Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

After shooting a few months with the kit lens (18-55), I found myself shooting at the wider range more often than not, with the exception of the occasional portrait. So I got rid of the kit lens, got myself a 50mm prime (the f1/4 from Canon: a masterpiece), and a wide-angle zoom for landscapes.I quickly found and bought the Sigma. Two months later, I couldn't be happier. It shoots where no other lens could shoot. Everyone knows that "10mm is wide", but few realize just how wide it is until they see it. Our eyes see in the 40-50mm range, so we're not used to perceiving such a wide field. When you look through this lens, you see pictures that you didn't even know were there.The glass quality is excellent, obviously not up to Canon L standards, but that was never the purpose. The pictures are SHARP and clear, and colors are excellent (tints tend slightly toward the warmer end when compared to Canon's 10-22mm; I like that, personally, but YMMV).Subjects are obviously deformed when shot up close at 10mm, but know what you're doing and that becomes a great tool for artistic pictures! You can shoot a 5'5" person head to toes from less than 3 feet away. Also, I am happy to report that at 20mm there is NO distortion whatever, regardless of the subject's distance.The only problem I can see right now with this lens is a rainbow effect when shooting at 10mm in direct sunlight. The hood helps some, but you'll still get the rainbow in some pictures. See my pic in the customer image section. It's not a huge deal (sometimes it's actually a neat effect), and it's happened to me only once out of 800+ pictures taken, but know what you're getting.Overall, this is THE wide-angle zoom to get if you're halfway serious about landscape photography, although the Sigma also works great in indoors with limited room to shoot.

First off, a wide-angle is sensor specific so there are just a few top contenders for Canon's APC-S (1.6x crop factor) cameras. I shoot with the Canon EOS 40D. The downside here is that if you choose to get a full-frame camera body such as the Canon EOS 5D, you will need to replace this and any other EF-S lenses you own.The Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 has everything I valued going for it: price, build quality, great glass and zoom range. It also comes with a lens hood which the more expensive Canon competitor does not.I rented a couple of comparable lenses to help in my decision: the Tokina 11-16mmf/2.8 and the Canon 10-22m f/3.5-5.6The Canon 10-22mm, like all EF-S lenses I've used, is built like a toy in comparison to other lenses. Cheap, plastic, loose tolerances. While it did produce OK results, I got vignetting wide open. Considering that its' price is higher than all the rest, it did not look like a good value.The Tokina, on the other hand, was build like a tank. Great contrast, clarity and fast. However, I decided that I didn't need the f/2.8 or the extra $100 on the price tag and did want the extra zoom range. But it is a great lens and you can read my review on the product page.Regardless, I am completely satisfied with this lens and highly recommend it over the Canon.

This lens is the best quality lens for the price available. What I mean is, out of any cheaper wide angle lenses out there, it would be best to spend the few more dollars for this lens. It comes with a carrying case and hood which is extra nice; considering Canon is charging hundreds more and for whatever reason cannot bring themselves to giving anything away for free. Speaking of Canon, I'm a Canon guy all the way, and this is the first time I considered straying from Canon Products. I'm really glad I did. The reviews on the Canon lens are too iffy to justify paying 200-400 more for roughly the same lens. The photo examples don't give me any justification to pay that kind of extra money either. Some reviews on this lens also seem to be a bit negative, but unless your shooting with the big boys, theres no outstanding reason to upgrade to a more expensive wide angle, as this will cover all of your needs with great clarity and color. The only real fault that is noticeable with this lens is that amount of distortion at the edges at 10mm. This is to be expected with such a wide lens, and can simply be solved by shooting closer to 12mm..etc. However, in some cases, the 10mm distortion actually works in your favor to enhance the height of trees, buildings, and that sort of thing. (Examples of this exist in the photos regarding this lens).Certainly consider reading others reviews, and go to Canon's lens reviews as well, so you can make your own decisions. I just hope this helps in deciding if its worth spending the extra cash for Canon. Happy hunting!

I would give this lens a 4 star rating, which in my book is about as good as you get unless the lens is truly outstanding and top of the heap. Since there are clearly far more expensive lenses out there with finer workmanship in the body of the lens and the glass, this is pretty darn good.Having said that, I have to say that I have run tests on the lens in real world situations where some features fall short.Sharpness. I am still using my trusty Rebel XTi Kiss 10.10-megapixel which will only carry so much sharpness from any lens due to resolution of the CMOS. The Sigma 10-20 provides equal sharpness from the center to the outsides of its coverage as my Canon 17-40 mm zoom at the same focal lengths.Auto focus. This is where the Sigma can fall short. Based on a Chart test of lines on a flat field at 45 degrees to the camera, the auto focus consistently focuses considerably in front of the focus line regardless of the foual length and choice of camera driven auto focusing method. Having said that, it is seldom in real life that I ever shoot a piece of paper with lines drawn on it. On standard product shots on a white seamless with an object standing up, the focus was accurate both wide open and fully closed down at 10mm to 20mm. But here again, I am not very often going to be using this lens for table top product photography. I tried it shooting the action of kids running around with Alpacas for a client and it took wonderful images, but in this case it often focused too far back, thus throwing important information in the foreground out of focus. I may have to test this using one of the different focusing method internally on the camera. I am used to the massive depth of field of fixed length wide angles, and never had to worry of depth of field when shooting in strong sunlight even with action but these lenses have been designed with the help of computers to achieve such minimum of distortion at different focal lengths that I expect some of the old rules of thumb to no longer apply.Depth of field. Since I will be shooting flooring installations with this lens, one of my main concerns is depth of field on location. So I did do tests on a 4'x8' table top at about a 45 degree angle of downward view. I stretched out builder's rules both from the front bottom to the end of the table and across at bottom right to top left corner of the viewfinder view. I also had an imitation wall standing up at the ends for vertical testing. I shot versions from wide open (something I would never do) to fully closed down (in this case f22). The results were as expected in that the maximum depth of field was certainly at f22 but also the sharpest detail was also at f22. That I did not expect since up until now, I have always expected the middle f-stop to provide the sharpest overall resolution. Frankly, I have enormous respect for the engineers who bend light with the multiple elements to achieve these wide angle zoom views from 10-20mm with so little barrel distortion. Photoshop then can fix what's left.Lens flare. This is always a problem with lenses as the focal length shrinks. I don't find any more of a problem with this lens as with any other super wide lenses. Just don't shoot into the sun! But what's new about that?Ease of use. It would be nice if lens manufacturers all made the outer ring the zoom and the inner the focus or vice versa. I have a feeling that there are some engineering reasons for not doing so. But then this has always been true since I first started photography in 1969. I have always had to fold in the task of working enough with all my lenses to make my fingers habituated to where their controls are without conscious thought. Same is true with cameras that keep changing where you control them. Of course I have the same grip with makers of TV remotes, recorders, auto windshield wiper controls, AC controls and music systems of all kinds.Structural. I have not had this lens long enough nor used it enough (only a couple of weeks) to have a track record yet. But it is solid, nothing sloppy about the controls, clicks into place on my Canon body firmly with no additional movement and is just as easy to heft around in changing out lenses as my Canon lenses are. Some have criticized it for its weight. But I like its weight. It adds stability to the camera. You have a light weight camera and you tend to get more camera movement when you squeeze the shutter. Squeeze right? I hope no one is pushing the shutter button.Contrast, exposure, saturation and color. With my Sigma, all these are well within the good and satisfactory standards. I don't find color shifts, flat or contrasty images nor ones that lack color depth. What I have found is some bleariness out on the outer corners in some scenic shots when shot at 10mm. But then I find that as well on my 17-40mm Canon. It is just a bit more exaggerated at 10mm. So unless I am stuck and have no choice but to use the lens at 10mm, I will tend to keep it between 12-20mm. Since I am a commercial photographer and seldom need to make a super-wide visual design statement, this is a lens I will probably use sparingly but will become a vital tool in my bag especially for architectural and real-estate photography.Nice case that will attach to the belt with good padding comes with it.So overall, I give this lens top marks for its class. Many lenses at higher cost are not as good. I have yet to test it in the field in architectural photography not have I seen 16"x20" prints, so I cannot comment on it merits in this application.I hope this helps those of you who, like me, were wondering if I should give the lens a try. I have read, as I am sure you have too, in the posts above this one, that some people have experienced some bad product. But I do hope they have all actually done some rigorous comparison testing. I would recommend this to everyone when you get any lens for the first time. This lens like many of the super wide lenses is like a grand prix racing car in comparison to a family mini-van. You have to exert a lot of control since they can get away from you easily and you can't expect automated camera controls to do everything you need. But that is more about the photographer using the equipment than the equipment itself. If you receive a good version of the lens, while it has a few flaws, it is easy enough to work around them. But this is true with most lenses. Nothing is perfect. You may have to go manual and/or experiment with some of the camera controls you may not have used before.Peter

When I first got this lens, I really didn't use it all that often. At the same time I purchased this lens, I also purchased the Canon 50mm 1.4. I was so hooked on the professional quality of the 50mm, I completely neglected this lens because it didn't give me the bokeh effect I loved so much with my new Canon lens. I also completely underestimated the sharpness of this lens the first few months.However, if you've been out in the field, or even shooting indoors at home you know sometimes a 50mm just won't cut it, and can be inconvenient in certain situations. This is when I started switching to this lens to accommodate those situations. This is also when, in post production, I realized what it was that I had.This lens is sharp. Not the sharpest, but pretty damn sharp. It's beyond convenient in any environment I'm involved in. The AF when needed on the fly is very fast (and I'm using a T3i Rebel) and makes for some awesome close ups. Naturally a wide angle lens is something you can always have a lot of fun with.The thing I like though is unless I'm REALLY close in the 10-15mm range, it doesn't give too much of that bowl effect actually. If you want that effect you can certain achieve it, but the majority of my shots looks "normal" if you will.I do a lot of Photography for a pet rescue volunteer organization. This lens is my number 1 on site lens now. It allows me to be fast and mobile, and gives me a wide range of options for my shots. I'm always impressed in post production by what I see. I really, couldn't be happier.If you're thinking about it, do it. This lens will warm up to you more and more over time until you completely and utterly fall in love with it.

I am extremely pleased with purchasing this lens. Being a relatively new digital photographer, taking that first dive in spending $400+ on a camera lens was quite the dive. But now looking at how beautiful and satisfied I am, I want to dive again with Sigma!I purchased this for a trip to Japan mainly to take landscape pictures, but it turned out to be a useful all around lens. I even use it for macro shots that I know I need to grab that extra wide-angle. For landscape shots on buildings, my stock lens kit would only capture a few windows and a door of a building while this lens captures the entire building with some of the neighboring buildings next door! The thing is super wide!! One thing to note is that being that the lens is so wide, it does kind of distort indoor shots to a kind of fish-eye look. To me this is a good thing as I think the effect looks really cool, but to others it may not be their cup of tea. Because of this effect it may make for a good indoor camera for realtors looking to capture the entire room in a few shots.Overall, I highly recommend this lens. Like I said if I had to choose one lens for a trip, this would be the one I grab because it can function in many different ways even if it wasn't meant to do so.

I was not sure when I ordered this lense what to expect, thinking if I dont like the results, I can return it. I think I am keeping it. I was a non believer, now I am a believer. I did a lot of research as others did and I was a canon lense person all the way. This is a very nice lense good value for the dollar. It feels well made a little heavy but not too heavy, Focuses quick and is quiet.I was at a car show today and took about 150 shots with my 30D, the color was vibrant and the pictures were sharp and clear. I dont use a wide angle enough to justify the canon price, but i think I will be using this more than I expected. If you want a good wide angle lense at a good price for a cropped sensor camera, this is it.

Purchased this lens about a week ago, when it arrived it was missing the case for the lens that the description said it had. I tried reaching out to the seller through amazon's customer support and seller said this wasn't through them and I need to find the correct seller that sold this. There is no way to contact the seller and when you click on the seller's name, it shows their address in Japan. The only contact info amazon shows is for what seems to be the incorrect seller. I wouldn't trust the seller's product description and what is included. Buyer be ware!On another note, the lens doesn't do that great at autofocus and landscape pictures, which is what I purchased it for. Tried taking pictures with out of the grand canyon and every picture looks blurry and not crystal clear.

(Wer meine Rezension bzw. mich und wie ich Objektive teste und bewerte besser einschätzen können möchte, siehe bitte meinen Kommentar zur Rezension.)Insbesondere für die Filmerei mit meiner Canon EOS 600D wollte ich unbedingt noch ein Extrem-Weitwinkel, aber natürlich benutze ich das Objektiv auch sehr gerne für die Fotografie. In vielen Bereichen bevorzuge ich alte manuelle Linsen, doch da das APS-C Format praktisch gerade mal knapp 15 Jahre alt ist, gibt es hier kein entsprechendes Material, und Extremweitwinkel-Objektive für Vollformat verkommen natürlich bei dem Cropfaktor von 1,6x einer 600D zu normalen Weitwinkelobjektiven.Also habe ich nach einem bezahlbaren aktuellen Objektiv gesucht, und letztlich beschränkt sich die Wahl für eine Canon hier auf das Sigma 10-20 F4,0-5,6 und das Tamron 10-24 F3,5-4,5. Für alles andere muss man nochmal mindestens 200€ oben drauf legen (oder gebraucht kaufen). Keine große Auswahl also. Preislich gibt es keinen wesentlichen Unterschied (außer durch Preisschwankungen bedingt). Ich habe ziemlich ausgiebig Testergebnisse und User-Meinungen gelesen und es hat sich außergewöhnlich(!) deutlich abgezeichnet, dass das Sigma als besser eingeschätzt wird.Natürlich ist das Tamron, wie auch die anderen Alternativen, minimal lichtstärker. Doch gerade bei einem Extremweitwinkel ist das für mich am ehesten zu verschmerzen. Ob nun Landschafts-, Architektur- oder Straßenfotografie, mit dem Weitwinkel möchte ich in der Regel eine hohe Schärfentiefe erzielen, also blende ich ohnehin immer etwas ab.Zudem ist es mit 83x81mm und 470g relativ kompakt und leicht und eignet sich für mein kleineres Schwebestativ, was für mich sehr wichtig war.BILDQUALITÄT:Die beste Abbildungsleistung erreicht das Objektiv zwischen Blende f/5.6 und f/11. In diesem Bereich bin ich mit der Bildqualität sehr zufrieden. Darunter und darüber, also bei Blende 4 (10mm) und insgesamt ab Blende 16, allerdings eine deutlich schwächere Bildqualität. FARBEN und KONTRASTE sind aber über den gesamten Bereich so wie zu erwarten gut.Die SCHÄRFE würde ich allgemein mit einer 7 von 10 bei Blende 5.6 bis 11 bewerten. Ansonsten eher mit 5-6. Natürlich wäre es toll, wenn die Bildqualität sogar bei Nahbetrachtung von Bildausschnitten überzeugen könnte, denn bei Weitwinkelaufnahmen gibt es naturgemäß in der Regel theoretisch viel Detail zu entdecken. Dafür reicht die Auflösung des Sigma nicht ganz, erst recht was die Randbereiche betrifft.CHROMATISCHE ABBERATIONEN sind bei Weitwinkelobjektiven generell etwas problematischer, doch das Sigma hat mich diesbezüglich positiv überrascht. Bedacht fotografiert sollten sie höchstens vielleicht bei Nahbetrachtung unangenehm auffallen und hier ist wie erwähnt insgesamt die Bildqualität ohnehin nicht mehr so ansprechend.Eine deutliche VERZEICHNUNG ist nur bei und nahe 10mm Brennweite und nur in den extremen(!) Randbereichen zu erkennen. Ansonsten sind gerade Linien wirklich wunderbar gerade. Für meine Ansprüche eignet sich das Objektiv damit also nicht nur für Landschafts-, sondern auch für Architekturfotografie, solange man wichtige Linien nicht zu weitflächig durch Randbereiche verlaufen lässt. Einen Vergleich mit Standard-Zoomobjektiven (z.B. 18-55 Objektive) bei 18-20mm gewinnt das Sigma 10-20 mit links (rein in Bezug auf die Verzeichnung).Die VIGNETTIERUNG ist bei Offenblende ziemlich stark, und auch sonst deutlich abgeblendet immer noch recht ausgeprägt. Aus meiner Sicht ist Vignettierung im Normalfall (zumindest für mich) nicht von soo großer Relevanz, trotzdem sei angemerkt, dass dies ein Schwachpunkt des Objektivs ist.Das Objektiv hat 6 Blendenlamellen, das BOKEH gefällt mir nicht so besonders, aber es ist auch kein so entscheidender Aspekt eines Weitwinkels für mich.GEHÄUSEQUALITÄT:Das Gehäuse macht einen hochwertigen Eindruck und scheint mir tadellos verarbeitet. Ein Gehäuse aus Kunststoff kommt mir in Hinblick auf das Gewicht in diesem Fall definitv entgegen, auch wenn mir sonst ein robustes Metallgehäuse lieber ist.ZOOM- und FOKUSRING sind gummiert und ausreichend breit. Ich würde sie weder als leichtgängig noch schwergängig beschreiben (irgendwo in der Mitte), doch sie lassen sich jedenfalls ordentlich und präzise bedienen. Beim Zoom fährt ein Tubus aus dem Gehäuse, aber nur wenig mehr als einen Zentimeter.Die Fokuseinstellung umfasst glaube ich ungefähr 140° Rotation. Allerdings gibt es keine harten Stopps, sondern nur ein leichtes Klicken und leichten Widerstand bei Erreichen der Entfernungsgrenzen, der Ring lässt sich aber trotzdem weiter drehen, was für Follow Focus suboptimal ist.Der AUTOFOKUS arbeitet so wie man es sich wünscht: schnell, leise und zuverlässig. Er ist deutlich hörbar, aber die Geräusche sind eher niederfrequent, sodass sie mich nicht stören. Auch bei schwierigen Motiven oder Lichtverhältnissen gelingt die Fokussierung eigentlich fast immer. Ich habe keinerlei Probleme mit Front-, Back- oder Miss-Focus. Außerdem kann man bei aktiviertem Autofokus auch manuell fokussieren, was ich wirklich willkommen heiße.Einen BILDSTABILISATOR gibt es nicht.ZUBEHÖR:Als Zubehör gibt es eine Gegenlichtblende und eine Aufbewahrungstasche. Die Tasche ist relativ voluminös und fast quadratisch in seiner Form. Die Seitenwände der Tasche sind kaum gepolstert und der Durchzug für einen Befestigungsgurt ist fest angenäht, anstatt mit einem Klettverschluß oder ähnlichem befestigt zu sein. Insgesamt eignet sich die Tasche daher eher nicht um sie z.B. außen an Fotorücksäcken zu montieren oder an Gürteln zu tragen. Als Objektivköcher ist sie insgesamt nicht so gut geeignet.FAZIT:Richtig günstig ist ein Extrem-Weitwinkel für APS-C nicht zu bekommen, doch wer vergleichsweise noch möglichst wenig ausgeben möchte, bekommt mit dem Sigma 10-20 F4,0-5,6 trotzdem ein sehr gutes Objektiv. Es ist in keiner Hinsicht exzellent, hat jedoch gleichzeitig auch keine gravierenden Schwächen. Daher ist es angesichts des Preises für die Zielgruppe meiner Meinung nach die perfekte Wahl.

Great lens! Really great for landscape shots, or places that are tight quarters. I am a newbie to SLR cameras(t3i) and am not disappointed with the lens at at all. Sharp clear photos. Sturdy well built lens as far as i am concerned(i am not a pro). Shipping was ultra fast ! I would reccomend this lens to anyone that is looking to take group photos as well.

Qualità indiscussa. Mi trovo perfettamente bene. Sebbene non sia una caratteristica fondamentale già al tatto da una sensazione di solidità e qualitá, l'innesto in macchina (di metallo) lo trovo duro, la rotazione delle ghiere morbida e precisa.La qualità delle foto è per me eccelsa, sono un fotografo dilettante senza particolari pretese. Sono soddisfatto dai colori e dalla luminosità. L Autofocus praticamente non lo utilizzo. L ho provato negli interni ma il flash non riesce a coprire tutta l ampiezza della foto, quello integrato poi crea aloni scuri sulla parte bassa della ripresa,quindi può essere soddisfacente solo con esposizioni lunghe o in ambienti particolarmente luminosi. In esterni è tutta un altra storia. Spedizione velocissima, imballo senza infamia e senza lode. Prezzo migliore del web.,una settimana dopo 50€ in più!

A 10-20mm lens on a typical DSLR is obviously pretty aggressive because I suppose it is equal to a 16-28mm (or thereabouts) on a full frame 35mm camera. This particular Sigma model first came out a little time ago now and equivalents have since been launched by other "independents" plus of course there is Canon's own rather more expensive offering.So there are other choices, are they better or worse, I really couldn't tell you, I do not run an optical test lab but I am very happy with it and it was a great price. If I lost it, would I buy it again ? Yes.I have a number of lenses and mainly wanted this for landscape work, it is excellent for that but also there is fun to be had taking close up pictures that deliberately exploit the distortion that comes with extreme wide angle lenses and I got some great shots doing that. One thing that I did find was that because the front glass is 77mm and there is a supplied petal hood, in certain close up situations where I used the pop up flash on my 40D, the lens barrel cast a shadow ! Obviously mounting a Speedlight on the hot shoe solved that.The "magic" of a DSLR is the interchangeable lenses which make it such a flexible tool. I have been lucky, I bought my first Canon DSLR a D30 at Christmas 2000 and therefore over the intervening years have gradually built up a collection of lenses which neatly split pretty evenly between Canon originals or Sigma equivalents.Unless you really specialize in photography to just one thing like Motor Sports, Aircraft, Wildlife and so on in which case, always buy that lens that costs x3 times your camera body, to an extent every lens purchase will be a compromise between, quality, price and how often it gets used - there is also the matter of paying one's normal household bills !In this context I am a great fan of Sigma based upon their quality and value for money and on one particular occasion bought their lens over the equivalent Canon ones because I was able to do a side by side test on my own camera, not on price. For me because I can get quite a lot of mileage out of it as a camera bag option, this 10-20mm Sigma is a brilliant buy for me and mounted on my Canon 40D produces the images I want plus, as a relatively extreme lens, it is a steal and brilliant value for money.

Los aficionados que hace años hacemos fotografias llega un momento que ya no sabes que fotografiar, has agotado todos los encuadres y las fotografias se te hacen muy repetitivas. Con este objetivo todo cambia, Puedes ir a los lugares más sobados y sacar fotografias totalmente nuevas y creativas. La relación calidad precio es excelente. Estoy encantado con ella, si no inclinas la camara la corrección de lineas es perfecta, si la inclinas puedes hacer fotografias super creativas. Cuando le cojes el tranquillo a la distancia hiperfocal, puesdes enfocar desde un palmo a infinito.Los temas que he trabajado hasta ahora han sido paisajes y arquitectura, sacandeles un extraordinario partido. Llevo más de mil fotografias realizadas sin ningun tipo de problema. Cada día estoy más contento con este objetivo y le estoy sacando más partido. Si os gustan las fotografias atrevidas no lo dudeis, este es vuestro objetivo.