Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS lens Hands On Review

Announced in August 2019 alongside the Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 ‘G’, the new Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS is a compact APS-C telephoto zoom lens. In this video by photographer, Christopher Frost, he takes a look at the lens, its performance and builds quality.

Quality dedicated APS-C lenses are not always easy to find (depending on the system you are using of course). When Sony introduced two APS-C zoom lenses just a few months ago many users were especially excited that the company did not abandon the crop line. However, both lenses have been pretty expensive and the obvious question is are they worth it.

Frost had already tested the Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 ‘G’ (see bonus video below), but the E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS certainly turned out to be a very interesting proposition.

On the one hand, it is a relatively compact lens which is fairly well built but on the other hand to fit everything in that small size some things had to be sacrificed and the most obvious one is the aperture – this lens has an aperture range of f/4.5-f/6.3 which means that shooting in low light conditions (especially on an APS-C body) is going to present challenges.

AF speed seems fairly good (as long as there is enough light. Do keep in mind that Frost tested on the old A5100 and not one of the new APS-C bodies which have a much better AF system).

In terms of sharpness, this lens seems to fulfill its promise and produce corner to corner sharpness even wide open almost through its entire zoom range which is very nice (although being an f/4.5-f/6.3 lens – that is an easier task than with faster lenses).

The lens has a lot of distortion (if not corrected in-camera) both vignette and pincushion – but that should not be too much of a downside. Close up sharpness is pretty good even wide open. Flares are more or less controlled.

Bokeh is more or less average but with its good quality sharpness, nice build and compact size – it can be recommended for the advanced shooter looking for a longer APS-C zoom lens as long as he or she has the money.

The Sony E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS sells for around $1000. The E 16-55mm f/2.8 ‘G’ lens (see review below) sells for $1400.

Frost’s look at the Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 ‘G’ lens

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You can find many more previews and reviews on our Photography review section here on LensVid and you can find more of Frost’s videos here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth
Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.

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