Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sport Performance

This is an exceptionally sharp lens. At 70mm, centrally sharpness is outstanding at f/2.8 and f/4, excellent from f/5.6 to f/11, very good at f/16 and still good at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16, but softening at f/22.

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At 100mm, central sharpness is excellent at f/2.8, outstanding at f/4, excellent from f/5.6 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are very good at f/2.8 and f/4, excellent at f/5.6, very good from f/8 to f/11 and soft at f/22.

At 135mm, the centre is excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are very good at f/2.8 and f/4, excellent at f/5.6, very good between f/8 and f/16 and softening at f/22.

At 200mm, sharpness still holds up very well, being excellent centrally from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and good at f/22. At the edges, it is very good at f/2.8 and f/4, excellent at f/5.6, very good between f/8 and f/16 and softer at f/22.

In summary, sharpness throughout is of a very high order and is maintained extremely well over the full range of focal lengths.

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | S MTF Charts

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is also well under control over the full zoom range. At the centre, CA is virtually banished and at the edges is still controlled to mostly well under 1 pixel. Further correction could be applied using software if desired, but for many subjects, it will not be necessary.

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | S Chromatic Aberration Charts

Distortion is impressively less than many zoom lenses. We have -0.93% barrel at 70mm; +0.59% pincushion at 100mm; +1.31% pincushion at 135mm and +1.60% pincushion at 200mm. Again, further correction can be applied using software, but will not be needed for most subject matter.

Bokeh is smooth, helped no doubt by the 11 rounded blades of the diaphragm.

Flare is pretty much absent from the lens. A slight reduction of contrast might be induced if the light source is strong and right at the edge of the frame, but for most normal applications there is no flare.

There is a generally modest amount of vignetting. At 70mm, f/2.8 sees -1.6 stops of corner darkening. This reduces to -1.4 at f/4, -1.2 at f/5.6 and thereafter -1.1 stops through the rest of the range.

At longer lengths, we have around -1.7 stops at f/2.8, reducing to -1 stops down to f/8 and -0.7 stops thereafter.

The OS (Optical Stabilisation) system delivers exactly what Sigma promise – 4 stops advantage. This is a huge benefit and we can obtain sharp images at ludicrously slow shutter speeds.

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | S Sample Photos

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | S Aperture range

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