Sigma 400mm F5.6 APO telemacro A-mount lens review by Blame
 Blame#9209 date: Jul-5-2011 | |
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| sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Tamron 180/3.5 macro. |
| price paid: | 295GBP |
| positive: | Very sharp at f/8 |
| negative: | Not very sharp at f/5.6 Bokeh is a little poor for a prime. |
| comment: | A harder lens to use than the Tamron 180/3.5 macro although IQ is similar stopped down. At 180mm the Tamron is hand holdable and lite enough to walk around with. Steady Shot works great. At 400mm this monster needs its own lens box and a monopod for stabilizaton. Set up with the monopod its a pig to carry. Sadly some wildlife just doesn't have the patience to wait for assembly so this is a case of stop, assemble camera, lens and monopod and then wait for the wildlife to arrive. AF seemed OK for speed. Sometimes it got confused but no worse than any other macro. Focus was spot on - I didn't know sigma could do that. Macro sharp at F/8 but only with a stand. Steady Shot is not enough. Don't bother with F/5.6. I am giving it a 5 because for me a totally sharp F/8 is what I need. If you must use F/5.6 then 4 at best. Maybe 3.5. Very little CA and that correctable in photoshop. Bokeh is usually good but there is a little outlining. More like a decentish zoom than a prime. Poor for a macro. I would give it a 3 but honestly I don't think it has had significant effect on any of my photos so far. I have given the build a 5 because it looks good to me. I have not tested flare. This is a good birds & butterflies lens. For such small subjects F/8 is as fast as you can go and still hope for a usable depth of field. 100% crops look good. Great value for money. |
36MPrating summary
- total reviews: 18
- sharpness: 4.58
- color: 4.61
- build: 4.44
- distortion: 4.89
- flare control: 4.28
- overall: 4.56