Sigma S 60-600 mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM review - Summary

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Sigma S 60-600 mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM

9 November 2018

Maciej Latałło

11. Summary

Pros:

very solid, weather-sealed casing,
excellent image quality in the frame centre across the whole range of apertures and focal lengths,
good performance on edge of APS-C/DX sensor,
completely acceptable resolution on edge of full frame,
low longitudinal chromatic aberration,
lack of problems with lateral chromatic aberration in the 100 – 600 mm range,
no reservations concerning spherical aberration correction,
moderate distortion,
good coma correction,
imperceptible astigmatism,
low vignetting on APS-C/DX sensor,
blurry areas pleasing to the eye,
efficient image stabilization,
fast, efficient and silent autofocus.

Cons:

distinct lateral chromatic aberration at 60 mm focal length,
weak performance against bright light,
too high vignetting on full frame.

When Sigma launched two versions of the 150 -600 mm lens I would never guess they were going to present another generation of its older device commonly known as the ‘Bigma’. Even after hearing the first rumours concerning that instrument I still remained skeptical. I expected it would be even bigger and heavier (and of course more expensive) than the significantly heavy and big Sigma S 150-600 mm or its optical properties wouldn’t impress at all. Sigma proved once again that they are not afraid of challenges and the higher standards are raised the more mobilized they are. As a result we got a lens physically smaller and lighter than the Sigma S 150-600 mm, sharper, and with a wider focal range too! The tested Sigma S 60-600 mm is worse than the whole armada of 150-600 or 200-500 mm lenses when it comes to vignetting, distortion, and chromatic aberration but only at the 60 mm focal length. Which is the focal length its rivals lack. In the comparable range, from 150 to 600 mm, the tested instrument was actually sharper than them and, overall, better in many aspects.

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I think the tested Sigma will find many buyers and its excellent performance at the maximum focal length and, overall, throughout a wide range of useful focal lengths will make it a hit among photography fans who like capturing everything which flies.