Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE at a glance:

• Price: $598 / £569
• Lens mount: Sony FE
• Min. focusing distance: 79cm
• Filter thread: 77mm
• Weight: 800g

Founded in 2009, Viltrox is a relative newcomer to the photographic industry. But recently, its lenses have garnered a lot of attention because of their attractive prices and impressive image quality. This bodes well for the Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE, which is the first full-frame optic in the company’s Pro lens range. It’s only available with the Sony FE mount, but Viltrox makes other lenses with the Nikon Z, Fujifilm X and L mounts.

Thanks to its flattering perspective and comfortable working distance, the 85mm focal length is a favourite for portrait photographers. Naturally, wide apertures are also favoured for blurring backgrounds and giving subject separation, so this lens’s maximum aperture of f/1.4 ticks an important box, promising creative depth-of-field control and useful low-light capability. For context, an 85mm lens gives just 4cm depth of field at f/1.4 with a subject distance of 2m, while an f/1.8 lens gives 6cm. That might not sound like much difference, but the falloff in sharpness is rapid.

Crucially, at $598 / £569, the Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE sits in much the same price bracket as the Sony FE 85mm F1.8. It’s also less than a third of the cost of the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 G Master II, and considerably cheaper than the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art.

Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE – Features

Optically, the Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro is constructed from 15 elements arranged in 11 groups and includes three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements, nine high-refractive index elements and one aspherical element. These help to maintain sharpness and minimise aberrations and fringing. Viltrox’s advanced nano-coating is applied to reduce flare and ghosting, and the front element has a water-repellent coating. There is no stabilisation system built in.

The autofocus system uses Viltrox’s patented HyperVCM (Voice Coil Motor) drive. It’s designed to be fast, quiet and smooth for both stills and video. The dual-motor system is said to enable micrometre-level accuracy, and Viltrox claims it’s 150% faster than its STM motors. The focusing system also works internally, so the lens doesn’t change length during focusing.

Additional features include an aperture ring with settings running in 1/3-stop steps from f/1.4 to f/16 and a click/de-click switch, an AF/MF switch, a focus hold button and USB-C port in the mount for firmware updates. The lens also supports Sony’s Eye and Face Detection.

Viltrox supplies the lens with a deep, circular hood to help with flare control and add some protection from knocks and raindrops. There’s a thread for 77mm filters. 

Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE – Build and Handling

Weighing around 800g, the Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE is no featherweight (for comparison, the Sony FE 85mm f1.4 G Master II weighs 642g). But its full-metal construction gives it a solid, reassuring feel. It also has weather-resistant sealing, including a gasket around the metal lens mount, making it suitable for outdoor use in poor weather. In addition, the lens balances well on full-frame Sony cameras such as the Sony Alpha A1 II and A7R IV I used during my testing. It doesn’t feel especially front-heavy on the cameras and it’s comfortable to use hand-held for long periods.

Physically, the lens has a smart, streamlined design. The aperture ring is closest to the mount and the switch to toggle between clicked and smooth adjustment, which will appeal to video shooters, is conveniently placed for operation by your left thumb as you support the lens. The broad manual focus ring turns smoothly and with a suitable level of resistance for precise adjustments. The AF/MF switch is easy to locate on the left side of the barrel, just forward of the aperture ring. 

One disappointment is that there’s only one focus hold button. This means that the control is only within easy reach of your left thumb when the camera is in landscape orientation. It would be nice to have a second button that’s located for use in portrait orientation, especially given the likely use of the lens. There’s also no lock to prevent the aperture ring from rotating accidentally between the aperture values and the ‘A’ setting for camera control.

The USB-C port, located within the outer weather-resistant seal on the mount, allows firmware updates via the Viltrox app. While it’s unlikely to be used regularly, it’s a handy feature for future-proofing the lens.

Rather unnervingly, the focus group inside the lens isn’t locked in place unless the lens is on a camera that’s powered up. Consequently, you can feel some dampened movement inside when you move the lens when the camera is turned off or it’s unattached.

Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE – Autofocus

On the Sony A7R IV and Sony A1 II, the AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE’s focusing proved quick and quiet. it locked onto subjects decisively, and the eye detection worked well when I tested the lens at the Brighton Pride parade. The focus motor responds quickly accurately and to get the subject sharp.

Viltrox’s HyperVCM motor seems to deliver on its promise. The lens shifts focus smoothly and almost silently; I can feel the elements moving rather than hearing them. I found the lens also tracks moving subjects reliably. There’s a touch of focus breathing, which means that the lens appears to zoom out a little as the focus distance is increased. It’s unlikely to be an issue for most portrait work.

Thanks to the Sony cameras’ autofocus system, I didn’t really need to use the manual focusing system for anything other than for testing and the occasional blip with a subject very close to the nearest focusing point. Again, the lens responds quickly and precisely to movements of the focusing ring. Conveniently, when Full-Time DMF is activated on the camera, you can adjust the focus manually using the lens ring in autofocus mode.

Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE – Image Quality

Even at f/1.4, the Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE is impressively sharp at the centre of the frame. Examining files at 100% reveals a fall-off towards the far corners, but it’s well-controlled and unlikely to trouble most users. At f/2, the corners begin to sharpen up, and by f/2.8, the image is almost uniformly sharp across the frame. Diffraction slightly softens the results at f/16, but overall, sharpness is impressive, and I’d be happy to use the full aperture range.

ILCE-1M2 · f/6.3 · 1/640s · 85mm · ISO100

At f/1.4, there’s a clear tonal gradation from the centre to the corners, with some noticeable vignetting. It begins to fade by f/2 and becomes minimal by f/2.8. At f/4 and beyond, the corner brightness is much improved so images are evenly illuminated. As someone who often adds a little corner-shading, the vignetting could even be a benefit in portraits, subtly drawing attention towards the subject.

ILCE-1M2 · f/1.4 · 1/10000s · 85mm · ISO100

Those ED elements appear to do their job very well, as chromatic aberration is well-managed. I didn’t notice any significant colour fringing, even in high-contrast backlit scenes. This makes the lens a reliable choice for outdoor portraits and event photography.

There is a very mild suggestion of pincushion distortion when scrutinising some architectural elements or images with lots of straight lines. But in general shooting, it’s barely noticeable. I certainly wouldn’t worry about it, especially for portraiture and general photography.

Further good news is that the lens produces attractive bokeh. Backgrounds are rendered softly, while specular highlights remain round and clean across most of the frame. In the extreme corners, some cat’s-eye effect appears, but its not objectionable. When the highlights are nearer the point of focus, they can show a hint of the 11-blade aperture shape, but it’s not too distracting. Overall, the bokeh is well-suited for portrait work. I also enjoyed using the lens for environmental product photography, because the widest aperture helps the product standout from its surroundings.

Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE – Verdict

The Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE makes an impressive debut for the company’s Pro line of full-frame lenses. Its combination of sharp optics, wide aperture and dependable autofocusing makes it a highly capable tool for portrait photographers.

Despite its size and weight, the lens handles well and feels robust. With the exception of the single focus-hold button and no lock for the aperture ring, the controls are well thought out. There are some nice practical features like the aperture ring click switch and a USB-C port for powering the lens to enable firmware updates using Viltrox’s app on a smartphone. Its autofocus is quick, quiet and reliable, aided by excellent compatibility with Sony’s advanced focus tracking systems.

Most importantly, the image quality is very good, with crisp central sharpness even at f/1.4, minimal chromatic aberration and pleasing background blur. As with most lenses, there is some corner softness and vignetting wide open, but both are within acceptable limits, and while technically flaws, they can add to the appeal of the image.

Considering its price point of $598 / £569, this lens offers remarkable value. It doesn’t quite match the perfection of some more expensive rivals, but it comes surprisingly close. For photographers wanting a fast, reliable 85mm portrait lens without breaking the bank, it’s a very compelling option. I’m sure that Nikon and Canon camera users will be keeping their fingers crossed that Viltrox extends the range to include their mount.

Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE – Full Specifications

Follow AP on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

The post Viltrox AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE review – Affordable portrait beast appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

The Fujifilm XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR is a mid-range telephoto zoom for X-system cameras, offering a 105-450mm equivalent zoom range at a relatively affordable price of $799 / £729. As all those initials in its lens name imply, it’s pretty feature-packed, with an aperture ring, linear motor for autofocus, optical image stabilisation, and weather resistant build. It may not have the same cachet as bigger and longer zooms, but personally I think it’s one of Fujifilm’s best lenses.

Fujifilm XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR at a glance:

• $799 / £729
• 105-450mm equivalent range
• 83cm minimum focus, 0.33x magnification
• Compatible with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
• 75 x 132.5mm, 780g
• Fujifilm X mount only

Released back at the start of 2021, the 70-300mm sits in Fujifilm’s range just above the older XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS ($699 / £579), which gives an 83-300mm equivalent range but lacks weather sealing. The next step up is the much larger, heavier and more expensive XF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, which costs $1899 / £1699.

There aren’t really any direct third-party alternatives. Sigma offers the excellent 100-400mm F5-6.6 DG DN OS for not much more money, but again, it’s much less portable. Sigma also makes a rather nice 16-300mm superzoom, and Tamron an 18-300mm, but that’s a different kind of lens.

One big attraction of the 70-300mm lies with how well it fits into Fujifilm’s lens range. Match it up with the XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR ultra-wideangle and XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR standard zooms, and you get a combined 15-450mm equivalent range at a weight of well under 1.5kg. To me, that’s a pretty compelling combination for everyday photography. What’s more, it’s compatible with Fujifilm’s XF teleconverters if you need even more reach. Let’s take a closer look at what it offers.

Features

Optically, the lens is constructed using 17 elements in 12 groups, including one aspherical element and two made from extra-low dispersion (ED) glass, to maintain cross-frame sharpness and suppress chromatic aberration. It employs a 9-blade aperture diaphragm that stops down to f/22.

Built-in optical stabilisation promises 5.5 stops of shake reduction, and works in concert with cameras that have in-body IS to give 5-axis stabilisation.

Fujifilm has included a linear motor for fast, silent autofocus. The minimum focus distance is 83cm, which gives a very useful 0.33x magnification at 300mm. That’s equivalent to 0.5x on full-frame, meaning you can fill the frame with subjects as small as 72 x 48mm.

You get dust and weather resistant construction, and the lens should work in temperatures as low as -10°C. A deep bowl-shaped hood is supplied and reverses snugly for transport. Filter users are accommodated by a 67mm thread.

As previously mentioned, the 70-300mm is compatible with Fujifilm’s XF teleconverters, and without sacrificing phase-detection autofocus. When used with the Fujiinon XF 2.0x TC WR, you get a 140-600mm f/8-11 combination (equivalent to 210-900mm). Perhaps more realistically, with the Fujiinon XF 1.4x TC WR, it gives a 100-420mm f/5.6-8 lens (300-630mm equivalent).

Build and handling

Design-wise, the Fujifilm XF 70-300mm is a close match to Fujifilm’s other mid-range zooms. You get a notably broad zoom ring in the centre of the barrel, which rotates through a shade less than 90° to get from one end of the range to the other. A sliding switch locks the lens at 70mm for transport, but unusually (and usefully) it can be disengaged by a firm twist of the zoom ring.

There’s an aperture ring placed close to the camera body, in a position that’s consistent with all of Fujifilm’s other ‘R’ lenses. As this is a variable-aperture zoom, this control takes the form of a continuously rotating dial with no markings. It operates in clicked mode only – there’s no option to set it to smooth rotation.

A small switch on the side of the barrel sets aperture control to A, allowing the camera to operate in shutter priority or program auto exposure modes.

A smoothly rotating manual focus ring is at the front, with a slim silver ring behind it offering a touch of understated styling. The only other external control is a small distance limiter switch, which gives the option of either focusing through the full range, or limiting the minimum focus to 5m to minimise hunting with distant subjects.

As for size, the lens measures 75mm in diameter and 132.5mm in length, while weighing in at 580g. That’s notably small and light for a 70-300mm zoom. It extends on zooming in to 300mm by exactly 7cm.

I’ve mostly used the lens with the SLR-shaped Fujifilm X-T5, on which it’s a particularly good match. But I also used it with the small rangefinder-style Fujifilm X-E5 with no problem at all.

Autofocus

Thanks to the use of a linear motor to drive the focus group, the XF 70-300mm is a strong performer when it comes to autofocus. Focusing is essentially silent and pretty rapid, too, especially in good light. I’ve also found it to be consistently accurate and work well with the subject detection systems on Fujifilm’s latest cameras. It locks on to moving subjects surprisingly quickly and tracks focus effectively.

X-T5 · f/5 · 1/8000s · 142.2mm · ISO4000

For the shot above, I knew the train was coming and had the camera already set up, but it arrived rather earlier than scheduled. I run up the stairs to the platform, turned round and fired off some quick shots – the AF locked on instantly.

Autofocus continues to work quite well with the 1.4x teleconverter, although it does slow down noticeably. Overall, the XF 70-300mm may not quite be a match for Fujifilm’s top-end ‘red badge’ lenses like the XF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 for focusing speed, but it’s closer than you might think.

Performance

So how about the images you get from the 70-300mm? I have to say, I’ve been very happy with the results. In optimal conditions, it delivers strong levels of detail right across the frame, even on the X-T5’s 40MP sensor. Unsurprisingly it’s at its strongest at shorter focal lengths, and while it’s by no means weak at 300mm, it does benefit from stopping down to f/8.

X-T5 · f/11 · 1/110s · 70mm · ISO125

Other optical flaws are notable by their absence. For example, there’s no real colour fringing from chromatic aberration, and no visible distortion, with straight lines being drawn correctly. Vignetting is also very low. Some of this is due to automatic software correction in the camera or raw converter, but it’s the final result that counts – not how you get there.

X-T5 · f/8 · 1/850s · 87.5mm · ISO250

This is, though, a lens where the overall image sharpness will often be limited by other factors. In real-world use, the inherently shallow depth-of-field of a lens this long means a lot of the frame will be out-of-focus, even at small apertures. Also, if you shoot over long distances, heat haze and atmospheric distortion will reduce contrast and fine detail too.

X-T5 · f/5.6 · 1/500s · 300mm · ISO800

Like all telephotos with a relatively modest aperture, you’ll also often find yourself using high ISOs when photographing such things as wildlife. Select a fast shutter speed to minimise blurring from subject movement, and you can rapidly find yourself at ISO 1600 or higher, even in daylight. So it pays to learn how to use all the post-processing tools at your disposal to get the best results, including such things as sharpening, detail and clarity sliders, and AI denoising.

X-E5 · f/5.6 · 1/2000s · 300mm · ISO1600

With its compact dimensions, this is a lens that naturally lends itself to hand-held use. This means that with static subjects with which you can use slow shutter speeds, exploiting the optical stabilisation can be invaluable, to keep ISOs as low as possible. Here I’ve been impressed by its capabilities; at 300mm, I’ve been able to get reliably sharp images at shutter speeds as low as 1/60sec.

X-E5 · f/11 · 1/60s · 300mm · ISO250

One area where I’ve been particularly impressed by the XF 70-300mm lies with close-up shooting. It maintains sharpness very well at close distances, even when shot wide open at 300mm. It also delivers fabulous background blur, allowing you to show your subjects in isolation with clutter simply dissolving away.

X-T5 · f/5.6 · 1/450s · 300mm · ISO1250

The lens is also well behaved when shooting directly into the light, with minimal ghosting and no obvious loss of contrast. That’s something I find invaluable in a telephoto zoom, which I will often use for sunrise or sunsets.

X-T5 · f/7.1 · 1/2700s · 127.1mm · ISO250

I’ve also found the lens more useful with the XF 1.4x teleconverter than I was expecting. It’s a handy combination for photographing wildlife without having to carry a huge lens. Images are visibly a little soft if you shoot wide open, though, so I’d recommend closing down a stop to f/11 when possible.

X-T5 · f/8 · 1/300s · 420mm · ISO125

Our Verdict

I have to say, I’m a big fan of the Fujifilm XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR. Its fine optics, fast autofocus, effective stabilisation, weather-resistant build and excellent close-up capability together make for a really useful package – especially given its portability. The fact that you can use it with the 1.4x teleconverter adds another useful string to its bow.

Thanks to its compact size and light weight, this is also a lens that handles perfectly well on smaller X system cameras. That stands in contrast to its longer but much larger siblings such as the XF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 and XF 150-600mm F5.6-8, which work best on the firm’s XH models with their large handgrips. It also forms a really nice trio with the 16-80mm F4 and 10-24mm F4 standard and ultra-wide zooms.

X-T5 · f/5.6 · 1/20s · 300mm · ISO800

There seems to be a certain attitude that 70-300mm telezooms are somehow low-grade optics, and serious photographers should get a 100-400mm instead. But that simply isn’t the case here. Personally, I’d much rather have a more portable lens that I can easily carry around all day without worrying about the weight. Indeed, getting this kind of reach in a lens this small is a serious attraction of using a crop-sensor camera. In summary, you’re a Fujifilm user who’d like serious telephoto reach without lugging around a much larger 100-400mm zoom, it’s an easy recommendation.

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Fujifilm XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR full specifications

The post Fujifilm XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR review: the most under-rated X system lens? appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

The Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art is, at the time of writing, the world’s largest-aperture standard zoom for APS-C mirrorless cameras. It provides a 26-60mm equivalent focal-length range, while its f/1.8 maximum aperture will give similar background blur and depth-of-field to an f/2.8 zoom on full-frame. It’s set to be available in Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Sony E, and L mounts.

Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art at a glance:

• $919 / £779
• Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Sony E and L mounts
• 25.5-60mm equivalent range (27-64mm on Canon)
• Aperture ring (control dial on Canon)
• 67mm filter thread
• 115.9mm long, 535g

In essence, this lens is the spiritual successor to Sigma’s previous 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art for APS-C DSLRs, which appeared in 2013. Yet despite its broader zoom range, the 17-40mm is 30% lighter than its predecessor, and 5mm shorter. It’s also considerably smaller and lighter than the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art for full-frame cameras, despite the fact that in principle, it’ll do much the same job.

That $919 / £779 price point is extremely tempting too, given that it’s much cheaper than the camera manufacturers’ f/2.8 APS-C standard zooms. In comparison, the Fujifilm XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR II costs $1199 / £1150, while the Sony E 16-55mm F2.8 G is $1700 / £1059. Given that this is part of Sigma’s Art-series line-up, we can expect high-quality optics, as well. It all sounds too good to be true, but is there a catch?

Features

Optically, Sigma has employed 17 elements in 11 groups. This includes 4 super-low dispersion glass (SLD) and 4 aspherical elements with the aim of rendering finely detailed images with minimal colour fringing, even wide open. Sigma’s Super Multi-Layer Coating is employed to suppress flare and ghosting.

Unusually for this kind of lens, an internal zoom mechanism means that the size and balance remain the same at all focal lengths. The barrel boasts dust- and splash-resistant construction, including a seal around the mount to protect the camera from dust and water ingress. There’s also an oil and water repellent coating on the front glass to help keep it clean of raindrops and fingerprints.

Autofocus employs a High-response Linear Actuator (HLA), promising quiet, fast and accurate operation. Sigma says focus breathing is suppressed optically, which should enable natural-looking focus pulls when recording video. The minimum focus distance is 28cm, giving 0.21x magnification at the 40mm setting (this equates to an image area of 112 x 75mm).

Sigma includes a fairly chunky lens hood, which is equipped with a locking button to prevent it from coming off accidentally. While it reverses for storage, it’s quite a lot larger in diameter than the lens itself, requiring a 95mm-wide slot in your bag. The lens accepts relatively affordable 67mm filters.

Build and handling

Despite its large aperture, the Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 is perfectly reasonably sized. It measures 115.9mm long by 72.9mm in diameter and weighs in at 535g. I tested it on the Fujifilm X-T5, and the combination felt very nicely balanced. But I suspect it would feel quite front-heavy on small flat-bodied cameras like the Sony A6400 or Fujifilm X-E5.

Sigma has included a full set of external controls. Notably, for the first time on an APS-C lens, it’s added an additional control dial placed close to the camera body, behind the zoom and focus rings. On the E, X, and L-mount versions, this takes the form of a conventional aperture ring, while the RF-mount model has an unmarked, continuously rotating control ring that behaves like those on Canon’s own lenses.

The addition of an aperture ring will be particularly appreciated by Fujifilm users, as unlike with Sigma’s older lenses, it means you don’t have to switch to using a dial on the camera to set the aperture. The ring can be set to either clicked or smooth operation via a switch on the barrel, while a second switch locks it either into, or out of its A position.

There’s also a pair of lens function buttons, one each for portrait and landscape shooting.  On Sony, Canon and L-mount cameras, their function can be assigned from the camera menus as usual. On the X-mount version, they can be set to either AF-ON or AF-lock via a switch on the lens. These buttons are a little small, but they work perfectly well, and they are sufficiently recessed that you shouldn’t activate them by accident. 

The zoom ring falls naturally to hand and rotates extremely smoothly, taking well under a quarter-turn to traverse its full range. Meanwhile manual focus is operated via a large ring at the front, that again is wonderfully smooth in action. Overall, the lens is a joy to use.

Autofocus

Turning our attention to autofocus, I found the Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 difficult to fault. It’s fast – perhaps surprisingly so, given the large aperture – and pretty much silent. Videographers will be pleased to hear that Sigma’s claims of minimal focus breathing stand up to scrutiny in real-world use, too.

X-T5 · f/1.8 · 1/1000s · 40mm · ISO2000

Should you need to use manual focus, this works very well too. As with all modern autofocus lenses, it’s electronic rather than mechanical. The focus ring is very nicely damped and provides extremely precise control. Turning the ring will also engage the camera’s usual focusing aids automatically.

Performance

So how about image quality? This is where things get a bit more complicated. I tested the lens on the Fujifilm X-T5, with its demanding 40MP X-Trans sensor. On the whole, I was quite pleased with the results I got from the lens, but this does come with some caveats – as you should probably expect from an f/1.8 zoom at this price.

X-T5 · f/5.6 · 1/680s · 40mm · ISO125

Firstly, let’s look at the good points. Used at its strongest focal lengths (which means about 24mm or longer), and in its optimum aperture range around f/4 to f/8, the lens produces sharp, clean images with impressive levels of detail across the frame. Thanks to integrated software correction of distortion, straight lines are correctly rendered, too, giving natural-looking geometry.

X-T5 · f/5.6 · 1/800s · 36.3mm · ISO125

It is, however, impossible to get away from the fact that at wider angle settings, the lens just isn’t particularly sharp towards the edges, regardless of aperture setting. This is in part due to lateral chromatic aberration, which shows up as strong green/magenta fringing towards the edges and corners of the frame. This fringing isn’t fully corrected in camera JPEGs, and it can look very intense in vivid colour modes such as Velvia. It can be suppressed effectively in raw processing, but this just ends up compounding the overall impression of softness in these areas.

X-T5 · f/5.6 · 1/240s · 19.7mm · ISO125

Unsurprisingly, the lens isn’t super-sharp wide open, either. It’s reasonably crisp in the centre of the frame, but fine detail fades off noticeably towards the edges and corners. Of course, when you’re shooting at f/1.8, much of your image is likely to be out of focus anyway, which tends to make whatever is in-focus look just fine.

X-T5 · f/1.8 · 1/350s · 40mm · ISO125

Sharpness also drops off quite dramatically at close focus distances, where the unmistakeable ‘glow’ of spherical aberration comes to the fore. At 40mm, f/1.8 and minimum focus, barely any pixel-level detail is rendered at all. But really, that’s not unexpected from a large-aperture lens used for close-ups.

X-T5 · f/1.8 · 1/140s · 40mm · ISO400

From this, it might sound like the lens is highly optically flawed. But do keep in mind that we’re talking about examining high-resolution files close-up onscreen here. You’ll need to blow up your photos pretty large to be seriously bothered by any of this – if you’re viewing them on a phone or tablet screen, or in print sizes of A4 or smaller, it probably won’t matter.

X-T5 · f/1.8 · 1/850s · 31mm · ISO125

In other respects, the lens is perfectly well-behaved. For example, I had no real problems with flare when shooting into the light. There’s not a lot of vignetting to be seen, either, to the extent I often added a little back in raw processing. Crucially, out-of-focus backgrounds are, on the whole, rendered very smoothly, so photos taken at large apertures look very nice.

Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art : Our Verdict

If ever there was a lens that should be judged on what it can add to your toolkit, rather than on sharpness tests, it’s the Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art. It’s unlikely to excel when assessed using such things as brick-wall shots or MTF charts. However, judging a lens on sharpness alone risks missing the wood for the trees.

With its short zoom range and slightly weak edges at wideangle, this isn’t a lens I’d necessarily recommend for travel photography, or for detail-rich subjects such as landscapes or cityscapes. However, that super-large aperture means it should please photographers shooting such things as weddings or events indoors, and looking to isolate their subjects against blurred backgrounds. The key is to play to its strengths.

X-T5 · f/5.6 · 1/150s · 32.9mm · ISO800

Overall, I’d say the Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 is a lens whose optical design and price/performance ratio are well judged for its specific niche. It probably won’t replace your existing standard zoom, but it should do an excellent job of complementing it for use in specific situations.

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art full specifications

The post Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art review: the ultimate large-aperture zoom? appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

Introduced at the start of 2024 alongside the OM-1 Mark II camera, the OM System 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS is an ultra-telephoto zoom for Micro Four Thirds cameras. Its zoom range is equivalent to 300-1200mm in full-frame terms, which is not only the longest in the MFT system, but also amongst the longest of any current zoom. What’s more, it works with the firm’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters for those who require even more reach. That makes it one of the best Micro Four Thirds lenses for such things as sports and wildlife photography.

OM System 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS at a glance:

• $2699 / £2499
• Ultra-telephoto zoom, with 300-1200mm equivalent range
• Compatible with MC-14 and MC-20 teleconverters
• 0.56-2.8m minimum focus, 0.35x maximum magnification (at 150mm)
• 264.4mm x 109.4mm, 2065g
• For Micro Four Thirds cameras only

Weighing in at over 2kg, though, the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS (to give it its full name) is the heaviest lens in the Micro Four Thirds lineup. It’s also one of the most expensive, costing $2699 / £2499. It should appeal to photographers who want a longer range than that provided by either the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 IS II ($1499 / £1299) or the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 II ASPH Power OIS ($1699 / £1499), but whose means don’t stretch to the premium OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO ($7499 / £6499).

This lens is intended for use on OM System and Olympus cameras, and in particular the top-of-the-range OM-1 Mark II (along with older OM-1 and E-M1-series models). But it can also be used with Panasonic’s G-series Micro Four Thirds cameras. Again, though, it’ll be best suited to high-end models such as the Lumix G9II and GH7. 

That super-long reach makes the lens ideal for small or distant subjects. It should therefore be particularly attractive to photographers who shoot such things as outdoor field sports, airshows, and wildlife. But how does it measure up in practice?

Features

The first thing we should note about the OM System 150-600mm is that it’s not an entirely home-grown design. It’s clearly based on the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports, with the same optical formula, key features, and major specifications, plus a similar cosmetic design. OM System has, however tweaked the physical design and control layout to its own ends (but doubled the price).

Optically, the lens employs a suitably complex design for an ultra-telephoto zoom, with 25 elements in 15 groups. This includes 2 elements made from extra-low dispersion (ED), 4 from Super ED glass, 6 from high refractive-index (HR) glass, plus 1 HD glass element. The aim here is to maintain cross-frame sharpness while minimising the colour fringing that can often afflict long telephoto lenses.

Optical stabilisation is built in, promising 6 stops of shake suppression at 150mm, dropping to 5 stops at 600mm. Use the lens on an Olympus or OM System camera that supports Sync IS, and you’ll get an additional stop from the in-body image stabilisation.

It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that with a lot the subjects you’re most likely to shoot with this lens, you’ll be looking to keep shutter speeds high anyway, to minimise motion blur. But effective stabilisation is still very important for composition when shooting hand-held.

The minimum focus distance ranges from 56cm at the wide end to 2.8m at telephoto. This equates to a maximum magnification of 0.35x at the 150mm position, meaning the lens can focus on subjects as small as 49 x 37mm. That could be really handy for those photographing small wildlife such as insects.

Like most of OM System’s lenses, the 150-600mm is designed to be dust, splash, and freeze-proof to -10°C. Specifically, it has an IPX1 rating, which is equivalent to being subjected to 1mm rain per minute for 10 minutes. This isn’t as high a level of sealing as its PRO-line lenses, which are IP53, but at least OM System provides a rating – most other manufacturers just make vague claims.

A fluorine coating is applied to the front element to repel raindrops, too. The lens accepts 95mm filters and is supplied with a deep cylindrical hood.

As previously mentioned, the lens is compatible with Olympus / OM System teleconverters. Fit the MC-14 1.4x converter, and you get a 210-840mm f/7-9 combination (410-1680mm equivalent). With the MC-20 2x converter, the lens becomes a 300-1200mm f/10-13 optic, with a 600-2400mm equivalent range. That’s long enough to fill the frame with the moon. But it’s worth noting that you’ll see obvious diffraction blurring at these apertures on Micro Four Thirds.

Build and Handling

There’s no getting away from the fact that the OM System 150-600mm is a pretty hefty lens, especially by Micro Four Thirds standards. The specs say it’s 109.4mm in diameter and 264.4mm long, but if you fit the hood and zoom to 600mm, then it extends to 430mm. Likewise, the quoted 2065g weight excludes the caps and hood; with them attached, the weight you’ll actually be carrying is around 2250g.

Due to its hefty size, the lens is without doubt best suited for use on larger SLR-shaped cameras with nice big handgrips. Physically, I found it made a good match for my Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III. But it also worked fine on the OM System OM-3 with an accessory grip installed – it’s just a bit more awkward to hold and use.

Overall, though, I found the 150-600mm to be perfectly usable for hand-held shooting, which feels like a crazy thing to say about a 1200mm equivalent lens.

The lens is fitted with a non-removable tripod collar, which rotates very smoothly but unfortunately doesn’t click at 90° intervals for portrait and landscape shooting. The foot has an Arca-Swiss profile, which means you can attach it directly to many heads. There’s also a pair of strap lugs, so you don’t have to hang the lens off the camera. I used it with my trusty Peak Design Slide Lite strap.

A set of switches on the side of the barrel provide the usual controls for a telephoto zoom. There’s a focus limiter, an AF/MF switch, and IS on/off. You also get three function buttons arranged at 90° intervals around the barrel, but they’re rather oddly positioned, and I struggled to find a comfortable way of using them. 

My favourite feature of this lens, though, is its zoom mechanism. Large, extending designs like this can often be slow and awkward to use, due to the sheer weight of glass that you’re moving back and forth. The 150-600mm gets around this by offering two very different friction settings, one for using the conventional zoom ring, and the other allowing much quicker push-pull zooming for hand-held shooting. This system is controlled by a 3-way switch with positions marked L, T and S.

Set the switch to ‘T’ for tight, and you can use the zoom ring for accurate composition, with little chance of ‘zoom creep’ (i.e. the lens extending under its own weight when pointed down). Switch to ‘S’ for smooth, and you get rapid push-pull zoom by grabbing the front of the barrel. This option is great in situations where you need to react quickly to subjects moving towards or away from you; for example, I found it invaluable when shooting at an airshow. Finally, in the L position, the zoom can be locked at its shortest length for transport.

Autofocus

I’ve been pleased by the autofocus performance of the 150-600mm. It’s very quiet and impressively quick. I tested it by photographing airplanes at an airshow, and wildlife in my local parks, mainly on the OM System OM-3 using subject recognition. Even with fast-moving subjects, it returned a pretty high percentage of in-focus shots. Overall, it appeared to do a very good job of focusing where the camera asked it to.

OM-3 · f/8 · 1/1000s · 300mm · ISO200

However, it’s important to understand that the experience you get with this lens will depend greatly upon the camera you’re using. At the time of writing, the OM-3 represents pretty much the state-of-the-art when it comes to autofocus on Micro Four Thirds. The only other cameras that’ll give the same kind of AF performance are the OM-1 Mark II and perhaps the Lumix G9II and GH7.

However, I also used the lens on the older Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, using either a small, fixed focus area or tracking. I found that this combination was more likely to miss focus slightly and settle on either the foreground or background instead, especially when shooting small subjects in busy environments. But while that’s evident when examining files close-up on a computer screen, it’ll be less obvious when viewing your images on small screens or prints.

E-M1MarkIII · f/7.1 · 1/1000s · 600mm · ISO200

If you use the 150-600mm on older Micro Four Thirds cameras that lack phase detection autofocus, chances are it’ll barely track focus on moving subjects at all. But that’s not the lens’s fault.

Performance

So how about the image quality that you get from the Olympus 150-600mm? Ordinarily at this point, I’d be presenting a detailed analysis of the lens’s sharpness behaviour at various apertures and focal lengths. But that’s not especially helpful here. Not because the lens isn’t sharp – it’s absolutely fine. However, the practicalities of shooting moving subjects outdoors with a such a long and relatively small-aperture lens mean that the results you get will usually be limited by other factors instead.

OM-3 · f/5.9 · 1/800s · 300mm · ISO320

Chances are you’ll be often be shooting moving subjects, so you’ll want to keep shutter speeds high, at 1/1000sec or shorter. Even on a bright day, that’ll mean boosting the ISO significantly, which means noise will have a negative impact on image quality. It’s likely you’ll often be shooting over quite long distances too, and that means atmospheric distortion will come into play, reducing the contrast and destroying fine detail.

OM-3 · f/10 · 1/500s · 600mm · ISO200

With some subjects, you might want to use rather slower speeds, for example to get propeller blur when shooting airplanes. But you’ll just end up trading that off against visible motion blur. Here your best bet is to take high-speed bursts and select whichever frame ends up sharpest, discarding the rest.

OM-3 · f/7.1 · 1/250s · 400mm · ISO200

With such a long focal length, you’ll also get very little depth-of-field. This means that when shooting wildlife, only a small slice of the subject will be perfectly sharp. You can stop down the aperture to compensate, of course, but that’ll mean boosting the ISO even higher. This being Micro Four Thirds, you’ll also see obvious diffraction softening if you go much beyond f/8, so you don’t have much aperture range to play with.

OM-3 · f/6.3 · 1/1000s · 600mm · ISO400

Fundamentally, what this all means is that with this kind of ultra-telephoto, you’ll rarely get the same level of pixel-level quality as with shorter lenses. So it’s best to calibrate your expectations accordingly. That’s not necessarily a criticism of this particular lens, it’s just a consequence of using such a long zoom. I’ve seen it with other brands and larger formats, too.

OM-3 · f/5.7 · 1/2000s · 262mm · ISO400

Ultimately, though, I’ve still been pleased by the results I’ve got from the Olympus 150-600mm, even if they haven’t always been technically as sharp as other kinds of photos. In some cases, I’d have struggled to get the same shots from any other lens.

Use with teleconverters

I also tested the lens with both the Olympus MC-14 and MC-20 teleconverters. In many respects, these work surprisingly well. Autofocus continues to function almost as normal on the OM-3, and you get a nice clear viewfinder image, except perhaps in very low light. 

OM-3 · f/13 · 1/25s · 1200mm · ISO1600

You will, however, almost certainly want to use some kind of support to keep the camera steady, either a monopod or tripod. That’s especially true with the 2x converter – don’t even think about using this hand-held, as it’s almost impossible to hold the lens steady enough to keep your subject within the frame. And considering everything I’ve already said, chances are you won’t really record any useful extra detail, compared to simply cropping and enlarging images taken using the lens alone.

OM-3 · f/13 · 1/1000s · 1200mm · ISO5000

A few years ago, I’d have said that this means there’s no real point in using teleconverters with this lens. But now I’m not so sure. With small, distant subjects, most obviously birds, using a teleconverter can help the autofocus system nail focus most accurately. This is especially the case when using subject detection, where you can see the camera identify eyes more confidently, for example.

With modern AI-based noise reduction, I’m also now quite happy shooting at much higher ISO settings than ever before. The shot above was at ISO 5000 and processed using Adobe Denoise.

Our Verdict

Shooting with the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS has certainly been an interesting experience. There’s something seriously addictive about getting such a huge reach in a lens that, while not exactly small, is still entirely hand-holdable. It delivers pretty decent images, too.

Having said that, this lens does feel like a rather niche product. For most Micro Four Thirds users, a 100-400mm zoom would surely make more sense. They’re a lot smaller, lighter, and more affordable, but still give a 200-800mm equivalent range. That’s more than enough for a lot of purposes. I didn’t think the 150-600mm brought me much real advantage when shooting airshows, for example, where if anything I could have done with having a slightly wider view available.  

OM-3 · f/5 · 1/4000s · 150mm · ISO400

Where this lens does shine, though, is for wildlife photographers who want the longest possible focal length in a portable package. It could be a great choice for photographing birds, in particular, where you can never have too much reach. It’s not a lens for everyone, but if you know exactly why you might need it, it’ll deliver the goods. 

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS: Full specifications

The post OM System 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS review – the ultimate lens for wildlife photography? appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

The Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G is a fixed focal length lens designed for use on Sony’s full-frame E-mount cameras. It’s part of Sony’s G series, which means it offers strong optical performance at a more affordable price than that of Sony’s top-flight G Master optics, at $800 / £850. As an ultra-wide lens, it provides a 107-degree angle of view on full-frame bodies and 83 degrees on APS-C format cameras where it behaves like a 24mm lens in full-frame terms. This makes it an attractive choice for wide-angle landscape, street, travel and astro photography, or for shooting inside when space is tight. It could also be a nice choice for arm’s length vlogging.

Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G at a glance:

• Lens Mount: Sony FE
• Aperture: f/1.8 – f/22
• Lens: 15 elements in 12 groups
• Min Focus: 0.15m (AF), 0.13m (MF)
• Filter thread: 67mm
• Dimensions: 75 x 73.8mm
• Weight: 304g

ILCE-7RM4 · f/8 · 1/640s · 16mm · ISO100

Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G – Features

The FE 16mm F1.8 G’s optical construction comprises 15 elements arranged in 12 groups, with, three Extra-low Dispersion (ED) elements, one Super ED element and three Aspherical elements, two of which are Advanced Aspherical (AA) elements. As usual, this configuration is designed to deliver sharp, high-contrast images while minimising chromatic aberration and distortion. Advanced optical coatings reduce flare and ghosting, helping to maintain contrast and clarity in challenging lighting conditions, while the fluorine coating on the front element helps it to shed water droplets and dirt.

Unusually for such a portable wideangle, this lens has a fast f/1.8 maximum aperture. As well as allowing more light in to maintain high shutter speeds in low light, this enables relatively shallow depth-of-field effects for subject separation when the focus distance is short. The iris is formed from 11 blades and retains a circular shape throughout its range, to deliver better quality out-of-focus areas.

The lens also has a pair of XD (Extreme Dynamic) Linear Motors that are designed to ensure quiet and responsive autofocus, making it equally well suited to stills and video work. Further good news is that the lens supports Sony’s (focus) Breathing Compensation function which is available on many of Sony’s recent cameras. This helps to keep the field of view consistent when shifting the focus during video recording. Focusing is internal.

Although the lens isn’t stabilised, it’s compatible with Sony’s in-body stabilisation, including the Active and Dynamic Active modes that help to steady footage when shooting video handheld or on the move. Conveniently, and unlike some ultra-wide lenses, there’s a front thread that accepts 67mm filters, rather than requiring rear-mounted gel filters.

Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G – Build and Handling

Despite its fast aperture, the Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G is pleasantly compact, measuring just 75mm in length and 73.8mm in diameter. It also weighs just 304g. Consequently, it pairs nicely with both Sony’s larger full-frame bodies such as the A1 II and smaller options like the A7CR.

In addition, the lens is weather-sealed, with gaskets around its moving parts and, as mentioned earlier, a fluorine coating on the front element to helps repel water and fingerprints. This makes the FE 16mm F1.8 G  a good choice for outdoor photography in unpredictable weather. I used the lens on a day out in Birmingham during which I encountered a mixture of sunshine and showers, and it survived the experience giving no cause for concern.

The barrel has an aperture ring which can be ‘de-clicked’ for smooth, silent operation during video shooting. When the switch is set to ‘click’, you get clear feedback at every 1/3 stop as the ring rotates through its range from f/1.8 to f/22. There’s also an iris lock that prevents accidental switching between the automatic and manual aperture settings.

Above the iris lock, there’s a switch for toggling between autofocus and manual focus, and a customisable focus hold button. Meanwhile, the narrow focus ring sits towards the front of the barrel. This operates electronically and uses Sony’s Linear Response MF system to give a predictable response based on the rotation angle of the ring, rather than its speed of movement. This makes manual focusing feel more intuitive, but as usual, there are no physical end points to the focus adjustment. I find the movement of this ring a little on the loose side, but it means that you can use one finger to tweak the focus point.

Unlike some manufacturers (I’m looking at you, Canon), Sony includes a petal-shaped hood with the lens, which helps prevent flare and offers a bit of protection from knocks and raindrops.

Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G – Autofocus

I used the Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G on the Sony Alpha A7R V, A1 II and A7CR cameras, and the autofocus is fast and accurate on all three bodies. It locks on quickly and quietly, even in low light, and it’s effective when photographing close subjects. The lens supports Sony’s subject detection and eye AF systems and proves reliable in tracking moving subjects, even when working near the minimum focus distance.

The dual XD Linear Motors ensure near-silent operation, which is valuable when recording video or photographing in quiet environments. They also ensure the lens changes focus smoothly, avoiding the sudden shifts that can spoil footage. That, paired with Sony’s very capable focusing and subject detection systems, means that you can be confident that your subject is tracked accurate in most situations.

ILCE-7RM4 · f/11 · 1/80s · 16mm · ISO100

Even on the Sony A7R IV, which doesn’t have Sony’s Breathing Compensation technology, focus breathing is minimal.

The lens’ minimum focusing distance is just 15cm with autofocus and slightly closer at 13cm when focusing manually, enabling you to get very near your subject for exaggerated perspectives and creative framing. This opens up the potential for dramatic close-ups that maintain context – a technique I enjoy a lot.

Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G – Image Quality

The Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G delivers impressive sharpness across the frame at all but the smallest apertures. Centre sharpness is strong from f/1.8 and improves slightly on stopping down, with the best corner-to-corner results typically seen at around f/2.8 to f/8. There is some softening due to diffraction at f/16 and f/22, most visible in the corners, but this is unlikely to be a concern during typical usage. Those seeking edge-to-edge performance should shoot at mid-range apertures to get consistently good results.

ILCE-7RM4 · f/8 · 1/60s · 16mm · ISO100

Uncorrected raw files show noticeable barrel distortion, but this is effectively corrected in-camera for JPEGs and by lens profiles in raw processing software. Vignetting is well controlled, with just a subtle darkening in the corners at f/1.8. It shouldn’t pose an issue for most users.

ILCE-7RM4 · f/1.8 · 1/4000s · 16mm · ISO100

Chromatic aberration is also managed well and despite hunting around high contrast edges in my images, I couldn’t find any fringing. The lens also handles flare well, especially with the supplied petal-shaped hood attached. Even when the sun is in the frame, or casting light across the front element, there’s only the odd hot spot or mild ghosting.

ILCE-7RM4 · f/5.6 · 1/80s · 16mm · ISO100

Out-of-focus areas are rendered reasonably smoothly, however, the small highlights can look a little harsh, with noticeable edge definition and occasional onion-ring patterns. This is most evident when bright points of light appear near the frame edges.

Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G – Verdict

The Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G offers photographers and videographers a capable ultra-wide-angle lens that delivers great performance in a compact form. Its handling is excellent, with intuitive manual focusing and useful external controls, while the weather-sealed design ensures durability for outdoor use. In addition, the autofocusing is fast, quiet and accurate, and the image quality is very good overall, particularly in the f/2.8 to f/11 range.

The image sharpness, even wide open, is pleasing, and corner-to-corner consistency is impressive by f/2.8. The lens’s ability to focus very close to subjects adds further versatility, allowing photographers to explore unusual perspectives. Video shooters will also appreciate the quiet, smooth focusing and minimal breathing, alongside features like the de-clickable aperture ring and 67mm screw-on filter compatibility.

While the bokeh rendering is not as refined as that of some other lenses, and there is some softness at the smallest apertures (especially in the corners), these are minor drawbacks in the context of an otherwise very well-rounded lens.

At around $800 / £850, the Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G is a compelling option for anyone in need of a fast, compact ultra-wide prime without stepping up to a G Master model. It strikes a strong balance between performance, portability and price, and it’s likely to appeal to a broad range of users, including vloggers, landscape and cityscape photographers.

Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G – Specifications

Related reading:

• Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN C review
• Sony’s New Zeiss FE 16-35mm f4 Wide Angle Zoom lens
• Sony unveils ultra-wideangle FE 14mm F1.8 GM

Follow AP on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

The post Sony FE 16mm F1.8 G review – a fast, compact ultra-wide prime appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

The Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS is an optically stabilised ‘superzoom’ lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. Its 18.75x zoom range is the broadest of any lens currently available, and equivalent to 24-450mm in full-frame terms. Its close-up capability is impressive too, with the lens capable of half life-size magnification. This means it can tackle almost any imaginable subject, including landscapes, sports, macro and wildlife photography.

Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS at a glance:

• 24-450mm equivalent zoom range
• Half life-size magnification at 70mm
• Minimum focus 17mm – 105cm
• 74mm diameter x 121mm length; 615g
• Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Sony E, L-mount

At $769 / £599, the Sigma also looks remarkably affordable, given its massive range. It’s in the same price bracket as both shorter-range APS-C superzooms from the camera manufacturers themselves, and optically stabilised 70-300mm lenses. So you’re not necessarily paying much extra for its much broader wideangle range.

The Sigma 16-300mm is also similar in price to its closest competitor, the Tamron 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD, which costs $699 / £529 but can’t deliver the same wideangle view. You can see the sheer breadth of that 16-300mm range below.

Historically, enthusiast photographers have tended to shun lenses of this type, as their optics are inevitably compromised compared to using two zooms that cover the same range. However, one of the biggest advantages of mirrorless systems has turned out to be the ability to make ambitious lenses like this, with much higher image quality than we ever saw from their DSLR equivalents. So how does Sigma’s superzoom measure up in real-world use?

Features

Looking first at the optics, Sigma has employed 20 elements in 14 groups, including 4 aspherical elements, 4 made from super-low dispersion (SLD) glass, and 1 from ‘F’ low dispersion (FLD) glass. Together, these aim to deliver sharp images across the full zoom and focus range, while minimising colour fringing due to chromatic aberration.

Focusing is driven by Sigma’s High-response Linear Actuator (HLA) motor, which promises fast and accurate autofocus. The minimum focus distance ranges from 17cm at wideangle to 105cm at telephoto. However, the maximum magnification of 0.5x is delivered midway through the range, at the 70mm setting.

Sigma says focus breathing is suppressed optically, making the lens suitable for video as well as stills. Optical stabilisation is built in, and rated to deliver 6 stops of shake reduction at the wide end, dropping to 4.5 stops at telephoto.

The barrel boasts dust- and splash-resistant construction, bolstering the lens’s credentials for shooting outdoors in less than perfect conditions. Meanwhile the front element features a water- and oil-repellent coating to help keep it clean of fingerprints and raindrops.

Sigma has employed an aperture diaphragm with 9 curved blades, with the aim of delivering attractively blurred out-of-focus backgrounds. Filter users are catered for via a 67mm thread, and a petal-shaped hood comes in the box.

Build and handling

Size-wise, the 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 is rather large for an everyday standard zoom, although it’s still perfectly sensible given its long range. It measures 73.8mm in diameter and 121.4cm long, and weighs 615g. That’s very similar to both the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 and telephoto zooms such as the Fujifilm XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR. It is, however, rather longer and heavier than DSLR superzooms with a similar telephoto reach typically used to be.

The design has a rather distinctive look, with three cylindrical sections that increase in diameter as you move away from the camera. Sigma has used its signature Thermally Stable Composite (TSC) plastic for the outer barrel, which helps keep the weight down. Overall, the lens feels quite nicely made and robust.

A broad zoom ring is placed at the front and requires only a quarter-turn to travel through its entire range. The lens extends quite dramatically in the process, by about 8.8cm in total. But impressively, there’s barely any wobble or play in the front section, even at full zoom.

Sigma has also managed to strike a good balance between making the zoom action sufficiently firm that the lens won’t extend under its own weight, and keeping it just smooth enough to enable accurate composition.

Should you wish to fix the lens to its shortest length for transport, a zoom lock switch is provided. It’s placed on the lower left of the barrel where it’s easy to reach with your left thumb.

Immediately behind the zoom ring, there’s a fixed ridged section that provides useful grip for mounting or removing the lens. The manual focus ring is placed on the mid-sized section closer to the camera, and rotates smoothly with no end stops. Finally, the rear barrel section is kept as slim as possible, to avoid jamming your fingers up against the handgrip on smaller camera bodies.

Unlike many telephoto zooms, though, you won’t find any switches to set focus mode or optical stabilisation. Instead, you have to control these from the camera. Fujifilm users should note that there’s no aperture ring, either, so you change this setting using an electronic dial on the camera body.

Unusually, I was able to test both Sony and Fujifilm versions of the lens, on three different cameras: the Sony Alpha A7R V (in 26MP APSC crop mode), the Fujifilm X-T5, and the smaller, rangefinder-style Fujifilm X-E5. Unsurprisingly, I found it handles best on the SLR-shaped cameras with larger handgrips. But I was also pleasantly surprised by how well it worked on the X-E5 – here you essentially just hold the combination by the lens itself. I didn’t spot any significant performance difference between the E and X-mount versions.

Autofocus

The first compromise you’ll discover when using the 16-300mm lies with autofocus. In most situations, it’s absolutely fine; indeed with static or slowly moving subjects, it’s fast, silent and accurate, making it dramatically better than SLR superzooms of old. However, it’s no match for most telephoto zooms when it comes to tracking moving subjects.

X-T5 · f/8 · 1/500s · 209.3mm · ISO640

That’s not to say you can’t shoot anything that moves, though. I found that given a little time to pick up the subject, the lens could usually achieve accurate focus for the first few frames. It could also keep up quite well with relatively slow and predictable objects. But what it couldn’t do was maintain focus on rapidly oncoming subjects, such as birds in flight. Instead, I got a lot of out-of-focus shots, with the occasional, essentially lucky in-focus one in between.

There are some tricks you can use to improve your hit-rate here, though. It’s probably best not to set your camera to its highest shooting speed, but instead select something in the region of 5fps, to give the lens more time to shift focus between frames. You can also set the AF system to Focus Priority (rather than Speed Priority) in AF-C mode. Your continuous shooting rate will drop, sometimes very dramatically, but a much higher proportion of your shots will be in focus.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/6.7 · 1/2000s · 300mm · ISO640

If you ever need to use manual focus, it works very well. Turning the focus ring will automatically engage the camera’s usual focusing aids, such as a distance scale, magnification, or peaking. I found the action to be nice and responsive too, making it easy to achieve sharp results.

Performance and image quality

How you take to the images created by the Sigma 16-300mm f/3.5-6.7 will depend to a great deal on how you normally assess your files. If you’re the kind of person who judges lenses based on test-chart results or brick wall shots, and who wants pin-sharp corners on a 40MP sensor (or even 26MP), then it probably won’t be for you. But if instead you prefer to look at your images as a whole, perhaps after a little cropping, chances are you’ll be quite happy.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/8 · 1/320s · 52mm · ISO100

I shot around 800 photos while testing the lens across three different cameras. It’s clear that technically, you don’t get quite as good results as you would from using a pair of zooms to cover the same range, for example the Fujifilm 16-80mm f/4 and 70-300mm f/4-5.6 for X-mount users. The lens performs best in the middle of its range, but gets noticeably weaker at the extremes.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/8 · 1/500s · 34.8mm · ISO100

Most obviously, images look a little soft towards the telephoto end, especially wide open and beyond 200mm, although they improve on stopping down. Things aren’t helped here by the fact that you’ll often be juggling using marginal shutter speeds against boosting the ISO, even in good light.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/6.7 · 1/2000s · 300mm · ISO400

Corner detail can look also somewhat soft, especially at wideangle, and sometimes I saw some residual colour fringing from uncorrected chromatic aberration. However, thanks to the use of integrated software corrections, you won’t see any significant curvilinear distortion. Instead, straight lines along the edges of the frame are rendered as they should be. Vignetting will normally be suppressed by the camera body.

X-T5 · f/8 · 1/900s · 28mm · ISO125

But here’s the thing. While I could pick out these flaws when examining files at 100% onscreen, they weren’t necessarily so evident when viewing images full-screen on my 24in monitor (which is roughly equivalent to a 12 x 18in / A3+ print). Instead, my images generally looked clean and nicely detailed.

In fact, other factors will often limit image quality more than the optics. For example, when I was shooting cityscapes in Valencia on a hot summer’s day, heat haze and atmospheric distortion was by far the limiting factor to sharpness.

X-T5 · f/8 · 1/500s · 230.8mm · ISO125

I was impressed by how well the lens performed for close-up shooting. At 70mm, you can photograph a subject as small as 47 x 31mm. However, this does require the front of the lens to be very close to the subject, which risks getting in your own light and disturbing subjects such as insects. When you’re this close, you’ll also need to use fast shutter speeds hand-held to avoid blur, as image stabilisation gets much less effective than at longer distances.

X-T5 · f/8 · 1/250s · 66.6mm · ISO320

Often, it’ll make sense to zoom a bit longer and take a slight hit on magnification, in return for a longer working distance. It’s a shame, though, there isn’t any reminder marked on the zoom ring of where the maximum magnification is achieved.

X-T5 · f/6.7 · 1/450s · 300mm · ISO320

One other drawback I noticed came with respect to the optical stabilisation. In my hands, it was less effective at ‘locking down’ a composition at long focal lengths, and visibly ‘jumpy’ in comparison to my Fujifilm 70-300mm. However, this didn’t necessarily correspond to a significant decrease in actual stabilisation effectiveness, with both lenses capable of giving a good proportion of acceptably sharp images down to about 1/30sec at 300mm.

Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS: Our Verdict

Lenses like the Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS tend to polarise opinion among photographers, with some embracing their remarkable versatility, while others bemoan the perceived image-quality hit compared to shorter zooms. Personally, I take a pragmatic view. Sometimes, the ability to cover a massive zoom range without changing lenses can be invaluable – most obviously, when travelling with friends or family. And personally, I’d rather celebrate the many things it can do, than complain about those it can’t.

What’s really struck me about the Sigma 16-300mm is how much better it is than similar lenses from a decade ago. Not only does it cover a vast focal-length range, it’s also great for close-ups; it really can try its hand at pretty much anything. Images generally look clean and decently detailed, and the autofocus is silent and snappy. The price is very reasonable, too.

Of course, we have to acknowledge that with its small maximum aperture, this lens does have its limitations. It’s not going to deliver much in the way of background blur when shooting portraits, unless you can step a long way back and zoom in, and it won’t be the best choice for shooting in low light. If these things are important to you, it would make sense to add a fast prime or two, with Sigma’s excellent F1.4 DC series being the obvious choice.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/8 · 1/320s · 25.9mm · ISO100

It is also still the case that you’ll get better results if you’re prepared to carry two lenses covering the same range. So if you’re already happily doing that, I’d stick with what you’ve got. But if you’re an APS-C user looking for the most versatile all-in-one lens available, the conclusion is simple – go out and buy the Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS right now.

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS full specifications

The post Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS review: the ultimate all-in-one zoom? appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

The Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8 is a large-aperture standard zoom for use on the firm’s full-frame mirrorless cameras. It’s designed to be a general-purpose lens suitable for a broad range of subjects, ranging from architecture and landscapes to portraits. Compared to the existing high-end Lumix S Pro 24-70mm F2.8, it’s dramatically smaller and lighter, and at $899/£899, only about half the price.

Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8 at a glance:

• $899 / £899
• L-mount
• 10cm long, 544g
• 77mm filter thread
• 19cm minimum focus

With Panasonic being part of the L-mount alliance, this lens can also be used on Leica and Sigma’s mirrorless cameras, such as the latest Leica SL3 and Sigma BF. In principle it could also be used on Leica’s older CL and TL-series APS-C format cameras, giving a 36-90mm equivalent range. But fundamentally it’s designed to complement Panasonic’s 24MP S1II and S5-series full-frame models.

All the other full-frame camera and lens makers also offer affordable f/2.8 zooms, and it’s interesting to compare the choices each has made. Sony produces a 24-50mm, which represents the shortest zoom range, but is the smallest and lightest of them all. Meanwhile, all the others have chosen to start at 28mm; 28-70mm for Canon and Sigma, and 28-75mm for Nikon and Tamron.

There’s certainly a case to be argued, though, that Panasonic’s 24-60mm is the best concept overall. None of those 28mm lenses can replicate its 24mm wideangle view, but you can always crop in a little from 60mm to match their slightly longer telephoto ends. So how does it measure up in practice?

Features

It may not wear a ‘Pro’ badge, but the Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8 is far from entry-level. To construct the optics, Panasonic has used 14 elements in 12 groups. This includes 3 aspherical elements to suppress aberrations and maximise sharpness towards the edges and corners of the image, plus 2 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) and 1 Ultra ED glass element to minimise colour fringing.

Focusing is internal, with Panasonic’s Dual Phase Linear motor promising fast, precise autofocus. The minimum focus distance increases from 19 to 33cm as you zoom in, but the 0.3x maximum magnification is achieved in the middle of the range, at the 30mm position.

Panasonic says that the barrel employs dust and splash-resistant construction, thanks to a series of seals around the mount and moving parts. The lens should also keep working in temperatures down to -10°C.  A fluorine coating helps keep the front glass clean of raindrops and fingerprints.

A bayonet-fitting flower-shaped lens hood is supplied in the box and incorporates a locking button to stop it being knocked out of position accidentally. The hood also reverses neatly for transport, without blocking the zoom ring. Filter users are catered for with a 77mm thread.

Build and handling

In terms of design language and build quality, the 24-60mm is much like Panasonic’s other Lumix S lenses. Its plastic-skinned barrel plays host to a broad zoom ring at its centre, plus a smoothly rotating manual focus ring up front. The latter is distinctly larger in diameter, so you shouldn’t get the two mixed up. There’s an AF/MF switch on the barrel, which is perhaps a bit unnecessary, given that most Panasonic cameras have the same control conveniently placed on the body.

Size-wise, the Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8 measures 99.9mm long, 84mm in diameter, and weighs 544g. Compare this to the 24-70mm F2.8 Pro, which is 140mm long and a hefty 935g; I know which one I’d prefer to carry around all day. In fact, the 24-60mm isn’t that much larger than the 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 kit zoom that comes with many Lumix S cameras.

The lens debuts a couple of new controls, at least for Panasonic. Firstly, there’s a Focus button on the barrel, whose function can be assigned from the camera body. This button is rather small and recessed, though, which means you might struggle to find it quickly by touch. But on a more positive note, you’re unlikely to press it by accident.

Also, the manual focus ring can now be re-assigned to change the aperture or set exposure compensation. But this only works on S1II-series models (and the S1RII will need a firmware update). Given that aside from the rather basic S9, Panasonic cameras already have three control dials on the body, and I’m not sure this is a particularly useful thing to do – I’d just leave it set to manual focus.  

In use, I found the 24-60mm to be a great match for the Panasonic Lumix S1IIE that I used for testing. The combination just feels really nicely balanced in your hand. If I have one criticism of the lens’s handling, though, it’s that the zoom ring is a little tight, which can make it difficult to achieve a really precise composition.

Autofocus

Turning our attention to autofocus, here the lens performs very well. It’s quick and essentially silent, and I had no problems at all with accuracy. Videographers will find that a little focus breathing is visible at 24mm, with the angle of view getting slightly wider on focusing closer. However, breathing is extremely well suppressed at longer focal lengths.

DC-S1M2ES · f/2.8 · 1/500s · 60mm · ISO125

If you ever need to switch to manual focus, then you’ll find that the focus ring is super-smooth and very precise, which makes it easy to get perfectly sharp results.

Performance

I used the Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8 as my main lens while reviewing the Lumix S1IIE, and I’ve been very pleased by the images it creates. It may not be designated as one of the firm’s ‘Pro’ optics, but it’s still very good indeed. Images look clean and detailed on the 24MP sensor, with no problematic aberrations.

DC-S1M2ES · f/11 · 1/250s · 31mm · ISO100

Indeed the lens’s sharpness is very impressive. Examining my sample images shows plenty of well-defined fine detail right into the corners of the frame, pretty much regardless of focal length, aperture, or focus distance. Overall, f/5.6 probably gives the sharpest results, although on full-frame you’ll often want to stop down further to f/8 or f/11 for extra depth-of-field.

DC-S1M2ES · f/8 · 1/60s · 54mm · ISO320

Fine detail is naturally a bit less crisp at f/2.8, especially towards the corners of the frame. But chances you simply won’t notice this in real-world use, as it will be totally outweighed by the fact that most of the scene is likely to be out-of-focus anyway. Any areas that are in-focus will therefore look nice and sharp in comparison, wherever they are in the frame.

DC-S1M2ES · f/2.8 · 1/250s · 58mm · ISO100

As for other optical aberrations, you just won’t see any. Panasonic was one of the pioneers of using software compensation and has done so very effectively again here. Distortion and lateral chromatic aberration are corrected both in-camera and in raw processing, so straight lines in the scene remain straight in the image, and there’s no unsightly colour fringing towards the edges of the frame. Panasonic cameras correct vignetting by default, too. The net result is that images look extremely clean and natural.    

DC-S1M2ES · f/2.8 · 1/100s · 60mm · ISO100

With its large aperture, this lens can also give some nicely blurred backgrounds. Here I’ve been pleased by how smoothly the out-of-focus elements are rendered. It gives particularly good results when shooting close-ups at the longer end of the zoom.

DC-S1M2ES · f/2.8 · 1/500s · 60mm · ISO250

Last but not least, the 24-60mm F2.8 also acquits itself well when shooting directly into the light. There’s little sign of any image degradation due to flare and ghosting. Overall, Overall, this adds up to a highly creditable optical performance.

Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8: Our Verdict

The Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8 is a very welcome addition to Panasonic’s line-up. Previously if you wanted to upgrade from the 20-60mm kit zoom to higher optical quality, your choices were either the $1300 /£1099 Lumix S 24-105mm F4 OIS, or to spend a lot more on the Lumix S 24-70mm F2.8 Pro. So it’s great that you can now get a nice f/2.8 zoom at a more affordable price.

This is the kind of lens that you can leave on your camera safe in the knowledge that will deliver clean, detailed images shot-after-shot. There’s nothing especially exciting or ground-breaking here, just a really solid performer that does its job with no fuss. It’s a particularly good match to Panasonic’s S1 and S5 series cameras.

For L-mount users looking for an affordable f/2.8 standard zoom, the main alternative is the Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN. Features-wise the two lenses are closely matched, so the choice is likely to depend mainly on which focal length range you’d prefer, and their relative prices. This depends substantially on where you live; in the US the Sigma is more expensive at $989, but in the UK it’s cheaper (£779).

DC-S1M2ES · f/11 · 1/60s · 60mm · ISO320

If I have one reservation personally, it’s that 60mm feels really short for a standard zoom – I spent a lot of time wishing it was just that bit longer. However, this is very much personal preference. If you’re confident the zoom range will suit you, this lens is a fine option for L-mount users.  

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8 full specifications

The post Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm F2.8 – a fine, affordable standard zoom appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

With a flexible zoom range and fast constant aperture, the 70-200mm f/2.8 has long been the staple of professional sports, weddings and events photographers. Sony’s latest GM lens, however, is set to offer a whole new option. The Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM offers the same 3x zoom ratio, but starting from a slightly wider point. Most impressively, though, its maximum aperture is a whole stop brighter. This makes it feel less like a zoom lens and more like several bright primes rolled into one, making it potentially one of Sony’s best lenses.

Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM at a glance:

• $3,899 / £3,799
• Ultra-large aperture telephoto zoom
• 40-74mm minimum focus
• 95mm filter thread
• 200mm x 102.8mm; 1340g
• Sony E mount

Sony’s cutting-edge f/2 telezoom lens comes after a couple of equally fast standard zooms. Canon’s revolutionary RF 28-70mm F2L USM appeared back in 2018, followed up by Sony’s very own FE 28-70mm F2 GM in 2024. Now it would appear Sony is first to the party with a telephoto option this time around.

While Sony’s new lens and a conventional 70-200mm both have optical zooms of around 3x, the range on the 50-150mm has been shifted a little wider. That’s great if you want a lens to perform more like a 50mm prime, but not as advantageous if you’re looking to get closer to the action. So should you trade in your Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II lens and large-aperture primes for this first-of-its-kind zoom? Let’s find out.

Features

Clearly the talking point of this lens is its super-fast f/2 constant aperture, which sucks in loads of light and makes it easier to blur backgrounds. At its widest setting it’s not too different from a 50mm f/1.8 prime, although f/2 is a third-stop slower. However, it’s a whole stop slower than f/1.4. Its aperture is made up of 11 rounded blades which can be closed from f/2 down to f/22.

When it comes to close-ups, the lens has minimum focus distances of 40cm at the wide end and 74cm at the long end. That equates to a 0.2x magnification ratio. Other notable features include the tripod foot, which sadly isn’t Arca-Swiss compatible, but which can be removed if needed. There’s also a short lens hood to block out stray light and a soft case comes in the box, too.

One feature that is absent, though, is optical stabilisation, which been left on the cutting room floor. That being said, Sony’s latest cameras offer up to eight stops of in-body stabilisation, and if you’re shooting wide open at f/2, reaching a fast enough shutter speed to counteract camera shake shouldn’t be too difficult with half-decent light.

Another omission worth talking about is teleconverter compatibility. Users of the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II can add one of Sony’s 1.4x or 2x teleconverters to extend the reach whilst sacrificing a stop or two of light. But the construction of the new Sony 50-150mm F2 GM doesn’t allow these to be used, which is worth bearing in mind if you want to get close to faraway subjects.

Build and handling

The Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM feels rock-solid and is built like a tank. As you might expect, it has a metal rear mount and weather-sealing. It’s actually the same length as the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II, at 200mm, but it’s 17% larger in diameter so it does handle a little differently, and those with smaller hands may struggle. This also means it takes larger and more expensive 95mm filters, compared to the 77mm filters on the 70-200mm.

The weight was a pleasant surprise! Tipping the scales at 1340g, it’s 295g more than the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II. But in context, compared to my old 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for DSLRs it’s 325g lighter. So all things considered, it’s nicely balanced.

Both the zoom and focus rings are large, smoothly rotating, and have plenty to hold on to. The zoom ring goes from 50mm to 150mm in less than a quarter turn, so it’s pretty quick to zoom in when needed.

Focus and zoom are both internal, so the lens doesn’t rack forward when zooming in. This keeps the balance essentially constant and means the sealing can be more comprehensive, too.

The barrel also features an iris ring for setting the aperture. It can be toggled between clicked or de-clicked at the flick of a switch, which filmmakers will rejoice at. You can also pass aperture control to the camera body if you prefer.

Switches towards the front of the lens have been kept minimal with just a simple AF/MF toggle, and another switch to flip between Full Time AF and DMF (Direct Manual Focus). There are also three customisable buttons arranged around the barrel that are usually set to focus hold.

Autofocus

The Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM employs four XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors to drive the focus group. Sony says this will deliver fast, accurate and quiet focusing and tracking that can keep up with the 120fps shooting on the likes of Sony’s A9 III. On the Sony A7R V body I had for testing, I had no issues with its rapid speed and tracking. It was very quiet, but it’s worth noting, not totally silent. There is a very slight motor whir when autofocusing.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/2 · 1/640s · 150mm · ISO400

When unobstructed the lens was rapid at locking on autofocus, and the subject detection was very good. However, when shooting through fences it was a bit more hit-and-miss. I was glad to have the DMF (Direct Manual Focus) feature to override the focus and get it roughly in the ballpark where I needed, and the subject detection would then kick in.

Image Quality

Considering the zoom and aperture range of this lens, the image quality blew me away. That’s likely to be down to its premium glass including two Extreme Aspherical (XA) lenses, two Aspherical elements, three extra low dispersion (ED ) glass elements and two Super ED glass elements.

I shot both in RAW with no profile corrections, and in JPEG with lens correction profiles enabled, to compare the output. The JPEGs corrected a little pincushion distortion which helped straighten out horizontal and vertical lines at the edges.

The lens is razor sharp in the centre, even when shooting wide open. Corner sharpness impressed too, even wide open, although I found the sweet spot tended to be around f/2.8-3.5. I’m thrilled to say there was no trace of chromatic aberration in my sample photos.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/2 · 1/800s · 150mm · ISO400

A little vignetting was noted in the corners when shooting wide open at both 50mm and 150mm. However, this quickly disappears and is much less noticeable at f/2.8. I was surprised that the in-camera lens profile didn’t correct the vignette entirely, but it can be easily removed when editing RAW files.

With such a large maximum aperture at your fingertips, this lens is a bokeh monster and can easily diffuse backgrounds into a beautiful blur. I found the bokeh to be very pleasing with both large round circular balls of bokeh when shooting close or at 50mm, and more swirly cats-eye style bokeh when shooting further away and at the long end. This adds a lovely depth to the images and works well with central subjects.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/2 · 1/2500s · 150mm · ISO400

Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM: Our Verdict

I could give you all sort of facts and figures to compare the Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM to the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II, such as it’s twice as bright, or that it’s 17% larger in diameter, 28% heavier and so on. However, I suspect the number you’ll be most interested in is the price. Costing a cool £3799 it’s a staggering 58% more expensive. In fact by my count, it’s Sony’s fourth most expensive E-mount lens, topped only by the firm’s 300mm f/2.8, 400mm f/2.8, and 600mm f/4 optics.

Whether the lens is worth the spend will be entirely down to your personal preferences, what you like to shoot and how much you’re going to use it. I believe the lens will be worth the asking price for many pros shooting with Sony bodies, as it could mitigate the need for carrying a 70-200mm f/2.8 and several fast primes, such as a 50mm, 85mm and 135mm. So for professional photographers of weddings and events, I think this could be a bit of a game-changer.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/2 · 1/3200s · 116mm · ISO800

It could even be a system seller: people will undoubtedly switch or start afresh in Sony’s ecosystem due to ground-breaking lenses like this. So competitors like Canon and Nikon will surely need to get cracking with a lens to reply ASAP!

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM full specifications

The post Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM review – a large-aperture game-changer appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS Sports at a glance:

• Price: $5,999/£5,899
• L-mount, Sony E-mount
• 2.8 – 4.5m minimum focus
• 40.5mm filter thread
• 467.9mm x 167mm
• 3970g
• sigma.com

The problem with long lenses for wildlife and sports is that they come with compromises. I very often find that an ‘incredible’ focal length doesn’t get me quite as close to the subject as I had imagined it would. Distant beasts still look disappointingly distant and small in the frame. Then there’s the sliding maximum aperture, which means we need ISO 6400 even on a bright day to combine decent sharpness with a shutter speed that freezes the action. The long lenses that circumvent these issues then run into the additional nuisances of size, weight and cost. It’s annoying that even in 2025, we still can’t have it all. 

This new Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS Sports lens is another that can’t give us it all, but with its very useful zoom range, a constant and fast maximum aperture, and a semi-affordable $5,999/£5,899 price tag it may come close – so long as it maintains the company’s recent form for excellent image quality. Sigma claims the lens gives us the quality of a fixed focal length lens but in a zoom format, so it’s setting our expectations pretty high from the off. 

Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS Sports – Features

The Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS zoom is a lens designed for full frame mirrorless cameras, and it sits in the ‘Sports’ segment of the company’s optical offering. It’s likely the first thing you will notice about this model is that it is quite big, so let’s deal with that first. If carrying weight is an issue for you, a Sherpa might be employed to haul the 3985g kit when you aren’t using it, and again to hold it to your eye when you are. It is a heavy lens, but it actually not quite as big as it at first looks – well, it is, but it’s the lens hood that makes it look particularly massive/impressive.

The lens itself is 467.9mm long with a barrel diameter of 167mm at the extreme end, but the detachable lens hood is responsible for a great deal of the appearance of bulk. With a length of 165mm and a diameter of 184mm, a substantial birthday cake for eight hungry children could easily be baked inside the hood if you lined it with greaseproof paper. Though it is big it really isn’t heavy, so it doesn’t have a dramatic impact on the balance of the set-up. 

The weight of the lens can be accounted for by the solid construction of the magnesium alloy body and the 28 elements that are used inside it. We get 6 elements in Sigma’s fluorite-like FLD glass and one in Super Low Dispersion glass, and an iris that features 13 blades to create a rounded aperture. While the front element measures over 140mm, users will be glad to know Sigma has incorporated a rear-filter system so 40.5mm circular filters can be loaded at the exit end of the optical path using the Sigma RFH-21 filter holder – that’s unique to this lens. 

The maximum aperture is f/4 at all focal length settings, and the smallest aperture on offer is a modest f/22. Obviously not a macro lens, our greatest reproduction ratio is 1:6, which is achieved at the 470mm focal length setting. At the 300mm mark, the closest we can focus is 2.8m, and at 600mm, that extends to 4.5m. 

The lens comes in a choice of L or Sony E mounts, and is equipped as standard with a tripod foot, a shoulder strap, the hood and the filter holder, and a dinner plate-sized lens cap. The L mount version of the lens is compatible with Sigma’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, taking the maximum effective focal length to 840mm and 1200mm, respectively. 

Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS Sports – Handling

Perhaps in acknowledgement that this is a big and heavy lens Sigma has done everything it can to make it as easy to use as possible. The Arca Swiss style tripod foot is substantial, robust and padded, which makes carrying it and fitting it to a tripod a whole lot easier than it could have been. When hand holding the lens, which you will do at some point, you’ll find all the controls you need right where your hand is. While the lens might be 615mm long with the lens hood attached, all the controls you’ll need when shooting are concentrated within a 60mm range. Here you’ll find the zoom ring, the function buttons and the new function ring.

Function buttons we have seen before, and on this model we have four of them that we can customise to our liking – AF on or AF lock in most cases. The Function ring though is new with this 300-600mm, and gives us a choice of two functions. Via a physical switch on the barrel we can leave the ring inactive, use it to pull the focus back quickly to a set position or turn it to transition focus slowly between two points during filming. While the function button options are chosen via the camera’s menu system from a list of 36 possible functions (in Lumix cameras at least), the function of the ring is limited by its physical switch to only two. I can’t help feeling Sigma could make a bit more of this ring if its operation could be controlled in-camera. 

At the slimmer end of the barrel, we have the usual collection of image stabilisation options, a three-way focus distance limiter, AF/MF switch and the switch to turn on and off the bleep. We also have the custom mode switch that allows us to quickly engage a collection of settings around OS, AF speed and focus ranges we have established via Sigma’s Optimization Pro software. 

Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS Sports – Image quality and performance

When any company declares that their zoom lens is as good as any fixed lens of the corresponding focal length, I’m delighted. It’s such a claim as to be a red rag to a bull for a lens reviewer. Rarely is the claim fully justified. This case is challenging as we are looking at very long focal lengths and a wide aperture, and I have to ask myself whether we would expect to get the best from a 600mm fixed focal length lens when used at f/4 – and I suspect that we would experience similar resolution loss with any such lens when compared to the drop in quality we get when using the Sigma 300-600mm wide open at f/4.

Fortunately, ‘wide open’ here is pretty wide for a telezoom, and it isn’t too much of a hardship to close the aperture by a stop to get dramatically better sharpness and contrast. Similarly, we won’t get the best from the lens when it’s closed to f/22, but f/16 is very good – so we need to work between f/5.6 and f/16, which gives us plenty of options across that four-stop range. I found f/7.1 and f/8 particularly good, and kept the aperture in that area most of the time. 

At these settings, resolution is exceptional, and you won’t experience a hint of colour fringing or aberrations to impact sharpness right to the corner of the frame. Vignetting is eliminated either by the optical design or its partnership with the camera’s firmware and there’s no sign of distortion. And the High-response Linear Actuator that runs the AF system is speedy and … responsive. The lens finds the subject quickly and is able to track as fast as the Lumix S1Rll camera can. Sigma claims the Optical Stabilisation system gives us 5.5 stops at 600mm, and I have no reason to doubt that – in stills or video mode. This is a top flight performance. 

Verdict

Some lenses are just very exciting to use, and this Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS is one of them. The focal range is exciting but so are the results it produces. We can relax when shooting as we don’t need to keep an eye out for certain settings or situations that will degrade the image – just avoid f/4 and f/22 when you can. The lens is more of an effort to use than a 50mm standard lens, and it takes more preparation and energy, but Sigma respects those extra exertions with its own endeavours to make the lens easier to use and with its labours to ensure when our focus is true our pictures are filled with detail. 

At almost £5,900 this isn’t going to be an impulse purchase and most of us won’t be able to justify the cost, but the price alone doesn’t make this an expensive lens – just one that costs a lot. With its combination of zoom range and fast aperture, it actually presents very good value in comparison to the other lenses in this area, and if this is the kind of lens you need, it is a really compelling proposition. I’ve loved using it, and loved looking at what it has done to my wildlife photography. They say a new lens isn’t going to improve your pictures, but ‘they’ haven’t tried the Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS Sports. 

Specifications

The post Sigma 300-600mm F4 DG OS Sports review – heavyweight champion appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

The Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS is an ultra-telephoto zoom for the firm’s full-frame E-mount cameras. As the longest lens available in the system, it’s designed for photographers shooting distant subjects such as wildlife, aircraft, or sports. For those who need even more reach, it’s compatible with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, giving 560-1120mm and 800-1600mm focal length ranges, respectively.

Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS at a glance:

• $2899 / £2550
• Ultra-telephoto zoom
• 1.7-3.5m minimum focus
• 105mm filter thread
• 119.8mm diameter, 346mm long, 2475g
• Sony E-mount (full-frame)

While full-frame has largely established itself as the format of choice amongst serious photographers, one area where it’s generally been at a disadvantage lies with long telephoto lenses. Photographers have got used to working conveniently with zooms equivalent to 800mm, 900mm or even longer on bridge, Micro Four Thirds, and APS-C mirrorless cameras. But on full-frame, lenses this long have traditionally been huge and extremely expensive.

Like some other recent designs, the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 exploits the fact that mirrorless cameras can focus effectively at rather smaller apertures than DSLRs did. This in turn allows telephotos to be made smaller, lighter and cheaper. However, that doesn’t mean the lens is small and cheap; it’s still well over a foot long, weighs in at almost 2.5kg, and costs $2899 / £2550.

While there’s no other lens quite like this for Sony users, it does make for an interesting comparison with ultra-telephoto zooms for other systems. Its closest equivalent is the Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM, which is smaller, lighter and less expensive, but has a smaller maximum aperture.

For Fujifilm’s APS-C format X-system, the XF150-600mm F5.6-8 R LM OIS WR offers a 225-900mm equivalent range and again is rather smaller, lighter and cheaper. On Micro Four Thirds, both OM System and Panasonic produce 100-400mm zooms that are much more portable and affordable. So does the Sony 400-800mm really make sense?

Features

As you’d expect, Sony says the lens is designed to combine high image quality, excellent operability, and fast, quiet autofocus. To this end, its optical design employs no fewer than 27 elements in 19 groups. This includes 6 elements made from extra-low dispersion (ED) glass, to minimise colour fringing from chromatic aberration.

Autofocus is provided by a pair of linear motors, with full support for shooting at 120fps in both stills and video. The minimum focus distance ranges from 1.7m at 400mm, to 3.5m at 800mm. A focus range switch can be used to limit the closest focus distance to 8m, in order to minimise hunting.

Sony says that focus breathing is suppressed optically, and the lens also supports in-camera breathing compensation during video recording.

As befits a lens that will mostly be used outdoors, the barrel boasts dust and moisture-resistant build, plus a fluorine coating on the front element to help keep it clean. Thanks to an internal zoom mechanism, the centre of gravity should stay essentially unchanged on zooming.

The lens accepts front screw-in filters, but at a sizeable (and expensive) 105mm in diameter. A large cylindrical hood comes in the box and includes a sliding door for easy rotation of polarising filters. It also has a locking button that should prevent it coming off by accident.

This lens is designed for use on Sony’s full-frame cameras, most obviously the Alpha 7-series. But it can also be used on the firm’s APS-C mirrorless models such as the A6700, on which it will provide a 600-1200mm equivalent view. Naturally, you’ll also get this range if you switch to APS-C mode on a full-frame camera.

Build and handling

It should come as no surprise, given its focal length range, to learn that the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS is something of a beast. At fully 346mm in length and 119.8mm in diameter, it’s not something you can wander around with discreetly. Fit the hood, and the length increases to 44cm. People will notice you using it.

It looks and feels the part, though, with its white-painted barrel. Both the lens and the hood have chunky rubber bumpers at the front to protect against knocks, which is a nice practical touch. The lens has its own strap lugs too, which you’ll need to use, rather than hanging it off a camera. A basic strap comes in the box, but I preferred to use a Peak Design Slide Lite in sling mode.

Sony quotes the weight as 2475g, but again, that’s for the lens alone. Add in the hood and caps, and according to my kitchen scales, you’re looking at carrying around 2785g in total. You’ll probably want to invest in a large, comfortable backpack (I used the Vanguard Alta Sky 42), and maybe a gym membership.

A tripod foot is built-in, with both 1/4in and 3/8in threads for attaching it to a camera support. It can be used quite comfortably as a handle for carrying the lens, but annoyingly it doesn’t have an Arca-Swiss dovetail profile that would allow it to be fixed directly to many tripod and monopod heads. The foot rotates freely through 360° for rotating the camera to portrait format, but unlike on many telephoto zooms, it’s not removable.

Turning our attention to the controls, the broad zoom ring is placed towards the front, and I was really impressed by how quick and smooth the internal zoom mechanism is to operate. You can get from one end to the other with a 90-degree twist, and literally using a single finger. That’s a huge advantage over most other ultra-telezooms, which tend to have extending zoom designs.

The manual focus ring is placed closer to the camera body, rotating smoothly with no end stops. Just in front of it, no fewer than three focus hold buttons are provided for shooting both vertically and horizontally. As usual, they always do the same thing, and their function can be changed using the camera body.

Unlike most of Sony’s other recent lenses, there’s no aperture ring here. But you’ll probably spend most of your time shooting in shutter priority mode, and very likely with the aperture wide open anyway. So that’s no great loss.  

An array of switches on one side controls the lens’s functions. The three at the top are for focusing: AF/MF, full-time direct manual focus (DMF) and the three-position focus limiter (with settings for full range, 10m to near, and 8m to infinity).

Below these are the optical stabilisation controls: on/off and OSS mode (marked simply, and somewhat opaquely, 1, 2, and 3). It turns out mode 1 is for normal use, mode 2 for panning, and mode 3 is for shooting erratically moving subjects.

I used the lens with the Sony Alpha A7R V, and I’d put it towards the limit of what I’d be comfortable with shooting hand-held for any great length of time. I mainly put it through its paces by shooting motorcycle racing, and wildlife in my local parks.

For the latter, mobility and flexibility are important, and there I was happy bringing it up to my eye, firing off short bursts, and dropping it back down by my side on its strap. However, with motorsports, where I was generally shooting in one place for a while before moving on, I preferred to use a sturdy monopod (namely the 3 Legged Thing Alana).

Autofocus

As I’d expect from a modern Sony lens, the Sony FE 200-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS has extremely impressive autofocus. In good light, it’s fast, silent, and accurate, essentially doing whatever the camera asks of it. Unsurprisingly, though, the small aperture means that it slows down once light levels drop. I suspect it might struggle with such things as for indoor sports.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/8 · 1/4000s · 637mm · ISO1250

Click on any sample image to see the full resolution version

I used the lens almost exclusively in continuous AF mode, and shooting with subject detection for vehicles, birds or animals as appropriate. As long as I gave the camera a moment to pick up and start tracking a subject, I got a very good percentage of in-focus shots. Overall, I felt the performance was probably limited more by the camera than the lens.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/8 · 1/2000s · 800mm · ISO4000

It’s worth noting that if you’re shooting very small subjects such as birds at long distance, the AF system might struggle to pick them up. If you’re using a full-frame camera, switching to APS-C crop mode can genuinely help here, as it effectively magnifies the sensor readout for autofocus. 

Performance

So how did the lens perform for me in real-world use? Usually, at this point I’d present a detailed image quality analysis across all focal lengths and apertures. But in a way, that’s only of peripheral interest here.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/6.3 · 1/4000s · 400mm · ISO1250

That’s not to say that the lens isn’t sharp – it really is – but rather that in real-world shooting, its sharpness will hardly ever be the limiting factor on the overall image quality. Instead you’ll constantly be fighting against image degradation from such things as subject motion, high-ISO noise, and camera shake.

With this lens, you’re likely to be spending a lot of time shooting moving subjects. So chances are, you’ll frequently be setting fast shutter speeds of at least 1/1000sec to freeze their motion. But with the relatively slow aperture of f/8 at 800mm, you’ll then find yourself using high sensitivities of ISO 1600 or more even on a sunny day.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/8 · 1/2000s · 800mm · ISO2500

If you need even faster shutter speeds, or to stop down further for more depth of field, that will mean boosting the ISO even further.

At this point, your raw processing skills increasingly come into play, in terms of exploiting noise reduction, clarity and texture sliders to generate the sharpest-looking images.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/6.3 · 1/2000s · 400mm · ISO1000

If you do manage to get yourself in a position to shoot at low ISOs, though, you will find the lens is impressively sharp, even on the A7R V’s 60MP sensor. Shooting wildlife can be a tough test, but I found that the lens resolves fine, low-contrast details of feathers and fur with ease.

This sharpness remains important even when you’re shooting at high ISOs, as it gives noise reduction software the best possible data to work with.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/6.3 · 1/500s · 400mm · ISO160

If you look at uncorrected raw files, you’ll see noticeable pincushion distortion throughout the zoom range. But this doesn’t really matter in real-world shooting, as you’re unlikely to be shooting geometrically precise compositions that might reveal it. Distortion will usually be automatically corrected by the camera in JPEG files, too, and by raw processing software once the requisite lens profiles are available.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/9 · 1/250s · 790mm · ISO100

There’s also marked vignetting at 400mm and f/8, but the easiest remedy for this is simply to keep in-camera shading compensation enabled.

Thankfully image blur from camera shake shouldn’t be a problem, as I found the optical stabilisation to be very impressive indeed. I was able to get some usably sharp shots hand-held at ludicrously low shutter speeds around 1/60sec, even when zoomed all the way in to 800mm.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/8 · 1/125s · 800mm · ISO400

However, you do need to remember to set the IS to mode 2 for panning shots at slower shutter speeds, or switch it off completely, so the lens’s stabilisation system isn’t constantly fighting against your camera movement.

Our Verdict

Having spent some time shooting with the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS, I find myself with mixed feelings about the lens. It has a great deal in its favour – it focuses quickly and quietly, it’s unusually easy to zoom, the stabilisation is incredibly effective, and crucially, the optics are excellent. That 800mm focal length means you really can get up-close to your subject, too. But it’s larger and heavier than I’d really like, and its short zoom range means that it can be surprisingly inflexible in use.

Indeed, my biggest problem with this lens was something I never expected with a full-frame telezoom – quite often, you can’t zoom out wide enough. When I was shooting motorbike racing, for example, on several occasions it was too tight to give a particular composition I had planned. I think you’d often need to pair it with a 100-400mm, which presumably is what Sony has in mind – but that adds even more weight to carry. To me, Canon’s 200-800mm design is a better concept, considered purely in terms of range.

That small aperture can be limiting too, as it requires you to use high ISOs pretty much all the time when shooting anything that moves. As a result, this is very much a lens for shooting in bright light; use it on a dull grey day and I suspect you might be disappointed. Personally, though, I wasn’t too bothered by needing high ISOs, given the capabilities of AI noise reduction software. I’m quite happy to spend a bit of time applying it to my favourite shots.

ILCE-7RM5 · f/8 · 1/60s · 800mm · ISO100

In conclusion, then, the Sony 400-800mm is a really impressive lens, just as long as you can live with its limitations. I think it could be an excellent choice for some specific subjects, such as wildlife or airshows. It’s still not as practical and affordable as ultra-telephoto zooms for smaller formats, though, and more for photographers with sufficiently bulging biceps and wallets. It’s a niche product, but for some users it could fit that niche perfectly.

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS full specifications

The post Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS review: super-long zoom, but is it too big? appeared first on Amateur Photographer.