The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Sony 500mm F8 Reflex and the Samyang 300mm f6.3 for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Sony 500mm F8 Reflex is the longer of the two lenses at 118mm. The Samyang 300mm f6.3 with a length of 74mm, is 44mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Sony 500mm F8 Reflex also has a larger diameter of 89mm compared to the Samyang 300mm f6.3's 65mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Samyang 300mm f6.3 weighs 318g, 52% (347g) lighter than the Sony 500mm F8 Reflex's weight of 665g.
Lens Mounts
The Sony 500mm F8 Reflex has the Sony Alpha lens mount whereas the Samyang 300mm f6.3 has the Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are Sony A99 II, Sony A68 and Sony A77 II for the Sony Alpha Mount and OM System OM-3 Astro, OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3 for the Micro Four Thirds Mount.
Samyang 300mm f6.3 is also available in Canon EF-M , Fujifilm X and Sony E mounts.
Focal Range
Sony 500mm F8 Reflex is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 500mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
750mm.
On the other hand, the Samyang 300mm f6.3 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 300mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 600mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
