A7Riii (M3) with 500mm f/4 G SSM Lens

Hi All,

Has anyone tried this configuration lately, and in particular have they compared it with the 1DX - 500 f4 configuration?

I am very tempted to make the switch

Cheers,
Iain Campbell
Tropical Birding Tours

I have the 500 and it is a very good lens for A mount but for E mount, with meta bones and sigma adapters, I think your Canon may be better.

I too have this lens but use it only on my A-mount cameras (A99II, A99, A77II). I agree it is a very good lens. To correct Mike's comment above, for use on the A7RIII you would need to use Sony's LAE3 adapter (I think that's the model, if not it's close enough), not Metabones or Sigma adapters. I tried that combination at the Photo Plus show in NY last fall. While not an actual field test, I was impressed how well the lens seemed to perform, at least in terms of AF (indoors under convention hall lighting).

If you don't have any of this gear now - lens, camera or adapter, you could try renting it to see how it performs. I think LensRentals.com and BorrowLenses.com have this gear available.

Finally, let me add that a photographer friend who used to shoot Canon recently decided to sell off all his Canon gear. He has the A9 and Sony 100-400. He found that combination as good as his Canon (5D MK III or 5DR I think) and the Canon 200-400/4. I believe that all reports show the Sony 100-400 is quite good. You could use it on an A7RIII, get 10 FPS capability, and cropping the 42 MP images should be able to equal your 1DX - 500/4 configuration at a huge size and weight savings. You might try renting that combination to see how it performs and if it's a viable option.

Mike was correct in recommending a Sigma or Metabones adaptor for the Canon lens as he wrote but it would be clearer with a period after the word E mount

For the Sigma 500 f/4 I would not recommend the Metabones for this type of photography, I would only consider the MC-11 from Sigma.

As for the Sony 100-400, it is the best of all of the lenses on the market in that genre. The only complaint I would have is a bit more vignetting wide open than I would like but not really any worse than the others.