Nine years in the making, Sony has retooled their classic, workhorse telephoto zoom lens with the FE 70-200mm f/4 Macro G OSS II, introducing performance upgrades in autofocus, stabilization, magnification, and sharpness while reducing both its length and size. Remaining a portable, workaday stalwart for events, sports, and portraiture, this latest iteration expands its capabilities into video and macro applications.

The biggest change to the optical design of the lens is the introduction of a floating focusing element, enabling the lens’ high-resolution .5x “half-macro” magnification, shrinking the minimum focusing distance to 10.2″ at 70mm. This increased resolution is available across the entirety of the zoom range, as is the lens’ improved corner-to-corner sharpness. The lens features aspherical, Advanced Aspherical, Super Extra-low dispersion, and extra-low dispersion aspherical elements to reduce and suppress chromatic and spherical aberrations. Nano AR Coating II controls flare and ghosting, while the rounded, nine-blade diaphragm supplies the lens with its soft, smooth bokeh.