Has anyone any experience of the Sigma 10-20mm Wide Angle

[Just Dave]

Hi

Has anyone any experience of the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 Wide Angle lens as Im going to get one?

TIA

Dave

[ravens-eye]

Hi Dave.

Yes I actually own one of those and use it with my 500D. It has really opened up the cameras ability for both landscape work and for when working in tight spots such as inside buildings.

You do get barrel distortion at the widest end but it’s to be expected and can be fixed fairly easily in pp.

The lens is well made (mine has taken a hefty hit against the limestone pavement of the Dales and although damaged, the optics are still perfect) and I'm very happy with the quality of the images it produces. They are very crisp and have no vignetting.

The only real downside for me is the lens flare when using Lee filters, you really need watch your orientation to sun or bright lights as without a hood, its highly susceptible to them.

If there is anything in particular you need to know about the lens, let me know and will do my best to answer.

Hope this is of some help.
Gareth

[Just Dave]

Thanks very much Gareth thats a great help, do you have any example images I could see please

[ravens-eye]

Most of my recent work on my Flickr page was taken using that lens (steel wool n light orb work, lavender fields, landscapes). Feel free to have a nose

[Just Dave]

Thanks Gareth, just having a look now, Ive added you as a contact

[Just Dave]

..

[Chris Humphreys]

the only point to note about the barrel distortion at the wide end is that it can be a little difficult to fix on certain subjects. I used to use one shooting architecture and the barrel distortion isn't uniform across the photo, from memory it is more pronounced at the corners. For most subjects though it isn't an issue and I used mine for a number of years just fine.

[Troy]

Personally i think this lens is a great choice for wide angle work. I'm not sure of another that is at the same price point and offers the equivalent image quality. You'll be amazed at how wide you can go with it.

If you're really struggling to make your mind up, why not rent the lens for a weekend and give it a good test?

[ALwin]

Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, the best APS-C format wide angle lens in the market. Tokina recently announced a mark II improved version of this lens which should be arriving at stores soon.

This lens beats any from Canon, Sigma, Nikon, etc. and provides a constant aperture of f/2.8 while Canon, Nikon and Sigma competitions are variable apertures. And unlike the Sigma, the Tokina has very low distortion.

The only drawback of this lens is the 11-16 focal range. The price of this lens is around the same price as the Sigma 10-20.

[Troy]

Ah yes, the Tokina is definitely worth a look too, forgot about this lens.

It does have a slightly narrower angle of view at the wide end, which makes a surprising amount of difference when you are using super wide angle lenses. However, you then get the constant f2.8. Personally a constant wide aperture wouldn't appeal to me so much with a wide angle as most of the shots i'd take with it would be landscapes, and therefore around the f11 mark anyway.

[Just Dave]

Thanks very much for all your input, its much appreciated, will have a look at the Tokina

[ALwin]

I would tend to agree that having 1mm wider for landscape would be nice, but then you might as well get the 10mm fisheye and correct for distorion in Lightroom or Photoshop. Won't get wider than 180degrees

Don't think of ultra-wide lenses just to get as much of the scene into the frame, also remember their distortion effect for closeup portraits or taking photos in confined space. 1mm difference is not a big change on the wide end, for that I would prefer a fast lens for low light.

[Just Dave]

Thanks for the info Alwin, I dont want it for portraits, just landscapes and architecture, stuff like that