. . . so good.

The a6700 has produced some very appealing results. AF has been dependable and accurate.

With some doubts as to the quality of my APO-Extender-2X, which seems to degrade rather than enhance the reach of the 180mm APO, I turned my attention to finding something relatively lightweight that can serve as a general wildlife lens.

The 70-350mm G seems to suit that purpose. The newly acquired copy appears to be sharper than previous copies, although I suspect the cleaner sensor of the a6700 has a lot to do with that. In fact, one review I read mentioned that the a6700 is the camera this lens, released in 2019, has long needed in order to be it its best. At 625 grams, it gives me a 525mm AOV on a setup that barely weighs 1.1 kg.

For the longest time I wished for an updated CL-like camera with weather resistance, reliable AF, and great IQ. Sony’s previous APS-C bodies didn’t have the IQ to qualify. This one more than fulfills that wish.

Images from a friend’s a7CR almost jumped off the screen when I saw them a few weeks ago, mostly because the colors were like nothing I’d ever seen from Sony. Gone were the washed-out greens, the garish red-oranges, and images that looked like prints that had been sandpapered.

The SL2 hasn’t seen an outing since the a6700 arrived. What remains to be seen is how my Leica glass will mesh with Sony’s rendering, after which there might be a few more changes. If the only option is a Sony sensor anyway, why not get it from the horse’s mouth?

Also gotta find some birds to test this lens on, if there are any left that the locals haven’t eaten!

a6700/70-350mm G . . .