Hello, there.
It's been weeks since I wanted to write this review actually but the photos I took for the review were for a three-day event that have some payment issues still unsettled.
So I decided to wait it out but I guess that since I have some free time now, I might as well just get on with it.
I had been eyeing this lens for quite some time before I actually bought it last September.
I always struggled with wide shots of venues and group photos because 18mm on a crop sensor isn't enough to fit in a whole lot (18mm x 1.5 = 27mm).
I pondered my thoughts, weighed my options and tested out the lens for one last time before deciding on adding it to my arsenal.
The fact that I was to start my three-day event shoot the next day also played a big part in my purchase.
And that's where Fariq and I put this camera through its paces and really knocked it out throughout the whole three days.
As always, this review will cover certain aspects of the lens.
If you're currently in the market for an ultra-wide angle lens for your crop sensor DSLR, then read on and see if this lens is for you.
Feel & Build Quality
The lens is solid and very well built.
I am a proponent of Nikon gear and how they are exquisitely built but this particular lens made me regain my trust in Sigma gear.
It feels comfortable in the hands and has the heaviness that suffices to balance with the weight of my DSLR bodies (Fariq and I shot with this lens on both the D7100 and D90).
It received a few knocks here and there and we even shot with it in the rain to get this shot here:
It held up extremely well and didn't show any sign of defect.
Even detached from the DSLR bodies, the lens feels great in the hands.
You'll be delighted to know that it has the build quality of some professional lenses.
Focal Range
One of the determining factors for me was the focal range.
I wanted a relatively versatile lens, that would not only give me the widest angle possible but also provide me with enough range to cover shots that aren't too wide.
10-20mm is just perfect, and even on a crop sensor, I get 15-30mm equivalent range.
That is very versatile.
In fact, it's almost the same range as the Nikkor 14-24 f2.8 lens, which was one of my options.
I chose not to get it because 1) it's way out of my budget and 2) I won't be able to fully utilize its widest focal length on a crop sensor.
Other options included the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 and Nikkor 10-24.
However, these lenses lacked aesthetic value, focal versatility and overall image quality.
At least, from my tests, that is.
With the widest at 10mm, you get to capture stunning images of interior designs, such as this one:
The lines and angles are accentuated in a way that creates a new visual and dimension to the venue.
Of course, there is much distortion at the edges but they can be tweaked in post processing.
Not only does 10mm give you an ultra wide angle of view, it also means you can take images in tight spaces, albeit with a strange sense of place and distorted proportions.
Even so, at 20mm, you can eliminate much of the distortion and take photos that are still wide and contain much information about the environment (background, foreground, subject and their relations).
Despite the excellent versatility and practicality of the lens, it struggles a lot with focusing.
AF & Back Focus
After coming back from shooting the whole first day, upon reviewing our photos in Lightroom, we found out that A LOT of our photos missed focus!
It was disheartening and truly mind-boggling.
Fariq and I have never had problems with focusing on both the cameras before.
Mind you, we shoot extensively in low-light situations for concerts and Fariq also shoots a lot of sports.
So to see the lens miss focus a lot was honestly disappointing.
After the second day of shooting, we still had to use the lens for all the wide shots.
This time, we had to carefully focus the camera by half-pressing the shutter release a few times before actually taking the shot.
This was to ensure the focus was locked on perfectly.
Although it may seem fairly easy, to just half-press it a few times, in the real-world it could be the difference between getting the shot and missing it.
The few moments we take to half-press and lock focus could prove costly in situations where the decisive moment would just fleet by.
Other than that, the lens also struggles a lot with back focus, which means that the focus of the photo is the background instead of the subject.
Refer to the photo of Riaan Manser above and you'll see that the focus is actually on the background, which makes him out of focus.
Now some may argue that with ultra-wide lenses, you get everything in focus because of the deep depth of field, you can see by that photo that it's just not the case.
In fact, a lot of the photos looked good and in focus on the back of the camera but were actually back-focused upon a more detailed inspection.
For casual photographers, they may not see the difference but for professionals, focus and sharpness are very important in determining whether a photo is usable.
Maximum Aperture
FYI, this lens is actually the second iteration to the Sigma 10-20mm series, where the first lens had a variable max aperture of f/4-5.6.
The gain in maximum aperture was the main selling point of this lens, where it meant much better low-light capability.
But again, this wasn't the case, at all.
With any lens, I will always stop down to f/4.0 to make sure that I get sharp images, with a little bit of leeway in the depth of field.
Hence, I did the same with this lens.
However, not only did the lens miss focus at times, when it did lock focus it did not produce tack sharp images.
Although still usable, I would definitely prefer a much sharper image; with the finer details visible.
I am used to producing sharp images so that when printed large, you can see the beautiful details and have a high quality print.
Only after stopping down to f/5.0 and smaller would this lens produce the best images it can, which is a let down because my initial thoughts were that it would give me the extra light I need in situations where I can't use flash.
Image Quality
At times, this lens produces outstanding photos.
Other times, it just doesn't cut it.
The photos are not as sharp as other photos I get using my other lenses, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good lens.
I would say that the quality of the photos are far better than photos taken with basic kit lenses.
It retains most of the color and vibrance.
There also hasn't been any sign of chromatic aberration.
The photos are quite soft around the edges, but can be avoided by stopping down to f/8.0.
But as I said, it would defeat the purpose of having a presumably "fast" lens, only to use it at the narrow apertures.
Is This Lens For You?
The Sigma 10-20 f3.5 is an extremely practical lens but with many shortcomings.
Some would say that you get what you paid for, but I paid close to RM2,000 for this lens, so I would expect it to be a lot better.
I'm pretty sure that landscape photographers would love the focal range and would readily stop down to smaller apertures anyway.
However, event photographers like myself will struggle when shooting with small apertures in low-light conditions and casual photographers might consider RM2,000 just for a lens to be out of their budget.
On the other hand, it does have that great focal range and excellent build.
Frankly speaking, I think that if you want an ultra-wide angle that has the capability to produce wonderful images, you should consider this lens as an option.
And for the drawbacks?
Well, maybe I'm just using this lens incorrectly.
Maybe I'm using it for the wrong things.
All in all, I am content with this lens.
It has saved my butt countless times in shooting group shots in tight spaces and has also added to my creative capability.
If I had to choose again, I would still probably go with this lens; no doubt.
It can (and has) produced great photos and I will continue to use it for my work.
Hopefully I'll get to make that RM2,000 back.
We'll see,
Check out all the photos from this review and more at my Flickr gallery here.
It's been weeks since I wanted to write this review actually but the photos I took for the review were for a three-day event that have some payment issues still unsettled.
So I decided to wait it out but I guess that since I have some free time now, I might as well just get on with it.
Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
Shot using a Nikon D7100 + 50mm f1.8D + SB-700
Damn, that's a pretty good product shot
I had been eyeing this lens for quite some time before I actually bought it last September.
I always struggled with wide shots of venues and group photos because 18mm on a crop sensor isn't enough to fit in a whole lot (18mm x 1.5 = 27mm).
I pondered my thoughts, weighed my options and tested out the lens for one last time before deciding on adding it to my arsenal.
The fact that I was to start my three-day event shoot the next day also played a big part in my purchase.
And that's where Fariq and I put this camera through its paces and really knocked it out throughout the whole three days.
As always, this review will cover certain aspects of the lens.
If you're currently in the market for an ultra-wide angle lens for your crop sensor DSLR, then read on and see if this lens is for you.
Feel & Build Quality
Braving the elements
Shot using an iPhone 5s and processed with VSCOcam
The lens is solid and very well built.
I am a proponent of Nikon gear and how they are exquisitely built but this particular lens made me regain my trust in Sigma gear.
It feels comfortable in the hands and has the heaviness that suffices to balance with the weight of my DSLR bodies (Fariq and I shot with this lens on both the D7100 and D90).
It received a few knocks here and there and we even shot with it in the rain to get this shot here:
Rain out
It held up extremely well and didn't show any sign of defect.
Even detached from the DSLR bodies, the lens feels great in the hands.
You'll be delighted to know that it has the build quality of some professional lenses.
Focal Range
One of the determining factors for me was the focal range.
I wanted a relatively versatile lens, that would not only give me the widest angle possible but also provide me with enough range to cover shots that aren't too wide.
10-20mm is just perfect, and even on a crop sensor, I get 15-30mm equivalent range.
That is very versatile.
In fact, it's almost the same range as the Nikkor 14-24 f2.8 lens, which was one of my options.
I chose not to get it because 1) it's way out of my budget and 2) I won't be able to fully utilize its widest focal length on a crop sensor.
Other options included the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 and Nikkor 10-24.
However, these lenses lacked aesthetic value, focal versatility and overall image quality.
At least, from my tests, that is.
With the widest at 10mm, you get to capture stunning images of interior designs, such as this one:
Gala Dinner, Pulai Springs Resort
10mm
The lines and angles are accentuated in a way that creates a new visual and dimension to the venue.
Of course, there is much distortion at the edges but they can be tweaked in post processing.
Not only does 10mm give you an ultra wide angle of view, it also means you can take images in tight spaces, albeit with a strange sense of place and distorted proportions.
Even so, at 20mm, you can eliminate much of the distortion and take photos that are still wide and contain much information about the environment (background, foreground, subject and their relations).
Riaan Manser
20mm
Despite the excellent versatility and practicality of the lens, it struggles a lot with focusing.
AF & Back Focus
After coming back from shooting the whole first day, upon reviewing our photos in Lightroom, we found out that A LOT of our photos missed focus!
It was disheartening and truly mind-boggling.
Fariq and I have never had problems with focusing on both the cameras before.
Mind you, we shoot extensively in low-light situations for concerts and Fariq also shoots a lot of sports.
So to see the lens miss focus a lot was honestly disappointing.
After the second day of shooting, we still had to use the lens for all the wide shots.
This time, we had to carefully focus the camera by half-pressing the shutter release a few times before actually taking the shot.
This was to ensure the focus was locked on perfectly.
Although it may seem fairly easy, to just half-press it a few times, in the real-world it could be the difference between getting the shot and missing it.
The few moments we take to half-press and lock focus could prove costly in situations where the decisive moment would just fleet by.
Other than that, the lens also struggles a lot with back focus, which means that the focus of the photo is the background instead of the subject.
Refer to the photo of Riaan Manser above and you'll see that the focus is actually on the background, which makes him out of focus.
Now some may argue that with ultra-wide lenses, you get everything in focus because of the deep depth of field, you can see by that photo that it's just not the case.
In fact, a lot of the photos looked good and in focus on the back of the camera but were actually back-focused upon a more detailed inspection.
For casual photographers, they may not see the difference but for professionals, focus and sharpness are very important in determining whether a photo is usable.
Maximum Aperture
FYI, this lens is actually the second iteration to the Sigma 10-20mm series, where the first lens had a variable max aperture of f/4-5.6.
The gain in maximum aperture was the main selling point of this lens, where it meant much better low-light capability.
But again, this wasn't the case, at all.
With any lens, I will always stop down to f/4.0 to make sure that I get sharp images, with a little bit of leeway in the depth of field.
Hence, I did the same with this lens.
However, not only did the lens miss focus at times, when it did lock focus it did not produce tack sharp images.
Career forum
f/4.0
Although still usable, I would definitely prefer a much sharper image; with the finer details visible.
I am used to producing sharp images so that when printed large, you can see the beautiful details and have a high quality print.
Only after stopping down to f/5.0 and smaller would this lens produce the best images it can, which is a let down because my initial thoughts were that it would give me the extra light I need in situations where I can't use flash.
Image Quality
At times, this lens produces outstanding photos.
Other times, it just doesn't cut it.
Would've been devastated if I missed this shot
The photos are not as sharp as other photos I get using my other lenses, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good lens.
I would say that the quality of the photos are far better than photos taken with basic kit lenses.
It retains most of the color and vibrance.
There also hasn't been any sign of chromatic aberration.
The photos are quite soft around the edges, but can be avoided by stopping down to f/8.0.
But as I said, it would defeat the purpose of having a presumably "fast" lens, only to use it at the narrow apertures.
Is This Lens For You?
The Sigma 10-20 f3.5 is an extremely practical lens but with many shortcomings.
Some would say that you get what you paid for, but I paid close to RM2,000 for this lens, so I would expect it to be a lot better.
I'm pretty sure that landscape photographers would love the focal range and would readily stop down to smaller apertures anyway.
However, event photographers like myself will struggle when shooting with small apertures in low-light conditions and casual photographers might consider RM2,000 just for a lens to be out of their budget.
On the other hand, it does have that great focal range and excellent build.
Frankly speaking, I think that if you want an ultra-wide angle that has the capability to produce wonderful images, you should consider this lens as an option.
And for the drawbacks?
Well, maybe I'm just using this lens incorrectly.
Maybe I'm using it for the wrong things.
All in all, I am content with this lens.
It has saved my butt countless times in shooting group shots in tight spaces and has also added to my creative capability.
If I had to choose again, I would still probably go with this lens; no doubt.
It can (and has) produced great photos and I will continue to use it for my work.
Hopefully I'll get to make that RM2,000 back.
We'll see,
Check out all the photos from this review and more at my Flickr gallery here.
DISCLAIMER: This review was carried out using a Nikon D7100 and Nikon D90 body. Results may vary with other bodies as the Nikon D7100 has no OLPF (optical low pass filter), which should make the images sharper than they would be if they were taken using other bodies. I do not represent Nikon, Sigma, Golden Key or any other brand or organization that might be showcased in this review. This review is written for THE FEAR and is of no significance to any sort of argument that may or may not ensue. I deliver this with utmost honesty and sincerity.
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