A 400mm Super-Telephoto For First-Timers, And The One Spec That Keeps It Affordable

Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest stories and updates.

Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest stories and updates.

Sony Malaysia has launched the FE 100-400mm F5.6-8 OSS, a full-frame E-mount super-telephoto zoom lens priced at RM3,499, available from mid-August 2026.

The lens weighs 654g and measures 78.2mm across and 164.5mm long.

That is roughly the size and weight of a small bottle of mineral water — the kind that fits in a bag pocket.

Sony mentions the weight three times in the press release.

It covers a 100–400mm zoom range, features built-in optical image stabilisation, a linear motor autofocus system, and supports continuous shooting at up to 120 frames per second when paired with the α9 III — Sony’s flagship sports camera, which uses a global shutter sensor capable of reading the entire frame simultaneously rather than line by line.

Two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements — which reduce colour fringing at the edges of subjects — and two aspherical elements handle chromatic aberration across the zoom range.

Minimum focusing distance is 0.86m at the telephoto end — close enough that the lens doubles credibly as a macro-adjacent option for insects and small subjects without switching glass.

With a 2x teleconverter attached, the focal length extends to 800mm — or 1,200mm in APS-C crop mode.

The Number Sony Mentions Once

The maximum aperture of this lens is F5.6 at the wide end and F8 at 400mm.

At F8, in anything short of bright daylight, the camera needs more light, a higher ISO, or a slower shutter speed.

For the birds, aircraft, and sports subjects Sony uses to sell this lens, a slower shutter speed is not an option.

Sony’s own professional equivalent, the SEL100400GM, opens to F4.5–5.6 and carries a Sony Malaysia RRP of RM12,299.

Tamron and Sigma alternatives in the same zoom range sit between RM3,600 and RM6,500.

At RM3,499, the F5.6-8 OSS undercuts every direct competitor.

F8 at the long end is how.

The Phone In Your Pocket Is Not The Competition, It Is The Comparison

An early bird promotion runs until 13 September — an additional RM200 rebate applies when the lens is purchased alongside any Sony full-frame camera body.

The RM200 is not the point; pairing a new lens launch with a camera body attach promotion is standard.

Sony wants the lens in the bag of someone who just bought an Alpha.

The more relevant argument is not against rival lenses — it is against the phone in the same pocket.

A smartphone at 400mm is a digital crop of a small sensor, processed by an algorithm.

This lens is 400mm of actual glass, actual optical stabilisation, and actual light hitting a full-frame sensor.

The subject is sharper, the background is softer, and the image holds when printed large.

At RM3,499, that argument now has a price tag attached to it that is harder to dismiss — particularly for shooters who have been sitting on the fence not because they doubted the glass, but because the price never made sense and the size never felt practical.

At 654g, this one fits in a camera bag without rearranging everything else in it.

READ MORE: Sony Wants To Be Part Of Your Merdeka Memory, It Is Also Offering Up To RM4,000 To Help

READ MORE: The Phone Seller From Kelantan Who Captured Love Through A Lens

READ MORE: Malaysian Buys RM60,000 Sony Camera Gear At Melbourne Airport Auction, Seeks To Return It To Fellow Malaysian Owner

Share your thoughts with us via TechTRP’s Facebook, Twitter and Telegram channels for the latest stories and updates.

...