24/03/2026 6:12 pm
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Honestly I am so frustrated right now because I spent a small fortune on this a9 III body thinking it would solve all my missed shots at the high school football games here in Austin but my current lens setup is just not cutting it. I have been trying to make my older Sigma 150-600mm work with an adapter and it is a total disaster. The autofocus just hunts constantly and I am definitely not getting anywhere near those 120 frames per second everyone talks about. Its like I bought a Ferrari and I am trying to drive it on wooden wheels. I feel like I totally wasted my money because the tracking keeps dropping mid-play and I am coming home with blurry messes instead of sharp action shots.
I need to get this sorted before the playoffs start next month because my kids are counting on these photos and I am tired of looking at the screen while the action is happening right in front of me. I am ready to just sell the Sigma and get something that actually works with the global shutter and the AF tracking properly but I dont want to buy the wrong thing again. I have been looking at these options:
- Sony 70-200mm f2.8 GM II
- Sony 100-400mm GM
- Sony 200-600mm G
Which telephoto zoom lens actually works best with the Sony a9 III without bottlenecking the autofocus speed or the burst rate? Do I absolutely have to stick to the expensive GM glass to get the full 120fps or are there other zooms that dont suck for high speed sports...
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24/03/2026 6:36 pm
Just catching up. I am very satisfied with how my kit handles sports now, but I have to politely disagree about the 200-600mm G lens. Even though its Sony, its capped at 15fps on your a9 III. To hit that 120fps for football, you really need these:
- Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II
- Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Expensive glass, but it makes the camera actually usable...
11
24/03/2026 6:12 pm
Look, over the years I've learned that adapters are a death sentence for tracking. To hit 120fps on the a9 III, you're gonna need native glass.
- Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II: My top pick. It handles night games perfectly and the AF is incredibly fast.
- Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS: Good reach, but the aperture is too slow for stadium lights. In my experience, the 70-200mm is best.
