Hi there,I'm looking for the best affordable 70-200 telephoto lens for my Sony A7RII.- Aperture should be 2.8- Autofocus speed is NOT important- Mount doesn't matter, I have to get an adapter anywaysI used to own the Canon 70-200 2.8 L IS II. That lens is amazing but unfortunately it's not in the budget this time.Thanks

I bought the Tamron and am very pleased. Super sharp, no fringing to speak of, and distorion is well controlled and easy to fix in post. Haven't seen how it handles flaring. Plus, you save, what, $500 over the Canon? (I did own the canon, version II, and it was stolen with my 5D III. I switched to the Sony, but purchase mostly canon mount lenses in case I get a second body (a canon) later on for sports. Plus I still have a bunch of other canon primes.But the Tammy. For sure the Tammy.

Thanks for your reply. Which one is this? I'm so confused with their names.

andkolb wrote:Thanks for your reply. Which one is this? I'm so confused with their names.The one that has VC in the name (TamronSP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD)

juvx wrote:andkolb wrote:Thanks for your reply. Which one is this? I'm so confused with their names.The one that has VC in the name (TamronSP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD)I have this lens and I love it. Just one thing to keep in mind.. even though this lens says 70-200 it's not. It is more like 70mm-185mm.

Derbarrett wrote:juvx wrote:andkolb wrote:Thanks for your reply. Which one is this? I'm so confused with their names.The one that has VC in the name (TamronSP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD)I have this lens and I love it. Just one thing to keep in mind.. even though this lens says 70-200 it's not. It is more like 70mm-185mm.That's weird. Why is that?

it is called focus breathing. You can see it in various videos on youtube. The focal length changes depending on how near the subject is Most 70-200 many lenses have it.  The  new Nikon 70-200 is well known for that. Most of the 70-200 lenses have it. The canon less than many. It is not really that big of a deal. It is best to focus on a near subject and see if the lens meets your needs.As for as sharpness the Sony 70-200 is right up there with the canon. But it is f4 max aperture.Look at DXO for the tests. If you are using it on a A7Rii I would stay with native Sony lenses so you retain eyefocus. I had a hard time talking myself into an f4 70-200 but after I tried it I was glad I got it.  Over 3 pounds for 2.8 aperture is tiring. :))

J lowell wrote:it is called focus breathing. You can see it in various videos on youtube. The focal length changes depending on how near the subject is Most 70-200 many lenses have it. The new Nikon 70-200 is well known for that. Most of the 70-200 lenses have it. The canon less than many. It is not really that big of a deal. It is best to focus on a near subject and see if the lens meets your needs.Not quite sure if this quite describes what I am talking about. 200mm on my Tamron isn't zoomed in as much 200mm on my Minolta 80-200.. regardless of the aperture.

Thanks guys.I tried the Sony F4 as well. Nice lens, no question.I will either get the Sony or the Tamron. The Tamron is 2.8 and I don't need fast autofocus at all.

yes I know. All the 70-200's will be slightly different. The mechanics of all those elements is complicated. Some might be slightly over 200 depending on distance to subject.

Most people buy into the Sony mirrorless system to go to a lower weight and/or size.I think the Sony 70-200 F4 is consistent with the light weight and size approach.  I have it and consider it very well made and optics are great.  Has the tripod foot on it that can quickly be removed for a little weight saving, easier handholding.  I got it for $1000 used from KEH.com and can't figure out why it was priced down - no use markings on it at all, no optic problems at all.  Wonderful lens.

Philnw2 wrote:Most people buy into the Sony mirrorless system to go to a lower weight and/or size.I think the Sony 70-200 F4 is consistent with the light weight and size approach. I have it and consider it very well made and optics are great. Has the tripod foot on it that can quickly be removed for a little weight saving, easier handholding. I got it for $1000 used from KEH.com and can't figure out why it was priced down - no use markings on it at all, no optic problems at all. Wonderful lens.Most people but not mei use the grip on it when working 100% of the time. But Then when doing street or travel i can take it off slap the 55 on it and have a light travel kit. For me its not size but flexibility.i already own the FE 70-200 f4

Here is a test of the 4/70-200 from photozone.Not bad, however I'd expect better at 4/200. I'd say, it is a tradeoff between the native AF-speed, weight (weighs ~600g less than most 2.8 lenses) and the loss of 1 stop. Browsing through some 2.8/70-200 results, it is hard to find a decent performer (the alpha mount piece is quite poor on the long end).There is a nice copy from canon which you may consider in case you are fine with the AF provided by metabones(and weight is irrelevant). Other 3rd party options, such as sigma and tamron are outperformed in most aspects by the sony 4/70-200.

Derbarrett wrote:J lowell wrote:it is called focus breathing. You can see it in various videos on youtube. The focal length changes depending on how near the subject is Most 70-200 many lenses have it. The new Nikon 70-200 is well known for that. Most of the 70-200 lenses have it. The canon less than many. It is not really that big of a deal. It is best to focus on a near subject and see if the lens meets your needs.Not quite sure if this quite describes what I am talking about. 200mm on my Tamron isn't zoomed in as much 200mm on my Minolta 80-200.. regardless of the aperture.The Minolta 80-200 doesn't have internal focusing, but rather focuses by extending the front group. When focusing internally, like most recent 70-200 lenses, the focal length is reduced when focusing closer. Less so with the Minolta 80-200, which extends the front group. Generally, the focal lengths of all lenses and also the 70-200s are measured when focused at infinity. The real focal length often decreases when focusing closer.

Philnw2 wrote:Most people buy into the Sony mirrorless system to go to a lower weight and/or size.I think the Sony 70-200 F4 is consistent with the light weight and size approach. I have it and consider it very well made and optics are great. Has the tripod foot on it that can quickly be removed for a little weight saving, easier handholding. I got it for $1000 used from KEH.com and can't figure out why it was priced down - no use markings on it at all, no optic problems at all. Wonderful lens.I fully agree.  I use the FE70-200 F4.0 and it performs well and integrates with A7R II well.   Even if a F2.8 was available, I will still select the F4.0 for compactness and weight.  (Years ago, when I was using Kodachrome ISO 25 and ISO 64, I would have considered the F2.8)

Tomx72 wrote:Here is a test of the 4/70-200 from photozone.Not bad, however I'd expect better at 4/200. I'd say, it is a tradeoff between the native AF-speed, weight (weighs ~600g less than most 2.8 lenses) and the loss of 1 stop. Browsing through some 2.8/70-200 results, it is hard to find a decent performer (the alpha mount piece is quite poor on the long end).There is a nice copy from canon which you may consider in case you are fine with the AF provided by metabones(and weight is irrelevant). Other 3rd party options, such as sigma and tamron are outperformed in most aspects by the sony 4/70-200.Yeah i was looking at the Canon 70-200 f2.8 II. its on top of my list right now. Mainly because at 200mm it's super sharp.I like my FE 70-200 f4 for its size but its still rather big.. and i'm actually getting a lot of hunting and oof shots at 200mm on it in studio... not sure why but it behaves very odd with model lights in studio and this is at F8..... Its very frustrating.So my logic tells me that if i'm going to use a big lens might as well go bigger and get the best of the best. I already use the battery grip on the a7rii on any paid shoots. Unfortunately this also has to do with perceptions of clients. They expect a bigger system Pro camera. so the Grip also adds to that illusion. But for personal use i take it off and slap on the 55 1.8 za and im out the door.I love the flexibility Sony provides. I can go big or small depending on the situation.

andkolb wrote:Thanks guys.I tried the Sony F4 as well. Nice lens, no question.I will either get the Sony or the Tamron. The Tamron is 2.8 and I don't need fast autofocus at all.My husband and I have a very lightly used (like a mere handful of times) Tamron 70-200mm/2.8 Di USD for sale if you are interested.http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3887342#forum-post-56706948Our copy is definitely sharp. Can provide sample photos if you would like.We also have the LA-EA3 adapter if you are interested in that.

juvx wrote:Philnw2 wrote:Most people buy into the Sony mirrorless system to go to a lower weight and/or size.I think the Sony 70-200 F4 is consistent with the light weight and size approach. I have it and consider it very well made and optics are great. Has the tripod foot on it that can quickly be removed for a little weight saving, easier handholding. I got it for $1000 used from KEH.com and can't figure out why it was priced down - no use markings on it at all, no optic problems at all. Wonderful lens.Most people but not mei use the grip on it when working 100% of the time. But Then when doing street or travel i can take it off slap the 55 on it and have a light travel kit. For me its not size but flexibility.i already own the FE 70-200 f4I'm fully onboard with the flexibility theme.  I have the 55 f1.8 and use it a lot.  My lightweight kit might be a kit 28-70 and the 55.  But there are times when i want that 70-200 f4 and couldn't pass up the deal that KEH offered.  But i don't carry it much, even as light as it is.

I used to use Canon EF 70-200L/4.0 IS on A7r.  I have sold it and bought Sony FE 70-200/4.0 OSS instead.  It works at least as good as Canon copy but it's a native FE lens and AF is much faster.  I also own EF 70-200L/2.8 IS II that is a fantastic zoom but too heavy and unless you absolutely require F2.8 don't believe it performs noticeably better thru adapter on A7r than Sony FE f4.0 copy (except at 200mm/F4.0 at edges).