This is the ugliest imaginable lens... Sorry, but had to say that and get it off my chest. It just looks ghastly on my Nikon F5 and on the F100 too. Oh, well, now that I said it, I should add that it's a very good, reliable tool. Where does one get a wide-angle this wide? Nowhere! Once one overcomes the ugliness of this lens, the results are very good. Granted, it may not be as sharp as others may expect, but then, what's PS for then? Also, I'm not exactly a fan of all-around sharp images and that's one problem I have with this lens: things will appear in focus (not necessarily sharp) all the time because of the minimum aperture of f4.5. In short, as a slow lens, it's somewhat self-limiting. However, what it lacks in looks makes up for with oomph. Focusing is fast, the HSM makes it inaudible, and that's what counts: it delivers. It took me time to get used to the zoom ring, as I am used to the 24-85 and 24-120 Nikon zooms (you can see I like wides a lot), but once that's done, it's a good performer. Not an every day lens for a film user, but I have seen the results it makes in a Nikon D300, so it may be a good companion for a digital body. I have still to take this zoom to Chicago, but in the meanwhile, I'm very glad I have it.
Strengths:
Speed, size and relatively discreet look (if it wasn't for that front element that's downright bulbous). Nice range of focal lengths.
Weaknesses:
Maybe it's ugliness, along with that the front element is so weird looking and doesn't allow for filters of any type. Other than that, it's not a lens to use with flash 'cuz it vignettes like mad, especially at 12mm (and what's the fun of using a flash at 24mm with this lens? None. The fun in this lens is its FUNction at 12mm). Treat it with care because the front element cannot be protected.
Similar Products Used:
Nikon AFS 24-85 f3.5-f4.5
Nikon AFS 24-120 VR f 4.5-f5.6
Tokina AF 19-35 f3.5-f4.5 (plastic fantastic... sold)
Sigma AF 24-70 f2.8
Customer Service:
Not needed, though I used it once with another lens and they were very accomodating.
It is a few months ago I bought this lens and the truth is that I am quite happy with it. I still didn't see its resoults on a film camera, never the less in a Digital camera it works quite well.
I like at first point it's definition, contrast and saturation. In this aspect I think that this lens is quite outstanding in any focal length. This lense doesen't have much light loos on the edges, at least I hardly get to see it (always talking about a CCD that is 25x16cm, I think).
Never the less it does have some other problems, focus is not that fast as I wold have expected in such a great grand angular, that's the truth, but all in all it is fast enough to use it for work (in my case photojournalism), though I recognize that it is quite silent. It has to some CA on the edges, its not a surpirise having these focal lengths. No possibility of attaching a frontal filter (doe to the bubble frontal element) does bother me a bit, I have to go with too much extra care and that makes me loose some important time while working, specially changing lenses while running from one side to the other (I don't understand why they didn't doo a wider hood to be able to attach a filter, I prefere a large and expensive filter rather then scratch and destroy the front element of the lens!)
About it's construction, it is quite solid built, it already has fallen from my hands in one ocasion without any problem, though it wold seem a heavy lence doe to it's dimensions, the truth is that it surpirsed me quite a bit its relative lack of wieight.
I don't know, as a lens for tranquile jobs or amateur photographers I think it is highly recomended, quality vs. price is quite acceptable and this lense can be used on a DSLR or a normal 35mm film camera. But I don't see it as a lens for working in hard conditions.
Oh! an other thing I was forgeting about, its a lens with a high f-stop factor, though it is not that much of a problem at 12mm it can be one at 24mm.
Strengths:
Solid building and general image quality is quite good
Weaknesses:
Specially it's f-stop and the impossibility of attaching a protection filter
The only zoom I own where I wish it was a prime. I use it primarly for the 12 mm. It is nice to use unnoticed, and it is fun. It is small enough to find a place in my photobag, does not have a big suncap like the Canon 17-40 L does for example. The AF on my copy is dead but i do not care. I always use it on F13 or even smaller.
I forgive this lens it's limitations, 12 mm is very very special.
Strengths:
There simple is nothing else that is that wide for a Mark II.
It is not very heavy or atrract much attention.
It is wide, wide
No distorting
Can be used on every sensor.
Flare is well controlled.
Weaknesses:
Only useable at f11 or smaller
Color is poor in comparising with Canon L zooms. (Can be helped in post processing)
Sharpness is not very good, but again, can be helped in post proccesing.
I bought this lens in February 2005 and am using it on a Pentax ist DS. I am amazed by the minimum distortion of this zoom lens, which beats some full-frame wide-angle primes I own. I have done shots of paintings in a museum without using a flash. These pictures are getting close to the repros in their catalog. I did have to correct for perspective; but there was little to do in terms of barrel or pincushion distortion. Actually, most of the time you can do without such measures. Taking into account the focal length, the lens is extremely sharp on a 1.5x DSLR. If you look carefully there is certainly decreasing sharpness and increasing chromatic aberrations towards the edges, in particular at maximum aperture, but this statement is true for virtually any lens, and for the Sigma it is at a level that you have to really look for it. I consider this lens a technological masterpiece, something that would not have been possible without the extensive use of aspherical surfaces, say, 10 years ago.
Of course, there are certain (probably unavoidable) weaknesses to this design approach. The lens has this amazingly protruding Popeye front element; you cannot use screw-in filters; the lens is quite bulky (not really heavy as some reviewers claim); and the 4.5 maximum aperture is not really a match to a Noktilux kind of lens either. On a digital camera, you probably don't need much of a filter except for protection and maybe a polarizer, but still this is a weak point. As far as the maximum aperture goes, I did not find this too much of a problem, as you can use 1/15s exposure without a tripod at f=12mm without problems. So the aperture range actually compares favorably with many standard zooms in terms of shootability in low-light situations. Still, prime lenses such as the SIGMA 20mm F1.8 clearly have an edge in that kind of situation.
There are statements that this lens does not focus correctly in autofocus mode, but these problems appear to be restricted to the Canon version. I did not see any particular problems on my sample, neither do I think that manual focusing would be much of an issue at 12mm focal length. Just put the lens to hyperfocal distance and anything will be sharp from 0.5m to infinity even at maximum aperture.
Anyway, this is a great piece of glass, probably among the best lenses Sigma has ever made. Compared to lenses of Pentax, Canon, Nikon etc. this is a bargain, and it seems that not much is gained by paying that higher price either.
Strengths:
Extremely little distortion for such a wide angle zoom
Full-frame compatibility
Sharp (within reasonable expectation limits)
Image quality better than some wide-angle primes
Works just great on a Pentax ist DS
Great for architecture on a digital body
Gives you real wide-angle on DSLRs
Weaknesses:
You cannot use thread-in type filters.
Maximum aperture of 4.5 only (somewhat unfair, still useful in low-light situations)
Sort of bulky, but not heavy; not a "discrete" type of lens
Front element cannot be protected by filter (flirting with disaster)
I bought this lens mostly for landscapes and it is an excellent lens for that purpose. Barely any distortion, good colors and one of the few real wide angle lenses that is available for full frame or film cameras.
The drawbacks that made me sell it were the slowness at 4.5-5.6 and the nature of the fisheye lens---any time people were included in my images, they were shrunken and widened.
Still, I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend this lens to someone who wants an ultra wide angle, particularly for a non-APSC sensor camera or film camera.
Strengths:
Good color.
Very low distortion.
Great landscape lens.
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