might treat myself to a new lens (sigma 10-20)

GeX

GeX

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i'm off back to uni soon, which means i'm gonna have zero money to play with :(

so i'm thinking i should buy me some lenses now, and then when i'm skint at least i'll have something to play with :)

i've got a d50, with the 18-55 kit lens and a lot of my photography is UE - which is why i'm looking at a wider lens.

does anyone have a sigma 10-20, what do you think of it. I'm expecting it to distort a bit round the edges when wide, but how much - i'm not sure.

i'm also considering a nifty fifty (f/1.8 prime), seen some shots from one and like the look. what do people think to these lenses?
 
Ive got the 10-20, but havent used it as much as I should have yet. The distortion isn't silly, but its deffinately noticable. With you doing a lot of UE, I would be tempted to look at something a bit less wide and more suitable to architeture. The nifty fifty is as cheap as chips, so you might as well pick one of those up anyway. How about something like the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Macro?
 
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could you take some shots with the 10-20 at different lengths, and post them up here?

when i'm on a site, i rarely move off 18mm - but often go to adjust it wider, before realising it can't!

a lot of the rooms are quite small, and i a small amount of distortion isn't a major issue to me - i'd much rather capture the whole room, rather than a smaller part of it, but without distortion (that make sense?)

though, f/2.8 at 18mm is tempting. i wonder if any local camera shops stock these lenses and would let me have a play.
 
I say this a lot, but the difference between 18mm and 10mm is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. Distortion is inevitable with a lens this wide, but not to the extent where it ruins the photo. Infact its very minimal and only really shows at the very edge of the photo @ 10mm.

I did this quick example when i first got my sigma:

@ 18mm
sigma1.jpg


@ 10mm
sigma2.jpg
 
I have the 10-20 and the nifty (and got a 24-70 today hehe), and tbh I would be more concerned with the fact that F4 @ 10mm can be a little restricting indoors (especially in partially boarded up buildings), so a tripod would be a must, whereas I can get away with iso 1600 (or even 3200 if I have to) and F1.8 with the nifty in pretty dark spots. Nothing beats the Sigma (for the price) 10-20 for inner building photography though, you can really get everything in (I recently went to the Countess of Chester asylum and the 10-20 was a must).

If you buy second hand make sure you get a 'good' copy. Sigmas quality control doesn't seem too hot.
 
messiah khan said:
Ive got the 10-20, but havent used it as much as I should have yet.

fancy selling it :) ;) (or i'll swap you for a nokia n95!)

Thanks for the shots alex.

benneh said:
I have the 10-20 and the nifty (and got a 24-70 today hehe), and tbh I would be more concerned with the fact that F4 @ 10mm can be a little restricting indoors (especially in partially boarded up buildings), so a tripod would be a must, whereas I can get away with iso 1600 (or even 3200 if I have to) and F1.8 with the nifty in pretty dark spots. Nothing beats the Sigma (for the price) 10-20 for inner building photography though, you can really get everything in (I recently went to the Countess of Chester asylum and the 10-20 was a must).

I have a tripod, but i'm not massively keen on using for UE atm - it's a bit faffy!

the kit lens is 3.5 at 18mm, where as the sigma is going to be 5.6 there isn't it.. oh decisions!

btw benneh, where are your photos at, most of mine are whittingham asylum near preston :D
 
Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM Aspherical.

i've read into what aspherical means, but would like to hear what people who have used the lens think. Anyone got one?
 
The 10-20 is a good lens but I refuse to use it below 12mm as the distortion is too much for my liking at those focal lengths.

Mine hasn't seen much use at all since I got the 17-40 L as 17mm is wide enough for the stuff I want.
 
I ordered myself one of these yesterday actually :). Getting it imported for £263, will probably be waiting a couple of weeks though :(. It's been on my shopping list since before I got a DSLR so I thought it was time to treat myself and 'complete' my lens lineup.

A lot of sample shots showing the sexy-widness on here

Edit: GeX, since you're only down the road if you can wait till mine arrives we can meet up and you can have a play with it if you'd like.

Edit2: Actually you'd have to play with it on my camera cos I'm getting the Canon mount version, but offer still stands.
 
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^^Gord^^ said:
The 10-20 is a good lens but I refuse to use it below 12mm

examples?

lord_scott said:
Edit: GeX, since you're only down the road if you can wait till mine arrives we can meet up and you can have a play with it if you'd like.

Edit2: Actually you'd have to play with it on my camera cos I'm getting the Canon mount version, but offer still stands.

that's very kind of you, let me know when your lens arrives - i might've gone out and bought one soon though! :)
 
Can't fault my 10-20mm :) Use a smaller aperture (I try for f/8 to f/11 these days), lowest ISO setting possible, and a tripod. And a tripod. Mentioning it twice cause it's quite important!!

 
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GeX said:
fancy selling it :) ;) (or i'll swap you for a nokia n95!)

Thanks for the shots alex.



I have a tripod, but i'm not massively keen on using for UE atm - it's a bit faffy!

the kit lens is 3.5 at 18mm, where as the sigma is going to be 5.6 there isn't it.. oh decisions!

btw benneh, where are your photos at, most of mine are whittingham asylum near preston :D


The countess of chester (deva) because it's just so weird, but I've only been twice, and I'm quite into the abundance of abandoned warehouses/tunnels etc in Liverpool :).

As for the 10-20, imo, buy one! :).
 
i've not been there yet, it is on my to do list though :)

I was in Liverpool last weekend, you know sugar conveyor / tower on the docks?

I went shopping, only found one place that had the lens in stock and it was £315. Which is around £55 more than it can be found on the internet.. but, i keep hearing sigmas quality control isn't great, at least with a shop - i can take it back and show them why i don't like it!
 
GeX said:
i've not been there yet, it is on my to do list though :)

I was in Liverpool last weekend, you know sugar conveyor / tower on the docks?

I went shopping, only found one place that had the lens in stock and it was £315. Which is around £55 more than it can be found on the internet.. but, i keep hearing sigmas quality control isn't great, at least with a shop - i can take it back and show them why i don't like it!

Did you go up the tower and over the road (in the overpass thingy)?, I went to the top with some friends, and went into the overpass thing but it looked waaaaay to rickety to walk down, so we messed about in the tower and the buggered off :P. Interesting litte building.
Yeah sigmas quality control is a bit iffy supposedly. I have seen pics from bad lenses and I would be a bit careful. I bought mine from jessops but it was on offer (£267 iirc).
 
reeeeet.

off shopping again tomorrow i think, and one thing springs to mind. sigma quality control - how can i spot a 'bad' lens. where do they normally slip up - and i assume i'm well within my rights to give it back and ask for a proper one!

(this is one of the reasons why i'm buying from a local shop, not off the bay!)

btw, benneh - YGM.
 
GeX said:
reeeeet.

off shopping again tomorrow i think, and one thing springs to mind. sigma quality control - how can i spot a 'bad' lens. where do they normally slip up - and i assume i'm well within my rights to give it back and ask for a proper one!

(this is one of the reasons why i'm buying from a local shop, not off the bay!)

btw, benneh - YGM.

Softness of the lens. The early 10-20mm lenses tended to be slightly soft on the right(?) hand side.
 
benneh said:
Not received anything dude :( .

odd, resent to both address in trust.

bought the 10-20 sigma this morning, but i was in such a rush to leave this house this morning - i tripped on some shoes and have torn a load of ligaments in my foot. I still carried on to town to get the lens, but then it went all funny colours so i went to A&E. They said i've torn a load of the ligaments that hold the joint together, and they gave me pain killers - but i still can't really walk. :(

so that means i can't go out to play :(
 
GeX said:
odd, resent to both address in trust.

bought the 10-20 sigma this morning, but i was in such a rush to leave this house this morning - i tripped on some shoes and have torn a load of ligaments in my foot. I still carried on to town to get the lens, but then it went all funny colours so i went to A&E. They said i've torn a load of the ligaments that hold the joint together, and they gave me pain killers - but i still can't really walk. :(

so that means i can't go out to play :(

Photo of your foot? ;) :D

Only kidding, hope it heals quickly for you but if you are going to be stuck in the house for a while a 10-20 is one of the best lenses to be stuck there with.
 
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