Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens

Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens Summary

As the longest super-telephoto zoom lens for Sony E-mount cameras, the highly anticipated Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens is a welcome addition for sports, action, bird, and wildlife photography. With G series quality, the FE 400-800mm combines all of the features that make Sony lenses so popular, such as high image quality, a versatile zoom range, and a fast, quiet autofocus motor.

For users who need even greater reach than 800mm for very distant or small subjects, the 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens is compatible with teleconverters, which extends reach to a maximum of 1120mm with the Sony 1.4x Teleconverter and 1600mm with the Sony 2.0x Teleconverter. This is ideal for capturing distant sports like skiing and surfing, as well as motorsports and aviation photography, while also allowing for compression and distant details to be captured in landscape photography.

Despite its huge focal range, the lens maintains tenacious tracking for high-speed stills and video, with support for 120fps stills when shooting with incredibly fast cameras like A9 III, and 240fps for video. A focus range limiter at 8m helps to speed up subject acquisition, while at the other end, the lens delivers excellent close-up results with a maximum magnification of 0.23x and an impressive minimum focus distance of 1.7m at the wide end.

Another key advantage for super-telephoto subjects is the lens’s handling. The overall length remains the same when zooming and focusing, making it easier to pan and track fast-moving subjects with less fatigue. The zoom mechanism also requires only a short rotation, with a light torque for quick adjustments when framing, and it includes Optical Stead Shot (OSS) for more stable handheld shooting.

Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS (SEL400800G) Key Features

• The longest super telephoto zoom lens for Sony cameras
• Compatible with teleconverters SEL14TC and SEL20TC
• Fast and quiet Linear AF motors and Linear Response MF
• 11 aperture blades
• Optical design with 27 elements in 19 groups including 6 ED elements
• Minimum focus distance between 1.7m (wide) 3.5m (tele)
• Maximum magnification 0.23x
• 105mm front filter thread
• Fluorine coating and a dust and moisture resistant design
• Weighs 2475g and measures 119.8 x 346mm

Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens in More Detail

The longest reach for E mount

Sony’s FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens is the longest native zoom available for E-mount cameras, surpassing the popular FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS. The extended range of the 400-800mm makes an excellent pairing with the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS, giving photographers seamless coverage from 100mm all the way to 800mm and beyond with a TC.

Frame and Capture the Perfect Subject

Wildlife and bird photographers will appreciate the ability to compose at 400mm, track their subject, and then near-instantly zoom to 800mm for detailed close-ups. The advanced AI-driven subject detection and real-time tracking in Sony cameras, such as the A7 IV, A1 II, and A9 III, ensures that birds, animals, and other subjects are captured sharply, even when moving erratically across the frame.

The lens is also suitable for sports, action, and aviation photography, where fast-moving and often very distant subjects require responsive autofocus and a versatile zoom range.

Teleconverter Compatibility

For greater reach, Sony 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters extend the lens to 1120mm and 1600mm, respectively. While the f/6.3-8 aperture becomes f/9-11 with the 1.4x and f/13-16 with the 2.0x, Sony’s high ISO performance, accomplished AF and modern sensors allow for continued shooting while maintaining excellent detail and low noise.

This makes an ideal lens for photographing very distant wildlife, small birds, the moon, and other super telephoto subjects while still retaining perfect functionality.

High Optical Performance and Image Quality

Sony has designed optics with 27 elements in 19 groups, including 6 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) elements, to control chromatic aberration and maintain edge-to-edge sharpness. ED glass also helps reduce colour fringing, providing clear, high-contrast images even in complex lighting conditions, which you often encounter with birds and wildlife.

An 11-blade circular aperture produces smooth, natural bokeh, highlighting subjects against soft backgrounds, which is a key advantage when capturing super-tele subjects in busy environments. Sony’s lens coatings suppress flare and ghosting, keeping images crisp even when shooting against backlighting.

Fast, High-Performance Autofocus

The lens is designed for tracking distant and fast-moving subjects, with dual linear AF motors that ensure fast, quiet and precise focusing. When paired with Sony’s latest cameras, the 400-800mm supports blistering speeds with continuous tracking at 120fps for stills and 240fps for video.

A focus range limiter (8m to infinity) helps reduce hunting and reduces time to subject acquisition.

Manual focus users benefit from Linear Response MF, providing intuitive, precise manual control with consistent focus shifts. A dedicated AF/MF switch eliminates the need to navigate menus when switching between focus modes, allowing you to zoom past obstacles such as branches or crowds, and to then allow the autofocus to once again pick up the subject.

Excellent Handling and Ergonomics

The FE 400-800mm G OSS is extremely well-balanced thanks to internal zooming and focusing. This ensures consistent weight distribution as the lens stays the same length, making it easier to pan and track moving subjects without front-heavy handling. The light torque zoom ring also allows for quick, smooth adjustments, while Optical SteadyShot (OSS) helps to maintain stability for handheld shooting.

The lens also includes a durable tripod mount, which is necessary to mount to a tripod or monopod for longer shooting sessions. The foot includes 1/4-20 UNC and 3/8-18 UNC thread options and can be rotated when switching orientation. Additional lens controls include:

• Three customisable focus hold buttons
• Tripod collar locking ring for secure positioning
• OSS Mode switch (1/2/3) for adjusting stabilisation based on movement (stationary, panning, erratic tracking)

Close-up Performance

Unlike many super-telephoto lenses, the 400-800mm G OSS offers strong close-up capabilities with a minimum focus distance of 1.7m at 400mm and 3.5m at 800mm. The 0.23x maximum magnification enables detailed close-ups of wildlife too, and whilst not tele-macro this high definitely outperforms the 200-600mm, which has a 2.4m minimum focus and 0.2x magnification.

A Super-Telephoto Lens for Video

This is an excellent lens for filmmaking thanks to minimal focus breathing when pulling focus, and compatibility with Sony’s breathing compensation feature in supported cameras. The fast and silent AF motors are also ideal for wildlife videos, where quiet, precise focusing is crucial. The lens’ ability to keep up with 240fps allows for stunning footage to be captured of birds in flight, flapping wings and similar subjects, which would otherwise be impossible.

Built for fieldwork

This 400-800mm G OSS is made to perform in demanding environments, with a dust and moisture-resistant construction, which includes a sealed mount and fluorine-coated front element, that prevents the buildup of dirt and water.

The included lens hood also features a filter window, allowing users to adjust circular polarisers or ND filters without removing the hood, which is useful for outdoor shooting where lighting conditions often vary.

What’s in the box

• Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens for Sony E mount
• ALC-SH181 Lens hood
• ALC-F105S front cap
• ALC-R1EM rear cap
• Lens strap

Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Specifications