| Author: | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2022 Location: Glyfada, a southern suburb of Athens Posts: 208
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 22, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | truly widens your photography into an inspirational world | | Cons: | Bit slow, flat colors | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 1
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: KP
Autofocus: 10
New Or Used: New
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It's a spectacular lens with an unbeatable (and rectilinear aka not fish-eye) diagonal angle of 122° and a 115° horizontal at 8mm that opens up a whole new world in photography.
Most enthusiasts turn into the other extreme with telephoto lenses shooting in open space mostly wild life etc. This type of glass give us the ability to find amazing captures in urban and close environments. The "ultra wide angle" is a place that few have realised its potential or see it as a hobby since the rectilinear options are..... well... just two. Either this or the way more expensive DA* 11-18 since there is a huge difference with all the fish-eye available that distort reality. Actually it's the only lens in Pentax that can deliver 8-11 angles.
It delivers magical images, (there is no bokeh beauty in such angles) and gives you the alternative to get a great hobby.
Save for real estate agents, this glass and these angles, I promise, make my soul living in a tight metropolis
open up and fall in love with it's "enclosure".
I wrote on the Cons that it's not for amateurs yet it can initiate everyone into this magical world of rectilinear reality.
You can use a tripod of take advantage of the SR since at 8mm landscapes can be shot handheld even at an 1/8th - of a second unlike in wildlife where you need speed and subject sharpness.
It's the ONLY lens that makes the WHOLE photo the a full subject. And that's second to none.
 | | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: February, 2011 Location: Brno Posts: 295
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 11, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $750.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | 8mm, widest rectilinear AF lens available for APS-C K mount, compact body | | Cons: | not a very bright lens, strange two part lens cap, filter use is very limited | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K20D, K5, K3
Autofocus: 9
New Or Used: Used
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Having DA12-24/4 since about 2009 some time later I decided to add something wider. That 12mm field of view on APS-C is still limiting. So I found the Sigma 8-16 and bought it around 2015.
Right from start I was amazed by the huge difference between 12 mm and 8 mm lens. Things you can barely capture in portrait oriented photo at 12 mm do fit nicely in landscape oriented photo at 8 mm from the same spot. This is very useful in places whre you have no room to step back. And the result is almost like fish-eye in some cases, but lens is rectilinear.
It quckly moved my DA12-24 into cabinet and in 90% of cases I rather take Sigma over Pentax with me. It has similar resolution, less CA/PF, it is smaller and wider. DA12-24 only retains that F4 advantage and can accomodate filter easily if needed.
CA/PF are well corrected, lens has plenty of resolution. Sometimes there are multiple reflections of light sources in night cityscape images and sun can create some flares. But that is rather expected in case of such extremely wide lens.
It eats the light a bit and it is F4.5-F5.6 lens, so do no expect it to be low-light tool (look for Sigma 10-20/3.5 or DA*11-18/2.8 in that case).
Lens is APS-C only and parts of images are missing on FF frame. So if you want to use it on K1 or film, you'll need to attach 1.5x teleconverter or similar tool. Or try to find older Sigma 12-24 FF lens.
Lens is not weather sealed, but build quality is on high level and it certainly will survive some light weather surprises. Lens has nice smooth barrel shaped body that is quite compact and easily fits into bags. It takes less space than DA12-24/4 with its large hood. Bulbous front element is prone to catch some dust or fingerprints if not used with care.
Autofocus operates fast enough and is reliable. Manual focusing is easy. Lens has focus distance scale window.
Lens does not provide focal length info to camera between 8 to 10mm part of range. This is Pentax issue and the worst thing is that you cannot see the number in output file. SR seems to work well anyway.
As we have no other similar lens for APS-C K mount, all I can is to recommend this lens in case you need ultra wide angle lens.
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Posts: 12,285
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 26, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $395.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | W-I-D-E, 20% wider than 10-20, sharp, IF, HSM, | | Cons: | NO Filters, Price, Slow | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: K-5iis K-3
Autofocus: 10
New Or Used: Used
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If you are into filters this is NOT the lens for you. If you want to shoot rectilinear and WIDE then this is the lens for you. Sharper than the 10/12-20/24 lenses I've shot over the years, silent, fast focus, but it handles like a fisheye with regard to the hood being built in, the glass bulging outward a bit, and needing to really be aware of your own body when framing the photo. Stopping down to f8+ brings the corners into sharp relief but the center is sharp from the outset. Distortion is lower, so far, than I anticipated with is a nice realization. I'm being asked to photograph in tighter spaces and do more groups shots so the wider angle of the 8mm is a real plus for me.
UPDATE: 3/18/19 - This lens works at 16mm on the K-1 without any issues from my tests. Must be at16mm, no other focal lengths are without problems, but then it essentially works as a 16mm fixed focal length lens on FF.
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2018 Posts: 12
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 28, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, wieldy | | Cons: | Filters impossible | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K3ii
Autofocus: 10
New Or Used: Used
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Really good. All marks out of ten for this type of lens (ultra wide zoom) as, naturally, it barrels.
Really nice handling - the internal focusing and (relatively) light weight makes this a potential walk-around lens when looking at cityscapes or architecture. Sharpness is really good for a lens of this price.
As others have remarked here it gives a good impression of having a polariser on the front. Colour rendition is notably more vivid than my 16-85 HD Pentax, which comes across as more 'neutral' and cool. But the colour rendering really works with the images that this lens produces.
A little gem!
(Edited 2019-10-30 with woodland shot showing flare resistance - the sun is in frame)
 | | | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2012 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 2
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 18, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Great colour & details for PS, Manageable size and weight, Unparalleled focal range | | Cons: | Great resolution not available at large apertures, construction not good enough | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 7
Value: 8
Camera Used: K20D
Autofocus: 8
New Or Used: Used
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This is the second Sigma lens I have used on a Pentax body - around 3 years ago.
I bought it because I had wanted to have a try of the widest zoom AF lens - when I had never thought of entering K-1. This lens was rare in Hong Kong, so I bought mine from an Australian who delivered nothing less than described. On paper, it is not a particularly light lens. But thanks to the modern plastic of the lens body, it felt light to me.
I did not understand when others said it is not easy to compose when you use ultra-wide lenses - until I started shooting with it on Hong Kong Island - as you can see in my album of samples. This model is no doubt a great lens with great flare resistance, mild distortion, colour rendering just marginally inferior to DA 12-24 (my comparative impression according to samples). Still, it is uneasy to take impressive shots with a lens of this focal range.
It is a shame that I did not keep it for long despite its great performance - not to mention that I had tried using it with K-1 at 16mm after a little cropping!
Now I own FA 20-35 F4 as my only Wide Zoom for K-1, and several other respectable wide MF prime lenses. The 1st reason is that I prefer taking wide shots with distortion as little as possible. I am afraid it would have been the same issue with Sigma 12-24 for FF. Right now I have fun with prime lenses of focal lengths from 18mm to 25mm.
The 2nd reason is that using a ultra-wide zoom lens can be confusing. Even the zoom power is only 2x, you have to reconsider the composition from scratch every time after you change the focal length by 1mm. An equally important point is that ultra-wide shots rely on great sunlight much more than those at normal focal lengths. I had not learnt to be patient to take good photos yet. So you see.
The 3rd reason is that I found out I would not be into ultra-wide photography as much as I had guessed. So I sold this marvelous lens smoothly to a more committed photographer.
Similar to Sigma 50-500, it is a lens of its kind. I heard Sigma 10-20 is the best performer within the same era from Sigma. Still, this lens is good enough so long as you are not an extreme pixel-peeper. Right now, I prefer the rendering of Pentax (say, 24 3.5) and Carl Zeiss (25 2.8) prime lenses, so I am not looking back.
Since the release date of the new DA* 11-18 2.8 remains a mystery, together with DA 12-24, this lens should serve APS-C format lovers well enough.
I did not spend much time getting used to this gem so the samples should show far less than what it can do in great hands.
Samples:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1114353558712625&type=1&l=d8940801d5 | | | | | Forum Member Registered: April, 2013 Location: Daventry Posts: 84
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 19, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $440.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, colour quality, quiet mechanism | | Cons: | large, no filter attachment, some exif data missing | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K3
Autofocus: 9
New Or Used: New
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Overall a very good lens, quiet and well built. I've been wanting this one for some time and my local camera shop were having a inventory clearance and they reduced the price on this from $1049 CAD to $599 CAD so I couldn't resist. Complements my Pentax 10-17 fish-eye lens and is really good for crowd scenes and landscape shots, I especially appreciate the amount of information you can capture. Negative aspects are slow aperture, lack of exif info less than 10mm and difficult to attach any filter system.
But on the whole, good value for money.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: February, 2018 Location: Hérouville Saint Clair, Normandy, France Posts: 143
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 21, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $485.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | wide, well built, sharp | | Cons: | hood, weight | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: KP
Autofocus: 10
New Or Used: Used
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This lens is a monster. Very wide, very heavy, very big front element, very quiet.
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2015 Posts: 36
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 31, 2018 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Colour rendition, very wide | | Cons: | sharpness, no filters | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K3
Autofocus: 10
New Or Used: 10
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I am very pleased with this lens, being able to go up to 8mm is very pleasant. The colors are very good, it almost look like a polarizing filter is always used. My only regrets is the lack of sharpness, even stopped down.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: May, 2014 Posts: 44
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 29, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Cheap and very unique | | Cons: | not the sharpest | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K3II
Autofocus: 10
New Or Used: 10
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Very unique lens with really special characteristics. Ultra wide angle with very little distortion. Focus is fast but almost everything is always in focus so it never really hunts. The significance between the 8mm and 10mm is huge, so if you are considering this versus the 10-20 for example, the extra wideness is much greater than you would think. Really great buy for architecture because at 8mm this lens is a whole lot wider than any other zoom out there
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2008 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 141
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 23, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $425.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build quality and ultra wide angle field of view | | Cons: | Hard to find | | Sharpness: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-3 and K-5
Autofocus: 10
| |
Nothing much to say that others haven't already said, but I'm well pleased with the lens. It replaced an older Sigma 10-20 & while that lens was nice, I like this lens better. I don't use it a ton, but when I need an ultra wide angle, it's truly spectacular.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2013 Location: Sydney Posts: 844
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 28, 2015 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Widest lens available for apsc | | Cons: | Inconsistent metering on k3 | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-3
Autofocus: 10
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I'm not sure why this is listed as a legacy lens - it's listed on the sigma site as a current lens, and can still be bought from most shops?
Anyhow, if you need ultra wide, then there aren't many alternative options. This lens is better than the DA12-24 (my copy will be heading to eBay soon), but the DA15 beats it at the long end.
The sharpness is reasonable for a zoom, bokeh is irrelevant when you're this wide. However... Metering on the k-3 is pretty bad. It just seems the k-3 can't cope with this lens (it feels like it's so wide the k-3 doesn't know what it should be metering?). Some times it's over exposed, sometimes under exposed. It just seems to be a bit of a lottery. The images clean up fairly easily in Lightroom, and you will end up with good shots, but if you're a JPEG shooter, you should probably avoid this lens.
If you want the best wide angle lens, this is not it (the DA15 is). For those days when the DA15 is just far too narrow for you, or when you feel the need to have your legs and feet in scenic landscapes, the 8-16 is just the ticket  | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2015 Posts: 1
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 8, 2015 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5
Autofocus: 9
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Very sharp Lens
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2012 Posts: 49
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 9, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Good colors, sharpness, build quality | | Cons: | no filters, a little heavier than 10-20, slow apertures. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax k-5
Autofocus: 9
| |
great ultra wide angle lense,
If you look for a wide angle look no further than this lens. image quality is stellar.
of course I wish it could take filters at 8mm wide and it could be faster to us it withouth tripod or star photography. but we all know you have to compromise.
best value for the money.
Little complain about the AF (maybe just on my copy) but some time it kind of goes in idle. i have to wake it up  .
Happy shooting with this lens.
Highly recommended.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: September, 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 15, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $650.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Amazing fl range; sharp for a wide angle; good, quiet AF | | Cons: | size; price | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: Pentax K3
Autofocus: 9
| |
If you need a solid ultra wide angle you cannot do better on Pentax than with the Sigma 8-16. It is hard to find in the USA and expensive but nothing else does the job as well. There really is a difference between 8 and 10mm fl. which can be clearly seen in photographs. The only real negatives are the size (not actually that large and heavy but not as comfortable as DA 15 or DA 10-17 fisheye), and the price. Everyone interested in architecture, street scenes and wide vistas should give it  | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2011 Location: Doha Posts: 11
7 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 5, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, rendering of skies | | Cons: | AF, inability to fit filters | |
I love this lens, 8mm is pretty impressive! There's nothing else available at 8mm apart from fisheyes. I was lucky enough to pick one up second-hand.
The cons are minor niggles really. It's a bit soft at the corner and edges when wide-open. It's very sharp stopped down, and, personally, I want as much DOF as possible on UWA shots, so for me that's not normally a problem. Likewise, the autofocus: it's not very good, but I rarely use it anyway, so it doesn't bother me. I prefer to use hyperfocal focusing with UWA lenses. If you do use AF, use Spot Focus, as I think part of the problem is there's so much in the frame it doesn't know what to lock on to. For anyone wanting to shoot infrared with this lens, forget it. It suffers from hot-spots at all apertures.
The pros are it's angle of view, it's sharpness when stopped down a bit, and the way it renders skies. It's like it has a built-in polariser, and for me that largely negates the inability to use filters. In the Middle-East, with skies often a dull beige from sand in the air, this lens delivers beautiful blue skies. It's quite extraordinary in that regard. Contrast is excellent.
One other con, but fixable: Pentax cameras don't recognise focal lengths below 10mm, so you need to use a program like ExifTool to modify the exif if you want to use lens corrections below 10mm. It's worth doing this, as the distortion is quite odd, moustache-type, and the edges become very distorted at 8mm.
Overall I'd give this lens a 9, only not getting a 10 because of the AF issues, and it's softness at the edges when wide-open.
Here's a couple of shots from the lens on a K3
 Arches by Jon Bowles, on Flickr
 Stairway by Jon Bowles, on Flickr
And a couple from the K5
 Petronas Towers by Jon Bowles, on Flickr
 IMGP7277 by Jon Bowles, on Flickr
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