Sigma 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 DG OS review - Chromatic aberration

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Sigma 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 DG OS

19 March 2010

Arkadiusz Olech

5. Chromatic aberration

In the case of a duel between the Nikkor 70-300 mm VR and the Canon 70-300 mm IS the former was better in the category of resolution and the latter corrected the chromatic aberration in a more efficient way. The Nikkor had here a major slip-up because at 300 mm the aberration could reach even 0.2% and at shorter focal lengths it kept a still significant level of 0.14-0.16% even on stopping down. Let’s check how the Sigma 70-300 mm OS compares here.

Sigma 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 DG OS - Chromatic aberration

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In the 70-200 mm range the tested lens’s performance is sensational. Here, at almost all combinations of apertures and focal lengths, the results don’t exceed 0.05% so the aberration won’t bother us at all. These results are very similar, or maybe even a tad better than those of the Canon 70-300 mm IS.

Canon’s results worsened at 300 mm, where the chromatic aberration’s level increased from 0.08% to 0.11% on stopping down. The Sigma 70-300 mm OS fares the other way round. The aberration is the most pronounced at the maximum aperture, where it reaches 0.12-0.13% so a medium level (but nearing high), and it decreases on stopping down to a not very bothersome value of 0.06%.