Why the Sony SEL70350G is My Top Lens Choice

My Favourite LENS and why

I have been shooting with a Sony APS-C camera since the NEX-7 hit the streets. For a while I also used a Sony full frame camera. But my back finally objected to the wight of all those lovely full frame lenses! Right now it’s an A6700, so that’s the context of this piece. There are some nice lenses available for this camera, some of them having been around for a long time.

My Favourite Lens – SEL70350G

So to the question, I would say “that depends” – it depends on what I am aiming to do. But there is always one lens that I come back to and that is the Sony E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS aka the SEL70350G; 105-525mm full frame equivalent. It covers a superb range and suits my style of photography perfectly. For picking out details in architecture, or abstract shapes in nature, this is the lens. It’s also not bad for long distance street photography but I do prefer my 24mm Sonnar T* E 24mm F1.8 ZA lens for street. The 70-350mm is a sharp lens and hard to fault; and it weighs just 625grams.

My Favourite Lens – Closer focussing with the Canon 500D

The one thing that has sometimes frustrated me with the 70-350mm, is the close focussing distance. It’s not quite close enough for what I would like. I have found a work around to that, which is the Canon 500D close up lens. The 500D screws to the filter thread of the Sony lens. It’s not as sharp as I would wish. And it takes some practice to find the sweet spot, as the focus range becomes very narrow. The 500D on the 70-350mm is OK for relatively flat subjects, which is what I am interested in. The 500D itself is small and light weight. For occasional use with my 70-350mm it is an excellent addition to the camera bag. It would never replace the 90mm or 100 macro lenses, but then it’s a fraction of the weight and cost.