Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM A Lens Review

Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM A Handling and Features

Weighing around 885g, this certainly isn't a lightweight lens. High quality plastics and metals with a glossy finish have been used for much of the lens barrel, which provides a good tactile feel to the lens and a metal lens mount adds to the overall robust feel of the lens. However, Sigma make no claims about this lens being resistant to dust and moisture. The lens balances well on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III used for testing, but as this lens is quite large for a standard zoom at 109mm long and reasonably weighty, combining it with some of the more compact DSLRs available may result in an unbalanced pairing.

A silent HSM focusing motor powers autofocus, resulting in quick focus acquisition and the ability to apply manual focus adjustments at any time. The manual focus ring is well damped, but is quite narrow, which can hamper operation a little. Focusing is performed internally, so the huge 82mm filter thread does not rotate, making this lens ideal for use with polarising and graduated filters, if you can afford them in that size. The close focusing distance of 45cm is fairly typical of this kind of lens.



The optical stabilisation system fitted to this lens promises to allow sharp images to be taken at shutter speeds slower than would be possible without the system enabled. Sharp images can be produced around half the time with shutter speeds as low as 1/13sec at 105mm, which is roughly three stops slower than the usual rule of thumb would dictate necessary.

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