Sony FE 600MM F4 + A7RIV - Captures Stunning Detail and Clarity 

Again if Sony was smart they would snatch Mark Smith up for their Artisans program. Marks talent and dedication is incredible! His work reflects this! Lovely images Mark

Hands down the best narrator/wildlife photographer on RU-vid.

The way you tell the stories...your excited voice.....the stories...... man...... its so catching ! Sony a7iv and 200-600 here. Hoping to someday get shots like that. Thanks a lot for your work Mark 💪

I don't know that its possible to get more details than this in any other camera/lense combo out there. It's stunning...almost macro at times. Geeesh

Your photography, along with your excellent sense of how to present it, is always a pleasure to see. Thanks for sharing the photos and your methods with us!

Just when I think your images can’t possibly get any better you prove me wrong! My Lord!

Mark. Not only is your photography absolutely beautiful, I love hearing the descriptive words you use to describe the subtle shapes, colors and tectures of what you are photographing. You are one of the best out there in doing both in my opinion. I love your videos, man. Plus, you seem honest and just a regular type guy. There are a lot of talented photographers, But, you, Morton Hilmer, and Steve Mattheis are my favorites. I like your genuiness.

Again a superlative videos thats educational and open up a vista of photographic opportunities for photographers in all genres.

Mark, the quality of your pictures and your expert colorful narration make your channel the the best of its kind.

Every time I watch one of Mark's videos, I just want them to continue for an hour or so....love the photos and the storytelling......

Mark, this camera/lens combo in your hands adds a new facet to my enjoyment of your photos. Your same amazing photography, but with stunning clarity and detail in the results!

Favorite bird and section: All of it.

My favorite bird is the one with the bad left eye. I love that you know you have photographed the same bird in the past.

All that detail is addictive viewing & obviously the photography for you with that incredible lens !

You should have your own TV nature show. Great content and excellent story telling. You got you another subscriber!

Mark, I always enjoy your photos and especially the story telling in your videos. Thanks a lot for your hard work on putting this all together.

😮

Wood storks!!! I demand a full video of just them. They have so much interesting character and detail.

This is a beautiful video .. focusing less on the tech and more on what the product can do

I appreciated the amazing images, and technical insights, but the way you pull it all together with your story telling is delicious icing on the cake. Well done.

Your photos are astounding as is your modesty. the reasons I subscribed. Keep it up!

Mark you are the best. Love it.

I have decided that I’m going to sell all My gear and just watch your channel.... just think all the money I’ll save lol

it's an enjoyment watching your video. both your pictures and your comments

These shots are just insanely good wooow🔥🔥❤️❤️📷📷👌

Stunning quality, well captured

My favorite moment was at 1:18, it looks incredible. Well, it seems like you're getting close to perfection with that combo ...

Fantastic Video Mark! Very similar to your noting the silt in the water drop, I thought the catch light in the birds’ eyes was phenomenal. It wasn’t just a starburst it was the sun on the horizon and clear as a bell!!

Mind-blowing shots and ur story telling adds even more beauty to the photos

That is just razor sharp. What a great combo. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for this video. My son is a pro film maker and has this set up of yours (his company made the "The World is waiting for your perspective" commercial for Sony). For me, at my son's suggestion, I sold all of my Canon gear, Mark, and now I own the Sony A9ii with the battery grip and the Sony 200-600mm+ 1.4 extender. I took in every word from your video on the A9 in setting up my camera, so thank you for that. That last group shot looks like it might have been at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is a big favorite of mine when I visit Florida from upstate NY. I have witnesses a similar scene there.

Thanks for the beautiful and passionate work that really brings out the state of the art technology at present. All the very best!

Mark, Wow, what a a stunning set of photos! Looks like you have a new dream combo! Well done! Craig

Thank you Mark for this awesome video. Images are incredibly stunning. Deb now has the Sony a7RIV and I plan to have one within the next few weeks. Wish we could afford the 600mm F4 but no dice. Had to go with the 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 but she is very happy with the results she's getting from this combo. We sold all Deb's Canon equipment to B&H. They gave us a quote and stuck with it. No lowballing. Today I'm FedExing them my Nikon equipment. Really looking forward to your a7RIV setup guide when you have the time (will be more than happy to pay for it). Thank you for your photography professionalism. Bill & Deb

Great video again Mark, the 600mm is really showing off what it can do in a master's hands on the A7R4. Hoping to get over to Florida again sometime absolutely loved my time there.

All great images, highlighting the quality of this lens/camera combo in the hands of a talented photographer. Great video.

Wow, I'm almost over dosing on the detail in these images Mark, outstanding work from you and Sony.

Stunning images and detail!

Absolutely amazing collection of photos, Mark! That lens is really spectacular! Favorite shot = the little Gnat-Catcher, hanging from the branch, kind'a up-side-down like, against the blue-sky background. INCREDIBLE shot of that tiny bird!!!

photos are increadible, and the price of the lens is too!! Not for our humble pockets in Uruguay...sniff, but your photography is absolutely awsome!!!

This video is just perfection. Thank you. Liked/subscribed.

A true artist at work. stunning images, the camera and lens is only part of the story, the rest is pure skill dappled with a sprinkling of magic dust. Thanks for a great post. all the best for the new year.

These pictures are incredible!

Hey Mark, once again your photos are amazing. Enjoyed all the birds in this video. Can't wait to see more.

Un video espectacular Mark, sin lugar a dudas un conjunto cámara-objetivo muy bueno.

Love all you videos

Beautiful Mark. Hard to pick a favorite. The detail of those pelicans is amazing. Hoping you could do a video one day on your A7RIV settings for wildlife. Were you using auto ISO? Thank you.

As always Mark, lovely video and images. Can't wait to get down to Florida again and check out all the wildlife!

Insane detail on those birds Mark. That is a beast of a lens!

Dream gear right there! Just changes my tablet for a full HD one and those shots look so amazing! Great job Mark!

This cat's the real deal! How he handholds that monster lens is beyond me...I have enough trouble with the 200-600 lol! Great work Mark! Sony - are you watching these?

Absolutely incredible work. And your right, that detail even over the internet is remarkable. I can't believe this is handheld. Do you still use backbutton focusing or are you relying on the eye focusing feature of the camera?

Fantastic video sir. I really love to see your videos especially the way you show us those beauty of nature, every minute details and everything. I love this. Waiting for your next video... Keep clicking

Wow!! I'm speechless..Great video Mark...Thanks!

Great job, as usual, Mark.

Incredible video Mark! And that lens and camera combo is a dream for me. Incredible.

Great video and beautiful photographs. A master at work!

Stunning images Mark you really are an amazing photographer

Great shots Mark thank you! I just love your work and the birds!

Excellent Mark! I so enjoy your videos, and anticipate the next one!

Crazy good shots!

Stunning Detail for Sure. Great Photos Mark 👍🏼

Beautiful images, Mark: so good, in fact, I don't have a favourite this time. Though that 600mm f4 is stunning, I'll stick with my 200 - 600mm on my A7R4.

wow ur giving so much excitement

Awesome shots

Insanely good images. That Sony 600mm f4 is best in class

Fantastic shots Mark. That definitely seems to be "the lens" for birding.

Such an amazing series of photos. Spellbound. Worth the wait ❤️

Some amazing shots. Great video keep it up mark.

Amazing photos

Amazing work.

Mark you are my hero for BIF photography! I have a question is the 10fps mechanical shutter fast enough? Like during an Osprey dive. I am torn between the A1 and A7RV.

Nice Job Mark, Kool shots ! I saw the 600mm in action your friend and mine Billy Sooo light That 600 ! Good Job !

Now that was a GOOD Review. Well done. Focussed on results. and much appreciated.

Thank you! Mark

Mark, thanks again for sharing!

I just got my own 600 f4 with the a1 and you are 100% right, just wow compared to my beloved D850 and 400 f2.8 not even in the same realm

I still prefer the saturation and contrast of your Nikon images but the sharpness and detail of this Sony combo is undeniable! Well done!

Amazing shots! Mark seems to be the only pro using this lens right now. Other than this site, I can't find any substantial reviews or any other content outside of the big New Jersey event Sony flew everybody out to last year at launch. It's good to see it being used in the real world. I wonder if Mark has run across the Image Stabilizer problems reported by Ken Rockwell. If those issues are real, I don't think I could justify the cost. Hopefully more professionals will test this in the wild.

Beautiful imagery as always

Great shots, Mark! A couple of questions for you: (1) What focus area did you find most useful for these portraits? (2) Was Animal Eye-AF any help with these shots? (3) Can you make any comparisons yet on IQ (detail, contrast, etc.) between the A7Riv/600 vs. A9ii/600? Many thanks.

Stunning Images, Well done You 👍

Nice shots

Great beautiful images Mark as always.

Hi Mark ....thank you for sharing your excellent work... just quick question ...how to compare 600 vs 400 and 200-600 lenses with Sony A7 r4 body ? Thanks

Great work! I also live in Florida so we shoot some of the same birds. I also caught a feeding frenzy but mine had a gator in the middle! The birds kept a safe distance so he didn’t eat but kept the birds alert,

Fantastic lens. The detail is really impressive. Congratulations on your acquisition. Is it possible to make a video or a guide on shutter speed for bird photography? I know the faster the shutter speed, the better, but when I find myself compromising too much on iso, i tend to reduce shutter speed and I'm never really shure what the minimum shutter should be for certain scenarios. I know this is not an easy question to answer, since there's subject movement, lens shake, hand held v tripod, ibis and so on, but if you have some rules of thumb you usually apply and you could share them, that would be great. I love your videos

Hey Mark, Loving your content. Been looking at the 600 f4 myself even though I don't make $ doing wildlife. I have the 200-600 right now and am wondering if you could maybe do a side-by-side comparison for a video? Not something in a studio, but out in the field. I shoot with the RIV and A9. Thanks a bunch and keep these awesome videos coming!

Awesome combo Mark, and you have plenty of light to make the R4 shines, up here in the northeast, R4 is noisy..hic! TFS always the best videos on birding on RU-vid !Bravo!!

1080p does this no justice at all Mark. Need 4K or at least 1440p. Fantastic pictures as usual. Alas Sony wants $22K for this lens in Australia, I'm praying for a Nikon 600 f/5.6 PF

amazing. uplifting

Wow, the bird feather details are amazing! You got steady hands! I'm just curious what your favorite gears are since your videos are alternating between Sony and Nikon.

Yes, the blue-grey gnatcatcher 😊

It's all great - but the detail on the Blue Gray Gnatcatcher was my favorite.

Hi Mark Could you shoot in low light condition with this camera and obtain similar results?

Hi Mark, thanks for this great video! It confirm your findings and this is exactly what I expected. I changed from Canon to Sony and use my Canon lenses in combination with the Sigma MC-11 and the SonyA7R4. Even with a Canon 300 mm 2.8 and 2.0 extender (resulting in 5.6) I have great results. Extraordinary pixel sharp stunning images. I'm happy that I did the move.

This is not photography but witchcraft !! All hail Mark Smith, the dark lord of detail, sharpness and color.

Wow! Now that you have that set up do you think it will be you go to for most birding photos and video?

You sound deeply passionnate about birds👏 however I have one question, why didn't you use the lens at iso 50 while toying with the exposure compensation wheel to keep it at a reasonnable shutter speed? The quality at Iso50 on sonys is simply mind blowing crisp!

The quality is really insane. All those details at 600mm, quite unbelievable...No wonder why so many wildlife photographers are turning to Sony nowadays.