Nine years in the making, Sony has retooled their classic, workhorse telephoto zoom lens with the FE 70-200mm f/4 Macro G OSS II, introducing performance upgrades in autofocus, stabilization, magnification, and sharpness while reducing both its length and size. Remaining a portable, workaday stalwart for events, sports, and portraiture, this latest iteration expands its capabilities into video and macro applications.

The biggest change to the optical design of the lens is the introduction of a floating focusing element, enabling the lens' high-resolution .5x "half-macro" magnification, shrinking the minimum focusing distance to 10.2" at 70mm. This increased resolution is available across the entirety of the zoom range, as is the lens' improved corner-to-corner sharpness.

The lens features aspherical, Advanced Aspherical, Super Extra-low dispersion, and extra-low dispersion aspherical elements to reduce and suppress chromatic and spherical aberrations. Nano AR Coating II controls flare and ghosting, while the rounded, nine-blade diaphragm supplies the lens with its soft, smooth bokeh.

Chief among the 70-200mm f/4 II's enhancements is its faster, video-optimized autofocus system. Featuring 4 XD Linear motors, two for each of the lens' focus groups, the lens now performs 20% faster than its predecessor and supports focus tracking while zooming. The new autofocus system also works with the Alpha 1's blackout-free 30 fps high-speed continuous shooting, double the rate of the f/4 OSS I.
 
The new autofocus system has near-silent operation while dramatically reducing focus breathing and focus shift. The Linear Response MF system to ensures a consistent, natural-feeling operation, while the full-time Direct Manual Focus (DMF) feature makes it easy to make quick adjustments using the focus ring while in AF modes.