Sony Announced the 400mm f/2.8 Lens, $12,000

Sony has just unveiled the long-awaited 400mm f/2.8 G Master prime lens. The E-mount ecosystem finally has a fast super-telephoto lens designed for sports and wildlife photographers, and the Sony a9 finally has a best friend.


The new Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS is the first super-telephoto prime in the E-mount lineup. The existing Sony 100-400mm G Master lens can provide the same reach, but it’s a zoom lens with a slow variable maximum aperture of f/4.5-5.6.
Sony’s latest lens combines optical quality with impressive physical specs as well. It’s the world’s lightest 400mm f/2.8 prime lens, weighing only a little more than 6 pounds (~2.7kg).
Thanks to an innovative optical design with a reduced number of optical elements and magnesium alloy components, the lens “provides a level of portability and handheld maneuverability that has never before been achieved in a lens of its class,” Sony says. It’s also not front heavy, allowing photographers to more easily pan while shooting both handheld and on a monopod.

Two new high-speed XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors drives the focus group in the lens, greatly increasing the lens’ moving-subject tracking performance. Special motion algorithms help control noise levels while minimizing lag and instability.
There are several controls found on the lens, including customizable focus-hold buttons in 4 spots, a Full-TIME DMF switch (to immediately do manual focus at any time), a focus ring with Linear Response MF (for finely-controlled manual focus), three different optical stabilization modes (a new Mode 3 helps frame moving subjects), and a function ring with “Preset” and “Function” settings (a first in a Sony lens).
The rear of the lens features a drop-in filter slot that accepts 40.5mm filters of various types.

Other features and specs of the lens include 3 fluorite elements (which minimize chromatic aberration and suppress color bleeding), a Nano AR coating (which suppresses reflections, glare, and ghosting), a fluorine coating (that resists dust and fingerprints), an 11-blade circular aperture for creamy bokeh, compatibility with Sony’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, and a carbon fiber hood (that’s strong, light, and resistant to dust and moisture).
Here are some official sample photos captured using the new Sony 400mm:






Here’s a 2-minute overview of the lens’ features:

And here’s a 3.5-minute video in which sports photographers Bob Martin and Nick Didlick share their thoughts on using the lens:

As you might expect, a lens of this caliber and with these features doesn’t come cheap: the Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS will have a price tag of about $12,000 when it begins shipping in September 2018.