[Alfisti]

I've had the sigma 10-20 for a while and am happy for the most part but have found that below 14mm I have to bracket focus to guarantee edge to edge sharpness.

This is why we buy the 12-24 instead

[amicah22]

This is why we buy the 12-24 instead

My 10-20 cost me less than 400, the 12-24 was a stretch - 550 used was the best I saw- but If you like I'll trade my 10-20 for your 12-24 and I'll throw in a smc f 50mm f1.7. Then you can enjoy the pleasures of focus bracketing. I have heard that the 10-20 is sharper at the long end than the 12-24 which may be possible because my 10-20 is razor sharp at 20mm and f6.3.

[axl]

beautifull pictures you have there, axl. I like the second one best.
Have a thing for B&W, don't you?

thank you, and yes, lately I've been finding myself converting nearly all of my shots to B&W. Reason? You know, dull, overcast weather in London doesn't exactly make for nice colourful vistas , just kidding, I simply love good B&W and I've been trying to get there myself....

......xample is axl's photo with the guy on the street.....

[B]THANK YOU[B]

(4) Don't be afraid to take portraits too! You can get some really interesting and unique ones with UWA lenses. Just be mindful of your angles to control the distortion on the subject

point #4 is the one I haven't mastered yet, I've been trying but it's not IT yet...

btw your examples above are simply great.
BR

[soccerjoe5]

Nice shots Diego! I loved my 10-20 so much on Pentax, it's the only lens I had to "re-buy" when I switched to the (other) dark side - Canon.

Thanks buddy! I love your apples photo and the one with leaves up close. Those could make some real good post cards!

[soccerjoe5]

point #4 is the one I haven't mastered yet, I've been trying but it's not IT yet...

btw your examples above are simply great.
BR

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing your wide angle portraits!

[axl]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing your wide angle portraits!

when yhe time will be right...

[ChrisA]

Returning to the OP's actual question:

Any suggestions or ideas to make this lens more consistent

I've had the 10-20 for a while, and I'm reasonably confident I've got a good copy. One thing I've learned to do is this:

... Ensure that it focuses.

At extreme wide angles, the depth of field is so colossal that the camera (K10D in my case) often doesn't think it needs to refocus. You can reframe, point at something else, and it doesn't refocus. This leads in my experience to shots that look Ok on the LCD, but aren't quite sharp once you look at them properly.

I've found that if I consistently focus on something really close, before taking the next shot, it *has* to focus the next time, and gets it much better than if only a small adjustment is needed.

[soccerjoe5]

Great photos, Tas

[PFH]

I just love my 10-20

[WerTicus]

Im hanging out for the Sigma HSM f3.5 10-20

Does anyone know a street date for it?

[amicah22]

Thanks for the all the help with my original question, while I have composition pretty much down (although we can always learn) the ideas to improve edge to edge sharpness have helped.

[amicah22]

It tells a story.

they say something about pic being wort couple of words, so this is how:




BR

[amicah22]

But I still love that train shot.

I don't use this lens much, as I haven't taken any landscape shots recently. Took the lens with me to India, and a few samples from that and the locomotive was taken in Michigan.

[amicah22]

Thanks for sharing.
[QUOTE=egordon99;544765]Did someone say Sigma 10-20mm?

[amicah22]

Thanks for the advice and the pics- they remind me of Palawan but I know it could be anywhere in the Philippines; your country is so photogenic. I did not get my 10-20 until after I got back from there last time - another excuse to go again I guess.

Ooh I loved the 10-20 back in using Nikon. I've still yet to get an UWA in Pentax. Still crossing fingers for an 11-16, and I'm pretty sure to get a DA15 someday.

Anyway on using it, it's really fun at first but it's quite hard to shoot efficiently with it. Few things you can do:

(1) Push in TIGHT. Go close. Real close. You're bound to get something interesting.
(2) When capturing a scene you need (A) foreground and (B) background. These 2 combined can make a really good shot. Perfect example is axl's photo with the guy on the street.
(3) Play with the relationship of the subject with the environment. The really cool thing about UWA lenses is that it can make something look REAL far away, you can add some real depth in a photo. Here are some examples:









(4) Don't be afraid to take portraits too! You can get some really interesting and unique ones with UWA lenses. Just be mindful of your angles to control the distortion on the subject