If there’s one thing the Sony 300mm f2.8 G Master lens proves, it’s that their G Master lineup continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in professional photography. I paired with the Sony A1 II (running firmware 2.0), during the Dubai Racing Carnival 2024-25 season at the iconic Meydan Racecourse. It didn’t just perform well; it nailed the action almost perfectly, faltering only on a few occasions. Sony pro sports photographers really don’t have to look much further than the Sony 300mm f2.8 to cover most of their sports assignments. I only wish Sony had also added one extra feature which I’ll elaborate on later.
If you want to see the entire review, please click here.
The Big Picture: Sony 300mm f2.8 GM Review Conclusions
In over 15 years of shooting professional sports photography, I’ve extensively used almost every modern zoom and prime lens that’s been made for sports photographers in some capacity or another. What I’ve found to be most useful, even if I have a fond attachment towards the 400mm range and above, is that the 300mm focal length is ideal for most sports where you aren’t situated a mile away from the action. Coupled with a teleconverter (or a high-resolution sensor camera), you can capture great action, whether it’s a tennis player a few feet away from you or a racehorse thundering down at you. I only wish that Sony had added a 1.4x inbuilt teleconverter with this lens. In fact, I hope all brands make it a practice to have inbuilt teleconverters in their sports lenses, if not by default, then at least as another version of the same lens. A 1.4x switchable tele would’ve turned this into a 420mm f4 beast, making it even more versatile. It might have been enough to convince even non-Sony shooters to consider jumping ship
We give the Sony 300mm f2.8 G Master lens four out of five stars. Want one? Check it out on Adorama.
Who Should Buy The Sony 300mm f2.8 G Master lens?
A 300mm lens at f2.8 works great for isolating subjects even in poor lighting scenarios. The Sony 300mm f2.8 G Master lens would fit perfectly into the arsenal of any pro Sony sports photographer today, given that Sony has more than one capable professional mirrorless body that it could pair with for exceptional results. Tennis, horse racing, watersports, F1 – the scenarios and venues where this lens would perform effortlessly day after day are endless. The autofocus speed, optical performance, and build quality make this lens a standout choice for sports, and surely wildlife photographers as well.
Pros
- Dust and moisture-resistant magnesium alloy body
- One of the lightest full-frame 300mm f2.8 lenses at just 51.9 ounces
- Sharpness that no one can complain about
- Super fast autofocus, even when going from the closest focusing distance to infinity
Cons
- I personally feel this lens could have been smaller, and a bit lighter
- Really should have come with an inbuilt teleconverter.
Gear Used
For Tech Specs, Ergonomics, Build Quality, and Ease of Use, take a look at our preview article. I did feel the need to use a monopod during my first shoot with the Sony 300mm f2.8 G Master, as I was shooting with it for a long period of time, but I didn’t have one at hand. However, I feel that once you use this lens for a few weeks, you’d get accustomed to handholding it for long periods of time, provided you have a comfortable shoulder strap.
Focusing
I observed that, even with Animal AF tracking turned on, the Sony A1 II didn’t quite pick up the horses as they came around the bend of the racetrack to the final stretch. It wasn’t a dealbreaker, but it was noticeable enough to make me wish it came with an inbuilt teleconverter. A stark reminder that even the best AF systems have limits when tracking fast-moving subjects in complex environments. Something that Sony can correct with a firmware update, no doubt. But when it mattered the most, as the horses thundered towards the finish line, the lens and camera were able to lock on and hold focus on the leading horse until such time as I had the AF button engaged. The Sony 300mm f2.8 handled the chaos of the racetrack with the kind of precision and reliability that you expect from a quality professional lens like this.
Image Quality
The G Master annotation instills trust in whoever handles a lens with this badge. The Sony 300mm f2.8 GM is an excellent example of what Sony’s R&D team can produce when they put their minds to it. I really can’t say much more except that the fastest horses in the world were no match for the AF speed and accuracy of this lens, creating some amazing results at the track for me. In all honesty, aside from cropping and some slight shadow boosting, most of the edited images below don’t have any other retouching done to them.
Extra Image Samples
The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.
Edited
Unedited
Declaration of Journalistic Intent
The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:
- At the time of publishing this review, Sony is not an advertiser with the Phoblographer.
- Our reviews are constantly updated when new firmware comes out. So please expect updates from us in the future if Sony ever gets us a loaner unit.
- None of the reviews on the Phoblographer are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do. Others don’t always make declarations.
- Sony knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know.
- The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. We’ve also steered away from Micro Four Thirds and APS-C as they’re dying formats. This is a conclusion that even the other members of TIPA agree on. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
- In recent years, brands have withheld NDA information from us or stopped working with us because they feel they cannot control our coverage. These days, many brands will not give products to the press unless they get favorable coverage. In other situations, we’ve stopped working with several brands for ethical issues. Either way, we report as honestly and rawly as humanity allows.
- At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.
More can be found on our Disclaimers page.
