If your taste in focal lengths ranges from normal to super-telephoto and you hate having to carry more than one lens at a time, your train has arrived. The new Sigma new 60-600mm f4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports zoom, one of the newest members of Sigma's Global Vision series lenses, is a 10x optical zoom (39.6° to 4.1° AoV) that's available in a choice of Nikon F, Canon EF, and Sigma SA lens mounts. The lens used for this review had a Canon mount and my test camera was a Canon EOS 6D.
Like all Sigma Sports series optics, the new 60-600mm zoom is made of a combination of magnesium-alloy and polycarbonate materials and is dust- and weather proof with oil-repellent coatings on the lens's huge 105mm front element. The lens's rotating tripod collar features an Arca-compatible base plate with ¼"-20 and 3/8" threads, and there are 90° detents for locking the lens into horizontal and vertical position.
Photographs © Allan Weitz 2018
Within the lens barrel are 25 elements in 19 groups, including three FLD (F Low Dispersion) and one SLD (Special Low Dispersion) lens elements for minimizing chromatic aberration. A 9-bladed rounded aperture enables a pleasing measure of bokeh at wide apertures.
The lens's HSM Hypersonic AF system features focus limiters for controlling focus parameters (Full Range, 10m - ∞, or 2.8m – 10m) along with the ability to use the optional Sigma USB Dock for creating custom focus ranges that better fit your needs. Manual focus is also available full time or on the fly. Nine out of ten times, I found the AF system to be accurate and responsive and, when shooting in AF Servo mode, my focus points seemed to lock onto moving subjects like ticks on a dog.
Please note that the Nikon version features an Electronic Diaphragm Mechanism.
This lens is large, especially when racked out to 600mm, and while you can handhold it—at 5.8 lb, not counting the camera body, a tripod or monopod is strongly recommended. Most of the images accompanying this review were captured with my camera and lens mounted on a Benro carbon fiber Traveler Angel-series tripod with a Benro GH2 Aluminum Gimbal Head. I highly recommend gimbal heads when using longer telephotos for reasons of speed and balance.
When handholding this lens, you flip the switch on the lens's Intelligent OS image stabilization system, which per Sigma gives you a 4-stop advantage against camera shake. In practice, I was pleasantly surprised to see how dead-on the focus was among my handheld shots, most of which were captured at the longer end of the focal range.
The minimum focusing distance for this lens is 8.5' but, when closer focusing is desired, you have the option of setting the lens to the 200mm mark, which enables you to focus down to a smidge under 2' for 0.3x close-ups (1:3.3). When shooting in this mode, the lens behaves like a nifty fifty, albeit a big one.
When racked out to 600mm, the lens all but shouts out, "Hey – Looka' me!" especially with the lens shade attached, but when racked in to the 60mm position with the shade reversed, the entire package folds down to a travel-friendly 10.6". When biking, or traveling from point A to point B, the lens and body fit comfortably into a Lowepro Flipside Sport 10L backpack.
The Sigma 60-600mm f4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Zoom features on-the-fly manual focus overrides, and it has a zoom lock for preventing creep or locking the lens to a specific focal length. If there's a downside to this lens, it would have to be the lack of a drop-in filter slot—something common to other lenses of this size and caliber. If you want to use filters, you must pony up for a set of 105mm filters, which, for what it’s worth, is the same filter thread size found on Sigma’s.
Over the years, I've worked with numerous zooms and long telephoto lenses, and though I prefer toting around gear that doesn't make me want to down a few Ibuprofen along with my lunch, I must admit I’m going to miss having a single lens handy that takes me from normal to ridiculous telephoto when I need it.
Do you use longer zooms? If so, what's your take on them, and how would the Sigma 60-600mm f4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Zoom fit your needs? Let us know in the field below.
