Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM ELD SLD Aspherical Super Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

I purchased this lens for my Canon 7D for a recent trip we took to the American southwest and the Rocky Mountains area of Colorado and it was the lens I kept on my camera for most of the trip, the only time I removed it was to use my Tamron 18-270 for a couple of long shots of a wolf in a meadow and other assorted wildlife.I'm not a professional photographer but I will still try to give my honest review of this lens and what I liked about it, first off if you have a camera that is not Full Framed which the 7D isn't this is the lens for you especially if your shooting outside and you want to capture that wide shot of the Grand Canyon or the Grand Tetons, Another place it came in handy was the inside shots I took of the church in Santa Fe, New Mexico that has the wooden spiral staircase and inside Carlsbad Caverns, NP, both of these places had just enough light that I found I could turn off the flash and still get great results along with beautiful pictures.And last but not least the built of this lens is very impressive and is as good if not better then Canons 10-22 which I tried along with the Sigma at my local camera store before I purchased the Sigma here on Amazon, plus the Sigmas auto focus internal motor is completely silent even more so then the Canon.All in all I'm very pleased with this lens, my only regret is I could not find a local dealer who had the Tokina AT-X 116 Pro f/2.8 DX 11-16 in stock so I could compare it to the Canon & Sigma because from the many hours of research and Google searches I did both the above Sigma EX DC f/3.5 10-20 and the Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8 11-16 were running neck to neck with the Tokina edging out the Sigma because of its heavy duty built and the fact that it has an f/2.8 which is ideal for shooting pictures in low light where you sometimes are not aloud to use a flash like museums and some churches or if you are shooting a wedding inside a church, last but not least make sure you purchase a good UV filter for this lens if shooting outside, I bought Sigmas EX DG 82mm Multi coated UV filter here on Amazon and it works out fine on cutting down on the glare.

I've owned this lens since February and it is my favorite lens for hiking. Using an ultra wide angle lens is a unique experience that comes with a steeper learning curve then most other ranges. The biggest concept to grasp is scale, at 10mm an object 1 foot from your lens will look like its 5 feet away through the viewfinder, so composition and corner to corner attention to detail is crucial to getting a good image.Distortion at its widest is reasonable and expected.It is incredibly sharp in center to mid frame wide open, but it can get a little soft on the edges. I own the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS USM II , so I know what sharp looks like and I have no gripes with this sigma.Focus is quick and the rings have just the right amount of tension allowing for precise setting. Try laying on the ground and have a friend jump over you, ultra wide angle lens have incredibly large depths of field and it's hard for this lens to miss focus. Also the minimum focusing distance is inches from the front element, so watch those cactus needle in the desert.The color reproduction is wonderful, and flare is controlled very well by design. The hood is ample, although when shooting wide the sun always seems to find its way into frame.Chromatic Aberration can occur towards the sides of the frames, but due to the previously mentioned scaling effect, you would have to crop into the image to notice it.The case is great, although I never knew how awkward working a cube into my camera bag would be. I eventually started leaving the case at home as it just took up to much room in my bag.Ultimately I do not regret this purchase one bit. Compared to other ultra wides, I couldn't tell you, all I can tell you as this is my go to lens when I'm feeling creative and it hasn't let me down yet. I'll post sample pics to illustrate my points.

This lens is awesome. But it's not that good. But I love it. Lemme explain.I bought this lens to shoot interiors without having to stitch huge panoramas out of relatively narrow 28mm (yes, ASP-C makes even 28mm narrow). But I've found that I'm using it for much more fun stuff, like portraits from 6 inches away, macroscapes of foliage, and just all-around wacky wide angle madness.For the wackiness, this lens is incredibly fun to use. AF is pretty fast for such a wide lens, and pictures are very crisp where it matters. However, the edges are what keep me from truly loving this lens. At 10mm (circus mode), the edge of the picture is utterly useless. Stretched out like taffy, chromatic aberration like nobody's business, and just too silly to even contemplate including in a printed version. Maybe this is normal for a 10mm, and maybe this lens is actually better than others at this focal length. But to me, the 10mm end can only be used for humorous photos because the quality just doesn't suit any other purpose. Luckily at least I have Canon raw software that has a profile for this lens and can help with distortion & CA.But now we get around 14-18mm, and it starts looking acceptable again. The distortion is down, the CA is under control, and it's once again useable for serious pursuits. And at 20mm, images are nearly gorgeous.Now for build quality: this sucker is solid, and the controls feel precise and smooth if slightly tight. My focus ring still needs to loosen up a touch, but this will come with use.While not perfect, this lens has received nearly equal praise to the Canon 10-22, and in a few aspects (center sharpness, constant 3.5 instead of 3.5-4.5) actually beat out its competitor. Oh, and the Sigma a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the Canon. If you're looking for this zoom range, you'll be happy with this choice as long as you are aware of the compromises at the ultra-wide end. Google a professional review to see closeup lab tests. I think there's even a comparison review out there showing Sigma vs Canon side by side so you can make an informed decision.