Sony SAL70300G telephoto zoom Lens
Sony SAL70300G f/4.5-5.6G telephoto zoom lens
Introduction
The Sony SAL70300G is a premium G-series A-mount lens from Sony. Auto-focussing uses the excellent supersonic-wave Motor (SSM) technology.
It has 16 elements in 11 groups, as well as dual Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass, which all help to deliver sharp, clear photos throughout the zoom range. High-quality multi-coatings increase transmittance and reduce flare to preserve contrast.
Minimum aperture varies along with the focal length from f 4.5 at 70mm to f 5.6 at 300mm. The 62mm from filter thread does not rotate, allowing rotating polarising filters to be used.
This lens has a focus mode switch and a focus hold button, which offers better focus control whenever you need it.
Sony SAL70300G in use
Because Sony Alpha DSLR cameras have image stabilisation built-in, A-mount lenses don’t have any image stabilisation built in. A bit of a bummer if you’re planning to use it on the new A7(r) with an a to E-mount converter. On the other hand, many professional photographers turn image stabilisation off because of the added focus time and loss in image quality.
Conclusion
This tele-zoom is a G lens, from Sony’s Gold range, meaning it has a superior design and build quality compared with their normal range of lenses and is well-priced where I live. In addition, Sony offered a rebate on this lens, so I decided to go for it.
I tested this lens in combination with the new full frame Sony Alpha ILCE7 and LA-EA4 converter on safari in Kenya. Since I would mainly be shooting in daylight, I thought the rather small minimum aperture would not be that much of a problem. Indeed this never was an issue during daylight hours, and the Sony SAL70300G even performed nicely in twilight at dusk and dawn.
The only issue I had with this lens that the images at the extreme 300mm are a bit grainy and flat, but still usable with some tweaking in Lightroom.
The Sony SAL70300G is a beautiful piece of glass and offers high quality when you consider the price. I would highly recommend it to anyone on a budget looking for a very useable tele-zoom lens.
Hi Wim,
I recently received a free LA-EA4 adapter with my Sony A7. I do not have any a-mount lenses but I am wondering if it would be worth it to get a used SAL70300G. My needs are spot autofocus speed and telephoto reach. Clearly, there are no native e-mount options longer than 200mm. However, do you happen to know if the a6000 with native lenses (say SEL55210 or SEL70200G) autofocus faster than using the SAL70300G with LA-EA4?
I tried searching online but couldn’t find any conclusive evidence.
Thanks for your input!
Desmond
Hi Desmond, the SEL70200 G works great on the A6000, that combo would be a lot faster and more accurate than LEAE4 with SAL70300G on the A7. And then there is the fact that the SEL70200G is way better when it comes to quality of images. No contest here I think.
Thanks Wim! This is really helpful. Makes a lot of sense. So the only benefit of going a-mount is reach. Will likely wait and perhaps get the SEL70200G someday!
Don’t forget that the A7 has a better (FF) sensor than the A6000 of course. I would use a SEL70200G on your A7, AF is VERY fast with this combo too. The A6000 does have a larger AF surface area, but on a zoom that doesn’t matter so much in my opinion.
Or wait yes 🙂