Sigma 10-20mm EX HSM

Sigma 10-20mm

For the last few years since it came out, I’ve been using the Nikon 12-24mm DX lens on my cropped sensor camera’s to get me wide angle coverage. I’ve been very happy with it, but recently I’ve decided to change things around a little at the wide end.his has everything to

do with the new Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, which is quite simply stunning and once I tried it, I just had to have it. Its fantastic for my relatively wide shots, but it doesn’t quite go wide enough for some shots and the one and only strike against it, the lens doesn’t allow the use of filters.

Since I have 14-24mm lens, if I was going to have a second lens to go even wider, I thought I’d try this Sigma as it starts at 10mm instead of the Nikon 12-24mm which is noticeably wider than 14mm, but I wanted even wider. Sigma has to be commended here, they’ve put out a really innovative lens. They have included a HSM auto-focus lens motor which means no matter which Nikon camera body you have, the lens will focus quickly and quietly. In addition, 10mm compared to 12mm of the Nikon and Tokina equivalents may not sound like much of a difference, but I can assure you it is very noticeable and the wider you go, the harder it is to design a quality lens - which incidentally just makes Nikon’s new 14-24mm full frame lens all the more remarkable.

Sigma have classed this as an EX lens, and as such they have built it to their higher quality specification. Its a matter of personal taste as some don’t, but I really quite like the look of this lens and it feels surprisingly solid. My sample at least, is quite tight when putting it on the camera body, but once there it feels well balanced with the D300/S5 Pro. The zoom ring is well marked and there is enough space so that you can get the required focal length with precision. The ring itself is fine, albeit a little on the scratchy side which is something the focus ring also suffers from to a less degree. They are certainly serviceable though, and not something I’d worry about, but I thought I should mention it in this context.

The sharpness of the lens is very good in the centre, even at the widest focal length and largest aperture. One stop down will get you better corners, and at f/8 its nicely sharp across the entire range from the centre to the corners. At 12mm its an even better performance, really very good indeed. Distortions can be noticeable at 10mm if you are looking for it. An unusual characteristic though, as its free for most of the image, but then gets very noticeable at the edges. Once you know about though, it can be worked with and really, we are talking about a 10mm lens here, it goes with the territory.

Surprisingly, this lens behaves very well as far as flare goes. CA can be noticeable especially at 10mm but its certainly not a bad effort and easy enough to get rid of on this lens. Vignetting is only a slight issue at 10mm, but not enough of a problem to complain about on its own. I do have to use a thin filter, as my regular thickness filters will cause more of an issue. You also have to be very careful when using a polarizing filter at this focal length though, as inevitably some of the image with receive a much stronger effect so its not something I use often on this lens.

A surprisingly good lens, as its less than half the cost of the Nikon equivalent and yet gives a very close performance and build quality. I have noticed when looking at the images that the colours seem to be a bit different between the two lenses. Not bad, but different and perhaps a little less vivid. For a lens that goes to 10mm, with very good performance and at an extremely competitive cost, you can’t go wrong here. An excellent buy and its been added to my bag in addition to the new Nikon 14-24mm, the 12-24mm has now been sold on to a very happy new owner.