Thoughts on the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens

[rlarose]

I have been shopping around for a wide-angle lens. I will be using it with the Nikon D80. Thoughts on the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens?

[xxpinballxx]

I've heard nothing but good things and its on my short list...hopefully will be getting it soon. I like to search for it on flickr and see what photos where taken with it.....
I do that with all the lenses I think about getting....just to make sure I am getting the right idea in my head of what it will turn out like.

[rlarose]

That's a great idea (flickr search on lens). I did a quick poke, and that's what I am looking for in my next lens!

[zetson]

I have had the sigma 10-20mm for about five months and I love it. You get great wideangle images, about 110 degrees angle of view on my Nikon D40. That means if your standing in a corner of a room, you'll get the whole room plus a little bit more It is a sharp lens except for the EXTREM borders at 10 mm, but this is no big issue at all. It could also have had a larger aperture since I shoot mostly indoors, but at that price, you just have to adore this piece of glass.

AF is fast and accurate.

If you plan to shoot pictures with flash, you have to bounce it. Otherwise you'll see the edges of your flash on the picures...

[Digidave]

You may want to consider this lens. Especially if you want to do indoor shots. Scroll down the page & check out the comparisons to the Nikkor 12-24mm. In my opinion, it blows it out of the water in sharpness. This lens will begin shipping in the USA in May.
Quote from Ken Rockwell:

It's amazing how much sharper the Tokina is than the Nikkor. At the normal (smaller) apertures at which a smart person would shoot this, the differences become much more subtle. These were shot on a tripod, and I even left the Kenko UV filter on the loaned Tokina.

The amazing part is how much sharper the Tokina is everywhere. I wouldn't expect all the corners, near and far, to be so universally better, but they are.

The results were the same at 16mm, so I didn't bother to present them. The one shortcoming of the Tokina is its very limited zoom range: it only goes to 16mm.

Tokina 11-16mm Review

[vandergus]

Tokina 11-16mm Review

I'm kind of excited about this lens. It's wide, fast (f2.8), good quality (according to the limited reviews) and reasonably priced (pre-order at Adoroma for $570). This could make for some really fun evening shots in the city. I know it won't auto focus on my camera but that's not as big a deal with wide angle lenses.

[mattdm]

I'd be a little skeptical of anything Ken Rockwell says — sometimes he's got good advice, but generally he tends to just spout off whatever comes to his head. (There's somewhere on his site where he claims the whole thing is totally a joke.)

That said, he's not necessarily wrong — Tokina does make some really good lenses especially for their price.

[vandergus]

I'd be a little skeptical of anything Ken Rockwell says — sometimes he's got good advice, but generally he tends to just spout off whatever comes to his head. (There's somewhere on his site where he claims the whole thing is totally a joke.)

Yeah, I kind of think of him like comic relief for photographers. I frequent his sight, mainly for the entertainment value, but it's a good idea to get a second opinion on something he says before you go spend hundreds of dollars on photo gear.

[Digidave]

Very true, but if you follow the link & look at the pictures you will see for yourself the differences between the Nikkor 12-24mm & the Tokina 11-16mm. You really don't have to take his word for it. As they say, "The truth is in the pudding".

[Elmo]

I have already ordered my Tokina.