Sigma 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS | C

Delivers a monster 18.8x zoom range for a wide variety of mount options

- Matthew Richards

£566/$699

There has been a reversal of fortunes. Back when DSLRs were the order of the day, Tamron led the way in superzoom territory, launching lenses with ever greater 'world-first' and 'world-best' zoom ranges. These included the Tamron 16-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro and the Tamron 18-400mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD, although the latter was too hefty to qualify as a 'travel lens'. At that time, the mightiest Sigma superzoom was the Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM | C, which lacked the wide-angle extremity of the Tamron 16-300mm. Fast forward to the mirrorless era and Tamron released the Tamron 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD for APS-C format Fujifilm X and Sony E cameras back in 2021.

But now it's Sigma's turn to rule the superzoom realm, this new 16-300mm having the biggest zoom range of any APS-C format lens for mirrorless cameras to date. It's also available in a relatively wide variety of mount options, including Canon RF, Fujifilm X, L-mount and Sony E (but sadly no Nikon Z DX version on the horizon).

Build and handling

The big attraction of any superzoom lens is that you can sweep from generous wide-angle coverage to powerful telephoto reach and everything in between, with a flick of the wrist. They are ideal as travel lenses and walkabout photography when you're limited for space or don't want to weigh yourself down with extra lenses. Compared with the Tamron 18-300mm lens, and taking the APS-C crop factor into account, this Sigma lens gives an effective zoom range in full-frame equivalence of 24-450mm, the Tamron giving 27-450mm.