Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-11-30)

44 30 November 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Testbench IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MPB

Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-

6.3 DG OS HSM Sports

●£1,699●www.sigma-imaging-uk.com

SIGMAhassomeexceedingly
goodtelephotozoomsacrossits
ContemporaryandSportsranges,
andonethatwewereleftmightily
impressedbyearlierthisyear
whenweputit throughitspaces
wasthe60-600mmF4.5-6.3
DGOSHSM.
AswiththeolderSigma
50-500mmF4.5-6.3DGOS
HSM– a lensthatpickedupthe
nicknameBigmaovertheyears
foritsheavyandthicksetbody

• this10xopticalzoomhasan
  advantageover150-600mm
  zoomsin thatit hasa shorter
  minimumfocallength.By
  mergingthefocallengthsof
  a 70-200mmlensand150-
  600mmlensintoone,it saves
  youhavingtoswaplensesand
  lugaroundtwoheavyzooms.
  There’sa lottolike.Thezoom
  lockcanbeusedat anyof the
  markedfocallengthsonthe
  barrelanda sharptwistunlocks
  it instantly.Itsweather-sealed
  constructionis alsocrucialfor
  thosewhospenda majorityof
  theirtimeshootingoutdoorsand
  it canbeturnedintoaneven
  longerzoombycouplingoneof
  Sigma’steleconvertersbetween
  camera body and lens.

It doessufferfrombarrel

distortionat 60mm.However,

sharpnesswideopenat f/4.5

is excellent,bothat thecentre

andtheedge.Atfulltelephoto,

userscanexpecttoseean

improvementin sharpnessby

stoppingdownfromf/6.3tof/8

andf/11.Vignettingat wide

aperturesis obvious,butis easy

enoughtocorrectin post.

Thisis a lensthathitsthe

sweetspotbetweentheold

Sigma50-500mmF4.5-6.3

DGOSHSMnotbeinglong

enoughandthecompany’s

150-600mmzooms not being

wideenough.

If it’stoo

muchtobuy

outright,it can

behiredfrom

£53fora

weekend.

What we like

●Zoomcanbeoperatedusingthe

push/pullmethod

●Tripodcollarnotchesintoplace

every 90 degrees

●Impressivecentresharpness wide

open at 600mm

GOLD

Sigma 70-200mm

F2.8 DG OS HSM Sports

●£1,199●www.sigma-imaging-uk.com

SUCCESSORtoSigma’sAPO

70-200mmF2.8EXDGOS

HSM,thismultipurposezoomis

aimedat keenenthusiastsand

workingproswhowanta lens

that’swellmatchedtoa wide

rangeof subjectsandsituations,

fromtouchlinesportsand

telephotolandscapestocandid

portraitsat weddingsorevents.

It presentsa bigsavingover

big-brandalternatives,but

importantlydoesn’tmakeany

compromisesin termsof itsbuild

oropticalquality.It hasmoreof a

premium,pro-specfeeltoit than

Tamron’sSP70-200mmF/2.8

DiVCUSDG2,althoughit is fairly

heavyandweighs300gmore

thanitsclosestthird-partyrival.

Outdoorphotographerswill

lovethatit’snowweathersealed

forwhenwetweatherturns

againstthem,andthethreeAF

functionbuttonsaroundthe

barrelcanbeusedtoacquireand

holdautofocusdirectfromyour

lefthandthat’ssupportingit.

Sigma’shypersonicmotor(HSM)

keepsfocusoperationfastand

quiet,anditsopticalimage

stabilisation,whichis effectiveto

fourstops,doesa greatjob of

eliminating hand shake.

It’sa lensthatproduces

sensationalsharpnessand

attractiveresults.Oneof itskey

strengthsis thewayit controls

chromaticaberrations,andby

shootingwideopenat f/2.8you’ll

berewardedwitha wonderful

shallowdepthtoimagesthat

reallymakesyoursubjectspop

fromtheirsurroundings.Itssweet

spotof sharpnessis foundat f/5.6

andvignettingis fairlymildas

opposedtosevere.

Therearelighter70-200mm

f/2.8lensesoutthere,butif you

canputupwithcarryinga bit

moreweightover your shoulder,

you’llgeta

super-solid

androbust

performer,

whichis great

value,in

return.

What we like

●Rubberisedmanual-focusand

zoomrings

●CompatiblewithSigma

teleconverters

●Providestwo optical-stabilisation

modes

GOLD

Thislensexcelsfor

shootingsport,action

and wildlife subjects

Subjectspopfromtheir

surroundings at f/2.8