I think I consider this lens the perfect focal reach on the mirrorless body as a sports/wildlife rig. I loved the IQ I got from the FE70-200mm F4, but there were many times I had to skip an opportunity while out birding or shooting wildlife because it just didn't have the reach. The FE70-300mm loses about a stop of light at the long end, but that extra 100mm on the APS-C body is absolutely perfect - the lens is a reasonable size and weight, and excellent IQ. I can still play with the Tamron 150-600mm when I really need reach, but the native lens is fast, stabilized, accurate, and comfortably hand-holdable all day. Here are a few samples I've taken with the A6300 and this lens, for an idea of how it performs: Closeup with a dragonfly - this lens has a really nice close focus range, around 3 feet: White winged dove in my backyard: Closeup with a tricolor heron: Cattle egret spread out in flight: Baby wood storks yelling in their nest: Squirrel in my backyard: Pondhawk dragonfly: Angry looking eastern screech owl in the deep shade (ISO2,500): Cattle egret all fluffed up: American oystercatcher flying by low over the water:
Thanks Jeff - I'm very impressed with the lens. Comparing directly to the excellent FE70-200mm, which is a non-extending and very high quality lens, I was a bit worried the loss of a stop of light, plus the extending zoom design, might compromise things a bit. But the lens seems to be every bit of the 'G' designation as far as image quality goes...quite sharp even wide open and beautifully built. I find it's a near-perfect focal reach on the smaller body for all purpose wildlife and bird shooting and walkaround zoom needs.
