Sigma C 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM review - Autofocus

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Sigma C 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM

26 May 2017

Arkadiusz Olech

10. Autofocus

I suppose Sigma knew pretty well that autofocus was exactly the category where their lenses can lose a duel with more expensive, brand name devices. That’s why, I think they chose a value of 1.6 meters as the minimum focusing distance. Despite that choice the autofocus speed doesn’t impress. Running through the whole distance scale and finding the focus takes about one second. It also seems the lens is quicker with shifting elements if you move towards smaller distances than the other way round. What’s more, even in proper lighting conditions the lens sometimes wavers, going to and fro. It still produces a good photo, because the mechanism can correct itself efficiently, but it makes the focusing process a bit longer.

Even during indoor tests there were situations when the lens moving from the minimum distance to the right position was rather slow but significantly speeded up while going the other way round.

The situation improves if you employ the focus limiter and choose the option from 6 meters to infinity. The mechanism becomes very fast and the lens is able to set the focus in about 0.3 of a second.

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