SAL 500 F4 G Is here!

[pakodominguez]

well, not really here. But they are taking orders...

http://presscentre.sony.eu/content/deta ... wsAreaId=2

[Greg Beetham]

Good spotting Pako, hmmm made to order, it might be while before I see one on a stock shelf then. I reckon if the 300 2.8G is $13,500 here then (divide by 3 and multiply by 5 for a rough price) the 500 4G is going to be at least $22,500.
Contact Silke Schild at Sony EU if you want one, I wonder how much of a deposit you have to put down, maybe more likely you will have to pay in full up front, I wonder how many orders they'll get.
I liked the bit about it being a perfect partner for the SLT A77 that offers serious photographers similarly ruggedized (is that even a word?) performance.
Greg

[Mark K]

This skyhigh price has made my telephoto lens dream broken.

[Philip]

It's a shame, because Sony users have been waiting a long time for the official announcement, and now it's arrived, the price is even higher then the most pessimistic doomsayers foretold

Philip

[Greg Beetham]

Don’t worry too much Mark, that’s a worst case scenario for us in Australia, Sony OZ always charge double what you can buy the same item for from the likes of B&H in the US despite our dollar being about the same or a bit more on the exchange rate, I think ours is about $1.08US at the moment.
Anyway there http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/463921-REG/Sony_SAL300F28G_SAL_300F28G_300mm_f_2_8_APO.html the 300 2.8G is $6,300. If you do a similar sum it turns out to be $10,500 for the 500 4G and on top of that it’s an f4 not an f2.8 so it might be cheaper than that again…..wishful thinking there perhaps, when it comes to estimating Sony lens prices you should always err on the high side I think.
Greg

[David Kilpatrick]

The 500mm will be custom made, no indication of the time taken however. One sample will be in the UK in April, and I have arranged that I will meet Paul Genge to have a look at the lens and possibly meet another tele-lens user, as I am no expert at getting the best from such long lenses.

The cost will be £11,000 in the UK.

I think the Nano AR coating indicates that the front element, at least, is subcontracted to Sigma. They recently installed such a coating line apparently to meet Sony requirements - Sigma make elements for all the camera companies, and assemble some of their lenses too, so if you buy Zeiss, Leica, Canon, Nikon or Sony you are quite likely to get something which has passed through the Sigma workshops. But Hoya also has the Nano AR (type) coating, which they first used for Pentax, and so does Nikon. Hoya make optical components for everyone and like Sigma they also assemble complete lenses for third parties. It's all good because it looks as if these improved coatings (apparently developed by Zeiss) are now going to be found on almost every new lens design.

Except Canon, who remain with Super Spectra Coating (standard old multicoating) to which they add a fluorine coating to convey the same physical properties of water/oil resistance.

David

[Dusty]

So, should I order one for each of my camera, of just one and share it?

Dusty

[InTheSky]

Actually, it cost less to buy an used 600mm 4.0 ... and you can get two for this price (backup one in case of problem). Or 6 x 400mm 4.5 (used again...). This is where the Canikon are superior for hungry tele people ... And Sigma have not yet... (to my knowledge) all there super Fix tele lens in Sony mount.

Frank

[bakubo]

This news reminds me of this prediction in 2010:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=37202921

And when the 77 and 500/4 get released in the spring, I expect to see huge numbers of Sonys at the sidelines of major sporting events since the 77 will do things that the D3 and 1D4 simply can't.

Well, it didn't happen in the spring of 2011 as was predicted, but it seems like the lens will be available for spring 2012 so it is possible that huge numbers of A77 + 500mm f4 combos will be on the sidelines at the 2012 London Olympics, worldwide football (soccer) games, U.S. football games, etc. imminently. Too bad the lens is a few days late because there could have been huge numbers of them used at the Super Bowl a few days ago.

[InTheSky]

Olympic ?

[bfitzgerald]

Ok quick price check here and a Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4G ED VR will set you back around £5800
Canon EF 500mm f4L IS II USM is about £8500

So add your Canon and Nikon body of choice (and you can splash out quite a bit here) and you'll still save quite a lot of cash v the Sony lens only
What about a D4 with that Nikkor lens..

I really can't see the point in pricing yourself out of the market by so much. I know these are specialist type lenses not for average Joe, but if you're going to make some kind of attack on the Canikon dominance for sports shooters Sony are going to have to try a bit harder. I can't see the A77 being the weapon of choice for sports shooters either

[Heidfirst]

Canon EF 500mm f4L IS II USM is about £8500

the MSRP however is £10.5K

Sony don't really have a body/market for this lens atm & hence no real demand so no volume of scale benefits in manufacture to bring the price down.
It's imo more of a marker for the moment & if & when they want to push into that market they could seed a few out to pros.

[Jasper_D]

This news reminds me of this prediction in 2010:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=37202921

And when the 77 and 500/4 get released in the spring, I expect to see huge numbers of Sonys at the sidelines of major sporting events since the 77 will do things that the D3 and 1D4 simply can't.

Well, it didn't happen in the spring of 2011 as was predicted, but it seems like the lens will be available for spring 2012 so it is possible that huge numbers of A77 + 500mm f4 combos will be on the sidelines at the 2012 London Olympics, worldwide football (soccer) games, U.S. football games, etc. imminently. Too bad the lens is a few days late because there could have been huge numbers of them used at the Super Bowl a few days ago.

I´ve read somewhere that the order will take a year to be processed and the lens made... So these Summer Olympics are probably a wasted opportunity except for the happy (few) tester(s) (1, or 2?), best bet is Winter Olympics 2014.

[Mark K]

How can I not get worried? I have been waiting for this for over a decade.
I placed an order for 300G in Nov. I called Sony two days after to make sure that I am getting one and they promised me many times that my order will be proceeded. Now it is Feb 2012 and all these replies went to no where. The price of local Sony lenses were increased from 10% to 50% but 300G alone was raised by some 1000UKP (comparing to the price I was promised to pay in Nov). The price increase is not explainable giving the fact Sony users are a small minority comparing to C.N here, In local wildlife photography circle, I am among the extreme minority using Sony system and the only fast A77 is not quite as fast and as accurate for tracking small birds comparing to Nikon/Canon bodies. Telephoto lens choice for Sony is very limited. There is only 500/4G. There is no sign of 600/4, 800/5.6, 400/2.8, 200-400/4. Even Sigma is not enthusiastic in producing their telephoto lenses for Sony a mount. Besides, the weight of the new 500G is not as convincing as it should be. Without in lens IS, the lens is heavier than Canon's 500/4 IS II.

[pakodominguez]

I reckon if the 300 2.8G is $13,500 here then (divide by 3 and multiply by 5 for a rough price) the 500 4G is going to be at least $22,500.

A Chilean friend of my brother was visiting NYC last week. They came to Adorama for the shopping experience: Nikon DSRL for his father, NEX5n for his wife, Walkman for his daughter, Android Tablet, at least 3 binoculars and multiple accessories... because almost everything cost about 60% more in Chile!
I understand things are not that bad in Argentina or Brazil. Last October I went to Peru, visit the family, and prices on electronics were not that high, but it is a little hard to find "the new things". Prices in Europe are always higher than here in the USA, but I understand also that you have 2 years warranty instead of one here.
I think prices don't fully depend on Sony (or any other manufacturer) but on local policies first, then market demand -think about next time you have to vote!

Regards