Customer Reviews
Heavyweight but worth it. 
2008-05-18
I'm a professional photographer (over 35 years) and I jumped into digital about a year ago with the Nikon D70s. It accepted my extensive collection of Nikon lens, but I purchased the Tamron 28-300 as my standard lens (very happy) but the wide 28mm was not wide enough. I bought the Nikon 15mm 1:5.6 back in the 80's for $1800 and it's a super lens, but the new light weight digital lens spoiled me so I decided to upgrade to the Sigma 10-20... nice range, good price, looked small in the ad, so I bought it.
Unfortunately when it arrived I was a little surprised to find this "digital only" lens about as big and heavy as the Nikon...1½ lbs vs. 1 1/8 for the Sigma. Both are bulky and heavy, but the quality of the Sigma lens caught me by surprise. Noticeably better than the Tamron, and a better feel than the Nikon... I was a little shocked, but not as shocked as my first sharpness test when the Sigma was way sharper than my Tamron and even a little sharper than my Nikon 15mm.
Nikon gave me a super wide with straight lines for a small fortune... Sigma did it with a zoom for under $500--- What's not to love. If your work calls for a super wide, you could hardly do better than this at any price. Highly Recommended.
Sigma 10-20mm Wide Angle Zoom 2008-04-27
Excellent product. Edge to edge sharpness is very good even at 10mm. Totally happy with this purchase.
Best low budget wide angle 2008-04-26
I bought this lens a few weeks ago and so far I'm very pleased with it's performance. The picture quality is excellent, and the handling is great. And it balances well with my Nikon D300 (although it's a bit too light to be perfect).
I have to admit that I'm no expert in judging lenses, so therefore I read a lot of tests and reviews before I chose this lens. So if you are too lazy to do the same, take my word for it. This is repeatedly a test winner.
If you look for a reasonably priced wide angle zoom as an addition to you standard zoom, this is a very good (the best?) choice.
This Should Come With Your Camera 2008-04-25
I am shocked about this lens. After many visits to the camera store, hours of internet research, and dozens of questions to professionals I bought this lens from Amazon. No local dealers bothered to carry it so once again the sale went to the internet.
During my research it became obvious that one of the major limitations of many new DLSR's is a smaller overall field of view when compared to a traditional film based SLR using the same basic lens. Without going into the "why" the bottom line is my Nikon D40X's stock 18-55 cannot capture as wide a shot as I want.
Terminology becomes an issue when trying to explain this lens to an amateur, or the person who might be involved with your new 500 dollar purchase. The word "wide" has new meaning these days when applied to TV's and monitors, so people are confused when you try to tell them about a lens that is "wide". This is significant because so many new D40X buyers, for example, are jumping into SLR for the first time and have no clue about lenses. These are the people who probably have no idea what they are missing.
The overall focus on lenses gets further confusing for amateurs because of all the hype about "zoom", and when kits like the D40X give you an extra zoom but no wide lens. Zoom is like one of those numbers consumers make sure to ask about before they make their purchase. While zoom photography is cool, I feel the magic of wide-angle photography is a well kept secret. Consumers would be well served to be asking about "wide" instead, and start walking the camera up closer to their subject. You'll see why later.
Doing research became even harder when I began to read about the Nikkor 12-24 and new 14 wide angle lenses. At $1000 and $1700 I began to feel like my dream would never come true. Then I held the new 14mm at the camera store, attached to a D60. It is a monster in every way. After looking at some dinky conversion lenses I was ready to give up. The amazing reviews of the new Nikon wide-angle lenses left me feeling it might be years away.
That's when I found the Sigma 10-20, roughly 5 lenses later. The solid 5 star reviews combined with under-$500 price tag got me looking, and then the test shots. $20 of overnight shipping later I must say this is a product that should come with the camera. All new consumers should be made aware of what this thing can do. It should be bundled or at least sold beside these cameras, not the total mystery it seems to be. This wide angle lens should go into the hands of amateurs and professionals alike. It could be the factor that keeps new people into the hobby when their zoom shots are all messed up. Simply put this lens allows your camera to better match what you see with your eyes. The creative possibilities of a wider field of view should not be underestimated. It could sell more cameras, so it seems the competition should be looking up to Sigma, especially at this price tag. Have fun!
good first impressions 2008-04-24
While there are many good reviews on Amazon for this lens reviews on other sites aren't so consistently rosy so it was with some trepidation that I awaited delivery of this lens. I should add here that I am an enthusiastic amateur and don't claim to be the most discerning photographer around but I like to think I recognize quality when I see it.
Anyway, it arrived today and first impressions are good from the feel and handling to the couple of dozen photos I've taken so far in and around the house with my Nikon D50. The build quality feels as good as my Nikon 18-200 which has been my main lens since I bought it last year to replace the kit lenses that came with my D50.
Other reviews I had read mentioned the fact that the front and rear lens caps are rubbish (they are) and so I had already ordered a 77mm Nikon cap as a precaution and I'm glad I did. Also be aware that the Tiffin filters which Amazon sells are lower quality and generally not multi-coated and that can apparently lead to reflection problems with a lens as wide as this. I bought a Sigma MC UV filter accordingly.
Will post again if I come across an problems down the line but otherwise it's 5 stars for now!
Fantastic value and performance... 2008-07-18
For what I need this lens is fantastic. The widest zoom I can get for my D40 at a great price. The lens feels very well made and sturdy; the photos are sharp. The only thing I don't like about it is the weird finish but that's no big deal. Highly recommended.
A Must-Have for Wide Angle Enthusiasts with DX Nikon DSLRS 2008-06-28
I'm a nut for wide-angle photography. I don't mean to get technical, but for those who do not know the sticky details, modern Digital SLRs often have sensors that are quite a bit smaller than the traditional exposure area of film: 24mmx36mm. In the case of Nikon DSLRs (all current models except their $5000 Nikon D3 12.1MP FX Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) professional FX sensor model) use what they call a DX sensor which is 16mmx24mm.
For us old film hounds, this means that a lens of a given focal length will roughly translate to 1.5x when switching from film (of Full frame) to DX. So, your old 20mm wide angle lens will "crop" to about the equivalent of a 35mm lens when put on a DX sensor DSLR.
For those who really like telephoto shots, this is a positive boon. Your 300mm lens will take pictures that have the same angle of view as a 450mm lens, but for those of us wide-angle freaks, this "digital crop factor" takes some of the "punch" out of the bottom end. Many general-use zooms for the DX sensor cameras start around 18mm. This would be ultra-wide on that old film camera, but it takes pictured that look more like what you'd expect from a 28mm lens on a traditional film camera.
Ok, sorry for all the mumbo jumbo, but now on to why this lens is so great...
With its 10mm-20mm focal length, this lens is the 35mm film SLR equivalent of a 15mm to 35mm zoom lens, and 15mm full-frame is about the widest you can go before getting into "fish-eye" territory.
With this Sigma lens at 10mm, you get a very wide angle perspective without crossing over into fish-eye territory. Yes, there is noticeable "barreling", but nothing beyond the range of most modern photo/image editing software's ability to fix. Frankly, I like a little of that in my ultra-wide photos. At the 20mm end, the "barreling" is much less noticeable.
As will all extreme wide angle lenses, if you get right on top of your subject, you'll really amplify the distortion effect, but if you're shooting at 10mm and focusing down to the lenses minimum focus distance (an amazing 10" or so), you're probably already expecting, and even counting on such distortion anyway.
Did I mention that it focuses down to around 10"?
The construction of this lens is solid, and it has a little heft to it. It comes with its own custom lens hood. USE IT. The front element on this lens bulges out a bit (as you can see from the product photos), and aside from helping with lens flare, that extra bit of "guard rail" will help you avoid scratching the thing. I've put a UV filter on the front to help protect the glass, but the distance between that glass and the front lens element makes this "reflection box" that has visibly shown in some of my highly backlit/highly contrasty photos.
The focusing is fast and silent. I really like the fact that this is one of those "internally focusing" lenses which means that the act of focusing does not turn the manual focus rung, and doesn't make the lens change position or size. More importantly, if you want to manually focus, you can just grab the ring and turn because it's not "locked" into place in AF mode like many other lenses.
I've taken some of my best photos with this lens, and for the wide-angle enthusiast with a DX sensor Nikon DSLR, I'd go so far as to say this is a must-have. It's got 2mm wider focal length than the nearest Nikon (with DOES make a visible difference at the low-end), but its incredibly well made and clear from edge to edge (though, it does have that "barrel" distortion... it's still crisp from end to end with little to no vignetting)
Sorry, I probably went on a bit, but as you can tell, I really like this lens. I'd highly recommend that you do your research before you buy it as ultra-wide angles do have some idiosyncrasies, but if you know what to expect (photographically) from them, then this lens is one of the best I've ever played with/owned.
A lot of bang for the buck 2008-05-20
I needed a very wide angle lens for some work I had coming up and didn't really have the cash for a piece of Nikon glass to suit my needs.
After having done a lot of research on this lens, I decided to pick one up. I couldn't be happier. Seems to have a very good build quality for a lens in this price range. Distortion at the edges is very manageable, and the images produced by this lens are very sharp.
A/M Switch On Lens Deleted 2008-05-20
Great images as all have said but on the latest stock the auto / manual switch has been removed. The lens cap now is the same as the Nikon center pinch lens cap.
Wow 2008-05-18
Fabulous glass, not disappointed at all. This is a great addition to my lens options. Have not had it long but the little I have done with it tells me of great things to come. Sigma has won me over. The 10-20mm range is very fun. I use it on my Nikon D300. Loads of fun......
