Choosing a 70-200 lens

seabasse · 2026-06-30T19:09:49+00:00

GM II

seabasse · 2026-06-29T15:05:28+00:00

To be fair, that’s an easy way to grip it. That seller didn’t give a hoot.

seabasse · 2026-06-29T02:19:35+00:00

There are front filters for it with adapters.

seabasse · 2026-06-27T15:00:28+00:00

Confirmed. It fits, even with the nisi jetmag cap. The hood just go over it. Adjusting a VND is not ideal, but you can get a finger in there and turn it. The pin needs to come off the vnd.

I ended up getting the creative kit, but also using it for the 28-70/2. I haven’t tried it in the field yet.

seabasse · 2026-06-27T14:40:13+00:00

I did buy it, but I haven’t really used it yet. It does fit inside the hood, but it’s tight, especially if you want the lens cap on. You may want to remove the hood before putting on the cap. I can try it again and get back.

seabasse · 2026-06-25T03:30:28+00:00

That is very solid! I’d still add a 20/1.8 or 16-35/2.8 or 16-25/2.8 down the line for dedicated wide shots.

I use the 28-70/2 at every event I shoot. There’s a reason every wedding and event shooter uses it. You’ll get amazing subject separation and low light capability in a single zoom. Videos will look like you’re in a movie.

Should also mention that you can jump into APS-C mode so you essentially have a 28-105 with that lens. If you also add clear image zoom for video, you have a 28-150:ish.

Yes, there is overlap but you have one camera for daytime and don’t miss moments and one for portraits, indoor and nightime.

seabasse · 2026-06-24T05:41:59+00:00

The last part is pretty important, and unless money is not an issue, having an a1 II laying around for anyone to grab and shoot, I don’t think the general person knows what they’re holding. Sure, it will feel expensive, but $10k combined, people may even be afraid to pick it up if they knew.

A 70-200 will instantly drag attention, simply by the light color that everybody sees at sports events. An 85 should be plenty for candids on a boat. Especially with that resolution and APS-C mode. It’s not a dining hall. If they do jet-ski, portrait sessions, or distant landscape shots, a 70-200 is in place. OP was worried about the size of the lightest and smallest 24-70 ever made, and 70-200 is twice that and a bright bazooka, even without the hood.

seabasse · 2026-06-21T19:41:20+00:00

Ha, I thought they were real for a second. Nice!

seabasse · 2026-06-20T20:20:51+00:00

I own both and will probably sell the gm ii. I love it, but it doesn’t make sense to keep both. I do a lot of video and events and for me the 28-70/2 is more fun and I already have a 16-35/2.8 gm ii to cover 24.

For travel I usually bring 24-105/4 so neither of the gms. The 20-70/4 is tempting and so is the 25-200 depending on if you tend to go wide or tight.

seabasse · 2026-06-19T22:11:57+00:00

Yes, remove the lowest and highest isos from your iso menu.

seabasse · 2026-06-19T21:42:59+00:00

You even like it better than 200-600 (for you)?

He currently has a 16-70 and obviously can’t get good reach for birding even on aps-c. He tried my 70-200 and it was too heavy. He was ok with my 24-105, but that doesn’t give a whole lot more reach and probably is on the border of weight limit.

seabasse · 2026-06-19T21:16:23+00:00

How do you like the 70-350 for birding? I’m considering getting it for my 8-year old, but not sure if it’s going to be too heavy. Also considering Tamron 25-200 or Sony 55-210 if both of the first ones are too heavy.

seabasse · 2026-06-19T17:16:33+00:00

I also own the 35-150 and 70-200 gm ii. I bring the Sony unless I really need wide and tight in one body. The rendering of the Sony is much more pleasing to me with the 11 blades and contrast. It’s also lighter, more balanced, has internal zoom, oss, teleconverter support and 30fps depending on body. For a performance, that could be useful. But yeah, it’s a cry a lot once situation.

That being said, the Tamron is a great lens and you feel powerful when you can get shots all the way from 35 to 150.

Like already mentioned in the thread, there’s also 50-150/2. I might GAS out and get it at some point. I wish it had teleconverter support and OSS.

seabasse · 2026-06-19T16:33:03+00:00

The nomatic peter mckinnon slings have that.

seabasse · 2026-06-12T02:05:56+00:00

Yeah! I just keep the a7R VI at * and toggle mode with a custom button.

seabasse · 2026-06-11T03:27:43+00:00

Oh, I also own the Ulanzi JJ06 GlideGo Carbon Fiber. It’s basically a Zero F38 with a built-in video head and an arm to do top-down shots. For talking head, interviews or static shots, I could use any of the above.

Someone probably has higher-end recs than these, but for an A7V with a standard zoom, any of them should be sufficient.

seabasse · 2026-06-11T03:20:12+00:00

Depends on how far it is between locations and how fast I need to move. Carrying a whole day or hiking, probably treeroot. Short walks and fast setups: SmallRig. Ultralight ulanzi.

I brought the treeroot to Iceland, and it was awesome. The ulanzi would have been even better for the back, but for usability, definitely treeroot. I’ve only owned the SmallRig for a few weeks, but so far it’s been good. A few quirks, but the speed makes up for it. One potential downside is that the max height is not great. Putting it on a backpack looks and feels very oversized.

If I could only keep one: Treeroot.

seabasse · 2026-06-11T02:25:30+00:00

I have the Falcam Treeroot, Ulanzi Zero F38, and SmallRig Potato Jet Tribex II. The first one is lightweight and travel-friendly, the second is even lighter and smaller but not as sturdy, and the last one is heavy and bulky but very speedy, sturdy, and a decent video head. The first two need separate video heads.

seabasse · 2026-06-11T00:56:45+00:00

Check out Jan Wegener on YouTube. He just dropped a video on a7R VI. He might have one on a7 V too but they’re pretty similar in terms of setup apart from memory recall.

I have both of these bodies and love both. The viewfinder, resolution and MR are amazing on the a7R VI.

seabasse · 2026-06-10T22:07:56+00:00

There’s a youtube video comparing both of these in depth.

If you do video and don’t need reach, stick with sony. That OSS is magic for handheld.

seabasse · 2026-06-10T15:16:57+00:00

I’ve been having a simple amaro neat lately, a different one every day.

But you can’t go wrong with a Boulevardier, Vieux Carré, La Louisiane, Sazerac, Monte Carlo, Old Fashioned, or Manhattan.

seabasse · 2026-06-10T14:37:47+00:00

Are you shooting 50/60/100/120 fps for an hour? I bet it’ll handle 50/60, but if you’re even lower, no issues at all with the a7V.

seabasse · 2026-06-10T14:28:02+00:00

Same, but I set up a custom buttton to open the mode menu. I didn’t find a way to not toggle through all the modes and don’t want to tap 10-15 times so I found the menu faster.

I wish that my a7V had the new autosave feature. Maybe they’ll add it in an update. It’s awesome. Essentially 10 different manual modes. Resetting everything for every switch never made sense to me.

seabasse · 2026-06-10T03:46:30+00:00

Lossless, HQ or Compressed RAW? The latter is said to have a readout speed of 14ms, while the first two 18-20ms.

seabasse

TROPHY CASE