Sony SAL70300G 70300mm f/4.55.6 SSM ED GSeries Compact

Best 70-300 zoom yet
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Much better image quality than lesser 70-300 and 100-300. Step better than Minolta 70-210 f4. Expensive but worth it.

Sony SAL300G Tele Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this lens to upgrade from the SAL75300, and what an upgrade it is! I was happy with the SAL75300, but felt the focus could be faster. The ‘G’ lens with SSM drive is VERY fast, And silent. I’ve only had the ‘G’ for a few days, but I used it at a water polo tourney and every shot was a keeper. Super sharp, well saturated colors, and everything else you could ask for from a ‘G’ series lens. A real winner with the A700 body.

great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
i used the “Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro Lens” . it was a big disappointment.

i thought the G series is expensive, compared to other Sony lenses, but I still got it.

The SAL70300G is amazing. I used it extensively in wildlife shooting on A700, and the results were great.

its absolutely silent (which is not a luxury when you do not want to scare an animal away), fast (animals will not wait for your focus) and sharp (a must).

But, it was slow in focussing around sunrise and sunset times in the shadows.

I believe that cheaper alternatives are a big waste of money.

conclusion: strongly recommend it

got stuck in the camera body!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
These pretty much sums up what I think about this lens.

CONS:

- love the hood but sometimes its way too big to bring along.

- small aperture (wish it was 4)

- built is a bit plastiky (guess thats necessary for weight reduction)

- hunts in low light

- dust-loving focus and zoom rubber grip

PROS:

- color from the images it produces are excellent

- sharp and nice contrast from 70 to 300

- very quiet

- love how you can ASSIST the AF with the manual focus ring.

- no visible PF even 100% wide open

- virtually CA-free

- focus limiter very handy

- weight is reasonably light

- balances very well with the A700

- perfect range for A900

For some reason, I can’t take it off the camera ;D

SAL 70-300mm G SSM: A Comparison
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Never having had a G grade lens, it’s impossible for me to make a direct comparison to another G grade lens. I did however own a Sigma 100-300mm APO EX and 1.4x EX TC, so the comparison of the SSM G is against the Sigma.

The SSM G is nice and lightweight. It has a silent AF motor. The bokeh is creamy smooth and the IQ up to about 250mm is great. Now comes the downside.

Unless you shoot in clear bright sunny conditions, the lens will not perform to it’s best. F/4.5 aperture is only up to 90mm so is F/5.6 from 90-300mm which is totally useless in overcast conditions especially if you want to shoot fast action subjects. At 300mm, the IQ is questionable at best, actually it’s unacceptable for a lens of this quality and price (it’s overpriced as well).

Therein lies the rub. The Sigma is MUCH heavier, but with constant F4 and it’s ability to accept a TC, makes for a better option (price aside) than the Sony SSM G. The Sigma doesn’t have quite as good bokeh and is heavier, but that aside, is at least as good as the SSM G and is far superior in other departments.

The SSM G can perform well, but Sony made the cardinal error of having it stopped-down so much to start with, it’ll never be as versatile as a constant F4 lens. It’s no better aperture-wise as any other budget offering!

In conclusion, the SSM G stands head and shoulders over similar focal length lenses and produces quality images. It’s let down but the lens aperture range and it’s inability to perform in anything other than excellent lighting conditions. As such, I think it’s overpriced and somewhat over-rated (overall). If you want a better option, albeit more expensive and heavier, the Sigma 100-300mm would be a better investment.

A Home Run
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Sony has hit a home run with this first G lens to be introduced since Minolta withdrew from the camera market. The lens is lightweight enough that it’s easy to carry – much lighter and more compact than the Sony 70-200 f2.8. Also, the 70-300 more useful than the 70-200 when a longer focal length is needed. But the 70-200 is more useful in low light where the f4.5 to f5.6 aperture of the 70-300 is too small.

Although the 70-300 is larger and heavier than the Minolta 100-300 f4.5-5.6 APO, the extra size and weight are justified by the superior image sharpness and build quality that one obtains from a G lens. I have measured the sharpness of both the 70-300 and the 100-300 using the Imatest lens test software. The 70-300 is sharper than the 100-300, particularly at f4.5 and f5.6. However, the 70-300 does exhibit a minor amount of chromatic aberration, whereas the 100-300 does not.

The 70-300 makes a great travel companion for the Zeiss 24-70 f2.8. The SSM focusing motor is fast and quiet. My only minor complaint about this lens is that I would have preferred to see all metal construction instead of plastic, and for this reason I’ve awarded it 4 stars instead of 5.