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Gear
Supgr-telephoto
,us upclose
PhotoP
k
Su.xpmr Tilpfi
Accurate
focusing is
especially important
when using supertelephoto
lenses, due
totheir minimal depth
of field (the distance in
front of and behind the
point of focus that is
rendered sharply). For
example, using a 450D
or 50D with a 500mm
lens to shoot a subject
that's 5m away with an
aperture of f/5.6, the
total depth of f ield is
less than 2cm (nearly
1cm in front of and
behind the focus point)
- so focusing
must be precise.
Put your eye to the telescope and get up
close and personal with faraway subjects tr
he battle between super-telephoto
lenses is a heavyweight contest,
with most models weighing n at up
to 1.Skg, Fitted to a relatively lightweight
hodv sr r.h as the a5OD it can seem as
though the tail is wagging the dog, but the
advantages are extreme when it comes to
picking out detalls in the distance.
Atrnnd icrrsafr rl hr --. rien -, nonopoo worKs
better to help take the weight when you're
or the rnove. Alrrost all super-telephoto
lenses come with a mounting collar that
helos keeo the camerand lens balanced when ln use.
Super-telephoto lenses come into their own in sports
and wildlife shooting, where your movements are often
restricted, so there's a lot to be said for zoom lenses
ratherthan primes, which give you more f lexibility for
f raming your subjects. Unless you spend silly money, the
maxirrum apertures of prirne super-telephoto lenses
tend to be similar to their zoom counteroarts.
Great shakes
The single b,ggest prob err when shooting w'th a
suoer-teleohoto lens is camera shake. The rule of thumb
when handholding a camera is that you need a shutter
iu*lffi
A focal length of 300mm
or longer is essential for
most sports and wildlife
cnopd 2f lpacf :c f:st :ciho inrierco nf ihofnn:l enoth
that you're using. So, continulng with our 450D by way of
example, a 50Omm lens is equ va ent to an 8O0mm lens
once you take the crop factor into account, whrch makes
a shr,Iter snpen of l,zB0O sec a safe'nirinurr. Even in
brigit, sunny conditions, thrs ,s ofter moossible to
ach;eve withour increasing the ISO speed of your
camera, so image stabilisation comes into its own.
Canon's trusty lS (lmage Stabilizer) technology is
f itted to its EF 100-4O0mm zoom and Sigma uses its
simriar OS (Optical Stabilizer) system on its new
120-4OOmm and 150-5OOmm lenses. However, there
are pienty of ong lenses that lack this usefulfeature.
Get even closer
Extend your range with a teleconverter
A cost-effective alternative to
getting more telescopic power is to
f it a teleconverter, which typically
magnif ies the focalength by a
factor of 1.4x or2x.Canon
Extender EF 1.4x ll and EF 2x ll
models are suitable for use with
both the Canon lenses on test, with
a typical price of about 5290 each
Remember, you can't use
extenders with EF-S lensesuch as
the 55-250mm lS, because the
rear element protrudes too far anc
may damage the teleconverter.
Sigma offers 1.4x and 2x EX DG
APO teleconverters, which wor<
with any of its lenses tested here
and cost about 5185 and L220
respectively. Third-party
teleconverters are available from
the likes of Kenko, whose Pro 300
series costs f,2 20 f or I.4x, 2x or
3x converters. Teleconverters cut
down the light reaching the sensor
For instance, a 1.4x extender
effectively makes the maximum
aperture one stop slower and a 2x
re econverter makes it two stops
slower. The autofocus is designed
to workwith maximum apertures
of f,/5.6 or wider, so you'll often
.eed to use manual focus.
The Canon Extender EF 2x
ll effectively gives the EF
100-4OOmm lens a zoom
range of 2OO-8OOmm,
although you'll only have an
f/11 maximum aperture

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Gear
tr''"", I
Canon EF1(X)-4(X)mm Canon EF 4OOmm
t/45-5 61 rS USM t/5 6t usM
Web: www.canon.co.uk
Web: www.canon.co.uk
inished
the cream colouring that makes Canon-using sports
and press photographers easy to spot, the EF 100-40Omm
combines old and new design philosophies. From the old
school, the zoom mechanism
a push-pull affair, with no separate
zoom ring. You may f ind this a bit primitive and diff iculto control with
precision, although at least there's a barrel ring that you can twisto
make the zoom action smoother or stiffer to suit your preferences.
Comparatively state of the art features include image stabilisation,
which worked a treat for handholding
our tests. Optical quality
on this lens is extremely good, with great sharpness and contrast
even when shooting at the maximum
aperture, which progresses from
f /4.5toI/5.6towards the longer
I
ll,Jitr.lr1i,il;-iiirrr'
Vedkt
. ./ Greatopticalqualrty
v Focus travel hmrt swrtch
anr] nf tho 7l^fr.)n^^
,u4vv,,,,q,,6u.
Flare and aberrations are also
very well controlled, thanks partlyto
the inclusion of Canon's f luorite and
Super UD (Ultra-low Dispersion)
lens elements. The lens is also
reasonably compact, although
it loses a little rn sheer tetescopic
powercompared with the 50Omm
models in the group. The only real
sticking point is that it's over twice
the price of the similarly powerful
Sigma 120-400mm lens on test,
which also has optical stabilisation.
x n3?,[:1,:xljfi'1.?ooo.o,',
ompared with the Canon EF 4O0mmf /2.8 and f,/4 lenses,
which cost about f,7,OO0 and t5,4OO respectively, this f,25.6
prime lens is a poor relation. lt still costs well over t1,0OO,
despite lacking a faster aperture than Canon's own EF 10O-4O0mm
lens, also on test. Another glaring
omission
image stabilisation,
which makes camera shake much
more of a danger, particularly when
you're shooting handheld.
Optically, the EF 4OOmm f/5,6
hasa lotgoingforit. UDand Super
UD glass elements make for
wonderfully crisp images without
unwanted aberrations, a though our
test shots werer't rot'ceably beLLer
than those taken w th the Canon
zoom In most cases.
Desnile heins rather slimmer
than most zoom lenses in the group,
the EF 40Omm is very long and needs
extra stowage because it doesn't
zoom down to a shorter telephoto
length. Another disappointment
that
autofocus proved a lot slowerthan with
the 100-400mm lens. Allthings
considered, this is the less attractive of
II
.'*";-=:=; , the two Canon models in thrs test.
e'
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$m-fumwmffiffim;flsverdict
d / F;::!iiiJ:t?,ffiii;i,?,
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Next issue
Samyang 5OOmm
f /6 3 Mirror
Web: www.syopt.co.kr
ne rnescapable fact in the current financial climate is that
nobody wants to fork out up to t1,200 for a lens they'll only
use occasronally. At a sixth of that price, the Samvanp
5O0mm is a much more affordable alternative. lt's a ,fixed, lens in
every way, because there's no zoom range and even the aperture is
fixed at f/6 3 Focusing is arso a purery manuar affair because there s
no autofocus facility, but that's all down to it being a mirror lens.
Unlike conventional camera lenses, mirror lenses worK Dy
combining specially curved mirrors and relatively few tens etements
to effectively reflect the light path back and forth, folding high
magnification abilities into a much shorter construction. particularly
common in astronomic telescopes, the system aiso works reasonably
well for camera lenses. This Samyang is certainly very much shorter
Lhar all the other lenses on tesL,
although it's also
somewhat wider.
Outright optical
quality isn't quite a
match for the other
lenses in the group -
contrast and saturation
__slt"rI 19_
are a little low -
.&tPOplRS
ffi r,630l,!
but it's
still more than passabie
considering the price.
You'll need a T-mount to
f it the lens to the camera
which costs around t15.
f.l'' tsill., Vedkt
.t 8:flT::H5i5l,",i",,n,
x R:::fl;:?'iJ;1::J3u 0""'
SigmasO-5OOmm
I/4-6 3 EX DG HSM
Web: www.sigma-imaging-ux.com
urphy's law of telephoto photography states that the
moment afteryou frt a long lens to your camera, a brilliant
pnoto opportunity wili present rtself for which you need a
wrder angle of view and by the time you,ve switched back to a shorter
lens, you'll have missed the shot
The Sigma 50-50Omm guards
agarnst this with a 1Ox zoorn
range that stretches much
further than any of the
competition. The trade-off is
that this lens, nicknamed the
Bigma, is large, bu ky and
unnecessarily weighty for
shorterzoom lengths.
Despite its price tag, it lacks
the optical stabilisation system
of the othertwo Sigma lenses on
test but, camera shake aside,
the optical quality is surprisingly
good throughout the zoom
range, even when shooting at the
maximum aperture. The act of
zooming isn't a great pleasure,
because the zoom ring is quite
stiff. Unless you really need the
monster zoom range, Sigma's
other lenses are better valJe. )
x
"*'ffu:,rffif,fl.t'Vedkt
Massive 10x zoom range
Fast and quiet autofocus
It s the heaviest ens in the group
I eleconverter has limitations

Gear Sunen Test
Sigmal2O-4OOmm
f/45_5 6 DG CS HSN/
Web: www.sigma-imaging-uk.com
I I ore comoact and lighter than the two other Sigma lenses on
IltI test.thel2O-400mmstill packsamightypunch,boasting -
I U I no fewer than three SLD (Super Low Dispersion) lens
elements in its make-up. Optical quality proved excellent throughout
the zoom range in ourtests, with minimal distortions
aberrations,
along with levels of sharpness and contrast that were almost as
impressive as the much more expensive Canon lenses on test.
The lens is greato use handheld, thanks to Sigma's latest OS
(Optical Stabilizer) system, which offers a four-stop advantage. We
managed to get consistently sharp shots
at 4O0mm on a 450D (equivalent to a
focalength of 640mm) with shutter
sncpdc nf ir rst l,/1OO coe
Handling is further enhanced by
the f ull-time manual focus override
- the focus ring doesn't move during
autofocus but is constantly available
for manual tweaks even in AF mode.
Better still, and unlike the Canon
100-40Omm lens, thefocus ring is
situated at the rear end of the lens,
within much easier reach throughout
the zoom range. The groou.6 11ipod
collar base also doubles up as a
natural hand grip. For the p"ice,
Sigma has come up with an
absolute cracker with this lens.
FhstoPflnrsvedkt
image quality
lmage stabiliser works well
{
x
Great overall
Doesn't have the outright
reach of a 500mm lens
SigmalsO-sOOmm
f/5_63 DG CS HSM
Web: wwwsigma-imaging-uk.com
his is
!r
very much the big brother of the Sigma 120-4OOmm,
I givinganextralOOmmatthelongendofthezoomrange,a
I ;ella"s adding 5Omm in physicat tength and an extra l4Og in
weight. Apart from that, the design is practically identical, with the
same four-stop optical stabiliser system and three SLD (Super Low
Distortion) glass elements in its make-up. Other similarities include a
comfortable dual-purpose hand grip and tripod collar plus full-time
manual focus override to accompanv the
fast, quiet hypersonic autofocusystem.
As with other extra-long lenses in the
group, the Sigma still manages to deliver
a reasonably wide maximum aperture of
f/5.6 at 4OOmm, but this drops to f/6.3
at 500mm. Despite Canon's warnings
about autofocus problems at apertures
smaller than f,/5.6, we had no trouble with
this lens at 50Omm, enloying dead-on AF
accuracy even in challenging conditions.
As with the Sigma 120-400mm, the
finish is excellent and the Iens looks
consummately professional. For sheer
telephoto power coupled with superb
optical quality and a highly effective
image stabilising system, the recently
launched Sigma 150-500mm is the lens
to beat, and is streets ahead of the older
170-500mm lens that it replpces
PhotoPlusvedkt
{
I
500mm maximum range
Great optical stabilisation
The f/6.3 aperture makes for
slow shutter speeds at 500mm
94. Ph0iorlirr.;5e pi,"r 'r'

Tamron 2OO-5OOmm
sP AF t/5-6s
Web: www.intro 2O2O.co.uk
nrs used to be one of our favourite super_telephoto
lenses,
zoom
but it's starting to show ts age. In particular, the
*':::"T jlry.r:".j'?']lrr.:"l.orp-r"o*,tl,uiuo,."i,u.,",
:?:':::::: ltur 7 or t ! a s 1t
the 50 om m e. J,}" J,io]u,l,,, "
ger snarp results when handholding, so u gooO tripoj
essentiar.
or monopod
on the prus
is
side, the focus ring ri rorniied1owards the rear
of the barrel, which makes for
conventent manual focusing, and
both this and the zoom ring are
superbly smooth and precise.
Optically,
,
the Tamron proved
nugely impresslve, with fabulous
sharpness and contrast throughout
rne zoom range, plus wonderfully
rrcn cotourendition. Features include
a 'filter effect controller,, whrcn
attaches to the front ofthe tens for
easy adjustment of polarising or other
rotation-specific filters, even wjth the
supplied lens hood fitted.
lf Tamron redesigned thrs lens to
tnclude its extremely effectrve Vibration
Correction system, it could weil shoot
to the top of our wish-list. As it is, we,d
prefer to spend our money on a
super-telephoto lens with image
stabilisation for increased usability.
PhotoPtusVedkt
/ x: iJ,f,:?,1 ffil?:l : 11h.,",.,
x i::il:,',",'# 3i[Tl??,, "",. *
TokinaSO-+OOmm
ATt(AF f/45_56
Web: www.kenro.co.uk
nere s usually quite a big step up in size and weight when you
switch from a typicat 7O-3O0mm zoom l.r. t; ;;; tl;,
5,y:,Tr_,f :rretopeto 4OOmm at ftre rong
range.
end o;;;oo,
Bucking this trend, the Tokina i, urnurrgfy?ompact
lightweight
anO
for an gO-4OOmm
lens, being 66mm shorrer
werghing
and
at 6029 righter than the Sigma 120-4oomm
delivers
on
its
test.
compact
rt
advantage along-witf, a usefut"maximum
aperture of f /4.5-5.6 Another helpfuibonus i, ilut tf,l
comes
f un,
with
f.looO
a thumbwheel for rotating filter sr"f, us poturis"rs.
On the face of it, the Tokina rs
atso a bargain, beingthe
cheapest lens in the group _
the Samyang mirror lens
aside. However, there's no
optical stabilisation and you
don't get full-time manual
focus override in AF mode, as
featured on the Canon and
Sigma lenses. lmage quality rs
reasonable, albeit a litile soft,
ano chromatic aberration was
more noticeable than with any
ofthe other lenses. The Tokina
is worth considering if you're
after a powerful yet highly
compact lens and are on a
relatively trght budget. )
PhotoPlusVdict
/l;y,Tf, i"ff l;i,1i:'fl i:ift'"
x H:!il;Y*reimagequaritY
PhotoPluslepiember2O0g
I es

Super-telephoto lensFs ala glance
Model name
Max aperture
Min aperture
Compatible
SLRs
Effective focal
length (450D)
lmage
stabiliser
Max
magnification
Minimum
focus
AFtype
Focus limit
switch
Filter size
Lens hood
Gear
ffiffiffiffi
L IS USI\I
I/45-5.6
f/3238
Full Canon
range
160-640mm
YCS
O 20x
1.8m
Ultrasonic
YCS
77mm
ET-B3C
(supplred)
L USIV
t/56
t/32
FullCanon
range
64Omm
No
O.IZx
3.5m
Ultrasonic
YCS
77mm
Built-in
tvilrror
f/6.3
f/6.3
Full Canon
range
800mm
No
0.20x
2.Om
None
No
34mm lreag
95mm (front)
No
EX DG HSM
f/4 6.3
f/22
Full Canon
range
B0-B0Omm
NO
0.19x
i.Oto3.Om
Hrinorqnnir
No
86mm
Supplied
DG OS HSM
I/4.5-5.6
f/32
FullCanon
range
192-640mm
Yes
0.24x
1.5m
Hypersonic
No
77mm
Supplied
DGOSHSM
t/5-6.3
1/22
FullCanon
range
240-B00mm
YES
0.19x
2.2m
Hypersonic
No
86mm
Supplied
Di LD (lF)
f/5-6.3
t/32
Full Canon
range
320-B0Omm 128-640mm
No
0.20x
25m
Conventional Conventional
NO
B6mm
Supplied
AT-XB4O
r/4.5-56
f/32
Full Canon
range
No
0.19x
2.5m
No
72mm
Supplied
Carry case
Soft case
None
Pouch
Soft case
Soft case
Soft case
Soft case
None
Dimensions
92x1B9mm
9ax257mm
98x12Omm
95x219mm
92x2O3mm
95x252mm
94x221mrn
79x137mm
Weight
RRP
Target price
1.3Bkg
t1 830
s,1,290
I25kg
sl 560
t1,125
O7lkg
s200
t200
1.B4kg
s1 350
t1,059
1.64kg
s750
s599
1 78kg
t900
eTta
1.24kg
t1100
tB59
1.02kg
s,760
s,559
Verdict
9Oa/o
B2o/o
760/o
B)a/o
92o/o
95o/o
B5o/o
79o/o
his Super Test boils down to
the'haves' and the'have-nots'
wrth image stabilisation being
the dec d ng factor. Without it, you
can t exoecr to gel consistertiy sharp
rpsr rlls wien shool ins at 4O0mm
or 5OOmm unless you use a
tripod or monopod With
image stabilisation
handholding your
n:mer:
fnr qr nertelephoto
shooting rs
nprfpetlrr
fe:cihle
With this in m nd.
the Tokina 80-400mm
'' ; i1l It
Vedict
is stil worth a look thanks to ts compact
and ghtweight design, while the Tamron
20050Orrn delrvers spectacular in age
qualrty The Samyang 5OOmm lens is good
lor o, , :q oa:
I rqtr rf rinr r'rc nn : troht hr relopt
Ult mately, however, our overallchoice
is between the Canon 100-400mm lS, the
S gma 120-4OOmm OS and the Sigma
150'50Omm OS. Of these three, the Canon
c.- /e' s rhe best rrrage qual ty bythe
-:"olest of margins, but the two Sigma
-
-h^, ,+ h -tf +h^ ^.,^^ ^. ^,,^^ t^. -
:) L U)! OUUUL I ldll L lq pl luq ul gvr I lr)),
,',: . 'erefore think that the 150-500mm grves
lplenhoto rercr and the 120-400r r
: - errsthebestvalueformoney.I
Five things
we learned
in this test:
Without added image
stabilisation, you need a
monopod for sharp results.
a;'.Tfr:nffffi,,,"
the lens hoods supplied.
El ff3Jil''"#ffii:::.
without a tripod orhonopod,
A focus travel limit switch
can speed up autofocus,
especially in poor light.
gt
element.
l;,'"ffi!;flT:;:i?:.
but can cost t100.