Sigma 10-20mm f3.5 EX DC HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras with APS-C Sensors

Product Information

The Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM Lens is available in Canon (reviewed), Nikon, Pentax, Sony/Minolta and Sigma mounts. That's why it came by surprise for many when Sigma announced another UWA zoom, with the same zoom range, but a little faster this time: f/3.5 throughout the whole zoom range. The larger aperture of course means the lens itself has become larger and heavier, as well as more expensive than its slower sibling. At 15mm it's a little soft at the edges, although still nice in the centre, but by the time it gets down to the 10mm mark the edges have improved again. In fact, at the wide end, the overall performance was the best in the range. The lens has obviously been optimised for the shorter focal length as there was no distortion there, whereas the 20mm end did have a little pin-cushioning.

10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM - SIGMA Corporation 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM - SIGMA Corporation

The lens is slightly bigger so it does need a little more adjustment in your lens bags if you already had it tight. The AF/M switch is different on this model. It's almost like they redesigned it and made it an interchangeable unit. I'm not willing to take it apart to find out why it's designed this way, perhaps something to do with the way how they have to make it adaptable for the different camera mounts. I suspect they are using a more easily interchangeable part with circuitry built right into the switch for each camera model/mount. If you have ever taken apart a sigma lens, they all have very interchangeable parts, a smart thing to do from a manufacturing point of view. Being a Sigma "DC" (Digital Camera) lens, the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 has a smaller-than-full-frame image circle designed to work only on APS-C/1.6x/1.5x Since the introduction of cropped sensor dSLR’s, wildlife and sports photographers have been happy, whereas landscape and architectural photographers have not been such a contented bunch. With 35mm kit, any focal length below 20mm was considered an ultra-wide angle lens, but the same length on a crop-sensor is only just into regular wide-angle territory. Here, we take a look at Sigma’s answer to the problem with the UK’s exclusive first look at the all new 10-20mm f/4-5.6mm zoom, a true ultra wide zoom for dSLRs.This technique works especially well when photographing a fisherman's catch or anything else you want to emphasize (or enlarge). there is always the possibility that a DSLR body might not support a (likely older) third party lens. The Sigma 8-16 is a better overall performer from a sharpness perspective, especially in the corners. The left side (about 5% of the frame) is softer the the rest of the of the frame - especially from 10-12mm.

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC Interchangeable Lens Review

In direct comparison with the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens, the Tokina holds a big 1-2 stop advantage over the shared focal length range - I know that the Nikon 10-20mm is brand new, so little is known about the actual image quality, but would one of the other two be superior lenses? What is the current consensus? Use the widest focal length you have available in your kit (perhaps 18mm or 24mm) to closely match one or more of the above focal lengths andAs expected from a wider aperture lens, the f/3.5 shows less vignetting at the same focal length and aperture settings, though stopped down differences are not significant. less vignetting at the same aperture settings at the mid and longer focal lengths, has less distortion and is sharper. This is by no means a weather-sealed lens – you should avoid shooting in heavy rain and in dusty conditions. On the other hand, I was shooting for two weeks in Canary Island where a spell of windy conditions brought a lot of sand from Sahara and I do not observe that any dust/sand would get into the lens. filters are large and relatively expensive, but this size has been growing more common in Canon-mount lenses in recent years. With a wide open aperture, the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens has good sharpness across the frame and across the focal length range.

Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM Interchangeable Lens Review

So, if you're new to wide angles, I'd suggest the Sigma, but if you're on a budget, go for the older 10-20mm f/4-5.6. It's just as good at f/8, and 77mm filters are way cheaper (I love using a grad nd with this lens). Of course the market doesn't stand still, and Tamron (arguably Sigma's biggest direct rival) has recently revised its own offering in this sector with the SP AF 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF). In the Four Thirds mount, Olympus has also entered the arena with its very impressive Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm F4-5.6. And while Sigma has itself recently announced a new constant maximum aperture 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM, the indications are that this will sell alongside the slower model as a higher-priced premium product. So how does the 10-20mm F4-5.6 stand up in the face of its new competitors? Headline features And the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens is another fine option from this review list - especially from a price standpoint. Like the rest of these focal length ranges, The 10-20mm range will complement 18-something mm lenses very nicely.The original Sigma ultrawide-angle zoom still holds its own, being slightly sharper at the telephoto end of its spectrum than the newer version. CA is also slightly better in the older version, though the newer version improves on corner shading and distortion. The new version uses 82mm filters instead of 77mm, but offers the constant ƒ/3.5 aperture.

Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM Lens Review

I'm not a big fan of Sigma's lens finish (others love it), but the rubber-covered zoom and focus rings consume a significant portion of the lens. The lens is available for both Canon and Nikon cameras, but there are two different versions of this lens (one for each brand and mount) so it is important that you ask for and choose the right version when bying the lens. The Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM Lens is also a good option - I especially like its extremely wide angles of view. Build quality of this lens is reallIn the middle of the zoom, at 14mm, the resolution characteristic of this optic changes somewhat, with the centre resolution reducing somewhat. However the centre resolution is still good between apertures of f/3.5 and f/16, with the best quality across the frame being achieved at f/11 again. Sigma makes this lens for a variety of mounts, but only the Nikon, Canon and Sigma mount versions have the HSM, or Hyper Sonic Motor function – Pentax and Sony versions don’t.