Nov

Sigma 10-20mm 4-5.6D Lens

Written by Neil Galloway

This is the first lens I ever bought. I bought the D70s body and then purchased this lens at the same time. I have to say it has treated me very well. This a very wide angle lense and has let me capture quite a few moments. It is half the price of the Nikon 10-22, but it is lacking the vibration reduction and the better glass inside. For amateur photographers it will definitely do the trick. Check out the Sigma 10-20mm product page.

I have used it in a few situations so far, including...

Inside churches and buildings where I can't back up any more and need to capture as much of the scene as possible
Making distorted pictures
Capturing large amounts of landscape scenery.
Really capturing scope. You can take a picture of someone up close, but it still captures a huge amount of the background scene.

I have had a couple of annoying things with the wide angle aspect of this lens. Photographers will already know this, but for the novice like me it was new.

The built in flash does not have enough cover for this lens. There will be a shadow underneath the lens. And I mean a sizeable one. I couldn't use this with a flash until I bought the SB-600 which has a wide angle diffuser on it or I could point the flash to bounce off the ceiling/wall.
The lens cap that comes with it is really annoying. Doesn't always stay on very easily. The cap on the Nikon 18-200 is a lot better as it has strong springs and you have to pinch the cap on the inside to remove it.

I have written an article called Understanding the Value of Wide Angle Lenses.

Zoom Range

Here are two photos taken one after the other. I made sure the size of the front of the lens remained the same size in both photographs. The first photo is zoomed in at 20mm and the second is at the widest angle possible. This gives a good example of what a wide angle can do. It can keep the subject you are close to fairly large, but it gathers in more and more background into a shot the distance increases.

Sigma At 20mm

Sigma At 10mm

A technique I will commonly use is to walk as close as I can to a subject I want to be large in the shot, but keep them in one side or to the bottom of the frame. Then the wide angle can pull in all the detail to the side of top of the subject and really show the surroundings of the subject and set the tone for the photo.

Sample Photos

Here are a few photos.

Roux

Wake Surfing

Gravestone

Check out how long it stretched it upwards.

Trans Siberian Train Washroom

I was able to get the whole washroom in this shot.

Piano

This piano fills a lot of the photo, but I was still able to grab parts of the room and add them to the photo.

St. Anne de Beaupre

There is no way I could have gotten the whole cathedral in without backing way up and having a lot of empty space around all the sizes.

Dinner Time

My dining room is a bit tight. To capture the whole table I would have to move out past the wall with a normal lens. I was able to capture the whole scene here.

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Category: Photography

1 Comments

Alan Says:
2008-06-17 20:42:20
As a satisfied professional user of this lens, I'll add just one thing; it may be cheaper in cost to the Nikkor but it definitely doesn't "lack the better glass inside." In fact, the only bad mark against it is the poorly designed lenscap. You can solve that by picking up a 77mm Nikon clone off ebay for $10 inc. shipping. Otherwise, it can give results every bit as good as the Nikkor. Stick to the 12-20mm range at F8 or F11 and it may even surpass it. It definitely lacks sharpness at the corners wide open, especially at 10mm, but that's not due to cheapness. Many similar lenses 2 - 3 times the price have the same problem. One just has to know a lens' limitations and work around them. I recommend to anyone wanting an affordable and extremely fun lens at the wider end of the range and who's not put off by the lack of the Nikon badge one to grab one. I don't know anyone who's regretted it. For proof, just go to the Sigma 10-20mm flickr group. Look at the images and ask the users their opinions. I doubt anyone will give you a bad word.