $5000.
If that were true I would expect a lot more interest in the existing 100-400mm, which despite some of its physical flaws (weight, zoom creep) would be an amazing value for it's performance vs what I suspect they will charge for the replacement.
I saw that story and it seemed a bit confusing as to whether this is a fixed aperture f/4 lens (it sounds like it) or actually just a variable aperture lens. It will be interesting to see what develops. (those would be two VERY different lenses!)
Sony's optical design has come a long way. Their recent lenses, like 70-200 GM II, 50-150 GM, etc. are all optically excellent and lightweight. If Sony can make a 100-400 F4 with similar weight as the old 100-400 F4.5-5.6, it will be very tempting.
Remember the meme pic of that one Sigma lens that had the handle on top?
Yeah, prepare for that.
IF they managed to make it roughly the same weight and dimensions of the original, that will be QUITE the Mk II achievement. It's a lens that has needed a refresh for a while. Hopefully bokeh, particularly foreground, is significantly improved.
It makes sense to offer two very different lenses that are both the best at something rather than one lens that's a jack-of-all-trades sort of approach. An $8000 100-400 f4 and a $800 100-400 f5.6-8 would have totally different applications. I'd bet some folks would actually buy both.
jeffbuzz wrote:
It makes sense to offer two very different lenses that are both the best at something rather than one lens that's a jack-of-all-trades sort of approach. An $8000 100-400 f4 and a $800 100-400 f5.6-8 would have totally different applications. I'd bet some folks would actually buy both.
A light/compact 100-400 f5.6-8 would be a great landscape tele for travel! I will buy one. my 70-200 f4 GII is too short sometimes and the 100-400 GM is too heavy. I just took the 100-400 GM to Utah.
+ 1.4TC -> 560mm F5.6
+ 2TC -> 800mm F8
This should be a very interesting lens and may replace my 400-800mm provided weight, size and cost are reasonable and manageable
Heck, it may even replace my 300mm which I always couple with TCs
Trying to keep my arsenal simple , 1 lens fits all for birding (+ TCs of course)
Time will tell ...
A ~$10,000 constant f/4 lens is not replacing the f/5.6 version. I'm not seeing anything about a 1.4x, but that should be mandatory in a big tele now.
A 100-400/5.6-8 makes sense similar to the Canon 100-400/8 lens as an economical alternative to the f/5.6.
But does that mean no f/5.6 GM II or what?
If this lens is true, it's not a replacement for the 100-400GM - it's a new pricey telephoto. It'll be $10k plus and at least 2kg. The Nikon 180-400 is $8k and 3.5kgs.
Obviously modern advancements in lens design will be able to cut that weight down, but it will still be very expensive.
I've long been interested in the 100-400 GM, I own the lesser Sigma ATM, but it's a little old and the rumor mill has been going. A 100-400 F/4 sounds cool but almost certainly too heavy for me to bother with. I would be more interested in a lightweight, slower but still sharp G version.
It is an interesting rumor, but it seems for most uses a 200-400 f/4 as both Canon and Nikon made for DSLRs would let the size stay smaller, the zoom range only be 2X (and therefore probably higher quality throughout), and still serve most of the people that would want this lens very well. Adding that to the slower 100-400 F/4.5-5.6 GM would make a lot of sense.
Building in a 1.4X TC would make even more sense as Sony should begin doing that to compete more fully with Nikon. The MK II 400 f/2.8, 600 f/4 and eventually the 300 f/2.8 should all have that, IMO and adding something like a 200-400 f/4 would really help Sony's top end line up. I would expect it to be close to $10,000, however as people have suggested.
I would have zero interest in a 100-400 with an f/8 max aperture at 400 even though a 100-400 remake at a more accessible price is something I would potentially buy. As Dan suggested a 100-400 f/4-5.6 in a remake is a very different lens than a 100-400 f/4. The difference in entrance pupil of those two lenses is huge (100mm vs. 71mm) and would have a big effect on the size of the lens. A 400mm with a max aperture of f/4 needs a diameter of about 120mm, but a 400mm with a max aperture of f/5.6 needs a diameter of only about 85mm. That is a huge difference in size.
If this is a refresh of the current 100-400 GM, then I think a 100-400 f/4-5.6 that weighs about 1200g, has a nice short MFD with good performance at MFD, 11-bladed aperture instead of 9, has good performance across the aperture range and fixes the zoom creep issue some had with the old lens would be a worthy MK II.
This is one rumor, but it suggests the possibility of two very different lenses. It will be interesting to see what they actually make.
