Photo by Robert Evans.

Robert Evans Tests The Sony α9 & 400mm f/2.8 GM In A Handheld Night Shoot– See The Photos

Reading Time 1 min.

Author Alpha Universe

Date 2019.09.03

In a recent episode of Robert Evans’ The Pixel Show he tests the performance of the Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens in low light. Paired with the Sony α9, he uses the lens to capture a night air show that took place during the 50th anniversary of Oshkosh AirVenture 2019.

“I was really impressed. It was really nice to have that f/2.8 and those extra 2-3 stops sometimes that you don’t get for low light photography.” – Sony Artisan Robert Evans on the 400mm f/2.8 GM in low light

“It’s definitely a sports-action lens,” explains Evans, “but most 400mm lenses and above are like f/5.6 at least and they don’t really lend themselves to being able to shoot low light. But with an f/2.8 lens and 400mm, I knew I wanted to take it with me to capture the night show.”

Sony α9. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/80-sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400 “I really like the tone range in this, and that of course is the sensor – but it’s crisp. I loved that I could see the smoke and the fireworks coming off the planes.”

Sony α9. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/80-sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400 “I really like this image. It was so simple and almost eerie with this red spotlight on the plane and inside the plane.”

“I handheld all of this because I wanted to, and sometimes I think even shooting on a monopod even with sports is too cumbersome. The nice thing about this lens is that it’s lighter than you’d think it is. It’s pretty light for a big lens like this so you can handhold it.”

Sony α9. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/200-sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400 “To make your images powerful, you need the background to be as simple as possible. So of course a black background is very simple so I think this image works really well.”