Sony unveils its first lens with a massive 800mm reach – and it could be a dream optic for wildlife photography – Lovablevibes | South Africa | Nigeria | Africa

Sony unveils FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS and FE 16mm F1.8 G lenses
The 400-800mm lens is Sony’s first-ever with 800mm reach
The full-frame lenses cost £2,550 and £850 respectively (US / AU pricing to follow)

Sony has unveiled two lenses for its full-frame cameras, covering wide-angle and telephoto extremes between them. The headline-grabbing lens is the FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS, because it’s Sony’s first-ever telephoto lens to reach the 800mm focal length.

Costing £2,550 (US / AU pricing to follow) and available from early March 2025, the 400-800mm joins Sony’s other telephoto zooms – a 100-400mm and a 200-600mm – as the one with the longest reach, making it particularly ideal for wildlife and action photography where you can’t get close, such as birding and motorsports.

What’s more, it works with Sony 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. The latter can extend the maximum reach up 1600mm, even if the reduced f/16 maximum aperture is impractical for most scenarios, besides sunny weather.

Alongside the 400-800mm lens, Sony is also introducing the FE 16mm F1.8 G, which costs £850 (again US / AU pricing to follow) and should be available from early April 2025. The ultra-wide prime joins a crowded section of Sony’s expansive lens line up, with plenty of alternatives to consider.

Where it hopes to stand out against the likes of the FE 14mm F1.8 GM, FE 20mm F1.8, FE 16-25mm F2.8, FE 16-35mm and F2.8 GM II is its competitive price, compact build, ultra-wide perspective and fast f/1.8 aperture. For users of either of those zooms who generally stick to the widest angle, then the new 16mm prime could make way more sense.

We are currently carrying out an in-depth review of the 400-800mm lens, coming really soon, so do look out for that. (Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

The ultimate super-telephoto zoom?

Sony isn’t the first to launch a super-telephoto zoom with maximum 800mm focal length. No, that accolade went to Canon with its RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM in 2023.

There’s plenty going for the 400-800mm lens, mind. Sony says it is dust-resistant and moisture-resistant, plus its focusing and zoom are internal – the latter being a welcome surprise.

An internal zoom means the lens doesn’t extend as you zoom in and out, with the center of gravity essentially unchanged. Most enthusiast zoom lenses extend as you zoom, including Canon’s, and there’s potential for dust and moisture to enter the lens through its extending barrel. Not so with Sony’s 400-800mm.

This is an optically complex lens too, comprising 27 elements in 19 groups, 6 of which are ED elements, plus an 11-blade circular aperture for what should be pleasant bokeh. Sony says there’s minimal flare, ghosting and chromatic aberration – our incoming in-depth review will reveal all.

The lens’ minimum focus distance is 1.7m, delivering a maximum 0.23x magnification – this is no macro lens. It’s equipped with two linear motors and supports autofocus tracking up to 120fps, meaning the autofocus performance of Sony’s best cameras can realize its full potential with this lens in play.

We’re also testing the 16mm F1.8 lens – here it is attached to the Sony A7C II. (Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

The lens is stabilized, which is an essential feature for a super-telephoto zoom, but unfortunately Sony couldn’t tell us what the lens’s OIS is rated up to. We should have that info by the time our in-depth review is published.

At 2,475g, Sony’s 400-800mm lens is weightier than Canon’s super-telephoto, plus it’s slightly pricier while Canon’s lens has a 4x optical zoom which can zoom out wider to 200mm.

For people with a Sony camera, however, the new FE 400-800mm offers the longest reach possible at a competitive price. It’s not a pro-grade Sony lens, but I can see it being particularly popular with enthusiast wildlife and action photographers, for whom the maximum F6.3-8 aperture is acceptable.