Photo Plus - UK (2020-04)

The Canon Magazine 111

BUDGET TELEPHOTO ZOOMS

2.5

3

2

1.5

0.5

1

0

F

ri

n

g

in

g

Lower values

represent less

fringing, and

therefore better

performance

Ca

non

EF

• M

55

-^20

0 m

m

Ca

non

EF

• S^

55 -

25

0 m

m

Can

on^

EF^

70 -

200

mm

Can

on^

EF^7

0 -^3

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m^ I

S^ II

Ca

non

EF

70

-^30

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m^ L

Tam

ron

70

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Tam

ron

10

0 -^4

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mm

Sig

ma

10

0 -^4

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mm

FEATURES

VERDICT

01

The hood has a

groove which acts

as a finger grip.

02

The zoom and focus

rings operate with

smooth precision.

03

A physical focus

distance scale is

mounted beneath

a viewing panel.

04

Dual custom modes

enable changes to

the stabilization

effect, AF speed and

AF limiter distance.

05

There’s no optional

tripod mount ring,

but the lens does

have weather-seals.

FEATURES

BUILD & HANDLING

PERFORMANCE

VALUE

OVERALL

SIGMA 100-400mm f/5-6.3

DG OS HSM | C £679/$609

Sigma upgrades and upsizes its telephoto offering

for the budget market sector

n days gone by, Sigma and

Tamron were renowned for

their third-party 70-300mm

zooms, which delivered good

performance while heavily

undercutting the cost of own-brand

alternatives. They also dabbled in

smaller tele zooms for Canon

APS-C formats, but they’ve fallen

by the wayside. As part of its

‘Global Vision’ line-up, Sigma has

reinvented the budget tele zoom

in the shape of this 100-400mm

Contemporary lens, while Tamron

followed hot on its heels.

This lens measures 86x182mm

and weighs 1160g, making it

shorter, but marginally heavier,

than the competing Tamron. That

said, it’s just 100g heavier than the

Canon 70-300mm L-series on test.

The Sigma is the only one of the

three for which there’s no optional

tripod mounting ring.

The optical path includes four

SLD (Special Low Dispersion)

elements, AF is of the fast yet

whisper-quiet ring-type ultrasonic

variety, and the four-stop image

stabilizer has a switchable panning

mode, for panning in any

orientation. Dual-mode switchable

AF can give priority to AF or

manual override, there’s a short/

long AF range limiter switch, and

two switchable ‘custom’ modes,

which you can set up using Sigma’s

optional USB Dock.

Performance

Levels of sharpness were a little

uninspiring during our tests but,

in real-world shooting, the Sigma

proved sharp in the 100-300mm

section of its zoom, and didn’t drop

off much at 400mm. The wealth of

switchable modes and

customizable options also

boosts real-world handling

and performance.

I

2500

2500

2000

2000

1500

1500

1000

1000

500

500

C

e

n

tr

e

E

d

g

e

f/4

f/4

f/2.8

f/2.8

f/5.6

f/5.6

f/8

f/8

f/11

f/11

f/32

f/32

f/22

f/22

f/16

f/16

Short Mid Long

SHARPNESS

COLOUR FRINGING

Fringing is often more noticeable at the short end

or most of the lenses in this group, lateral

aberration is more noticeable at the short end of

the zoom, especially towards the corners of the

frame. This can often be seen as coloured fringes around

high-contrast transitions, like dark tree branches against

a bright sky. Fringing often dies away at mid-zoom and

returns to a lesser extent, towards the long end of the

zoom. With some lenses, like the Canon EF-S 55-250mm

and Tamron 70-300mm, fringing is slightly worse at the

long end rather than the short end.

F

Short

Mid

Long