Forget the Sigma BF and Sigma 300-600mm f/4 DG OS | S. For me, the Sigma 16-300mm f/3.5-6.7 | C was the most revolutionary product that the world’s largest independent lens manufacturer announced at the Sigma press launch in Tokyo last week.
It would be a mistake to think this lens is simply another superzoom sacrificing image quality for a huge zoom range, and perhaps that’s why this optic has quietly slipped under the radar.
It’s true, this used to be the case with superzoom lenses in years gone by. I wasn’t in love with the image quality of DSLR superzooms when I tested them ten years ago, so I’ve always had a hard time recommending them to friends and family asking for a good all-round travel lens. But what really surprised me about Sigma’s new lens is just how good the image quality actually is!
While not up to the scratch of a Sigma Art or Canon L-series, it was never meant to be. What it does do, however, is strike the perfect balance between quality and a versatile zoom range – and usually it’s one or the other that has to be sacrificed.
Clearly there's some magic going on with Sigma’s new lens construction of 20 elements in 14 groups – one of which is a special low dispersion FLD element with properties similar to flourite glass, alongside four super low dispersion (SLD) and four aspherical elements to minimize optical aberrations.
On Sigma’s press trip to Tokyo I took my Canon EOS R5 and 24-70mm f/2.8 lens – and between you and me, I was fully intending to switch back to this setup for my sightseeing and travel pictures after the event. But what surprised me is that I didn’t feel the need to. I found the Sigma 16-300mm f/3.5-6.7 | C to be so versatile, particularly for travel photography, that the lens became glued to my camera and I found it very hard to part ways with it when I had to give it back at the end of the trip.
Speaking of camera kit, I was using the RF mount version of the lens on my Canon EOS R5. Although a full-frame camera, when used in crop mode gave me still very respectable 17MP files – and to be honest, with the amount of photos I took I’m rather glad for the more manageable smaller file sizes.
It’s also Sigma’s first lens available for Canon RF mount straight out of the gate, and takes the tally of Sigma APS-C lenses available for RF to seven. When used on Canon RF, the 1.6x crop factor takes the lens to 25.6-480mm. It’s also available for L-Mount, Sony E and Fujifilm X for APS-C bodies, where their 1.5x sensor crop makes it more like 24-450mm in full-frame terms.
Since getting back home I’ve been pixel peeping at the images and I’ve been seriously impressed. The JPEG and RAW files show a little bit of chromatic aberration, but only a slight amount and no more than you’d find on a kit lens. What is impressive is just how sharp this lens is, considering its low price.
It’s perfect for capturing sharp travel shots of buildings and landscapes. There is a little vignetting and distortion but, with lens profiles being so good these days, it’s really nothing to worry about. As I was shooting on Canon I was using the best part of the lens, while shooting wider on the other mounts could potentially reveal more distortion and vignetting – though we'll have to wait for our lab tests to get the final low-down on image quality.
What I can say at the moment is I'm very happy with the real-world examples I was able to take.
The widest aperture ranges from f/3.5 at 16mm to a much narrower f/6.7 at the long end – which can be limiting, and it’s not going to be so good for sports or wildlife. You’d be better off with a lens like the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 or faster if this is your intention.
But it’s much better suited for traveling and day trips to cities and places where you don’t want to be weighed down by a bag full of heavy glass and just want one lens to do the job – this is where the lens excels.
It’s essentially a really souped-up kit lens with better zoom range, strong sharpness, image stabilization and even a half-size macro function at the 70mm mark, so it’s a brilliant all-rounder.
One thing to note with the narrower apertures is that you’ll struggle to force any kind of shallow depth of field effects. But pair it with a lightweight nifty-fifty lens and between the two optics there won’t be much you can’t achieve on your travels – and you'll still have a very light and compact setup.
The other impressive thing about the lens is just how affordable it is. With an RRP of $699 / £599 / AU$1,299 it’s an absolute steal. Speaking to Sigma representatives I was told that the price was initially going to be higher, but it priced the lens low because of course it would love to sell a large volume and understand that money is tight for people at the moment.
No complaints here – you get an awful lot of lens for your money and I’ve already got my pre-order in!
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Check out our guides to the best Canon superzoom lenses, along with the best travel lenses and the best travel cameras to use them with.
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