Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DN DG OS L mount

[Snowcat]

Among others I use this tele lens. It's much chepaer then Panasonic 70-300, longer then it and is a very impressive lens.

Here is how I see it's PROs and CONTRAs:

PRO:
* Rather cheap for a long tele lens
* Very sharp right from the start, does not need to be closed down,
* Fast AF for a tele lens (slower then on Pana 24-105, but fast enough, very acceptable)
* Extremely good OS, allowing to shoot 1/25 at 400mm!
* Quite a light lens, for a 100-400
* AF stop button and AF range limiter on the lens - very useful

CONTRA:
* Minimal Focus Distance is quite large, I would be happy to have smaller MFD as I am often using such lenses for small objects as you will see later.
* DXO surprisingly have no module for Sigma 100-400 + S1R - some very useful DXO settings are not available

This lens shows itself like a very nice tool actually. It is really sharp, it's CA is well controlled. making this lens to be very usable. In the next posts I will share some pictures.

 

[Snowcat]

A few days ago I was in the Kuala Lumpur's butterfly garden. Here are some shots from there:







And two butterfly-inh-flight shots

 

[pdk42]

Hmm - I didn't seriously look at the lens when I was umming and ahhing about a long zoom. I have the 70-300 but as I mentioned on an earlier post, I'm still not loving it.

 

[Lsake]

Excellent shots, I really like the close focus on the sigma 100-400. One of my goals this year is to try and use it more to capture small subjects. Here is one I took a while back.

 

[JohnnyMauser]

Thanks for the post! This is my desired tele lens. But is the AF fast enough for running dogs?

 

[Pete_W]

DXO surprisingly have no module for Sigma 100-400 + S1R - some very useful DXO settings are not available

I wasn't aware of that. Same for the S5.
They don't support the new Pany 14-28mm lens yet and it doesn't seem to be in their plans out as far as May 2023. Disappointing.

 

[Lsake]

Thanks for the post! This is my desired tele lens. But is the AF fast enough for running dogs?

The lens motors are fast enough, Any fast movement perpendicular to the direction you face is tracked easy enough.

The toughest scenarios would be if the dog is coming towards you at full speed. Your hit rate will likely be lower on a DfD body, the S5ii would be the best option if you do a lot of that type of thing.

 

[Snowcat]

Excellent shots, I really like the close focus on the sigma 100-400. One of my goals this year is to try and use it more to capture small subjects. Here is one I took a while back.

Thanks! Well, for really small ones you have to apply crop in postprocessing. Yet with S1R it is perfectly acceptable...

Thanks for the post! This is my desired tele lens. But is the AF fast enough for running dogs?

Well the LENS itself is fast enough... But shooting moving objects win DFD focus requires some skills,,, What I mean that this lens will not be a limiting factor here... After all, dogs are quite large, so there should be no large problems with that...

I wasn't aware of that. Same for the S5.
They don't support the new Pany 14-28mm lens yet and it doesn't seem to be in their plans out as far as May 2023. Disappointing.

They create plans for modules based on requests they are having... Hopefully There gonna happen more L mount requests as S5-II is out...

 

[pdk42]

Thanks! Well, for really small ones you have to apply crop in postprocessing. Yet with S1R it is perfectly acceptable...




Well the LENS itself is fast enough... But shooting moving objects win DFD focus requires some skills,,, What I mean that this lens will not be a limiting factor here... After all, dogs are quite large, so there should be no large problems with that...


They create plans for modules based on requests they are having... Hopefully There gonna happen more L mount requests as S5-II is out...

But the thing about l-mount (as with m43) is that the correction data is stored in the raw file so you don't need extra "modules". All you need is for the PP package to read and apply the in-file corrections. LR does this (and on the S5 you can turn them on and off - older cameras they won't let you turn it off.

 

[Snowcat]

But the thing about l-mount (as with m43) is that the correction data is stored in the raw file so you don't need extra "modules". All you need is for the PP package to read and apply the in-file corrections. LR does this (and on the S5 you can turn them on and off - older cameras they won't let you turn it off.

Well, maybe DXO is just does not work thar way... Anyway, Sigma 100-400 is a well-corrected lens and does not suffer from absrnce of a correction module for dxo much.

 

[Pete_W]

Well, maybe DXO is just does not work thar way...

I think this is right based on what I've seen today processing images from the Panasonic S 14-28mm lens which is not supported at the moment.

If there is a module installed in DxO for a camera/lens combination, the Distortion tool on the Geometry tab automatically sets itself to 'Correction: Auto with DxO Optics Module'. However if there is no support for a camera/lens combo, it will set itself to 'Correction: Manual' and a 'Distortion' drop-down field will appear below it. In this field you can choose from 'Barrel', 'Pincushion' or 'Fisheye' and then use a slider to set the amount of correction desired.

According to the DxO website, their lens modules don't only adjust for distortion but also for sharpness, chromatic aberration and vignetting.

So until a module is released, you're probably not getting the best results from your lens. I've submitted a request to DxO to support the 14-28mm and I assume many have also done this for the Sigma 100-400mm. In the meantime I am going to compare the JPEGs from the camera with RW2 files to see what the differences are for distortion and sharpness.

 

[Snowcat]

So until a module is released, you're probably not getting the best results from your lens.

That's true, still, DXO opens great possibilities that are closed if you use other convertors so I keep using it even when they have no module for a lens/camera combination.

Take this image for example -



This is ISO 10K! Some of the butterfly shots are 12800. And they are fully usable, no matter what we are talking about - web or printing. DXO's noise suppressor is a miracle!

 

[Pete_W]

Yes, the NR is great on DxO. I used it frequently with my MFT photos which were much more susceptible to noise for the type of shots I take.

 

[Snowcat]

Dome more 100-400 pics...

 

[RBecker]

I decided against the Sigma and for the Lumix because of 3 reasons:
- Size and weight (1135/790g). It is a perfect companion to the 20-60
- Minimum focus distance
- Availibility of full Dual IS with the Lumix

But I can understand everybody who decides for the Sigma, there are also some good arguments:
- 400mm at the long end (often better than 70 on the lower side)
- Possibility to use TC
- Price

I could not compare the 2 lenses directly and I need to do first real world shots with the Lumix. But my first tests showed a good performance, looks like I got a good copy…

 

[ptr22]

I have the 70-300 and will be testing the 100-400 plus a 2x TC this upcoming week, very curious (and can post my personal outcome).

 

[pdk42]

I have the 70-300 and will be testing the 100-400 plus a 2x TC this upcoming week, very curious (and can post my personal outcome).

Would be very interested to hear your thoughts on these two lenses.

 

[Jan.Wedekind]

Yes, the NR is great on DxO. I used it frequently with my MFT photos which were much more susceptible to noise for the type of shots I take.

I use it practically always for my M43. But I also have found weird glitches with some lens/body combos. Examples

• OM-1 and Lumix 35-200 f2.8: completely overcorrects distortion, it’s actually curved horizon after processing
• S1 and 150-600: Lightroom’s lens correction is significantly better, particularly visible with vignetting

Luckily for me, the correction is fantastic for OM-1 with the 100-400 though, which is what is used most

 

[ptr22]

Would be very interested to hear your thoughts on these two lenses.

Today was the day! Unfortunately, I could only shoot handheld so I don't have perfect results but the shop let me try quite a bit, and I wanted to compare the test photos at home before committing to anything. The weight and size difference were not as obvious as I thought, personally, I wouldn't care to be honest.

To my surprise, from what I could tell in the shop...it seemed very similar, apart from the obvious range differences and the aperture ring being the other way around. I expected to see a difference on the camera display but that didn't really happen (at same focal lengths). In the shop, I noticed the OIS in the Sigma seemed a little more shaky compared to the 70-300. With that one, everything is super still when you hold still during focussing (I have fairly steady hands), with the Sigma it was slightly harder to get to that point. But maybe I would have to adjust some settings or practise more with that one? Still very useable though, just seemed that tad better on the 70-300.

Checking at home, the Sigma seemed to need less ISO (e.g. 3200 instead of 4000), despite the same f and SS settings. The Lumix still seemed darker. Maybe it's just where I pointed the camera at (same target) but since it happened in a few photos, also outside...no idea why that might be. I have a clear filter in the front of my 70-300 but in tests it never took any amount of light away and don't think that's why.

The colours come out slightly different but could be matched, I couldn't even say which one I like better. The biggest surprise however, I assumed the Sigma to be a lot sharper but my 70-300 seems to be sharper at almost every photo, even on details, even with that clear filter in the front. Maybe that came from the Sigma OIS and me still being a little more shaky? Or just that particular lens sample? However, the contrast and rendering is very nice on the Sigma and seems a little more real, less soft/flat.

The 2xTC was a nice but also "shocking" surprise. I'd love the 600-800 but then you start with f13! Handheld would need a lot of practise and I don't think any kind of windy conditions or darker rooms / landscapes / evenings would be your friend.

After today I'm wondering myself, would I buy the 100-400 over the 70-300, especially, if I didn't have that one yet? Yes, probably! The extra 100mm and the option of a TC would be the main argument. However, would I get it as well, when I already have the 70-300? Probably not (to keep both). Don't know if I'd sell that one to replace it with the 100-400. Wish I could have tried different samples as some people reported also differences there. But also a bit more happy with the 70-300 now and unsure about the 100-400 in my situation. Let's see.

 

[Quentinquirelino]

I think with 70-300 vs 100-400, the biggest question is, if you can use the extra long end more than the extra on the wide end. Today I was in a zoo with my wife and kids. I only used the 70-300 and I was happy to have the 70 mm on the short for taking photos of my family, while 300 mm on the long end where enough in almost every case for shooting animals. For more real Wildlife and less family, the 100-400 would be the better choice. But for my use cases I would have to change lenses much more often with the 100-400.