Sigma 200mm F2 DG OS Sports Review: This Bright Telephoto Prime Readily Blurs Out Backgrounds

I tested the 200mm F2 DG OS Sports along with the 60MP Sony a7R IV. The lens aces its Imatest lab scores, notching excellent marks at f/2 (4,700 lines), and burying the needle into the outstanding range (5,200 lines) from f/2.8-11. The image softens at f/16-22 due to optical diffraction, an unavoidable phenomenon that makes light particles scatter as they pass through a narrow passage.

Sony a7R IV, f/2, 1/800-second, ISO 100 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

The lens exhibits modest pincushion distortion, an effect that makes straight lines bow inward in images. An embedded correction profile removes them automatically if you set your camera for JPGs or movies. I reviewed the lens ahead of release, so it doesn’t yet have an Adobe correction profile, but it’s only a matter of time before one comes to Lightroom and Lightroom Classic.

Sony a7R IV, f/8, 1/8,000-second, ISO 100 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

I found flare to be more problematic. The 200mm F2 flares readily in scenes with a strong backlight or the sun in (or just out of) frame. Using the included hood helps to suppress the effect, but it won’t do anything if the sunlight is coming directly at the front glass. You can typically work around the worst flare with just a slight shift in angle, however, and for backlit portraits, a bit of soft glow can add to an image, not detract from it.

Sony a7R IV, f/2, 1/250-second, ISO 200 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

It’s easy to get background blur (bokeh) with this lens, and its long focal length and wide aperture make it an ideal candidate for capturing images with just a sliver of the scene in focus. The 200mm F2’s bokeh is very smooth. Highlights show soft edges, and are free of distracting texture, though I spot some cat’s eye in specular highlights positioned away from the center at f/2. Highlights are uniformly round at smaller apertures: The 11-blade aperture closes down to a circle, which gives the highlights their shape.

Sony a7R IV, f/2, 1/250-second, ISO 800 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

I didn’t spot any significant longitudinal chromatic aberration (LoCA) with the lens either, another mark in its favor. LoCA usually shows up as light purple and green halos in parts of an image that are just out of focus. Aside from flare, which is tough to avoid given the large aperture and correspondingly big front element, the 200mm F2 is as optically perfect a lens as I’ve ever used.

Sony a7R IV, f/2, 1/1,250-second, ISO 100 (Credit: Jim Fisher)