Spec sheets tell you what a lens weighs. A field gallery shows whether you still want to lift it after an afternoon of chasing animals. DPReview’s Dale Baskin took the Sony FE 400mm F4.5 GM OSS from the Oregon Zoo to the open ranges of Montana, and the resulting sample gallery is the first real look at how Sony’s new lightweight super-telephoto prime behaves outside a press briefing.
Where the pictures came from
Most of the frames were shot at the Oregon Zoo near Portland, Oregon, where subjects can be photographed relatively close. A handful come from Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge and the CSKT Bison Range in Montana, where the animals are farther away and far less cooperative. These are the same locations DPReview used for its gallery of the FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS, which makes the two sets a useful side-by-side for anyone deciding between the pair.
The lens in brief
- Weight: 994g (2.2 lb), excluding the removable tripod foot
- Length: 242 millimeters (9.53 inches)
- Optics: 22 elements in 16 groups, 11-bladed circular aperture
- Minimum focus distance: 2.5 meters (8.2 feet)
- Filter thread: 95mm at the front
- Autofocus: two XD Linear Motors, rated by Sony to keep up with 120 fps burst shooting on the a9 III
- Teleconverters: compatible with the 1.4x (SEL14TC) and 2x (SEL20TC) units, reaching up to 800mm
- Full-time direct manual focus
The case for f/4.5
The obvious comparison is Sony’s own FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS. That lens gathers about 1.3 stops more light, but it runs around $12,000 and weighs nearly 3kg (6.4 lbs). The F4.5 version was priced at $2,699.99 and, according to Sony, is the lightest lens of its kind. For photographers who spend hours on foot rather than parked behind a gimbal, that trade is the whole point: less light, far less weight and a price that drops from luxury-car territory to something a serious hobbyist can plan for.
DPReview notes that handling is effectively identical to the FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS. The two differ by just one gram and 21mm in length, and both keep their weight close to the camera body, which reduces fatigue during long handheld sessions. That shared design also means a photographer can pick a focal length based on the subject rather than on how heavy the bag will be.
Launch and availability
Sony introduced the FE 400mm F4.5 GM OSS alongside the FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS on September 15, 2026. In the US the 400mm carries an MSRP of $2,699.99. Sony said both lenses would be available from October 2026, and preorders opened at launch. Outside the US, pricing was reported at approximately £2,400 / €2,800.
The gallery does not replace a full review with sharpness charts and autofocus tracking tests. It does answer the practical question: the 400mm handles close, fidgety zoo subjects and distant Montana wildlife alike, and it stays light enough to carry all day.
Earlier on GismoLand: Sony FE 400mm F4.5 GM OSS. G Master super-telephoto reach under a kilogram.
