The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM S and the Tokina 50-135mm f2.8 DX for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM S is the longer of the two lenses at 269mm. The Tokina 50-135mm f2.8 DX with a length of 135mm is 134mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM S also has a larger diameter of 120mm compared to Tokina 50-135mm f2.8 DX's 78mm diameter.
Weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Tokina 50-135mm f2.8 DX weighs 845g, 68% (1855g) lighter than the Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM S's weight of 2700g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the 'Telephoto Zoom Lenses in Canon EF Mount for size comparison purposes.
Telephoto Zoom Lenses in Canon EF Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM S and Tokina 50-135mm f2.8 DX has the same Canon EF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Canon EF lenses are Canon 1D X III, Canon 6D MII and Canon 5D MIV.
Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM S is also available in Nikon F (FX) and Sigma SA mounts.
Tokina 50-135mm f2.8 DX is also available in Nikon F (DX) mount.
Focal Range
Sigma 60-600mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM S has a focal range of 60-600mm and 10.0X zoom ratio . When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 96 - 960mm.
Tokina 50-135mm f2.8 DX has a focal range of 50-135mm and 2.7X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 80-216mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.