Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM

Using this lens really widens the view for any frustrated APS-C D-SLR user.The width available with this lens is incredible and opens up a whole new world of wide angle photography.
Quality has traditionally been an issue when deciding on OEM lenses or third party but this is one of the better ones that Sigma has produced with good all round performance and relatively low edge distortion for such a wide field of view.
The lens has a good quality, solid feel about it and focuses smoothly on my D200.
A great addition for any APS-C Dslr user.....Must Have!.

Extreme wide angle FOV.
Good if not excellent build quality.
Compact.
Low edge distortion(relative to angle of view).
Low lineal distortion(less than I expected).
Smooth auto focussing.
Cheap price.

Can't really fault this one given it's low cost and good performance.

Nikon 12-24mm Nikkor.
Nikon 18-35mm Nikkor.

None needed-loaner lense.

Dollar for dollar this ultra-wide performs. Weight is not an issue, size is super and it easily replaces one of my Zuiko Lenses in my camera bag. With the 10 - 20mm Zoom I have full coverage with my lens sets to 400mm and all easy to pack up and carry.

$499 is a great price for this lens. Little flare issues, sharp, (obviously not as fast as some, but for the money spent - no issue here). Good thing for this user is that it shares my 77mm filters, used on another lens I carry.

Smooth manual focus, and excellent auto-focus. Zoom is smooth and lens performs well on the Olympus E-3. I have read that some users of ultra-wides experience focus ease - I did not experience anything out of the ordinary in that regard.

Can't say enough good things about B&H. They had it in stock and shipped to me in less than a week from order date.

Used with care and conscious of composition issues with a ultra-wide, the focus and distortion control are incredibly easy to deal with. I was able to get very sharp images in medium to low light hand-held. With a tripod - there is nothing this lens can't do, that the more expensive lenses do.

For a person working on a budget, this lens is the way to go. Thanks to Sigma for working out the bugs on this 4/3rds aspect super wide angle lens.

Putting economics before pride - I am very happy with this lens and recommend it as an alternative to more costly ultra-wides. Money well spent!

HSM Focusing is quiet and blistering fast.
Manual focus is easy to use. User can be confident of a sharp image.
Composition and distortion is easily achieved in camera position to subject. Not a difficult feat.
Personal like: 77mm lens works with my expensive filters. No vignetting noticed in test shots.

None yet. This lens is built to perform, and as a air traveler, my back pack will provide good protection for this lens, kept in my camera bag, inside my roller board backpack. Nothing weak about this economical performer.

I have 2 other SIGMA lenses and they perform well. With all the money I have saved using SIGMA, I can afford to FLY and TRAVEL more often! :-)

Hopefully I will never have to go here. I have used SIGMA products for years, and with good care and not chancing a lens to adverse operating environments - I will hopefully never have to deal with customer service.

Must give B&H one more kudo. These folks are GREAT and the PRINTED CATALOG they sent to my home is a staple "Counter Book" in my kitchen. Everything to make a photographer to drool over. Their approach to business is to keep you as a customer. I am glad that I am and I will go back in the future. Give them a try!

I've been in photography since 1958 and have used many lenses and cameras during that time. Wide angle lenses have always been part of my photography.
My first Sigma lens was a 24mm f2.8 MF back in 1976 used on a Nikkormat FT2.
The widest lens I've used (until this Sigma) was an 18mm Nikkor f3.5 (which at $760.00 18 years ago was very costly!). Any shorter lens was out of the question due to the price.
Sigma has changed all that with this lens. The results I get doing interior photography in homes, businesses and industrial settings with a D70 using RAW files, rival the results I used to get with the 18mm Nikkor and my 28mm PC Nikkor lens on film. Straight lines stay straight and any perspective corrections (minor with good shooting practices) can easily be corrected in Photoshop Elements 3, 4 or 5.
The color is consistant with past results on film (and shooting digital means that color can be tweaked to choice quite easily!). The lens has good build quality, smooth manual focusing and quick quiet electronic (HSM) focusing. It's fun to use and stays on one D70 body while the other D70 has the Nikkor 18-70 f3.5-4.5 or the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 DG lens attached (I always keep an 80-200 f2.8 Nikkor nearby to fill out my go-anywhere kit). This lens is worth the $500.00.

Good color, accuate focusing and just the right size on the D70.
The light fall-off in the corners (have you seen some of the $1,800.00 primes?) is nothing to be concerned about since the main subject is never in the corners!
Allows a range of creative results at extreme close-up that other wide angles cannot duplicate. Flare control is good (and looks good when you use it for effect!). The price is right. It's a good lens to learn wide angle photography with.

I use a glass lens cap and the hood all the time.
I always replace the Sigma front and rear caps with Nikon caps.
There are no other caveats.

Nikkors: 18mm f3.5 MF, AF18-35mm f3.5-4.5, AF18-70mm f3.5-4.5,
MF 25-50mm f4, 28mm f3.5 PC, 24mm f2.8C
Sigma: MF24mm f2.8, AF24-70 f2.8 DG

None

I bought this lens to replace my old 12-24 which was a groundbreaking lens 4 years ago; but Sigma’s new 10-20 promised wider field of view, slightly faster speed, better resolution, smaller size and cheaper too.

I tried one out a few months ago and compared it to the Nikn 10.5 F2.8 there was no contest as I don't personally like fisheye distortion as the Nikon 10.5.

I was impressed enough to buy one. It’s small, quite light looks well made and has a 77mm filter; so can be used with polarizer; the main advantage for me, as its not practical with my old 12-24.

The 2mm wider focal length may not seem much; but at the extreme end of the wide angle scale that can make a much larger difference than one might think. This lens can make ordinary landscapes into dramatic pictures with such a wide field of view.

Considering the wide nature of this lens, Sigma have done an amazing job of controlling linear distortion. The 12-24 was remarkable in that way; but had too be used stopped down to F11 to get the best from it. The 10-20 gives usable results even at F5.6; so by using a 10th second shutter speed; one can use it indoor in darker conditions.

The 10-20 does have some distortion; but it takes the form of a slight mustachio wave; tending towards pin cushion rather than the expected barrel distortion.

The lens needs careful use to reduce the effects of perspective distortion. The extreme perspective distortion causes structures to lean inwards or outwards. This can be exploited to achieve dramatic composition, or be corrected to give a more natural view

For most applications the distortion is hardly an issue; and compared to the serious distortion on Nikons 18-200 VR and the fish eye effect of the Nikon 10.5 F2.8 Sigma have produced an remarkable lens.

Using the lens wide open gives a good image overall; but like many lenses of this type, the corners and edges can look unnaturally stretched. A small amount of chromatic distortion is sometimes present; but considering the angle light has to pass it is through the digital sensor, it is remarkably low.

Wide field of vew
Relative lack of linear distortion
Compact and light
Usable at widest apertures
Excellent stopped down
Can take 77mm filters inc poloriser without significant vignetting

Poor design of lens caps
Needs careful composition to avoid prespective distortion
Watch your feet dont get in the picture if you shoot vertically.

Sigma 12-24 F4.5-5.6
Nikon 17-55 F2.8

none

I wanted a wide angle lens for my D80 and after reading lots of reviews decided to go with a zoom rather than a fish-eye prime. The only real choices are the Nikon and Tokina 12-24s, the Tamron 11-18, and the Sigma 10-20. The Nikon is probably overall the best, but by a very slim margin, and nowhere close to being worth 2X the cost of either of the other 2. The Sigma and Tonika are comparable, but the Tamron is a dog, so I dropped it off the list with the Nikon. I don't think you can go wrong with either the Sigma or Tokina, but 2mm at the wide end is a world of difference, so I put in an order.

This lens quickly became my most "FUN" lens. You can get real creative with it. It is not as sharp as some of my other Nikon lens, but with a little post-processing sharpening the images look very nice even at the 10mm end. Focusing is really fast with the in the lens motor system. I was surprised by the build quality.........excellent!

Best range of the other wide zooms available
Reasonable sharpness
Extremely "FUN"
Built like a tank
Fast focus

Poorly designed lens cap cannot be removed or placed with the lens hood in place (it needs a center release mechanism)