Buying Lenses Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
From Sigma Corporation
From the Manufacturer
The 10 to 20 millimeters f4 to 5.6 EX DC HSM lens allows enjoyment of super wide-angle photography and it is a very powerful tool for indoor shooting and landscape photography with APS-C size image sensors of digital SLR cameras.
Wide angle of view (102.4 degrees at 10 millimeters and 63.8 degrees at 20 millimeters) offers the photographer greater freedom of expression.
Three SLD glass elements are employed for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. One piece of glass mold and two hybrid aspherical lenses, offer excellent correction for distortion, as well as all types of aberration.
This lens is equipped with an inner focusing system, and the models which are equipped with HSM system provide quiet, high speed autofocus shooting and also offer full time manual focusing. It has a minimum focusing distance of 24 centimeters (9.4 inches) at all focal lengths. The non-rotating lens barrel perfectly suits the petal shaped lens hood. A circular polarizing filter can also be used conveniently.
Product Details
Brand: Sigma
Model: B0007U00XK
Dimensions: 3.50" h x 3.50" w x 3.50" l, 1.04 pounds
Features
Super wide-angle lens designed for Nikon digital SLR cameras
Hyper Sonic motor
10 to 20 mm focal length
14 elements in 10 groups
3 special low dispersion and 3 aspherical lens elements
Customer Reviews
Fantastic value and performance… 
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
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
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.
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