The Sigma 10-20 lens is the first Sigma lens that I have ever purchased. Sigma made this lens for Sigma
Now this is a cheap lens for an ultra wide angle lens. I was not expecting much out of this lens at first, but I was wrong.
The price can be deceptively low, but this lens is a true performer. When used in a cropped sensor camera, it gives a field of view of 15-30mm which is excellent for landscape and street photography.
I always carry this lens whenever I go because I am an avid travel and landscape photographer.
The solid but lightweight build also helps a lot during traveling and I am always satisfied with the results that I got from this lens.
If you are looking for an excellent ultra wide angle lens for the money, this is the lens to get.
To see why I love this Sigma 10-20 lens so much, see my complete review below.
Specs • Performance • Sample Image • Conclusion • Where to Buy
Sigma 10-20 Specs
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Official Name:
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Focal Length Markings:
10, 12, 14, 17, 20mm
Features:
EX – Excellent – Sigma’s designation for their high end lenses.
DC – Digital Crop – Sigma lenses with this geek word can only be used for cropped sensor DSLR camera. Don’t ever use this lens with a full frame DSLR or film SLR otherwise you’ll get the ugly vignetting effect.
HSM – HyperSonic Motor – Sigma’s smooth and fast autofocusing technology. Very similar to Canon’s USM. Lens with this designation can autofocus with Nikon’s entry level DSLR such as D40, D40x, D5000, D3000 and D3100.
Full Technical Specs (from Sigma’s website):
| Technical Specifications | |
| Groups / Elements | 10 / 14 |
| Angle of View | 102.4 – 63.8 |
| Number of Blade Diaphragm | 6 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/22 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 9.4in. (0.24m) |
| Filter Thread | 77mm |
| Weight | 16.4oz. (470g) |
| Dimension (Diameter x Length) | 3.3 x 3.2in. (71.5 x 64mm) |
| Macro Magnification Ratio | 1:6.7 |
| Available for | Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax |
Optical Performance
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Sigma 10-20 Sharpness
This lens is very sharp on the center at any focal length and aperture.
Borders also follows the same characteristics. It is sharp and contrasty at any focal length and aperture.
The optimal aperture on this lens is around f/5.6 and f/8.
See the full sharpness test table below.
Sharpness Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Excellent
(4) Great
(3) Good
(2) Fair
(1) Poor
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Center Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/4-4.8 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 14mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 20mm | n/a | Excellent | Excellent | Great |
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Border Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/4-4.8 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Great | Great | Great | Great |
| 14mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Great |
| 20mm | n/a | Great | Great | Great |
Distortion
Being an extreme wide angle lens, I was expecting to get a lot of distortion. However, I was not as bad as I expected.
The Sigma managed to control distortion well at any focal length.
At 10mm, barrel distortion is visible (obviously) and will be a bit hard to correct. Just avoid shooting close to the edge and you will be fine.
At 14mm, the distortion become a pincushion one but it is not too visible. The same goes with 20mm. At 20mm, the distortion can be totally ignored.
See the full distortion test below.
Vignetting
Being an ultra wide angle zoom lens, vignetting is visible at every focal length at any aperture.
Stopping down to f/5.6 or smaller aperture will help here.
See the vignetting test results below.
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic aberration is extremely well controlled for such an ultra wide angle lens. It can be considered very low at any aperture and focal length.
Yes, this includes 10mm f/4!
See the full chromatic aberration test result below.
Chromatic Aberration Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Negligible
(4) Very Low
(3) Low
(2) High
(1) Very High
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Chromatic Aberration
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/4-4.8 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Very Low | Low | Low | Very Low |
| 14mm | Negligible | Negligible | Negligible | Very Low |
| 20mm | n/a | Negligible | Negligible | Negligible |
Build Quality
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Materials
Just like the EX name implies, the build quality of this lens is “Excellent.”
It is made from high grade plastics combined with metal and polished with the typical Sigma’s crinkle finish.
Zoom Ring
Zoom ring is very smooth to operate. The lens will extend slightly when zoomed to the telephoto end. There is no zoom creep on this lens.
Focusing
The focus ring also operates smoothly. This lens features a blazing fast and silent HSM motor.
The presence of HSM means that this lens will autofocus with entry level Nikon DSLR such as Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D5000, D5100, D3000 and D3100.
There is no AF/MF switch on this lens and you need to do it via the camera body to switch from AF to MF.
The front element is an on-rotating one so you can use polarizing filter with this lens.
Image Stabilization
There is no Optical Stabilization built into the lens.
Compatibility
Being a DC lens, this lens is only compatible cropped sensor DSLR camera. It is not compatible with full frame or 35mm film SLR camera.
Sample Image
Back to: Menu • Introduction
The following are some images taken with this lens. Click any of them to enlarge the image.
Get the best price online from Amazon: Sigma
Conclusion
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Alright, here is the conclusion for my favorite Sigma 10-20 lens.
As you know from the introduction, the first thing that attracted me to this lens was the price. I was not expecting much in terms of optical quality but this lens has exceeded my expectation a lot.
For the bargain price, it certainly offers a lot in terms of optical performance.
First of all, it is very sharp both on the border and on the center at any focal length and aperture.
Chromatic aberration is extremely well controlled, to the point it can be ignored at all focal length and aperture.
Distortion is visible, which is typical for any ultra wide angle lens, but it is minimal on this lens and can easily be corrected on this lens.
The only downside that I can find of in terms of optical performance is vignetting. It is not heavy, but visible at any focal length and aperture. This can be easily corrected in post processing.
Build quality is simply superb. The HSM autofocus, although not necessary for a wide angle lens is a MAJOR PLUS. This not only make the autofocus blazing fast and silent, but also make any Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D5000, D5100, D3000 and D3100 users happy because this lens will autofocus with them.
Considering everything, I would say that this lens really delivers at an excellent price.
Highly recommended.
Drawbacks
- Visible vignetting at any focal length and aperture
- Visible distortion at 10mm and 14mm (slightly)
Positives
- Very sharp on the center and on the borders at any focal length and aperture
- Negligible chromatic aberration at any focal length and aperture
- Nice build and crinkle finish
- Blazing fast and accurate autofocus
- Amazing value for money
Good For
- Landscape photography
- Street photography under bright condition
Not So Good For
- Architecture photography due to distortion
- Indoor dim shooting due to small aperture
What Others Are Saying…
by “Craig”
I went into a local camera store to look at the Nikon 12-24mm wide angle zoom to eventually augment the Nikon 50mm 1.8 and 18-200mm VR I currently use on my D200. After seeing the Sigma…
Click here to see the full review
by “K. Dardashti”
There are currently 4 wide angle zoom choices available on the EF-S canon mount (d-rebel/xt/20d) canon 10-22, Sigma 12-24, sigma 10-20, tokina 12-24. Of these, sigma 12-24 is the only one…
Click here to see the full review
Where to Buy
Support this site, buy the Sigma 10-20 lens from Amazon (best price online):
If the mount you’re looking for is not available on Amazon, check out B&H Photo (Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus) or Adorama (Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus)
To see the related Sigma wide angle lens review, check out the following post below.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my Sigma 10-20 review and I will see you in the next one!
The Sigma 10-20 lens is the first Sigma lens that I have ever purchased. Sigma made this lens for Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and Olympu…
The Sigma 10-20 lens is the first Sigma lens that I have ever purchased. Sigma made this lens for Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and Olympu…
| Lens Score | |
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| Optical Quality | |
| Build Quality | |
| Value for Money | |
| Overall | |
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