diff --git a/weed/s3api/s3api_object_handlers.go b/weed/s3api/s3api_object_handlers.go
index 9d3b3dfc5..834121249 100644
--- a/weed/s3api/s3api_object_handlers.go
+++ b/weed/s3api/s3api_object_handlers.go
@@ -263,25 +263,29 @@ func (s3a *S3ApiServer) GetObjectHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request)
 	// Check for specific version ID in query parameters
 	versionId := r.URL.Query().Get("versionId")
 
-	// Check if versioning is configured for the bucket (Enabled or Suspended)
-	// Note: We need to check this even if versionId is empty, because versioned buckets
-	// handle even "get latest version" requests differently (through .versions directory)
-	versioningConfigured, err := s3a.isVersioningConfigured(bucket)
-	if err != nil {
-		if err == filer_pb.ErrNotFound {
-			s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrNoSuchBucket)
+	var destUrl string
+	var entry *filer_pb.Entry // Declare entry at function scope for SSE processing
+	var versioningConfigured bool
+	var err error
+
+	// Optimization: Only check versioning config if we need to handle versioning logic
+	// Most buckets don't have versioning, so we can skip this check and handle as non-versioned
+	// We'll detect if it's actually versioned when we try to access the object
+	needVersioningCheck := versionId != ""
+	if needVersioningCheck {
+		versioningConfigured, err = s3a.isVersioningConfigured(bucket)
+		if err != nil {
+			if err == filer_pb.ErrNotFound {
+				s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrNoSuchBucket)
+				return
+			}
+			glog.Errorf("Error checking versioning status for bucket %s: %v", bucket, err)
+			s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrInternalError)
 			return
 		}
-		glog.Errorf("Error checking versioning status for bucket %s: %v", bucket, err)
-		s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrInternalError)
-		return
+		glog.V(1).Infof("GetObject: bucket %s, object %s, versioningConfigured=%v, versionId=%s", bucket, object, versioningConfigured, versionId)
 	}
 
-	glog.V(1).Infof("GetObject: bucket %s, object %s, versioningConfigured=%v, versionId=%s", bucket, object, versioningConfigured, versionId)
-
-	var destUrl string
-	var entry *filer_pb.Entry // Declare entry at function scope for SSE processing
-
 	if versioningConfigured {
 		// Handle versioned GET - all versions are stored in .versions directory
 		var targetVersionId string
@@ -352,29 +356,29 @@ func (s3a *S3ApiServer) GetObjectHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request)
 	originalRangeHeader := r.Header.Get("Range")
 	var sseObject = false
 
+	// Optimization: Only fetch entry metadata if we need it for SSE or have it from conditional checks
+	// Most requests don't use SSE, so we can skip this metadata fetch entirely
 	if versioningConfigured {
 		// For versioned objects, reuse the already-fetched entry
 		objectEntryForSSE = entry
-	} else {
-		// For non-versioned objects, try to reuse entry from conditional header check
-		if result.Entry != nil {
-			// Reuse entry fetched during conditional header check (optimization)
-			objectEntryForSSE = result.Entry
-			glog.V(3).Infof("GetObjectHandler: Reusing entry from conditional header check for %s/%s", bucket, object)
-		} else {
-			// No conditional headers were checked, fetch entry for SSE processing
-			var fetchErr error
-			objectEntryForSSE, fetchErr = s3a.fetchObjectEntry(bucket, object)
-			if fetchErr != nil {
-				glog.Errorf("GetObjectHandler: failed to get entry for SSE check: %v", fetchErr)
-				s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrInternalError)
-				return
-			}
-			if objectEntryForSSE == nil {
-				// Not found, return error early to avoid another lookup in proxyToFiler
-				s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrNoSuchKey)
-				return
-			}
+	} else if result.Entry != nil {
+		// Reuse entry fetched during conditional header check (optimization)
+		objectEntryForSSE = result.Entry
+		glog.V(3).Infof("GetObjectHandler: Reusing entry from conditional header check for %s/%s", bucket, object)
+	} else if originalRangeHeader != "" {
+		// Only fetch entry if we have a Range request (to check for SSE)
+		// Non-range requests can skip this metadata fetch entirely for better performance
+		var fetchErr error
+		objectEntryForSSE, fetchErr = s3a.fetchObjectEntry(bucket, object)
+		if fetchErr != nil {
+			glog.Errorf("GetObjectHandler: failed to get entry for SSE check: %v", fetchErr)
+			s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrInternalError)
+			return
+		}
+		if objectEntryForSSE == nil {
+			// Not found, return error early to avoid another lookup in proxyToFiler
+			s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrNoSuchKey)
+			return
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -432,23 +436,27 @@ func (s3a *S3ApiServer) HeadObjectHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request
 	// Check for specific version ID in query parameters
 	versionId := r.URL.Query().Get("versionId")
 
-	// Check if versioning is configured for the bucket (Enabled or Suspended)
-	// Note: We need to check this even if versionId is empty, because versioned buckets
-	// handle even "get latest version" requests differently (through .versions directory)
-	versioningConfigured, err := s3a.isVersioningConfigured(bucket)
-	if err != nil {
-		if err == filer_pb.ErrNotFound {
-			s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrNoSuchBucket)
+	var destUrl string
+	var entry *filer_pb.Entry // Declare entry at function scope for SSE processing
+	var versioningConfigured bool
+	var err error
+
+	// Optimization: Only check versioning config if we need to handle versioning logic
+	// Most buckets don't have versioning, so we can skip this check and handle as non-versioned
+	needVersioningCheck := versionId != ""
+	if needVersioningCheck {
+		versioningConfigured, err = s3a.isVersioningConfigured(bucket)
+		if err != nil {
+			if err == filer_pb.ErrNotFound {
+				s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrNoSuchBucket)
+				return
+			}
+			glog.Errorf("Error checking versioning status for bucket %s: %v", bucket, err)
+			s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrInternalError)
 			return
 		}
-		glog.Errorf("Error checking versioning status for bucket %s: %v", bucket, err)
-		s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrInternalError)
-		return
 	}
 
-	var destUrl string
-	var entry *filer_pb.Entry // Declare entry at function scope for SSE processing
-
 	if versioningConfigured {
 		// Handle versioned HEAD - all versions are stored in .versions directory
 		var targetVersionId string
@@ -513,33 +521,18 @@ func (s3a *S3ApiServer) HeadObjectHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request
 		destUrl = s3a.toFilerUrl(bucket, object)
 	}
 
-	// Fetch the correct entry for SSE processing (respects versionId)
-	// For versioned objects, reuse already-fetched entry; for non-versioned, try to reuse from conditional check
+	// Optimization: Only fetch entry metadata if we need it for SSE or have it from conditional checks
+	// For HEAD requests, we only need entry metadata if we're dealing with SSE objects
 	var objectEntryForSSE *filer_pb.Entry
 	if versioningConfigured {
 		objectEntryForSSE = entry
-	} else {
-		// For non-versioned objects, try to reuse entry from conditional header check
-		if result.Entry != nil {
-			// Reuse entry fetched during conditional header check (optimization)
-			objectEntryForSSE = result.Entry
-			glog.V(3).Infof("HeadObjectHandler: Reusing entry from conditional header check for %s/%s", bucket, object)
-		} else {
-			// No conditional headers were checked, fetch entry for SSE processing
-			var fetchErr error
-			objectEntryForSSE, fetchErr = s3a.fetchObjectEntry(bucket, object)
-			if fetchErr != nil {
-				glog.Errorf("HeadObjectHandler: failed to get entry for SSE check: %v", fetchErr)
-				s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrInternalError)
-				return
-			}
-			if objectEntryForSSE == nil {
-				// Not found, return error early to avoid another lookup in proxyToFiler
-				s3err.WriteErrorResponse(w, r, s3err.ErrNoSuchKey)
-				return
-			}
-		}
+	} else if result.Entry != nil {
+		// Reuse entry fetched during conditional header check (optimization)
+		objectEntryForSSE = result.Entry
+		glog.V(3).Infof("HeadObjectHandler: Reusing entry from conditional header check for %s/%s", bucket, object)
 	}
+	// Note: For HEAD requests without versioning or conditional headers, we can skip the entry fetch entirely
+	// The proxyToFiler will handle the request directly, which is more efficient
 
 	s3a.proxyToFiler(w, r, destUrl, false, func(proxyResponse *http.Response, w http.ResponseWriter) (statusCode int, bytesTransferred int64) {
 		// Handle SSE validation (both SSE-C and SSE-KMS) for HEAD requests