The Sony 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS Weighs Under a Kilogram

Alongside the new FE 400mm f/4.5 GM OSS, Sony has also unveiled its first compact professional super-telephoto lens, the FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS. The two lenses are nearly identical but make different promises to photographers.

The Sony FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS is designed for photographers who need serious telephoto reach but don’t want to carry a big, heavy lens. Like its new 400mm sibling, the Sony FE 600mm f/6.3 GM also weighs under a kilogram, which is an impressive engineering achievement.

In fact, despite offering more reach and having more glass than the 400mm f/4.5 GM, Sony’s new 600mm f/6.3 GM weighs just a single gram more than the 400mm f/4.5 GM. In total, the FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS weighs 995 grams (2.2 pounds) and is 263 millimeters (10.35 inches) long. It takes 95mm front filters.

Compared with Nikon’s popular Nikkor Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S, which serves as more than slight inspiration for Sony’s new lens, the FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS is lighter and cheaper. Nikon’s great lens weighs 1,390 grams (3.06 pounds) and is $5,196.95. Sony’s new 600mm lens is instead $3,699. So Sony’s GM lens is nearly 29% cheaper and about that much lighter, too.

Compared to the Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS Sports, a great telephoto prime lens, Sony’s lens offers more reach, a slightly slower aperture, and is 370 grams lighter. The Sigma lens is $700 less expensive right now thanks to a $300 discount, but it is capped at 15 frames per second on Sony E-mount cameras when using continuous autofocus.

Interestingly, Sony’s new FE 400mm f/4.5 GM and 600mm f/6.3 GM lenses are not just similar in size, weight, and overall looks; they are also extremely similar on the inside.

The Sony FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS has 24 elements arranged across 17 groups, including three Super ED elements and one ED element. For reference, the 400mm f/4.5 has 22 elements in 16 groups. The difference comes in the optical group nearest the lens mount, where the 600mm is achieving more magnification.

Behind this GM-caliber glass is an 11-bladed circular aperture diaphragm. Sony promises the expected G Master bokeh, which means smooth, clean background blur.

Sony also promises G Master like performance elsewhere. The FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS has a customizable function ring and four customizable Focus Hold buttons. It has the expected on-barrel switches and a weather-resistant design.

It also features a pair of Extreme Dynamic (XD) Linear Motors, one for each of the lens’s focus groups. The lens promises fast, precise autofocus. It can focus as close as 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), matching the FE 400mm f/4.5 GM OSS. However, with the longer 600mm focal length, Sony’s new lens offers a higher maximum magnification of 0.25x versus 0.18x.

For photographers seeking even more reach, the Sony FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS also works alongside the company’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. With the 1.4x teleconverter, the 600mm f/6.3 becomes an 840mm f/9 super-telephoto lens. The 2x teleconverter turns it into a 1200mm f/13 lens, which has plenty of reach but undeniably lacks speed.

Sample Photos

Pricing and Availability

The Sony FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS lens is available to preorder now and will begin shipping in October. It is $3,699 in the United States and ships with a protective soft carrying case.

Image creditsSony