Test - Rietvlei with the Sony 70-400mm F4-F5.6 G SSM 11

I have been dying to get out there and see how the new Sony 70-400 performs. It's silver predecessor is a stellar performer and is hailed by many as one of the sharpest mid range zoom telephotos available. The updated version sports a new white colour more in line with the rest of the "G" series lenses that Sony has in their line up. It has also been updated with the new nano coatings that were first used in the recently available 500mmF4 prime. The other major improvement that has been bandied about is the fact that this version ll focuses 4 times faster. Well I have used the first version since it was released and it certainly didn't focus that slowly so this must be a major improvement.

I had a cancellation in the studio this morning so I decided that this was the gap that I had been waiting for. I quickly put the kit together and headed out to Rietvlei Nature Reserve. It was already late by my standards (after 9.30am) when I arrived there and I set off to find some targets! I mounted the lens on the Sony A77 which is a crop sensor body making the magnification of the lens effectively 105-600mm. The lens focuses incredibly fast is all I can say. I don't have any way to measure exactly how fast but it locked onto the subjects with phenominal speed. The focus was accurate and even in situations where focus is often confused with bright backgrounds and busy foilage, the lens locked on and was 100% accurate.

The dilemma that now faces me is where do I find the funds to replace my version l lenses with this awesome piece of glass!

Some images from this morning... some shot not for their beauty but more to show the ability of the lens.

The bright branches in the background would often confuse the focus abilities of lessor lenses

This Purple Swamphen would previously of been difficult to accurately lock focus onto because of the thick foliage

This male Stonechat was very nervous and I managed to get only get one shot off before he flew