Introduction
The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS is a new macro prime lens for Sony Alpha full-frame E-mount mirrorless cameras.
It will also work with APS-C sensor cameras with an effective increase in focal length to 150mm due to the 1.5x crop factor.
The optical construction features 17 elements in 13 groups, including two ED (extra-low dispersion) elements and two XA (extreme aspherical) elements that reduce aberration and deliver ultimate resolution.
It has a near-circular 11-blade diaphragm which creates an attractive blur to the out-of-focus areas of the image.
There are four extreme dynamic (XD) linear motors for fast, quiet and precise auto-focusing, and it boasts a dust- and moisture-resistant design.
The latest Nano AR II coating minimizes internal reflections so that flare and ghosting do not occur and a flourine coating on the front element to prevent fingerprints, dust, oil and other contaminants.
A traditional aperture ring runs from f/2.8 to f/16 in third-stop increments with an Auto setting also available. The Click On/Off switch changes the aperture ring between 1/3 clicked steps and a smooth clickless movement. There’s also an Iris Lock switch included.
Focus-dedicated features include a Full-time DMF switch which enables instant manual focus by rotating the focus ring, a Focus Mode switch that allows instant switching between AF and MF, and the Sliding Focus Ring that activates the full manual focus mode linked to the distance and magnification scales.
It offers built-in 5-axis Optical SteadyShot image stabilization which includes a new control system that delivers improved angle, shift, and depth control for precise, reliable handheld macro stabilisation.
Both the Sony 1.4x and 2x teleconverters are fully supported , providing up to 2.8x magnification with auto-focusing for impressive close-up shots while keeping a comfortable working distance. With the 1.4x teleconverter the 100mm F2.8 lens becomes a 140mm F4 lens. With the 2x teleconverter the 100mm F2.8 lens becomes a 200mm F5.6 lens.
The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS lens is available from November 2025 priced at £1399 / $1499 in the UK and USA respectively. It is made in Thailand.
Ease of Use
Weighing in at 646g (22.8oz.) and measuring 147.9mm / 5.82in, the hybrid metal and engineered plastic-bodied Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS is impressively light and compact for such a full-featured lens.
Compared to the older FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS, this lens is only 42g heavier whilst offering a longer focal length, greater magnification and more external controls.
There is one other Sony macro lens to consider – the much shorter focal length FE 50mm F2.8 Macro.
The main third-party rivals of this lens include the Sigma 105mm F2.8 DG DN MACRO Art, Tamron 90mm f2.8 Di III Macro and the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Ultra Macro APO.Note that none of those lenses have lens based optical stabilization.
It feel very well balanced on the Sony A7 V full-frame camera that we tested it with, even with the circular lens hood fitted that’s supplied as standard in the box.
This lens is very well sealed in 19 different places to achieve a dust and moisture resistant design which makes it well-suited to life in both the field and the studio. It should happily withstand most things that you throw at it, although it’s not 100% guaranteed by Sony.
The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS has a metal lens mount. It accepts 67mm filters via metal threads.
This lens features optical image stabilisation, which together with the A7 V’s own built-in stabilisation mean that we could sucessfully hand-hold the camera up to 4-4.5 stops slower than with a lens with no OIS. There is a dedicated OSS switch on the lens barrel to quickly turn it On or Off.
There are two round Focus Hold Buttons in both the vertical and horizontal positions which keep the lens locked to the current focusing distance, useful if you’re auto-focusing and don’t want the lens to try and find focus again. The preview function can also be assigned to these buttons through the camera’s custom settings.
The Full Time DMF switch enables instant manual focus simply by rotating the focus ring even if auto-focus is currently enabled.
The Focus Range Limiter switch prevents the lens from hunting through the entire focusing range. There are three options – Full, infinity to 0.5m, and 07.m to 0.26m.
This lens has a generously wide and ridged focus ring. Full manual focusing is possible by using the sliding focus ring to toggle between the AF/MF and true MF modes.
Simply pull the ring back to engage the Full Manual Focus mode which uses a clutch mechanism rather than the more usual fly-by-wire, complete with hard stops at either end of the distance scale.
Unlike the FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS, this lens very usefully has both distance (metric and imperial) and magnification scales marked on the lens barrel.
The lens utilizes four extreme dynamic (XD) linear motors to produce quick, quiet and smooth focusing, making it well-suited to shooting video as well as stills, with the overall lens length remaining constant during focusing.
The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS lens is commendably supplied with both a soft case and a high quality plastic round lens hood (ALC-SH173).
Focal Range
The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS’s focal length of 100mm provides an angle of view of 24°.
Chromatic Aberrations
Chromatic aberrations, typically seen as blue or purple fringes along contrasty edges, were not readily apparent in our test shots, only appearing in very high contrast areas.
Vignetting
With the lens set to its maximum aperture of f/2.8, there is some light fall-off in the corners, requiring you to stop down by at least 2 f-stops to prevent it.
Distortion
There’s some very slight pincushion distortion evident in both the JPEG and RAW files, but commendably the two formats produce exactly the same results.
Sunstars and Flare
The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS is capable of creating some very nice sunstars when stopped-down to f/22, as shown below, and flare is also well controlled even when shooting directly into the sun.
Macro
The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS offers a minimum focusing distance of 0.26m (0.86ft) with a maximum magnification of 1.4x.
Bokeh
Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc.
In the FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS lens, Sony have employed an iris diaphragm with 11 rounded blades, which has resulted in lovely bokeh in our view.
There is one main caveat – at f/2.8 specular highlights are circular in the centre of the frame but gradually become a lot more “pinched” as you move to the edges. They are more circular at f/5.6, bujt you then lose some of the background blur that you gain from shooting wide-open.
We do realise, however, that bokeh evaluation is subjective, so we’ve included lots of examples below for your perusal.
Sharpness
In order to show you how sharp the Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS lens is, we are providing 100% crops on the following page.
Credit : Source Post
