 |
|
|
Amsterdam
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Jun 16, 2006
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 1
|
|
Review Date: Oct 17, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
|
|
Pros:
|
Unique ultra wide angle zoom lens, almost no barrel distortion, price, HSM, compact build
|
|
Cons:
|
Sigma QC
|
|
|
This is a truly unique ultra wide angle zoom lens, which can give dramatic results if u know how to use it = getting close to ur subject. Its great for all styles of photograhy; a picture taken with a normal wide angle lens, lets say 24 mm, becomes stunning. Especially used at the 12mm setting on a full frame DSLR (i used it on a Kodak SLR/c).
However, there is a major issue and that's Sigmas quality control. I had to send the lens no less then 3 times to the service centre. There were all kinds of problems with my sample: Very blurry corners, incorrect distance meter, no serial number on the lens, etc etc. After the third time they got it right.
So i really recommend this lens especially if ur using a full frame DLSR, but beware about which sample you buy!
|
|
 Oct 17, 2006
|
|
Offline
|
|
Review Date: Jun 4, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $620.00
| Rating: 7
|
|
Pros:
|
Super-super wide, fits full frame camera. Amazingly nice geometry (no distortion). Build quality. Low weight.
|
|
Cons:
|
Vignetting on a FF. Too slow. Usually requires to be f-stopped down to 8/11. A bit too "bulky".
|
|
|
Well, it's a WIDE lens with little or no distortion. And it fits full frame. Optical quality is average at f4,5-5,6, but when stopped down to f8 it becomes acceptable. AF is fast. But I prefer to use manual focusing when shooting landscapes and cityscapes.
Build quality is good. Optical probles are common for super-wide lenses. I'd say, it's a good value for money.
|
|
|
Jun 4, 2006
|
|
LeoJan
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: May 26, 2006
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 0
|
|
Review Date: May 26, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
|
|
Pros:
|
Very Wide, no alternative.
|
|
Cons:
|
Need to use a smal diafragma for reasonable result, colors do not match a Canon L zoom
|
|
|
I use it on a 1.3 crop camera, the EOS1 D mark II. There simply is nothing else with 12 mm. It does the job oke, never used a diaframa greather than f11, f16 is even better. The color is nothing like the 17-40L but with some postprossing I can come along. Build quality is really fine, the feel is nice. I only use it for the 12mm, so this is the only zoom I own that I rather see as a prime. I have not tested it on my EOS 3, but will do that soon. The 12 mm is stunning and that makes up with the cons I mensionend.
|
|
|
May 26, 2006
|
|
incdigital
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Aug 2, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 226
|
|
Review Date: May 24, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $600.00
| Rating: 10
|
|
Pros:
|
Wide...but you knew that already, FF, Sharp wide open(atleast on my 2ed copy of the lens), Color and Contrast are very good for sigma, Build is top notch for 3ed party, Quick and Silent HSM AF
|
|
Cons:
|
Filter system stinks....other than that none.
|
|
|
Wow what a difference! My first copy(bought from sigma4less) of this lens was as soft as a babys behind...but , my second copy(bought from dell on sale) rivals the sharpness of my 16-35L. Glad i gave this lens a second chance. Its really sad the amt of sample variations that sigma has...id say nearly 50% of my Sigma EX line that i have bought over the years needed to be serviced for either AF problems or Soft pics.
|
|
|
May 24, 2006
|
|
BobbyT
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Feb 13, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 67
|
|
Review Date: Apr 27, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $669.00
|
|
Pros:
|
Well built.
|
|
Cons:
|
Heavy distortion in the upper and lower left corners and along the entire right side of picture. Bad throughout the zoom range.
|
|
|
This lens on my full frame sensor is terrible. There is a great deal of distortion in the upper left and lower left corners and heavy distortion along the entire right side of the picture. Even when zoomed to 24 it can't compare to my Canon 24-105. I don't know if this is normal for this lens or if it's defective and I don't care to find out. If Sigma's quality control is no better than this I've had it with Sigma!
|
|
|
Apr 27, 2006
|
|
tstrauss
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Apr 26, 2006
Location: Germany
Posts: 1
|
|
Review Date: Apr 26, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $780.00
| Rating: 9
|
|
Pros:
|
Really wide, excellent sharpness, build quality, bright colors.
|
|
Cons:
|
none
|
|
|
I have the lens since April 2005. I use it on a 35mm body. You need to know what you are doing at the 12mm end. But you can get really stuning results. My copy is sharp to the edges (check with 4000 dpi film scanner Nikon V ED).
|
|
|
Apr 26, 2006
|
|
joshbrown
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Feb 11, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 437
|
|
Review Date: Apr 4, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $500.00
| Rating: 9
|
|
Pros:
|
A nice wide angle, isn't too heavy, very solidly build.
|
|
Cons:
|
flare, slow.
|
|
|
This is a really nice wide lens if you have a lot of light. I might end up trading this for a Canon 10-20 because I only use it on a 20D and I need something a bit faster for concerts. I got a sharp copy for a good price.
|
|
|
Apr 4, 2006
|
|
hc916
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Mar 27, 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 10
|
|
Review Date: Mar 27, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
|
|
|
I need help! I just bought this lens used and it seems to work fine on my Nikon D70s. I was attracted to this lens as it could be used on 35mm bodies, and when I tested it on a F100 at the store, it looked fine through the viewfinder. But when I got home and tried it on my F90 and F401x bodies there is significant vignetting! Is this problem because of my older film bodies? Any help would be great!
I haven't used it enough to comment further!
|
|
|
Mar 27, 2006
|
|
mystic1
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Mar 9, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 47
|
|
Review Date: Feb 21, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $725.00
| Rating: 8
|
|
Pros:
|
Excellent zoom range. Can be used on 35mm/FF bodies as well as digital.
|
|
Cons:
|
Vignetting at 12mm on FF bodies is apparent
|
|
|
Simply put, this is the widest zoom lens you can get that'll still work on a full-frame/35mm body.
My top reason for getting this WA zoom was to have one that would work on both my Canon Digital Rebel (now upgraded to a 20D) and my Canon Elan 7E. This lens works wonderfully on both bodies.
Drawbacks, however, include: on a full-frame camera, it does vignette considerably; it's a fairly slow lens; it's a touch on the heavy side; the price I paid was a touch high.
Overall, I like the lens, and probably won't trade it. It's -great- outdoors where you've got plenty of light, but rather tough to use, for example, in a dark club for band photography.
|
|
|
Feb 21, 2006
|
|
troutmask
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Sep 22, 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 23
|
|
Review Date: Jan 17, 2006
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
|
|
Pros:
|
Very wide, avaliable as at a cheap price compared with anything else. Good build quality, good hood.
|
|
Cons:
|
Obviously not a Canon L lens, but then it is a third of the price. Always the risk of a bad one given Sigmas reputation for quality control problems, I have been lucky.
|
|
|
This lens has to score well because there really is nothing near it for full frame or 1.3 crop cameras.
I got mine when I sold my 10D and got a 1D mk II (about six months ago) and have used it loads since. In fact it is on my camera more than any other lens even though it is nowhere near as good as my other lenses. But it is my only zoom, and it can produce some really interesting shots.
It focuses close enough and is wide enough to get some really interesting angles on everything from people to trees and mountains.
It is strange if you aren't used to such wide angles (and I wasn't). Even though WYSISYG in the view finder of a 1D, often it is only when you see the image at a larger scale on your computer screen do you realise how strange the world can look thorugh a wide angle lens. Sometimes this is great, mostly not, it can tempt you into overusing the "wow" thats a strange angle factor when you first get one.
The images are no where near as sharp as my other Canon primes, but at this price you would hardly expect them to be, but the images are good throughout the whole of the frame (at the 1.3 crop of my camera, they may not be as good on a full frame).
For less than 400 quid you do get a lens that can get proffessional results, not every time, but enough to get by. It is also built to a very high standard and feels like a quality product; which is nice!
If only I didn't always have to take the quality control thing into account before buying Sigma, but I suppose these things are built to price and that is what happens.
|
|
|
Jan 17, 2006
|
|
stelin
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Dec 22, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 4
|
|
Review Date: Dec 22, 2005
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
|
|
Pros:
|
Width and lack of distortion.
|
|
Cons:
|
Front element
|
|
|
My first one was replaced after 1 week when the HSM died. The replacement has proved reliable. -- At least it still works a year later. Minimal distortion at the wide end on my 1.3x crop factor camera. Optically quite good, but not in the league of my 16-35L where they overlap.
The bulbous front element makes me nervous though. I keep it capped whenever it is on the camera, and it doesn't allow the use of a filter (unlike the 16-35 which uses the same 77mm filters as the rest of my lenses)
|
|
|
Dec 22, 2005
|
|
DavidWEGS
Offline
[ X ]
Registered: Apr 15, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 0
|
|
Review Date: Dec 1, 2005
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $459.00
| Rating: 9
|
|
Pros:
|
WIDE on a 5D (obvious), good distortion control consistent, accurate focus.
|
|
Cons:
|
heavy but not bad, vignetting is there on the FF sensor but again, not bad.
|
|
|
Used for about 4 gigs now and I am very pleased with the results for the $$$. Great if you want this range.
|
|
|
Dec 1, 2005
|
|
rock1110
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Jun 28, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 0
|
|
Review Date: Nov 25, 2005
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
|
|
Pros:
|
Wide, distortion well controled, image quality, elegant design, tough build, fast focusing
|
|
Cons:
|
Lens cap falls off easily during hiking (better held with a hand all time), tight focusing ring
|
|
I use this lens on Canon 350D. With a cropping factor 1.6x, it's still wide! Versitile 12-24mm zoom range, very useful for both indoors (e.g., close-range exhibitions) and outdoors (e.g., landscape).
Love the protrusive front lens & yellowish coating - simply looks 'professional' 
Great image quality as far as I can tell - worths every penny.
The only drawback (and a big one) is lens hood. It slips off by itself easily, especially if you walk around with it attached to the camera around your neck. Besides, the lens hood is so huge that it doesn't fit in the pockets.
I highly recommend this lens.
|
|
|
Nov 25, 2005
|
|
ukcolin
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Nov 12, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 0
|
|
Review Date: Nov 17, 2005
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
|
|
Pros:
|
I bought this lens when it first came out to give me an ultra-wide angle lens for my Canon 300D. I was impressed with the sharpness and colour. On full frame the perspective at 12mm was amazing but a little too much of a good thing. On the 300D the equivalent focal length of about 19mm was invaluable at a time when the EF-S ultra-wides had not become available.. The build quality was very good and the a/f worked well.
|
|
Cons:
|
However I noticed that at full aperture there was a small variation of focus across the frame as reported in some reviews above. This could be masked with Photoshop but was annoying and time consuming to put right. It disappeared when stopped down a little. The physical size of the lens is a problem particularly with the massive protruding front element. Using filters is tricky and I ended up hand holding large square filters most of the time.
With the availability of so many good lenses for small-sensor DSLR's I think the market for this lens has shrunk. If you want an ultra wide for a small-sensor DSLR there are several good options, and on fiull frame the 12mm end is not that useful. I sold mine in favour of a Canon 10-22mm
|
|
|
This was a winner when it first appeared as it had no competition and is a fine lens. But time has moved on and now I think there are better options since the apearance of so many good alternatives. It may be a good second hand option though as the optical exellence and build quality will be on its side.
|
|
|
Nov 17, 2005
|
|
soren
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Apr 7, 2002
Location: United States
Posts: 9
|
|
Review Date: Nov 3, 2005
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $550.00
| Rating: 7
|
|
Pros:
|
Really wide even on a 1.3 camera, focuses well, price, can be sharp
|
|
Cons:
|
4.5-5.6 is a bit slow, would be nice to be able to use regular filters
|
|
|
I use a 1.3 crop 1D MarkII, the edges are pretty good at all apetures, and 12mm is wide! It takes a lot of getting used to to handle what 12 mm gets you. I am a bit undecided about the lens because I also own the 14 and 15 fish and it is sharper at all apetures, do I need the 12...? Only time will tell, it is really fun to shoot landscapes with, and sharpens nicely in PS.
|
|
|
Nov 3, 2005
|
|
PaulRobin
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Oct 20, 2005
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 0
|
|
Review Date: Oct 20, 2005
|
Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $600.00
| Rating: 9
|
|
Pros:
|
Super Wide, HSM, construction, top...
|
|
Cons:
|
According to the case used, it can become a little soft...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 20, 2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reviews
|
Views
|
Date of last review
|
|
103
|
322911
|
Apr 27, 2022
|
|
|
Recommended By
|
Average Price
|
|
94% of reviewers
|
$626.70
|
|
|
Build Quality Rating
|
Price Rating
|
Overall Rating
|
|
8.85
|
8.78
|
8.6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
;)
