Howdy again everyone Sigma have been Teasing the development of their new 70 To2 200 mm f2.8 DG DN Sports lens for a Little while now and the official Announcement date is finally here so I Can finally tell you all about it it's Currently for L Mount or Sony e-mount Mirorless cameras only it's full frame And its UK price will be £1,500 its us price will probably be About $1600 I think so it's not cheap but you Can still save more than $1,000 over Sony's official 70 to2 200 mm f2.8 here I'd like to thank Sigma for allowing me To borrow this lens for a couple of Weeks for testing although as usual this Is a totally independent review it was Only last year that I finally got around To testing sigma's last 70 to2 200 mm Model for digital SLR cameras the dgos HSM Sports version but I was astonished At how many people tuned in to watch Almost 100,000 but everyone loves a 70 To 200 mm f2.8 lens they're just so Flexible and useful for sports weddings Reportage portraiture and Event Photography they are seriously versatile If you own an l-mount or Sony e-mount Camera then this lens I believe is the Only third party 70 to2 200 mm f2.8 Option available to you unless you adapt An older lens onto your camera some Manufacturers like Canon and Sony have
Commendably been working on reducing the Size and weight of their telephoto Lenses Sigma haven't gone very fine Doing the same here though and this Particular lens is an average size for Its type and at 1.4 kg it certainly has A little weight to it although it is at Least smaller and lighter than the Previous Sigma lens I mentioned for Digital SLR and also this new lens has a Closer minimum Focus distance and nice Little bonus but that weight partly Comes from its sturdiness with lots of Metal in its body this lens does at Least feel pretty indestructible it's Based on a metal lens mount of course With some decent weather seiling the L Mount version of the lens is compatible With sigma's 1.4 times and two times Teleconverters a bit of that weight also Comes from the Arca Swiss compatible Metal tripod mount it turns smoothly When needed but unfortunately it's quite Hard to remove which annoys me because It adds weight to what I feel should be A lens more for handheld photography Than tripod work the lens has plenty of Controls on the side for Focus settings Custom settings and image stabilization Sigma claimed that this lens offers an Amazing 7.5 stops of stabilization I was Cynical about this and I couldn't figure Out exactly what figure to put to its Performance but I can indeed tell you
That in mode one the stabilization is Absolutely absolutely excellent with Just a tiny Jitter to it not sure about 7.5 tops but it works great and front of All that comes an aperture ring that's Nice to see on a telephoto zoom lens Pleasingly it can be set to click or to Turn smoothly and it can be locked Either in or out of auto mode so top Marks to Sigma there then comes a Rubberized Focus ring which turns Extremely smoothly and responds Fantastically well with the lens's Focus Motor A hidden bonus feature of the lens is That It suffers from almost no Focus Breathing whether you're zoomed in or Zoomed out and that's an excellent Feature for video makers who know that At telephoto distances Focus breathing Is at its most noticeable in their Footage the lens features two of sigma's Most powerful autofocus motors which Work silently and accurately when Shooting in single shot mode the Autofocus is fast in continuous Autofocus mode it's almost instantaneous And the lens had no trouble tracking Human or other subjects at all that Really is as good as it gets a nice Accomplishment especially for a third Party optic finally comes the lens's Rubberized Zoom ring this is one of the Smoothest turning Zoom Rings I've ever
Handled again that could be really Useful for video makers but I really Dislike the way it's stuck right at the Very end of the lens in a way that's Because I'm more used to Canon zoom Lenses with the zoom ring at the back But I feel the Canon way does make Better sense because it's the control Ring you're going to be using the most And turning it right from the very front Feels a little awkward and Shakes and Moves the camera more as you make Adjustments the lens's filter thread Size is 77 mm wide and it comes with a Rubber and plastic Hood which is Tightened in place with a screw the lens Also comes with one of sigma's excellent Carry cases all in all the lens's build Quality is essentially perfect and its Electronics and its toughness are an Easy match for any official Sony lens I Just wish the zoom ring was at the back And that the heavy tripod mount was a Bit easier to Detach okay image quality we'll start by Testing it on a fullframe camera my Sony A7r 3 with its 42 map sensor and Camera Corrections are turned on for this test At 770 mm and f2.8 sharpness and Contrast are excellent in the middle and Excellent in the corners too that's a Good start at F4 those Corners are a Little brighter and at f5.6 the Sharpness there goes from being
Excellent to being perfect if you stop Down as far as F-16 or F22 then as Expected defraction kicks in and causes A little softening let's zoom in halfway Now to 135 mm at f2.8 the lens is Absolutely razor sharp in the middle Although the corners look just a tiny Bit softer but stop down to F4 and those Corners are just as ridiculously sharp As the middle now again the lens stays This sharp down to F-16 where a little Softness from defraction emerges again Okay let's Zoom all the way into 200 mm At have 2.8 the lens slips up just a Little here and sharpness in the middle Is just good however contrast remains Very good thankfully Corner image Quality is no worse as you can see stop Down to F4 and those Corners look Brighter punchier and sharper and Picture quality back in the middle is Now virtually perfect at f5.6 the middle Is the same but the corners are now Pretty much razor sharp too again the Image stays this sharp down to F16 so Apart from a very small hiccup at 200 mm And f2.8 the lens is sharpness is Excellent through and through and its Contrast is also looking great to me all Right those were the results on full Frame but this lens is also highly Desirable for apsc Shooters so let's see How it performs on a 20 24 map apsc Mirrorless camera at 70 mm and f2.8
Sharpness and contrast are looking great In the middle image Corners are looking Almost as good and stop down to F4 for Them to look perfect the lens tasts to Sharp down to f11 although F16 looks Softer due to defraction at 135 mm and F2.8 sharpness and contrast in the Middle look absolutely perfect here However Corner image quality sees a Little ghosting on contrasting edges Unfortunately at F4 there's a small Improvement but at f5.6 the lens is now Razor sharp from corner to corner and Finally 200 mm at f2.8 unfortunately the Middle of the image really isn't looking So great here in terms of sharpness Although contrast is still pretty good Oddly the corner image quality actually Looks just a little better here anyway Stop down to at four for the lens to Become razor sharp again from the Corners and back into the middle of the Image as you can see so it's clear that Whatever image quality problems the lens Does have are being magnified by the More demanding apsc sensor however it's Still a good performance overall okay Let's turn off and Camera Corrections And look at Distortion and vignetting on A fullframe camera at 70 mm and F 2.8 we See a little pin cushion Distortion here As well as pretty dark Corners at f2.8 Stop down to F4 or F 5.6 for those Corners to brighten up zoom into 100 mm
And that pin cushion Distortion gets Worse and at 200 mm it's really quite Bad and Corners are very dark at f2.8 Again though stop down to F4 or f5.6 for Them to brighten up nicely still this is A lens that's definitely intended for in Camera Corrections so keep them turned On the lens has a very nice minimum Focus distance of 1 M when zoomed into 200 mm a small improvement over the Older version for digital slrs the Further good news is that straight from F2.8 the lens is as sharp as ever when Shooting close up let's see how the lens Works against bright light and it's good News here also at 70 mm we catch almost No flaring at all nice zoom into 200 mm And some glaring can be seen when bright Lights are directly with a neat image Frame but that's powerful of course for Almost any lens so that makes this one Of the most high contrast 70 to 200 mm Lenses than I've tested so far next bcka But simply whether zoomed in or zoomed Out this lens's outter Focus backgrounds Almost always look beautiful and smooth Nice I remember years ago even Canon's Best L lenses sometimes struggled in This department and related to Boger Comes longitudinal chromatic aberration At f2.8 and even F4 a small amount of Color finging can be seen on Baka Highlights but stop down to f5.6 and it Goes away overall while this perhaps
Isn't my favorite Sigma lens in recent Years in many ways it is indeed Fantastic it has great build quality With excellent autofocus and Stabilization it's nice and sharp and Its low Focus breathing and controllable Aperture ring will really endear it to Video makers as I mentioned before Though it's still a little big and heavy Compared to Sony and Canon's most recent Offerings it's Zoom ing position is a Bit awkward and takes getting used to And the Sony equivalence lens is a Little sharper at 200 mm although it Costs quite a lot more this Sigma lens Is great A nice improvement over the Older version for digital slrs and it Definitely comes recommended but there Are just one or two little flies in the Ointment to be aware of Here thanks for watching everyone and Thank you so much to my patreon Supporters who helped me keep this Channel going sponsorship free and not Wanting to blow my own trumpet you Wouldn't believe how many offers of Sponsorship I keep getting for this Channel patreon supporters get all kinds Of exclusive bonus content so check it Out now down in the description below Ciao for now Everyone
