It is the first 20mm Super wide-angle lens in the world with a large aperture of F1.8 and angle of view 94.5°. It has Macro focusing capability with a
It is the first 20mm Super wide-angle lens in the world with a large aperture of F1.8 and angle of view 94.5°. It has Macro focusing capability with a minimum focusing distance of 20cm/7.9inches (reproduction ratio 1:4). The iris diaphragm has 9 diaphragm blades to obtain beautiful out of focus image. It incorporates an aspherical lens element in the front as well as rear lens groups, to minimize distortion, spherical aberration and astigmatism.
This is an extremely underrated lens in my view. When I mentioned to some photographers that I bought a sigma wide angle over a canon, there was a little debate that went one but I have no regrets.
For a start, this opens to f1.8 and comes with the hood and is 20mm - Canon don't do a lens close to this spec. Forget image stabilisation - it is not necessary at f1.8 and though a little heavy, the lens is small enough to hand hold well.
Mounts well on my 1v and the build quality is good.
Sure its heavy but that also indicates decent build quality. I have had this lens for 7 years now and not had a problem with it.
Strengths:
Build quality
Wide aperture
Wide angle
Weaknesses:
Can be a little slow focusing in low light but this is an acceptable trade off.
Similar Products Used:
Canon EF 50mm f1.4, EF 70-200 f2.8 IS USM, EF 24-70mm f2.8
I really like this lens. I found a close-out 50mm 1.4 and loved the speed. I shoot family and friends most of the time. I take my D70 places that I initially took my N80, and decided that getting everyone/thing into the picture, with low lighting issues, was too discouraging for anything but fast speed lens.
This is the lens that got me to use RAW (NEF). The pics are huge - I crop what I want, and things look incredibly sharp to my untrained eye. There are technical terms galore for the specifics of my photos; however, I can compose in a hurry, snap a bunch of pics, and marvel at the outcome.
The best accessories I picked up to go with the lens was some EXTREME IV 8gb nuclear fast memory cards, and the generic expodisc from a guy in colorado. The fast memory cards, white balance set and forget, and the low light capabilities of this monster glass have me smiling at results.
The little 50mm Quantarray 1.4, a Nikon 85mm 1.8, the Sigma 20MM, and a Sigma outdoor 70-300mm 4.5-6 Macro Zoom, all have space in my bag.
Strengths:
Composition is a breeze. I can finally shoot the way the articles describe pictures in Popular Photography. I don't have to place my subject smack dab in the middle of every shot!
I lvoe the physical size. It's a pain after an hour of it hanging around my neck, but that's the exception. When I justify having the DSLR in tow - I can justify this lens.
Quality materials - from a "how it feels in the palm of my hand" perspective.
I'll own this lens for a long time. The guts of my DSLR will upgrade, and I anticipate seeing even better results from this lens.
Gone are my orange tinted gym photos!
Weaknesses:
Would VR help - only if the price stayed below $350 :)
I purchased this a few months ago, and it immediately became one of my favourite lenses. I have been using the lens with a Fuji S2 digital SLR and have obtained absolutely excellent results. With my DSLR, there is no vignetting and the lens is very sharp at all apertures above f4. Contrast and colour are very good (with a slight hint of Sigma yellow, which I don't mind). It is excellent for photography on dull winter days, and for indoor photography by ambient light. I simply cannot understand why some reviewers have found fault with this lens. and can only explain this by sample variation, though my experience with Sigma's EX lenses is that quality control issues are less of a problem than with earlier lenses. Provided you get a good one, I can unreservedly recommend this lens as a bright wideangle prime for DSLRs.
Strengths:
Excellent finish. Nice hood that you can fix back to front when not in use. Apparently well built. Good contrast and colour. Low distortion. Very sharp indeed above f.4. Useful wide aperture. Nice case.
The barrel does not twist much during focussing, and the depth of field is low. This makes it a great lens for architectural photography.
Weaknesses:
AF/MF gear sometimes gets moved accidentally off its setting.
I agree with those who say this lens performs poorly below f8. For a fixed focal length lens, I consider it reasonably expensive. Stopped down in the range f2.8-f5.6 I expected a lot more.
My web page has an outdoor test sequence of this lens against the Canon EF-S 10-22mm.
cheers
Phil.
What an awful purchase I made. I've been working with this lens for almost 6 months now, and after aprox. 5,000 images taken, I can flatly, and without a doubt say, this is a piece of crap. Images are soft at anything wider than 5.6. Somebody needs to explain to me why should I pay for a f/1.8 when I can only use it after f/8. Yes, you can take good photos with it, and I have. But then you need to keep your camera on aperture priority and otherwise think about exposure in moments when you rather not. All my good pictures are when I've had time to fiddle with the lens. When I want to fiddle with a camera, I'll take my Canon F1 from the closet. What I bought was an autofocus (and slow at that it is) lens with an aperture wide range (and that it is not).
Strengths:
When used at f/8 or 11, it's a reasonably cheap 20mm.
Weaknesses:
Soft focus at large apertures. Hard to focus manually.
Sample Images
More Products from Sigma
Link to this page
5 of 5
4 of 5
2 of 5
1 of 5
