The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Best 200 mm lens

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I think it's the best 2.8 200 on the market. Canon has a good one but this is better. Nikon and Canon make really nice F 2 200 and 1.8 180s but there big and heavy and pretty specialized . This is pretty small and pretty lightweight. Makes it a nice travel lens too
 

Eoin

Member
Has any one tried the CONTAX Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar in either 80-200 or 100-300?.
I know they are pretty long lenses and relatively slow, but the sample images I've seen taken on a A7R C/Y 80-200 look pretty stunning. At €250 it looks to be a bargain.

Reports I'm reading elsewhere say the 100-300 is sharper then the respective primes at either end, perhaps even APO corrected in the later MM versions.

The more I read about the Contax lenses the more I am intrigued about them, many of the slower primes are relatively inexpensive and may very well suit my need in the 85 f2.8 or 100 f3.5 focal length. That fact coupled with the higher ISO performance of the camera, they may very well be good enough and small enough to maintain the small & light kit I was originally after.

Minolta users have always raved about the 200 HS, images I've seen from it have generally been superb, but for me, it's too big and too "white" for my needs.
 

pegelli

Well-known member
If you want small, light not expensive and nice quality I can recommend the Olympus OM Zuiko 200/4, see here. It balances nice, even on a small NEX6 and is perfectly hand-holdable. So on an a7 series it should even be better. I also have the Minolta 200/2.8 which can't be beaten on my A850, but is a bit heavy and awkward on a NEX.

Looking forward to your experiences with any longer C/Y zooms Eoin, I dont have experience with them (don't even have the right adapter) but it seems they might be very useful on the NEX or a7 series.

EDIT: P.s.: I just noticed in the "Fun with A7" thread that Michiel Schierbeek is using a C/Y 100-300/4.5. Pictures look pretty good, so maybe you can ask him what the overall impression is.
 
Last edited:

Paratom

Well-known member
Has anyone compared the available 200 mm lenses available, particularly on the A7/r? I have a shoot coming up that I will probably be doing with the A900, but I won't have time or budget to test all the option ahead of time. The Minolta 200 HS G, the Sony 70-200/2.8, the Sony 70-200/2.8 II, in the FE mount the FE 70-200/4. I suppose there are several manual focus options too that may work better with the A7/r than with A900 where nailing critical focus is a bit challenging.
I decided for the Sony FE 70-200/4.0 since it seemed to me the best compromise between flexibility of a zoom, good IQ and size plus AF and stabilization.
So far I find it to be an excellent lens.
 

Mark Muse

New member
Eoin, I have both the CY 80-200/4 and the 100-300/4.5. Each has strengths and weaknesses.
The 80-200 is light, relatively small, and inexpensive. Very high contrast, quite sharp at the short end particularly, excellent bokeh, focus fairly close. An excellent lens for BW, a little less so for color due to less than ideal color rendering.
The 100-300 gives a more refined presentation, again a little sharper at the short end, and I think it is a better lens all around. But the downsides are cost, weight (significantly more), anf the lack of a tripod mount. I would get the Novoflex adapter with the ASAT tripod mount if you buy this lens, to provide the necessary support. I would not use a Metabones or Fotodiox adapter for this lens because in my opinion the can't handle the weight on a tripod. Hand holding? Maybe.
Both lenses have a single ring for zoom and focus. Some folks like this, some don't.
 

Eoin

Member
I noticed that too Pegelli after I had posted, those images do look good, looks to be a promising combination.

Mark, thank for the heads up on the Novoflex & ASAT, I would definitely go this route and my preference would be for the 100/300 also. Would you happen to have a picture of the A7 mounted on this lens by any chance?, the overall length including the adapter is a little off putting. Definitely a Tripod type setup.
 

henningw

Member
I too was looking for a good 180~200mm focal length, and quality was more important than speed. I intended to use it on full frame Canon, Leica and m43, so especially with the latter center quality had to be very high because the pixel density would demand it.

I have had a micro Nikkor 200/4 AI ever since it came out, and it is decent, but not spectacular. The best lens I tried was the Leica 180/2.8 APO, but I didn't want to sink that much money into it. The Elmar 180/4 and non-APO 2.8's were just not good enough, and neither was the Nikon 180/2.8 ED, both AIS and AF. The Canon 2.8 wasn't up to it either, besides, difficult to use on any body except the Canons. Most of the f/4 lenses weren't up to it either. The 180/3.4 Leica was great at infinity, but lacked close focus and wasn't as good close up anyway.

There weren't any Minolta lenses readily available for me to try.

Finally I settled on the Voigtlander 180/4 Apo Lanthar, which is tiny, focusses almost into the macro range and comes the closest to matching the Leica 2.8 APO. Mine is in a Pentax mount. No zoom I tried, including the Leica 70-180/2.8 APO matched it. I'm happy.

Henning
Henning
 

Mark Muse

New member
Eoin, some phone snaps for you. One at 100mm, one at 300mm, plus the adapter. Focusing closer than infinity extends the lens farther. The hood is next to it. One thing about this, a real PITA, is the location of the bolt that clamps the adapter in the ASAT is on the grip side making it difficult to handle and even more difficult to release the adapter from the cam. But I think I can unbolt the foot and turn it around, which will put the clamp bolt on the other side when mounted. Funny, I don't remember having that problem with the last one I had.



Well it's not pulling my images. Don't know why not. Try this: http://markmusephotographs.com/wordpress/2015/01/25/temporary/
 
Last edited:

Eoin

Member
Wow, that's actually looking a lot smaller than I imagined. Now I need to find a nice MMJ version on eBay that hopefully has the hood and is in the euro zone.

I was looking at lenses last night, but the decline in the euro and lack of supply in the euro zone means I may need to wait a while

Thanks a million for taking the time to make and upload the images Mark, very kind of you.
 

jstaben

Member
Just ordered one for my Sony A7! (Minolta HS 200mm) from Japan/ebay

anyone use it on the M240 in MF of course?
 

JMaher

New member
Double posting warning - I thought this should go here as well as in the General A7 pictures thread.

Just received my new HS 200 2.8 and it works wonderfully. Fast to focus and sharp as can be.

Jim
Posted by jmmtampa, on Flickr​
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Great lens. Not high contrast, which helps in some situations, and wide open there is a lot of CA in the OOF areas, but what is in focus is very sharp

Sunrise at Bryce. A7II, handheld...



--Matt
 

JMaher

New member
Glass and coatings seem good. So far no real problems with CA, etc. ..and it's SHARP. Also focus speed seems remarkable for an old lens. So far only positives experiences in my first few days of ownership.

Jim
 

jstaben

Member
Got mine from Japan. Great lens on the A7 with the adapter. Works just like an SLR. Much more mobile than my old Nikon 200mm f/2 and the background blur is great. Works amazing for portraits too
 
Could you comment on the CA? TIA!
It seems to be better controlled on the A7s. This shot was in very bright Texas daylight with white uniforms and helmets - usually a recipe for CA on the A7 with the HS 200mm. Here it is limited to a small patch on the defender's Lacrosse stick head...

 
V

Vivek

Guest
Chad, not against the 200 HS but CA appears well controlled with any lens on the A7s.
 
Top