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svx94
Offline
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Registered: Mar 25, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 657
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Review Date: Aug 28, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $350.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Good color, contrast
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Cons:
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Minor edge softness wide open, size
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Used on 5D and very happy with it. The lens produce a typical Sigma warm color, which I like. It is littler softer than my 10-22, but not too bad. At F10, 11, which I use this lens mainly, the result is just great. And this is the lens (not the 224-105L) that shows the advantage of the 5D body !
The mark price for this lens is also attractive comparing with the Canon lenses.
This lens is about the same size as the Canon 24-105L, and weight about the same too. But the build feels better than the Canon.
AF is slower and noisier than Canon USM lens. This is not a HSM lens, so you should expect that. But for a landscape lens, I think it is perfectly fine.
In short, GOOD DEAL !
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 Aug 28, 2006
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lfguy
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Registered: Aug 1, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Aug 1, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Reasonably sharp, super wide angle lens that works with a full frame camera.
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Cons:
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Not possible to remove lenshood.
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I did my homework on this lens, and I haven't been disappointed. I use it for architecture and tripod photography. I wanted a super-wide that would work on a full-frame camera. I considered the Canon, which I could have purchased. But, reports of average sharpness and distortion of the Canon L super-wides (previous or current models) persuaded me against those lenses. (Why pay a high price for mediocre quality?) I tried a couple of the Sigma 12-24mm's, and neither was acceptable. After seeing tests of the Sigma 15-30 on the old Rob Galbraith site, I purchased one new from Cameta.Com.
Now that I've used it for a few months, I like the lens. I regard it as a sharp lens. Not like my 24-70 L, but sharp. I knew in advance that it distorts. On my example, it pincushions above about 24mm and barrels somewhat below that focal length. I obtain acceptable corrections (for me) using the Photoshop Lens Distortion filters. (If I photograph above 24mm, I use a different lens.) I haven't noticed too much vignetting, even at 15mm. It's nice being able to photograph a little wider than I need. Both corrections for distortion and perspective consume edges of the image.
Did I get lucky with my example? It's hard to say. I think the production consistency is better than that for the 12-24mm. For whatever the reason, I got a nice lens for a reasonable price.
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Aug 1, 2006
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Panchoskywalke
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Jul 27, 2006
Location: Chile
Posts: 78
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Review Date: Jul 27, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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don't know yet
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Cons:
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don't know yet
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Is there a non DG version of this lense?
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Jul 27, 2006
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ehusted1
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Apr 10, 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jul 17, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, nice colors, nice build. Nice and wide.
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Cons:
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None that really matter, no real option to mount front filter to it. The AF/MF switching is a silly 2 step process.
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I was looking for a wide angle for my D70, this came up on clearance, its the "DG" version.
I was looking at various options for wide angle, the Sigma 10-20, sigma 12-24, tokina 12-24, I didn't look at the Nikon options mainly due to cost (I'm not earning money from photog, so I have to justify to my better half ;-0)
This one was near the top of my list because it is cost effective and full frame should I ever get (or Nikon ever make) a full frame camera. Did a lot of reading and kept coming back to the 15-30...
I have only had it for a week so far, so I haven't seen all the pro's and con's. I have shot about 100 frames through it walking around. Seems to focus accurately and quickly, only hunts in low light (nothing unusual there) very sharp around f8, bit softer at max app. Colours come out very nicely, and I'm enjoying the wider angle, my widest lense before was the 20mm F1.8 sigma (also very very sharp lense... maybe I got lucky twice!).
Some CA at extreme contrast changes but nothing bad, only really notice it when "pixel peeping".
Flares sometimes when the sun is in or near the edge of the frame, haven't seen a really bad one yet and it seems to keep its composure when it does flare a little.
The only issue I have really is the filter mount, or rather lack of. The ring for the lense cap has an 82mm thread, but with the standard UV filter I put on it to protect the protruding front element it vignets (sp?!) at 15mm (even with the 1.5 crop factor) and is ok again at 18mm which is a little anoying. I may try to find a low profile filter to see if it fixes the problem.
Its a bigger lense, but not really that heavy (compared to say my 80-200f2.8 AFD), the AF/MF switching is stoooopid, why couldn't it just disengage the camera's AF drive when the ring is pulled back for MF?! Then it would be quite usefull, now all its really good for is to stop the focus ring from turning when its in AF (have the same gripe with the 20 f1.8). AF motor is fairly quiet, unless it has to sweep the full range, but not as noisy as the 20 f1.8 (BZZZZZZZZZZZT beep beep...you may now shoot).
In short, love the wide angle, love the image quality, the lense looks like it means business (if thats important to you!!!). Maybe I got lucky with a good one I have had no probs with both my Sigma products thus far... All in all I could easily see this staying on the camera for a while!!
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Jul 17, 2006
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allanbaden
Offline
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Registered: Apr 5, 2006
Location: Denmark
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Apr 5, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Solid build, Good value for money,
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Cons:
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Lens hood
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Its a very nice and weelbuild wide lens. I use it a lot with my 1D Mark 2 with great results.
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Apr 5, 2006
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Mike Mahoney
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Mar 8, 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 5465
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Review Date: Mar 27, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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sharp, sharp, sharp .. solid build, good color, no CA, minimal distortion, price.
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Cons:
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MF requires two two operations.
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simply amazing quality at any price .. colors are brilliant and the lens is very sharp .. I'd sold my Canon 17-40 to get the extra 2mm and can say that the images from the Sigma 15-30 exceed the quality of the Canon.
the lens is very well constructed, solid and not too heavy and the images are generally free from CA and distortions.
note my comments apply to a 1.6 crop camera *with the lens cap ring on the lens* .. this small amount of additional shading helps control flare and adds to contrast .. this ring will no doubt create vignetting on full frame or 1.3 crop bodies.
overall a superb lens, I'm very happy with it.
Mike
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Mar 27, 2006
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Entropia
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Jan 28, 2005
Location: Finland
Posts: 102
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Review Date: Mar 23, 2006
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Built like a tank, wide, EX
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Cons:
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Built like a tank (hard to operate controls IMO), not so sharp you'd expect an EX glass to be, dual manual focus switch
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The dual manual focus switch really sucks. Also on the sample I tried it was kind of hard to operate the controls. I'm not sure why I got this impression. Anyways, the color is nice and saturated but the focus isn't really fast. This lens leaves a conflicting impression. It's just not what I would expect from a professional series glass.
And the usual, a random sample from my pic directory:
http://esd.sytes.net/~entropia/kuvaus/roiskeita_2-4-05/pelottava_kaeytaevae.jpg
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Mar 23, 2006
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ga1lyons
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Mar 14, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 299
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Review Date: Mar 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $299.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Wide Range, price, great color
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Cons:
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No HSM, nonremovable hood, BIG filter required
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Color is rich, The lense hood isnt removable but there is a ring that is removable which snugs over the end which you can put a skylight filter (etc) to. This is a lil weird for me but with the other pros I can't complain. For the price, you cant beat it. Some may not like the size, its as big as my telephoto, as far as that goes i dont mind.
If you need a wide for a 1.6x camera, I shoot a 20D, then I highly recommend this lens.
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Mar 21, 2006
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louisjaffe
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Mar 30, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Feb 20, 2006
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Useful zoom range.
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Cons:
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Poor edge sharpness, chromatic aberration.
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Bought this lens to go wide on a Canon 10d, and liked it. When I got the 20d, it fell short. The edges revealed by full-frame sensor were really dirty.
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Feb 20, 2006
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vmelamedov
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Feb 14, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Feb 14, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $300.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharpness, contrast, colors and build quality
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Cons:
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Glare, non removable shade.
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May be I was one of those folks who was fortunate to get a "good copy" of the lens... I was waiting for new Sigma 10-20mm lens. I was planning to sell 15-30mm as soon as I get new Sigma 10-20mm. After shooting both lenses for a week my new Sigma 10-20mm took a train to eBay. Sigma 15-30mm was hands down superior lens. I usually use some Photoshop leveling, unsharp mask even shooting shorter focal lenses with tripod. I even add a bit of sharpness to shots made with Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 D. I was absolutely speechless opening Sigma 15-30mm shots in Photoshop realizing those shots did not need any corrections at all. Fabulous sharpness, contrast, color saturation where attributes of virtually every shot made with this lens. I assume by mounting this lens on a smaller x1.5 image sensor I have also avoided some vignetting, distortion and edge softness a lot of full frame 35mm users complained about... Have not noticed much of those things viewing full size NEFs.
The only serious complaint I can master is this lens does not control glare well (Sigma 10-20mm much more superior in this matter). Built quality is very good, non-removable lens hood is probably not so good. AF/MF push/pull design does not bother me for some reason. Auto focus performance is ok even in low light. HSM would help but I do not find it critical at the moment. For around $300 new it's a bargain for sure. I would strongly recommend this lens to all DSLR users who do not want to pay over $1k for Nikon or Canon alternatives.
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Feb 14, 2006
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condyk
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Mar 14, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 300
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Review Date: Feb 11, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very nice to use with super smooth focus ring. Sharp with excellent colour and contrast.
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Cons:
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Gives a typical Sigma colour cast but if you shoot RAW it takes but a second to 'correct'. Big and fairly heavy.
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Delighted with this purchase so top marks.
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Feb 11, 2006
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paparazzinick
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Jan 8, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 7895
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Review Date: Feb 3, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $300.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, Color contrast, price
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Cons:
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Not low light lens
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I got this lens for wide anle use and it is awesome. There isnt much distortion with it as there was when I used fisheye lenses. I know this isnt a fisheye but I was expecting some distortion and there is none. I played around with it for 3 hours today and it is sharp as my old Canon 15mm fisheye if not better.
I can not wait to use this on my D1X at a wedding
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Feb 3, 2006
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iriches
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Nov 29, 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Feb 3, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, well-built, works on full-frame as well as 1.3x and 1.6x cropped DSLRs. Focus a little noisy but more than fast enough for such a wide angle lens.
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Cons:
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Bit big & bulky. Hood / lens cap arrangement a bit clunky. Flare needs to be watched. Forget even trying to use the little pop-up flash on your camera body!
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I was on the lookout for a wide lens for my EOS 10D. I've been making do with a 28-70 zoom since I got the 10D nearly a year ago, and was missing my wide angles.
I happenned to be walking past the local camera store (Jessops) and saw they had this Sigma for UKP 99.99 (about US$ 180). Most online prices are in the UKP 280-350 range. The store manager said it was being discontinued - but at that price is was way too hard to resist...
Initial tests seem to show that it is *very* sharp when stopped down a bit, and still pretty good wide open at the short end. Wide open at 30mm may be a bit on the soft side, but it's still more than usable.
There are some downsides: it's a big, bulky lens, and blocks the little built in flash on my 10D at all focal lengths. The hood arrangement is a bit cumbersome. It's no so bad if you use it only on a cropped DSLR - but if you mount it on a full-frame camera you need to remove a separate collar with the lens cap to avoid severe vignetting.
It is also a bit prone to flare. When indoors, lights in the frame can cause the odd blue spot. Being sensible outdoors during the day, however, reveals no significant problems.
All in all, for the price I'm extremely happy. I would still have been happy had I paid UKP300. If I'd paid the full UKP450 or so that this lens commanded when it first came out, then I think I would have been somewhat less forgiving of its shortcomings.
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Feb 3, 2006
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famorim
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Oct 17, 2004
Location: Brazil
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jan 17, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $49,900.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Color contrast, sharpen, price
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Cons:
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flare, flare, weight, noise focus
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I've got this lense just because my needs was about zoom lense to cover a focal range between 20mm thru 60mm (35mm equivalent), so Canon 10-22mm is too wide, 17-40mm too close.
The optical quality is great, it is very sharp, picts looks like my old 17-40mm, but the main problem is about weight and size. This lense is very heavy and over sized.
Regards
Fabio
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Jan 17, 2006
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Daguerre999
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Nov 8, 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 340
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Review Date: Jan 7, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $440.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Useful range for landscapes and indoors. Light-weight, sharp & contrasty Interesting & fun on FF camera. A real bargain and an ideal walk-around for a 1.3 - 1.6 SLR.
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Cons:
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Slightly noisy AF. Distortion on FF (but what ultra-wide doesn't). Odd filter arrangement and vignetting at wide end.
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I wasn't expecting this lens to be particularly good, but was happily surprised. It handles flare much better than I thought it would, and while barrel distortion is quite evident at the wide end on a FF SLR, this tends to flatten out on a 1.3-1.6 crop.
At 20-30mm, f5.6 - 11, this lens just can't be equalled for the money. It IS quite noisy on AF, but really: this is an ultra-wide that you can practically point and shoot at f8 and above.
All-in-all a great little all-rounder for DSLRs and a lot of fun with FF or film.
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Jan 7, 2006
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studio56
Offline
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Registered: Nov 13, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 11, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $207.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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i bought this lens for 4 weeks now, after read alot of reviews about it, indeed a very nice lens, i tested shot over 2-300 shots already, im very please with it, 1st impression was WOW!!!..watta lens, its huge*&, its over size is a thriller. not that heavy, well build with some kinda of plastic, but metal mount, i leave the hood cap on the lens, and i added a metal 82mm hood on it too, to preventing it from flares. so far i have no flares yet, cuz i dont intend to shoot against the sun..with its big fisheye lens, one should know it would cuz flares if you are not becareful. i shot many shots with it indoor with my dome flash at 15mm, it works perfect..very bright and contrasty, and sharp..colors are fine too, outdoors it seems under control with barrel distortion. no fringes. i use it on my fuji s2 pro. dont know anything wrong about it. well!, i paid only 207$ on ebay, used but in excel condi, for that price, its unbeatable..15mm = 22.5mm on my fuji s2. i love it so far. i havent tried add filters on it yet, i dont care for filters that much, as they seem to soften off images..anyhuu!, its a great lens in all aspects. especially the price, highly recommended..a true 5 stars.
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Cons:
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my only complain is for those who had bad experience w/it..xory, but its a great lens, may be its just the operator..or the cam body it mounted on..its not the lens. i would love to buy another sigma gold ring lens.
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read in my positive aspects above.
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Dec 11, 2005
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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88
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229797
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Nov 19, 2019
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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91% of reviewers
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$1,378.94
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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8.86
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9.34
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8.6
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