Product Description
This ultra wide angle zoom lens offers 122 degree super wide angle of view along the diagonal axis. The super-wide angle's useful range of view offers the photographergreater freedom of expression. This lens is equipped with a fixed Petal-type hood to obtain a superior extraneous light-blocking effect. Four Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. Two pieces of molded glass and three aspherical lenses, including two molded glass aspherical lens elements, offer excellent correction for linear distortion as well as all types of aberration. It is easy to revert to Manual Focus by simply turning the focusing ring and overriding the AF. An inner focus system provides high performance and convenience. The non-rotating lens barrel perfectly suits the matched petal shaped lens hood. Except fish-eye lenses, this super-wide angle lens is the only lens that has 12mm focal length and can be used with Digital SLR cameras as well as film SLR cameras. Maximum Magnification - 1 - 7.1 Filter Size - Rear Type (Gelatin Filter) Dimensions - Diameter 87mm xLength 102.5mm, 3.4 x 3.9 inch Weight - 21.6 ounces (600 grams)
Customer Reviews:
Good wide angle, very bad optics.......2006-08-08
I ordered this lens because I wanted the widest angle without getting a cropped lens (the Canon 10-22). I have had great luck with Tamron 3rd party lenses and the price was great so I thought what could be better? I should have paid more attention to what everyone else said about quality control. On the good side the wide angle is truely fantastic (can't wait to see the 10-22). Also the color responce, saturation, and contrast are absolutely stunning. Comes out right with no post production needed. Unfortunatly the good ends there. As far as sharpness, clarity, and focusing the camera is simply not usable. It is simply the worst quality lens I have eveer used. Even manually focused, stopped down, high shutter speeds, and clear skys this lens is so blurry and fuzzy you think you took it with a cheap camera phone. Not to even start about the chromatic ab., noise, and fringing. None of my images were usable at all. I decided that wasn't worth the price and I didn't want to deal with sending it back to Sigma 2-3 times like others had when I could get a Canon 10-22 for a bit more and know I will get good quality. Don't get this lense, it isn't worth the money. (If you are using a full frame camera like the 5D then it would be a shame to put such a bad lens on it. Get the Canon 10-22. Not to mention the Sigma really is huge with rather poor quality construction. The zoom and focusing ring were also almost impossible to use.
Unique Ultra-Wide Angle Lens But Poor Sigma Quality Control.......2006-07-04
There's nothing else this wide for use on a full-frame 35mm camera or digital such as the Canon 5D. It's so wide on a full-frame that you can almost see behind you (well not quite, but close to 180 degree field of view). It is not a fisheye, so straight lines stay straight. There is some minor vignetting at 12mm but less than the Canon 17-40 L-lens I had at 17mm. This lens is pushing the limits of physics so it is not as sharp as some lenses but it takes in so much more of the view and provides a crisp image all the way to the corners.
For use on a cropped sensor camera, such as the XT, 20D or 30D a better choice may be the Canon 10-22mm which is uber-sharp in the middle of the frame. The Canon, however, gives fuzzy images on the sides when wide open but sharpens up when stopped down to f8 or more. My third copy of the Sigma lens is less sharp than the Canon in the center of the frame but is sharper starting about halfway to the edge when both lenses are wide open. Near the edges of the frame the Canon gives a dark and mushy image when wide open at 12mm while the Sigma is only slightly less sharp than at the center - truly amazing!
Unfortunately, Sigma lenses are seemingly sold "as-is" with wide sample variations. The autofocus died on my first copy of the lens after less than 30 pictures. The second copy had poor optics with soft and fuzzy pictures even when manually focused. The third copy is sharp at 12mm, even wide open, all the way to the edges, but only if manually focused. At 12mm the lens autofocuses too far away when an object is close and too close for distant objects. At 24mm it autofocuses right on but is softer than at 12mm. I've decided to keep it since it is easy to manually focus. The depth of focus is large at 12mm. For objects further than a few meters away when using 12mm just set the lens to infinity and everything from a few feet to infinity is in focus even at the edges of the frame and in the corners. The lens has a 4-year warranty so I may send it in to Sigma for calibration later.
Pros: (1) Unique ultra-wide angle perspective on a full-frame camera. (2) A good copy will be optically sharp all the way across a full frame, even wide open. Further, there's virtually no purple chromatic aberation near the edges of dark objects with bright backgrounds. (3) Nice build quality with good finish and large smooth focus ring. (4) Straight lines stay straight so no defishing needed (defishing uses interpolation which lowers resolution away from the center). (5) Lens comes with a case and has a small built-in hood (serves mainly to protect the front element). (6) 4-year USA warranty if purchased from an authorized dealer like Amazon or B&H. Otherwise you get a 1-year International Warranty.
Cons: (1) Wide sample variation - getting a good copy takes luck or persistence while trying multiple copies. (2) The bulbous front element (this lens is nicknamed "Popeye") is exposed and no standard filter can be used for protection so be very careful. (3) Flares easily. The sun does not need to be in the picture just anywhere not behind you. This is a result of the ultra-wide design and not a fault of Sigma. (4) Photos sometimes come out too bright, giving the appearance of low contrast. Photoshop or other software easily fixes.
Professional 12-24 lens.......2006-01-22
I use this lens primarily for architectural work. It's rugged, fast focusing, and most important, distortion free (i.e., straight lines stay straight). Dramatic design, built for full frame use if (when) you decide it's time to go that way. It's also performed extremely well for landscapes....even some shots at weddings. My most frequently used lens. (Hint: on the APS-C format digital SLRS, you can leave the accessory ring on the lens - it provides additional flare resistance, and there is no vignetting.)
Interesting lens.......2006-01-13
I am a pretty serious amatuer photographer and I keep coming back to this lens. It's really well made lens and its survived much mistreatment without a problem. You're going to get lens flare problems that you won't get with a canon 16-35, but in tests I've done, its sharper at the edges than the 16.
If you take alot of landscape shots or are on vacation taking shots of landmarks and such, you'll love this lens.
Product Description
Sigma will always be guaranteed a place in the history books as pioneers of the wide-angle zoom lens. Our advanced super wide angle technology was developed far earlier than any of our competitors. Sigma designed and produced the first wide-angle zoom lens, the "zoom gamma 21-35mm F3.5-4.2", in 1979. The wide-angle zoom category didn't even exist before this date. The market comprised only standard and telephoto zoom lenses with most people believing that wide angle zooms were impossible to develop. However Sigma's advanced design and pioneering technology went on to prove them wrong and strongly influence subsequent product development.Four Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. Two pieces of molded glass and three aspherical lenses, including twomolded glass aspherical lens elements, offer excellent correction for linear distortion as well as all types of aberration. It is an ideal lens for Digital SLR Cameras as well as film SLR cameras.Equipped with Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) for Sigma, Nikon and Canon. It is easy to revert to Manual Focus by simply turning the focusing ring and overriding the AF. An inner focus system provides high performance and convenience. The non-rotating lens barrel perfectly suits the matched petal shaped lens hood. A circular polarizing filter can also be used conveniently. 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG lens offers a minimum focusing distance of 28cm/11in. at all focal lengths. The super-wide angle's useful range of view offers the photographer greater freedom of expression. This lens is equipped with a fixed Petal-type hood to obtain a superior extraneous light-blocking effect.
Product Description
This ultra wide angle zoom lens offers 122 degree super wide angle of view along the diagonal axis. The super-wide angle's useful range of view offers the photographer greater freedom of expression. This lens is equipped with a fixed Petal-type hood to obtain a superior extraneous light-blocking effect. Four Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. Two pieces of molded glass and three aspherical lenses, including two molded glass aspherical lens elements, offer excellent correction for linear distortion as well as all types of aberration. It is easy to revert to Manual Focus by simply turning the focusing ring and overriding the AF. An inner focus system provides high performance and convenience. The non-rotating lens barrel perfectly suits the matched petal shaped lens hood. Except fish-eye lenses, this super-wide angle lens is the only lens that has 12mm focal length and can be used with Digital SLR cameras as well as film SLR cameras. Maximum Magnification - 1 - 7.1 Filter Size - Rear Type (Gelatin Filter) Dimensions - Diameter 87mm x Length 102.5mm, 3.4 x 3.9 inch Weight - 21.6 ounces (600 grams)
Customer Reviews:
Not better than Nikon, but much cheaper........2007-12-23
Sigma has been much maligned by the Nikon-brand lens snobs, and not without good reason. The build quality and optical clarity of the average Nikon lens easily trounces the average Sigma.
This particular Sigma lens has been in my bag since 2004 (three years now) and has performed flawlessly in dusty, humid, and rainy conditions. I can't say that about every Nikon lens I have owned.
Don't get me wrong-- this is not a flawless lens. It is weather sealed enough, but I doubt it would survive being dunked in water the way some (but not many) Nikon lenses would. It focuses faster than many Nikon lenses, but slower than competing Silent Wave Motor Nikons. It is quieter than any non-SWM Nikons, and almost as quiet as SWM. It focuses as well as any Nikon f/4.5-5.6 lens in similar lighting conditions.
Now for the flaws. It has more chromatic aberration than Nikon's 12-24mm DX and 14-24mm FX lenses. It isn't as sharp, especially near the edges. But if your maximum print size is 8x10 you'll likely never notice.
UPSIDES: Even though it works at full frame (important for those of us that still shoot film as well as digital) it is much cheaper than Nikons 12-24 f/4.5-5.6 DX lens-- a lens that is only good for DX-sized sensor digital Nikons. It is less than 1/3 the price of the recently released FX (full-frame) 14-24mm f/2.8 Nikon lens.
Granted, the professional Nikon 14-24mm lens is clearly the best of the bunch, but most of us can't afford that extravagance. When I bought this lens it was the only 12-24mm lens available, and given the offerings from Nikon and other third-party lens makers, I can't regret this purchase for one moment.
While I'd like to own the new professional Nikon 14-28mm f/2.8 lens, that won't be in my budget in the foreseeable future. My buying advice: take your camera to a good local camera shop and try this lens (and its competitors) for yourself. I'm confident many of you will agree that the Sigma, while it is not the best lens, is good enough and the best compromise-- given the price.
Cheers.
Excellent ultrawide.......2007-05-09
The Sigma 12-24 is an excellent ultrawide. It is very sharp with very little barrel or pincushion distortion. It is a true 12-24 fullframe with a film SLR (love it with my Nikon N80) or full frame digital slr, and effectively an 18-36 with an APS-sized sensor digital SLR. Excelleent ultrawide for architecture, landscapes etc. At 12mm though, it is so wide that you must be careful of distortion introduced by shooting off-level. This is not to say this particular lens is faulty and distorts, but would be true of any ultrawide lens with this wide degree of coverage. While I have heard much talk of supposed poor Sigma quality control, I have no qualms at all about this lens - It is sturdy, tough, smooth and has performed flawlessly for me for years.
versatile wide-angle.......2006-07-19
I got it because I intend to use it on both my film and my digital bodies. For ultra wide angles I'll use it with film (Nikon N-80) and for more conventional wide angle with my Nikon D-200. It's one of three lenses I'm taking with me on vacation to the mountain states. The others are a Nikkor 28mm - 85mm and a Nikkor 70mm - 300mm with 2X Tamron SP doubler. Since I don't yet have photoshop or similar I wanted to be able to take real wide shots without having to paste them together.
not.......2006-02-22
do a little research and don't be fooled. Sigmas are generally a hit or miss thing for the lens quality. And worse off if you travel with the camera..seals are not at all reliable. Last but not least go ito a store and compare the drive noise on this unit to any other brand...very very noise...sorry i can not recommend them. Nikon, Tamron, Tokina...I personally prefer Nikon and Tokina...good luck
Product Description
Sigma will always be guaranteed a place in the history books as pioneers of the wide-angle zoom lens. Our advanced super wide angle technology was developed far earlier than any of our competitors. Sigma designed and produced the first wide-angle zoom lens, the "zoom gamma 21-35mm F3.5-4.2", in 1979. The wide-angle zoom category didn't even exist before this date. The market comprised only standard and telephoto zoom lenses with most people believing that wide angle zooms were impossible to develop. However Sigma's advanced design and pioneering technology went on to prove them wrong and strongly influence subsequent product development.Four Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. Two pieces of molded glass and three aspherical lenses, including two molded glass aspherical lens elements, offer excellent correction for linear distortion as well as all types of aberration. It is an ideal lens for Digital SLR Cameras as well as film SLR cameras.Equipped with Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) for Sigma, Nikon and Canon. It is easy to revert to Manual Focus by simply turning the focusing ring and overriding the AF. An inner focus system provides high performance and convenience. The non-rotating lens barrel perfectly suits the matched petal shaped lens hood. A circular polarizing filter can also be used conveniently. 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG lens offers a minimum focusing distance of 28cm/11in. at all focal lengths. The super-wide angle's useful range of view offers the photographer greater freedom of expression. This lens is equipped with a fixed Petal-type hood to obtain a superior extraneous light-blocking effect.
Product Description
Super Multi Coating reduces flare and ghosting that tends to occur when using digital SLR cameras. This ultra wide angle zoom lens offers 122 degree super wide angle of view along the diagonal axis.
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