Opinions on the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC HSM?

Skyline On Fire

Skyline On Fire

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I've been looking at this compared to the Canon 10-22, and its much cheaper, seems far more common on the buy and sell etc... How's this lens working out for you guys? Any sample shots I could see?

I've always been reluctant to go for third party lenses, and I've always stuck with Canon for whatever reason, so this would be my first Sigma.
 
I was disappointed with it and with the Canon one as well. But if I used them on the right subjects, they were amazing. It may sound a contradiction but you have to choose your use carefully. It was awesome on landscapes with large skies. I'll try and find a few images ...
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Excellent lens, I used the Nikon version on my D300s and it rarely came off it. Highly recommended.

Couple of example shots from NY:

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It's a good lens.

You're right that it is popular on the buy and sell forums. Lots of people want to buy it, because it's much cheaper than the Canon and it delivers good functionality and image quality for the money. But it wouldn't be popular unless there were also lots of people who want to sell it.... you might want to look into why that is.
 
That's the thing, I don't mind spending the extra on the Canon if the quality isn't there with the Sigma, I've always been reluctant to go down the third party route....
 
I wanted an ultra-wide angle to make life easier when creating panoramas and decided on the Sigma 10-20. Example 360-degree panorama. (Still needing some work! ;)

It's the only non-Canon lens I own and I've been very pleased with it.
 
I bought one from here just before Christmas and I'm just getting used to it, but so far so good!
 
It's a nice enough lens and I prefer the distortion characteristic of the Sigma over the Canon. The sample I had was as sharp as I needed it to be.

My word of caution when it comes to the super-wide-angle lens - don't let it take over your shooting style. Too many people buy one of these zooms, fix it to the fronts of their cameras and never take it off. I like to think of such an extreme wide angle as a special effect. Too much of it and before you know it, all your photos look a bit "samey" and you are just another "I bought a wide and zoom lens" shooter.

I suspect that at least some of the people selling their lenses are selling them because they a) got bored of it, b) found they weren't using it so much once the novelty wore off or c) went full frame. I sold mine because I wanted to buy a different lens (and different focal length) I knew I would use a lot more.
 
I like mine, only used it for interior shots of my house build and a few landscape type shots so far but I'm taking it to London on the 15th so I'll see how it fares. Certainly no complaints with the pics I've taken with it though, and mine was used.
 
I love mine not sure my pictures stack up with the samples on here will try to find some to add later..I have bought two more Sigma lenses on the back of the 10 -20 mm and I am pleased with all of them.
 
It is usable but the copy I borrowed for a week was not the sharpest wide open, and it had some weird distortion. Canon seemed to be better lens from the two.

I went for Tokina 12-24mm as it was priced well, and built like a tank. I am fairly happy with it (well it is on 1Ds and 1D at the moment until I get a 17-40 bargain, perfectly usable to 19mm and 15mm, respectively). I have many samples on my flickr. It is sharp, contrasty, and the distortion is not obvious. It needs CA correction, which is easy in Lightroom.

At the end of the day it depends what the lens is for. For architecture 10mm or wider will be needed. For brochures Sigma is more than enough; for A2 art prints probably Canon is better.
 
I'm very pleased with my copy - the photos in my flickr account below were taken with it for my mates Joinery business.

For the amount of times mine gets used, I couldn't really justify the extra for the Canon and like I said, I'm pleased with my copy.:thumbs:
 
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I love the lens and use it more than any of my other lenses on my D300.
 
Skyline On Fire said:
That's the thing, I don't mind spending the extra on the Canon if the quality isn't there with the Sigma, I've always been reluctant to go down the third party route....
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I wouldnt worry. I was concerned about going 3rd party- I've always bought Canon, not really because I was worried about it per se but Canon always seemed to offer me what I wanted. That was until I went into the market for a 70-200 f2.8 lens. I researched, looked at reviews etc etc, and decided that for the price (on Amazon at least) and performance, the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX HSM II was the best buy for me. Since getting it, I'm blown away by the sharpness and quality of the lens - its very well built indeed! Certainly no QC issues and I'm very glad I chose this one. I know the Canon variant is supposedly the best there is and really would be the lens of choice, but I cant imagine for a second its worth paying twice as much for, and having used other 2.8 telephotos it ranks as the best I've used.

Having said that, when I bought my UWA I compared the Sigma 10-20 to the Canon 10-22 and bought the Canon :lol:
 
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Seems to be a 'show off you ultra wide shots' type thread :thumbs:

So I'll do the same - I have had 2 sigma 10-20mm lenses and both have been sharp

But I understand the quality control on sigma lenses to be a bit iffy at times hence some people not being happy with their copies.

Am currently looking for another lens, but this time may got for the tokina
 
hi just wondering how is your canon 10-22 working out. i was looking in to a sigma lens but still not sure betwwen the two of them.
 
steve1670 said:
hi just wondering how is your canon 10-22 working out. i was looking in to a sigma lens but still not sure betwwen the two of them.
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I used to have the Sigma 10-20, my note on my web page "mistake to sell" (http://www.photobyove.com/blog/?page_id=37). But the Canon 10-22 that I've swapped temporarily with a friend has worked out pretty damn well, examples below.

Oh please bring back the crispy white snow, and let's forget about the dreary Scottish rain :'( ...

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