Thom's Commentary: A fast 300mm lens has been a weak spot in the Z telephoto lineup, at least until this lens appeared. We had a non-TC version of this lens in the F-mount, and it was arguably the best 300mm optic at the time, so I expect this new, redesigned version to also be excellent. The built-in 1.4x teleconverter allows you to flip the lens into a 168-420mm f/4 lens, giving you essentially 120-420mm in one lens. The fly in the ointment is price. While the F-mount version was under US$10,000, the Z-mount version lists at US$13,999, putting it out of the reach of most users. Which still leaves us with “fast 300mm” still being a weakness in the line.
- Coverage: full frame (FX)
- Build: dust and drip resistant, S-line
- Optic design:
- 30 elements in 24 groups
- 1 aspherical, 1 Super ED, 1 SR, 1 Fluorite, 1 ED elements
- Arneo, Meso Amorphous, and fluorine coatings
- Field of view: 8°10’ to 20°20’ diagonal, narrows to 5°15’ with built-in teleconverter
- Stabilization: VR (6.5 stops CIPA, supports Synchro-VR)
- Additional controls:
- additional customizable ring
- L-Fn buttons
- A/M switch
- Focus limiter (at 6m)
- Other:
- supplied Arca-Swiss compatible tripod collar and support handle, compatible with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
- supplied HB-120 lens hood
- supplied CL-L3 lens case
- Aperture:
- f/2.8 to f/22 without teleconverter
- 9-blade rounded diaphragm
- Focus:
- autofocus, internal focus
- Super Silky Voice Coil motor (SSVCM)
- 39” (0.98m at wide end, 79" and 2m at telephoto) minimum focus
- 1.5.6 maximum magnification at 150mm and no teleconverter
- 1:4 maximum magnification ratio at 210mm using teleconverter
- Filters:
- 112mm front filter ring
- 46mm drop-in filters
- Size and weight:
- 13.9” (353.5mm) long (at minimal zoom extension)
- 5.1” (128mm) diameter
- 101 ounces (2735g)
- Model number: ??
- Price: US$13,999
- Firmware: 1.00
- Announced: October 29, 2026