The Digital Camera Store

Written on the 2011-03-21

rating of 5.0

This particular lens purchase was made exclusively for my trip to California. Due to it's scenic mountains and hills I wanted a wide angle lens that would capture the majestic landscape of California. <br /><br />I will use this lens in other locations but this was purchased right before my trip and purchased at a point where I had decided to no longer buy any more lens since I have a good stable kit at this point.<br /><br />Sadly though, my bad timing or my bad luck. I have not been able to utilize this lens due to horrible weather here in California.<br /><br />Hope it breaks this weather and I can put this lens to the test. I have no doubts about its performance.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2011-03-08

rating of 5.0

I needed a wide angle lens for my Nikon D3 but couldn't afford Nikon glass. Did my research and found the Sigma. WOW! It produces crisp, brilliant shots that need no post processing (apart from aesthetic cropping) to bring them up to gallery standard. It is a rectilinear lens and any distortion that does appear can be easily removed with CaptureNX2 adjustments.<br /><br />I did worry about not being able to use a polarizer filter but this lens doesn't need one! The saturation has to be seen to be believed.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2010-11-19

rating of 5.0

I use this lens on my D700 (full frame) and could not be happier with its performance.<br /><br />I aim this thing in every direction, up close, to the distance, at the sun, in the dark, and have not had a single bad word to say. There is absolutely zero vignetting, despite what another review says. There is also absolutely zero distortion. And it's sharp. If you hear about this lens being soft it's likely user-error with focusing. This thing can focus as close as a foot away, and with the massive field of view if you are not aware of what you are doing you will get out of focus foregrounds. Hyperfocal focusing is key with this thing.<br /><br />The only other thing is you've got to keep it level. Slightly angled up or down and you'll get some funny effects. This of course can be creative, but it's best to keep it level.<br /><br />Build is phenomenal. Every other lens I own is Nikon (no, not the $2k lenses), but this is much more solidly constructed than everything else I've got. It's quite impressive.<br /><br />Cons? It's not a low-light lens, but that's obvious. There's Nikon's 2.8 for double the price, but are you really interested in this lens for low-light performance?<br /><br />It's my favorite lens hands down.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2010-09-12

rating of 5.0

The widest lens for your full frame DSLR without going to the 8mm fisheye (which I also own). Very little distortion and quite simply an amazing lens.
(Source: www.jr.com)

Written on the 2010-08-28

rating of 3.0

I am just not satisfied with the IQ <br /> <br />it is heavy and big and not that great compared to many super wide angle such as the fisheye <br /> <br />The IQ gets better when I stop down to f8 and f11 <br /> <br /> <br />so think carefully before you get this lens
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2010-08-11

rating of 5.0

My life is now divided into two separate and distinct regions: Before my Sigma lens, and after my Sigma lens(the later being the better part). <br />Seriously, I cannot form into words just how much this thing has improved my work. <br />I now look back on images I used to be so proud of and say to myself, "I wish I had shot this with my wide-angle". <br />This lens is used in conjunction with my Pentax K20D camera, and it is my belief that they have fallen madly in love with each-other... <br />That's fine with me, because their love has spawned some of my best photography work to date. <br /> <br />As for durability, I have (unexpectedly) shot with this thing numerous times in the POURING rain, with no cover whatsoever. <br />One of those times was on a five-hour venture around Sandy Hook, NJ. As the name may have led you to believe, this is a place with much sand. <br />Sand that I later had to clean out of all the nooks and crevasses in this lens, this lens that still works perfectly even after all the crap I make it deal with. <br />So if you plan on using this thing for more "traditional" purposes, rest assured it is quite hard to damage or make upset. <br /> <br />This lens may be one of the finest creations of the 21st century. <br />I think it quite possible that the people at Sigma dabble in magic, and perhaps employ wizards to craft their lenses. <br />This is of course light magic and the good kind wizards... <br /> <br /> <br />~Rusty <br /> <br /> <br />
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2010-07-14

rating of 5.0

I am using this lens with my Nikon F6 and I am definitely impressed on how this Sigma lens performs.<br /><br />I think the best use of this lens is for interiors, but I am sure that is not its single use. I already used it for some outdoors pictures and the lack of aberration is remarkable.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2010-05-13

rating of 5.0

I first used this lens after renting it to use with my Canon 5D Mark II on a cross-country road trip I was taking. After the first hour of shooting with it, I knew I had to buy it. I'm not sure exactly what it is about this lens, but it seems to make photos more "alive" than any of my other lenses, no matter what focal length I'm using it at or what the subject is. I'm a broke college student so I had to spend a huge amount of time and effort trying to get a bank to give me a loan just so that I could purchase this lens, but it was definitely worth it. It has been indispensable to me time and time again in all kinds of different situations and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a versatile high quality wide-angle lens.
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-12-29

rating of 3.0

If you are deciding between the Nikkor 14-24mm and the Sigma 12-24mm, stop deciding. If the sigma lens was [$]I'd still choose the Nikkor for it's ecge to edge sharpness and constant 2.8 aperture. The sigma has one interesting benefit, archetecture. It combines semi significant barrel distortion around 12mm with a perfectly flat horizon line allowing for unique archetectural shots. Outside of that, purchase the Nikkor and never look back!
(Source: www.jr.com)

Written on the 2009-12-07

rating of 5.0

First things first, I would not recommend this lens to everyone, because depending on your situation there may be better choices. The best feature of this lens is that it is a full frame (FX) lens. If you are shopping for a wide angle lens for a DX digital camera, there are better choices (I suggest the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8). I'd only buy this lens for a DX camera if you knew you were going to upgrade to FX in the near term future. Also, from 14-24mm, the Nikkor equivalent lens is faster by a stop or two, and without question sharper... so if money is no object, and you don't care about 12-13mm, then get the Nikon lens. (although it is worth noting that on a D700/D3/D3s, you can overcome both short comings by cranking the ISO, and stopping this lens down to about f/8 to f/11.)<br /><br />All that said... you buy this lens to shoot it at 12mm on full frame, and for that it is downright amazing, VERY fun to shoot, and highly recommended. There is no other full frame rectilinear lens this wide. When shot correctly (ie stopped down, and correctly framed), this lens takes stunning pictures. 2mm doesn't seem like much, but consider that this lens at 12mm gives an 8 degree wider field of view than the Nikon at 14mm, and that going from 14mm to 12mm is almost a 15% change in focal length. The field of view this lens gets is jaw dropping. The other advantage to this lens is that it costs less than half what the Nikon 14-24mm costs... if you do the math, that's a fair amount of savings. I am quite happy I got this lens. 12mm is that much fun.<br /><br />One last 'note': my copy focuses fine. I've read horror stories about Sigma's quality control, but I've personally never been bit. I have 5 Sigma EX lenses, and all five focused correctly out of the box. Your mileage may vary, but sometimes I think the people who get a bad sample are louder than the people who get good ones.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2009-11-30

rating of 4.0

Being both a Nikon D700 owner AND an ultra-wide shooter I of course was drawn to the legendary Nikkor 14-24...a fine lens whose quality and performance can't be disputed.<br /><br />However, I needed a full-frame oriented UWA now and the Nikkor's price was to much to swallow.<br /><br />Enter the Sigma 12-24.<br /><br />This lens does have a few cons and for some could be a deal breaker.<br /><br />Yes, it does vignette out to about f/8, but this aberration can be dealt with easily with software especially if you shoot RAW.<br /><br />Yes, it's slow with variable apertures; this could be a problem with low light shooters.<br /><br />Yes, there is some corner softness wide open but this improves stopping down. Again this could be an issue for low light shooters.<br /><br />I shoot mostly landscapes and architecture, so it was the vignetting that bothered me most. Adobe RAW, which I use, takes care of this.<br /><br />This lens performs best at f/11 and f/16 for what I shoot.<br /><br />On the plus side, my copy of this lens is very sharp and contrasty, and the flare isn't as bad as some have said, although it's there if you shoot into the sun...which I do sometimes. But I think most lenses, especially this type of lens, will exhibit flare under the right conditions.<br /><br />And then there's the price...about half of the Nikkor 14-24.<br /><br />Build quality is superb by the way, and I like Sigma's EX finish and feel. I also own the Sigma 24-70, and these two lenses exchange places on my D700 on a regular basis. I don't leave home without them.<br /><br />It's possible I'll own the Nikkor 14-24 and 24-70 in the future. But for now I have other priorities and the two Sigmas are doing the job I want at a very economical price point.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2009-09-10

rating of 3.0

I use this lens on a full frame camera (D700) - so the review is geared for full frame users. There are wider choices (with relative advantages / disadvantages) on the cropped sensor side - don't get this lens for DX. <br /><br />Pros: <br />- the widest rectilinear lens for full frame. The difference in coverage between 12 and 14mm (the next closest candidate, at least for Nikon) is HUGE (from looking at it - at least 15% - 20% more on 12mm). <br />- vibrant color rendition. I don't know why this is - but compared at the same settings with the 24-120 and a 50mm 1.8, the reds rendered by Sigma are deeper and more vibrant. <br />- relatively light - only a pound (compare at an arm breaking 2.1 pounds for Nikon 14-24) <br />- good build construction. <br />- relatively inexpensive. <br /><br />Cons: <br />- Horrible vignetting. The corners are significantly (2+ stops) darker than the center. <br />- Corner softness at any aperture (just horrible wide open) <br />- Overall image sharpness. I compared sharpness from this lens with my Nikon 24-120mm VR zoom, which itself is not supposed to be a benchmarch of image quality. The Sigma image is significantly softer throughout the image. Both lenses tested at 24mm, stopped down at f11. It bears to say that the difference in resolving power is greater the closer I placed the lens to the test subject (a textured wall). <br />- Very flare prone, especially at night with multiple light sources. <br />- Front element protrudes - so no filters. <br /><br />I can live with the cons for now because honestly for full frame, there's not much alternative this wide. The closest competitor (Nikon 14-24mm) does not go as wide, it's twice as heavy and twice as pricey. While reports are that the Nikon 14-24 has amazing image quality, it is also not a walkaround lens. <br /> <br />
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-08-28

rating of 4.0

Used on a Nikon D700 mainly for cityscapes.<br />Very sharp even in the corners, I think I was very lucky to get a nearly perfect copy.<br />Great color, good focus, and the most amazing thing about this lens is the lack of distortion!<br />I would have given this 5 stars but there is some glare at times, but really only when you have tuff light conditions that any other lens would have problems also.<br /><br />At first I was hesitant to get this lens but have no regrets now, very good for its value compared to the Nikon version.<br /><br />Compared it to my Tokina 10-17 (DX) fisheye and its as wide on FX but with no distortion!
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2009-08-26

rating of 5.0

as i researched for this lens i saw people comparing this lens to the tokina 12-24 f/4 or even the tokina 11-16 f/2.8 and sigma 10-20. people say those lenses are half the price with wider f/stops. people should realize that all other wide angle lenses are dx they are not full frame. this is the widest full frame zoom there is (as of date) it is wider than the beast 14-24 f/2.8 nikon by only 2mm s but at those angles even 2mm s matter. <br /><br />if you ask me which i would prefer the nikon 14-24 or sigma 12-24 of course the nikon no question but the nikon is more than twice the price and even though people call it the sharpest wide angle there is i do not know if the difference would be worth the price. f/2.8 is nice to have but this wide it does not make too much of a difference. most of my shots with this lens are night photography or landscape and for both it is better to use a small aperture. mostly i go down to f/32. <br /><br />this lens is extremely sharp and on my d700 it focuses really fast. and i am talking about night time so literally no light i shine a flash light to where i wanna focus and bam it is focused. i have taken a night photography class everyone including the instructor was shocked how wide this thing is and how sharp the pictures are. <br /><br />i consider myself a tough grader but this lens earned the 5 stars. yes it glares but look at the pictures of the lens there is a half a sphere on the front end of this thing how wouldn't it glare. <br /><br />i put 2 pictures of the lens and 14 of some of the night pictures i have taken with it on amazon. [...] <br />
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-08-17

rating of 4.0

This lens is fantastic... Takes brilliant photos, no fish-eye, incredibly wide, just what I wanted. <br /> <br />ONLY thing that seems an obvious mistake is that Sigma doesn't have a clear way to mount a CPL (circular polarizing lens) on this baby. I've had to search and search for 'workarounds'. Other complaint is that there doesn't seem to be anywhere I can get replacement parts (the lens-cap/hood assembly broke on mine and I can't seem to find a replacement). <br /> <br />Sigma, you're making a lens born for landscape... you MIGHT want to think about polarizing options, and not just rear-gel filters...
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-06-29

rating of 5.0

Great full frame wide angle. My copy received is very sharp across the range and has little to no distortion. Some people say it is heavy, I do not find it all that heavy.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2009-06-25

rating of 5.0

I got this for my Nikon D700 when looking for a wide-angle lens that wouldn't break the bank and had a large wide angle view. <br /> <br />Wow, was I surprised by the quality of this glass. It is the widest you can get for a full-format dSLR, and it is sharp across the entire focal range. I won't go into a detailed review here of the the glass -- you can google the reviews and the technical specs. <br /> <br />This is a fine wide angle lens for landscape shooting. It's a bit heavy and large, but the D700 is a great home for it!...One note: there is no way to put a standard filter on this lens, though there are workarounds. Still - with photoshop you can go back and create the filter effects you might have wanted. For purists, you will need to read about how to attach external filters if you need to use one.
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-05-15

rating of 5.0

I'm lucky in that this lens has apparently jumped in price since I purchased to when I'm getting around to this review. <br /> <br />My first experience with Sigma was a 28-300 I had on a camera ages ago. The barrel oil canned and picture quality was so-so. I needed this lens for performing interior and exterior home remodeling pictures as part of a contract job. <br /> <br />First impressions when unboxing. Wow. This is a different breed of lens than my first Sigma. The lens feels solid and well made. Has a nice carry case that comes with it, even though I don't use them. <br /> <br />My first day of playing with the lens was a cloudless day at a tree preservation high up on a hill. First couple of shots I noticed a lot of vignetting on the LCD. I realized then that the lens hood on the end of the lens slides off easily to expose, Popeye! <br /> <br />When not shooting with the hood, you have to be very wary of the sun angles, as you'll get immense flare from the intense curvature of the lens. <br /> <br />The lens takes some learning because of distortion and your physical relationships to your subject. Don't expect, as with any lens, to throw it on and start shooting keepers. <br /> <br />I've found far more uses for this lens that I originally anticipated. In addition to the interior photography, I've found it quite useful in providing a unique venue snapshot when shooting weddings. I will try to upload some customer photos from the lens.
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-05-06

rating of 1.0

This is my story of Sigma 12-24 lens for Canon. <br /> <br />How come I always end up shooting on the wide or long end of my 28-70 zoom? I also wanted to go wider than my Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras. Corners on Canon's 20mm were all smeared on until you stopped down to f16, which is the only usable aperture if you want edge to edge sharpness. So after lots of research I ordered Sigma. I was hoping to hit a jackpot and have a good sample. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The first lens I got was somebody returned lens with missing soft case, and it had a soft zone on the left side. Amazon was quick to correct the problem, and shipped me another copy. Second lens was brand new, but had a soft patch on the right side! I contacted Sigma's Tom Soble, and he advised me to send in the lens AND a camera for calibration. Since I just got back the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 21.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) from Canon after having fixed focus issues - according to Canon "it was found that the adjustment of the AF assembly was incorrect the auto focus did not operate properly Electrical adjustments were carried out of the AF assembly". So I did not send in the lens, but just got my money back from Amazon. As much as I enjoyed the wide angle perspective, I could not justify soft zones in my images. Also, whenever I would try photograph anything using DOF scales, the image would turn super soft, to the point that it would be unusable, maybe that was part of some decentering issues my Sigma 12-24 had. I would love to have a "good" copy of the lens to compare to, maybe all the issues were due to the bad samples I had? I have 2 Sigma lenses - Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras and Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye Lens for Canon SLR Cameras which are fine pieces of glass. <br />The also purchased Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra-Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras, but was not happy with flexibility of use/price ratio, so the lens was returned. I still have Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens on my short list as a potential candidates. I have borrowed my friends Leica 19mm (first generation) and was very happy with it! He wants it back, so I am thinking about Leica 21-35mm as a compact travel lens. You can see and read more of my thoughts at agniusdigital.com
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-04-25

rating of 5.0

I bought this lens as a lower-cost alternative to the Nikor 14–24 f/2.8 for use on my D700. I mostly use it for interiors and fun portraits. The lens focuses quickly thanks to Sigma's HSM, build quality feels excellent, and it's plenty sharp and contrasty. The lack of distortion is amazing. It also focuses down to 28 cm, which opens up a world of unusual close-up opportunities. The only downside is fuzzy corners, but they're not as bad as the Nikkor 70–200 VR.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2009-04-08

rating of 5.0

This lens is quite extraordinary on a full frame camera like my Canon 5DmkII. Some like to think it's only great for landscape but I've had excellent results with it for portraits. Especially for fashion and really odd, but cool shots. <br /> <br />Highly recommended. It's also pretty darn sharp for a non prime lens. <br /> <br />-MigsVuitton.com/blog
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-04-04

rating of 3.0

This lens is an engineering miracle. Really! It is flawed in that it flares like all get out if you are in the unfortunate position with respect to your light. It vignettes like crazy if not stopped down, but this is only noticed indoors. I don't really notice it outside. But you can certainly fill an image with a room. At is a true 12mm zoom on my D700. No filters allowed. It is fat and heavy, but I don't know of any lens on the market that can do what this one does. I see no distortion or curvature on it, and I will live with its flaws because its uniqueness is unprecedented. It is very fun to shoot with, regardless of its warts. I highly recommend it if you are a wide angle freak! But only with a FX sensor.
(Source: www.bhphotovideo.com)

Written on the 2009-03-29

rating of 5.0

I owned a D80 at the time and wanted a wide angle lens, so ordered a Tokina 11-16mm, but it got back ordered so could not get it in time. So i thought what the heck, i was thinking of going full frame for a while any way and since i could not afford the Nikon variant went for this one,also bought an used Nikon N90s(film). I was amazed by the quality of pictures it produced, very nice colors. It has good build quality too, being an EX series lens, also comes with extended five year warranty, if bought from authorized dealers.Granted it has some chromatic abrasions, but still i do not think this can be beat for the price. If you are going to go full frame this is the widest rectilinear lens available (PERIOD). So by all means get one and enjoy.
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-03-08

rating of 5.0

Use it on 5D, it blows away he Sigma 10-20 on my 40D, or the Tokina 11-16. The build of this lens is absolutely top notch. The lens cap is well thought out and perfectly made. The size and weight is very small for what it is. Comparing to this, the 17-40L is so 'lame'. I am no pro so I don't dig deep into corner sharpness and light fall-off, with the latter can be fixed during post process anyway. Shooting storm clouds with this lens is really dream-come-true for me! My Sigma 10-20 on the other hand, tends to over expose and wash-out its high light much more. Tokina 11-16 is better but not as good as this Sigma 12-24 on 5D. Maybe the full frame sensor help as well. No matter, the 5D - 12-24 combo rocks! And by the way, there is no competition on the full frame end with this lens. I've heard bad rap about this lens else where, maybe I am just lucky, my copy is fantastic!
(Source: www.amazon.com)

Written on the 2009-02-16

rating of 4.0

I picked up this lens for my D70 a couple of years ago, it was great then! Now that I have a D700 the lens is just indispensable…… I love it. I have blown up a few shots as big as 24X36 and the quality is clearly evident. Solid centre to corner, no crop.
(Source: www.adorama.com)