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08-01-2009, 01:39 PM   #1
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Picked up the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-f/5.6 EX DC

Hi all,

I picked up one of these after reading a lot of very positive reviews in magazines on the the photography forums. So far, seems like a very good lens indeed. Chromatic abberations are well controlled, only a slight tweak in Camera Raw to correct blue/yellow abberations in the very corners. Contrast is very good and overall sharpness is impressive. No HSM on this lens, but no big deal given i'm using it for landscape work.

I will be primarily using this lens for landscaping, so I doubt I'll explore the wider apertures, but f/8 to f/11 seems very to be awesome. I'll post more once i've got out with it for decent shots, but in the meantime, here is a quick and dirty test shot:

_IGP4976 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

08-01-2009, 02:13 PM   #2
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Nicely done. You've got the foreground element thing in your composition right. You should have seen my initial attempts at it. Warped buildings...warped people, etc. near the edges from perspective distortion.... :-)
Enjoy the lens and post more examples in the gallery...
08-01-2009, 02:36 PM   #3
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Hi Big G

I'm convinced that you'll grow to love exploiting the amazing capabilities which the Sigma 10-20mm has to offer where creative photography is concerned. As far as typical landscape composition goes, it has been my experience that images can be immeasurably improved by including something significant in the foreground, with which to draw the viewers attention into the rest of photograph. View the example below to see what I'm getting at !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madrarua/1142767424/

The Sigma 10-20mm is also utterly invaluable for taking architectural interiors/exteriors, particularly in many locations where tripods/flashguns are officially prohibited. This is where Pentax's inbuilt Shake Reduction comes into it's own for capturing sharp hand-held photos.

P.S. Here are some links to more superb images taken with the Sigma 10-20mm on the Flickr site. Don't forget to click on the "magnify" button just at the top left of each of these photos to view them full-screen in all their glory....have fun.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/browni63/2172665238/in/pool-sigma10-20/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kolorabi/938405184/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49938315@N00/2120328330/in/pool-sigma10-20/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corica/901655045/

Best regards
Richard

Last edited by Confused; 08-01-2009 at 05:37 PM.
08-01-2009, 04:00 PM   #4
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Some great stuff there, looking forward to getting out there and putting it to proper use.

I was using my Pentax 17-70mm SDM for landscaping, but that exhibits some mild barrel distortion at 17mm where as the Sigma is superb at 10mm with very little barrel distortion. It will definitely replace my 17-70mm for that line of work.

Need some decent weather and nice sunsets!

08-01-2009, 04:13 PM   #5
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congrats on the lens, though to be fair, landscaping with ultrawide is much harder than I'd ever imagined. But if you know what you're doing it can be very rewarding.

Enjoy it!!!
BR
Peter
08-01-2009, 08:15 PM   #6
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Congrats on the new lens. I also have this lens as well. I must admit I don't use it as much as I used to though. It is a great lens and is very fun to use.
08-03-2009, 04:07 AM   #7
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For info, there are some more test shots on my Flickr set.

08-03-2009, 04:40 AM   #8
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Congrats on your purchase .... look forward to your UWA landscape posts.
08-03-2009, 11:23 AM   #9
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Congratulations on the lens--I own it and love it. I agree with Axl; landscaping with it is tougher than I thought it would be.
08-03-2009, 12:01 PM   #10
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I rented one and enjoyed it quite a bit:


I may have to buy one after all.
08-03-2009, 09:50 PM   #11
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I am after an ultrawide zoom. Is the sigma better than the DA12-24?
08-04-2009, 02:30 PM   #12
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Hi raider

At the risk of stirring a hornet's nest, try defining the term "better" !
I've never actually handled the DA12-24mm myself, so it would be pretty unfair to comment on it's abilities when attempting to compare it with Sigma's 10-20mm. In my case, it just so happened that a long-standing C***n-owning friend had sent me some photographic examples featuring his Sigma 10-20mm lens. Viewing these images, I instantly realised that I simply had to get one too, which you can take as a ringing endorsement of the optical quality of this Sigma lens. However, I completely concur with the previous comments stating that:

QuoteQuote:
Landscaping with it (Sigma) is tougher than I thought it would be.
Thus far it has been my experience that when photographing landscapes, this type of lens often has a tendency to almost appear too wide (through the viewfinder) on many occasions, which is where the invaluable "zooming" facility of the Sigma comes into it's own for perfectly framing a picture. A fixed focal-length wide-angle might obviously not afford such an option without a great deal of legwork, although many would argue that prime lenses offer the ultimate in sheer optical quality. All things considered, such a decision will be both a personal and financial one which only you can arrive at......good luck whichever path you follow !

Best regards
Richard

P.S. See link below to view one of my hand-held photos taken with Sigma 10-20mm as an example of foreground subject leading the eye into the rest of the image:

http://s242.photobucket.com/albums/ff156/Tamron18-250mm/?action=view&current=IMGP3633.jpg

Last edited by Confused; 08-04-2009 at 03:41 PM.
08-05-2009, 02:05 AM   #13
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Thanks for the reply.

After looking at the images captured by the Sigma 10-20, I am impressed! The DA12-24 is a F4 lens. The Sigma is a slower lens. Does this matter in practical usage?
08-05-2009, 02:15 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by raider Quote
Thanks for the reply.

After looking at the images captured by the Sigma 10-20, I am impressed! The DA12-24 is a F4 lens. The Sigma is a slower lens. Does this matter in practical usage?
it does indoors, or handheld in lower light.
f5.6 is terribly slow for this. But for landscapes, architecture etc, it's perfecly fine

BR
08-08-2009, 04:14 AM   #15
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Got out for a proper shoot with this lens last night.

Coast - a set on Flickr
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