Today’s launches in Las Vegas have the advantage of offering good opportunities to make interesting comparisons. First comes to my mind the opposition of two high-end tele-zooms that should interest the enthusiast photographer looking toward sports, wildlife and even portrait:
- Sigma APO 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM
- Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G (SAL70300G)
Tous les deux visent la meilleure qualité possible pour une gamme d’application très large. Ils viennent en concurrence directe avec les offres équivalentes de Canon (EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM) et Nikon (F VR Zoom-NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED), par exemple. Tous sont des zooms ouvrant jusqu’à f/5.6 (pour maintenir un excellent couplage avec l’autofocus), tous sont stabilisés (Sony utilise la stabilisation au boitier, bien sûr), tous couvrent le champ complet d’un 35mm (APS-C ou Full Frame acceptés), les prix tournent autour de 1000€.
But, where I see Sigma rushing in the fight (probably trying to limit costs by cutting short the low-end of the range -where portrait photographers may suffer), I do not understand Sony’s choice of limiting itself to 300mm (only portrait will be satisfying). Portrait would be better served by a shorter zoom (bringing better aperture). Or by a prime lens of superlative quality as Sony (ex-Minolta) or Zeiss has the knowledge for.
We’ll have to see the exact characteristics and the image quality (the products on the market are among the best lenses possible in this category).
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