Sigma 729955 100-400 mm F5-6.3 DG OS C Nikon Fitting HSM Lens - Black

Product Information

A full set of switches is on hand for AF/MF focusing, an autofocus range limiter and dual-mode optical stabilization for static and panning shots. Buttons around the forward end of the lens enable a autofocus-hold function. The zoom ring has variable friction damping, applied via a separate ‘zoom torque adjustment ring’. One-stop of shading is often used as the visibility number, though subject details provide a widely varying amount of vignetting discernibility. These are some of the most obscure aspects of image quality, and they are either easily corrected by a lens profile, (in the case of chromatic aberration) …or impossible, in the case of coma & astigmatism.

The main image shows the complete scene wide open to give you an impression of the angle of view and to judge vignetting. You can access the respective shots up to f16 via the links beneath the main image. All shots were made at ISO 64 and VR switched off. Following the main image are 100% crops from the center, the APS-C/DX-corner and the FF/FX-corner from the new Sigma and the Nikon 80-400/4.5-5.6G VR to compare performance and then from the new lens at smaller apertures down to f11. As usual I have selected the diagonal that provided the better corner results as almost any lens is a bit decentered. In the real world, lens defects do not exist in isolation, with spherical aberration and spherochromatism generally found, at least to some degree, along with axial CA. Some MFT users may prefer the greater flexibility of the Panasonic lens, but if you're using Olympus cameras, this M.Zuiko lens will probably provide a better overall user experience. Still, the MFT system is designed to let you craft your own setup, so ultimately it's down to you which lens feels best!

Sigma’s ‘light bazooka’ has been reinvented for Sony E and Leica L-mount mirrorless cameras

Any fringing color differences from the neutrally-colored subjects have been introduced by the lens. There is almost no flare to speak of, unless you just blast the Sigma 100-400mm DN’s front element with sunlight, without the very helpful lens hood. Sigma’s glass and coatings are almost as good as the name-brand optics these days. When photographing direct light sources that are very bright, such as the sun, you may see faint ghosting. (See below, under Color Fringing…) Spherical aberration along with spherochromatism, or a change in the amount of spherical aberration with respect to color (looks quite similar to axial chromatic aberration but is hazier) are other common lens aberrations to observe. These charts show the lens-performance of both lenses at their largest aperture without influence of diffraction. This is a bit misleading as diffraction at apertures of e.g. f6.3 already robs 10-15% of contrast from the reproduction of finest details. The Nikon 80-400/4.5-5.6G VR is also at a slight disadvantage as its focal ratio is 1/3 of a stop brighter. To read these charts you need to know that higher values are better and the closer the line-pairs are together the less astigmatism (= resolution depends on the orientation of the test-pattern) the lens has. The x-axis displays the distance from the optical axis (=center of the sensor) in mm. I’ll show you the real-life performance at 4 mm (center), 13 mm (APS-C/DX-corner), and 20 mm (FF/FX-corner) on a 36MP Nikon D810 body.

Above: The Sigma 100-400 DG DN employs 22 elements in 16 groups, just one more element than the DSLR version. The closest focusing distance is 1.12m at 100mm increasing to 1.6m at 400mm, compared to 0.98m for the Sony throughout its focal range; this allows the Sony to deliver much greater magnification on close-ups. At 150mm focal length the Nikon has a slight advantage in the APS-C/DX image-circle and the FF/FX-corner. Basically, it’s up to you whether you’re happy with 400mm, or you’d like to go to 600mm. Then, there are two significantly different budget ranges for the two types of lenses you’re interested in. All of these lenses are well-made and great performers, of course, but the Sigma mirrorless 100-400 is, in many ways, the most attractive of the bunch.Handling is refined and the oversized AF/MF and dual-mode static/panning stabilization switch are easy to operate even with gloves on. The flipside is that you can find yourself nudging the switches out of position accidentally. Autofocus range limiting is available for both the short and long sectors of focus distance.

Below you will find sets of 100% resolution center of the frame crops captured in uncompressed RAW format using a Sony a7R III. Or, there are some subjects that you may not want to get closer to, and this focal length range is there for you in that regard. You can try to manually correct this inadequate vignetting profile using Lightroom’s additional adjustment sliders, but unfortunately, another problem pops up, one that is again becoming all too common on mirrorless lenses and cameras: the actual color of the corrected areas may look colder than the un-corrected center of the image, so you’ll wind up with faintly cool/blue looking image corners, or a faintly warmer central circle in the image.The handling of the Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C is excellent, as we said in our full review. The zoom and focus rings are smooth, and being able to twist the focus ring to override autofocus is a really useful feature for those times you need to be ultra-precise. Sigma and Sony do not publish extension tube specs, nor do they manufacture these items, but third-party Sony compatible extension tubes are available.