All-Round Brilliance!

Ever since Sigma announced the 60-600 mm f/4.5-6.3 Sports lens, enthusiasts have been eagerly waiting to get their hands on the new lens, especially after the hot reception accorded to the 150-600 mm lens variants.

- Sujith Gopinath

The new lens can effectively replace two lenses. Let us see how it performs.

Design and Build Quality

The Sigma 60-600 mm lens is a heavy, but hand-holdable lens, though it can be quite strenuous to hold it for more than a few seconds at a time. Being a Sports series lens, it has a rugged construction. The lens has a zoom lock that prevents accidental rotation when the lens is pointed downwards and transported.

Sigma has incorporated an Arca Swiss compatible tripod mount by default, which is very convenient to attach without a separate quick-release plate. It has 1/4 and 3/8-inch screw holes, allowing the lens to be attached to a quick release plate. The foot is replaceable similar to the 15-600 mm Sports model. The tripod collar offers click stops at every 90 degree position. The zoom ring has markings at 60, 70, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 250, 300, 400 and 600 mm positions.

The lens has four switches. On top is the focus selector, which allows you to set AF (Autofocus), MO (Manual Override) or MF (Manual Focus). The second switch lets you set the focus range. The options are Full, 6 m to infinity and Up to 6 m. Next is the OS mode switch with options of OS 1, 2 and Off. Mode 1 activates optical stabiliser along both vertical and horizontal axes, while Option 2 stabilises the lens only in the vertical axis, helping you to achieve better panning effects. The Custom button at the bottom allows you to create and set custom profiles for OS, AF and focus distance with the help of a Sigma USB Dock. The lens has a focus distance scale that displays a scale marked in both feet and metres.