An Old Man's Take on the Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM & TCs

An Old Man’s Take on the Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM & TCs

The Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens is the lightest and smallest in its class and is hand-holdable by most folks, including old codgers like me. It is fast and super-sharp, allows you to be mobile, is amazing for flight and action, and is easy to travel with. See what’s possible when this lens is used alone or combined with either the 1.4X or the 2X TC. As below, use one of my affiliate links to earn a free copy of the BIRDS AS ART Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM Lens Guide.

The Importance of Wind Direction

Every day on the blog I talk about the importance of wind direction. The last two morning here at ILE provide another great lesson on this topic. On Friday morning, the wind was light and variable early on. As predicted here in the last blog post, I had some great flight chances with the just (and I mean just!) fledged juvenile Ospreys. And, with the birds facing the east and northeast, I made lots of images of the two young female birds and their brother perched. I made more than 2700 images and kept 70 — 56 of those were of the baby Ospreys. Contrast that with Saturday morning. Early on, with the sun rising well north of east and a substantial wind from the south, the three young birds were facing almost 45° away from the light. Then things got far worse as the wind swung around to the northwest. I created only 23 images, not very good at all before I quit and took a long walk. I kept none of those.

I swam a slow half mile on Saturday and by the end of the day had walked 3.1 miles.

Knick Fans, This is Not a Dream!

Mike Breen’s Epic End of Game Call

Kudos to Jalen Brunson and the NBA Finals underdog New York Knicks who, despite the fact that the San Antonio Spurs led all five games by double digits in the first quarter, came back again last night to win the NBA championship. Their incredible championship run had them winning 15 of their last 16 playoff games (including an unbelievable and historic comeback from 29 points down in Game 4). I watched the re-air of the game this morning and got an early birthday present!

Historical Note: I was alive and living in Brooklyn in 1970 and 1973 when the Knicks won their first two championships. 1970: Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, “Dollar” Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Willis Reed. 1973: Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Dick (Fall back baby!) Barnett, “Dollar” Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Willis Reed.

What’s Up?

Today is Sunday June 14, 2026. Born on Flag Day in 1946, that makes me 80 years old today. I frequently speak of my many blessings and today I am especially humbled by my great good fortune. Both shoulders are feeling as good as they have in years. And so is my left knee. I have gotten back to taking long walks every day. When I am home, I swim every day. And, in spite of the fact that I ate half of the scrumptious chocolate birthday cake (from Zingerman’s mail order) that Alvin “Red from Birmingham” sent me, my Type II diabetes is well controlled with insulin. Aside from my health, my greatest blessing (though very closely related) is that I can get out every morning and photograph birds. On my last three Nickerson visits, I was getting down on the ground and back up again a bit more easily than I had been for the past few years. Add in the fact that I am financially secure and for me, though there is no cute little dog involved, this is simply as good as it gets.

Note: Jack Nicholson, As Good as it Gets: As Good As It Gets: The Most Human Movie Ever Made

Thanks to IPT veterans and dear friends Red Stevens and Nora Kane for using one of my affiliate links to purchase their new Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lenses (Sony E).

Despite the crummy forecast, a sunny morning with a light SW breeze, I will, of course be headed down to the lake early today. Whatever you opt to do, I hope that you too choose to have fun and enjoy life. Please remember that happiness is a choice — Byron Katie, The Work.Com

If an item — a Delkin flash card or reader, a Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro, or a Wimberley lens plate or low foot — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match or beat any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedford by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BirdPhotographer’s.Net, are — out of ignorance — using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

This image was created on 9 June 2026 by yours truly at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated on dry sand, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera in APS-C crop mode. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 1600: 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (stopped down one stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:19:45pm on a mostly sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #1: American Oystercatcher chick on open sand Image courtesy of and copyright 2026: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

A Hand Holdable 900mm Lens!

While APS-C enables AF to work a bit better, seeing a tiny less than one day old chick so large in the frame gives me extra confidence in the field that does not come when cropping after the fact. That despite that fact that the resulting images would be 100% identical in all ways.

This image was created on 9 June 2026 by yours truly at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated on dry sand, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera in APS-C crop mode. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 1600: 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (stopped down one stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:20:06pm on a mostly sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #2: American Oystercatcher chick on open sand Image courtesy of and copyright 2026: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Your Call?

Though today’s two featured images are very similar, I have a great preference for one of them. Which one do you like best? Why> I will share my thoughts on the two images in the next blog post.

For those who did not use my link to purchase their Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens, you can order your a copy here for $209.93. Click on the image to enlarge and to be able to read the fine print.

The BAA Sony 300mm f/2.8 Lens Guide

Impressed by my Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) images? Use either my Bedfords or B&H affiliate link to purchase your Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens and shoot me your receipt via e-mail and request a copy of the first-ever BAA Lens Guide. I thought that it would take only minutes to create this guide, but I was dead wrong. In the process of creating it, I learned a ton about the lens. And even better, I discovered a simple yet potentially fatal flaw that was resulting in sporadically unsharp flight images. The set-up fix is simple. Just be sure to use one of my affiliate links and get the guide for free.

From top left around to center clockwise: Roseate Spoonbill — 300/2X/a9 iii; Brand’t Cormorant — 300/a-1 ii; Buff-bellied Hummingbird — 300/2X/a-1 ii; Summer Tanager — 300/2X/a-1 ii; American Oystercatcher — 300/2X/a-1; Black and White Warbler — 300/1.4X/a-1 ii; Laughing Gull — 300/1.4X/a-1 ii; Wood Thrush — 300/2X/a-1 ii; Common Tern — 300/2X/a-1 ii.

Did Not Use My Link?

If you did not, you can purchase a copy here for $209.93. Yes, it never hurts to use my links and it never costs you one penny more. And if you contact me via e-mail before you make a major purchase, I can often save you some money.

From top left around to center clockwise: Sandhill Crane — 300/2X/a-1; Crested Caracara– 300/1.4X/a-1 ii; Magnolia Warbler — 300/1.4X/a-1 ii; Bald Eagle — 300/a-1 ii; Common Tern — 300/2X/a-1 ii; Bald Eagle — 300/a-1 ii; Bald Eagle screaming — 300/a-1; Brandt’s Cormorant — 300/1.4X/a-1 ii; Sabine’s Gull juvenile — 300/1.4X/a-1.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.