Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for NIKON AF

The shortest lens available for Nikon. Pretty much no chromatic aberration (CA aka "purple fringing") (beat all the competitors there along with Nikon itself there!!!). Decent sharpness. Go for one! You won't regret!

I love Sigma Lenses, Optics are excellent and work well at a reasonable price. I needed a super wide lens for wedding and this lens does the job. Thanks Again. Mike Luna

Let me preface this by saying I am NOT a fan of Sigma. I've foudn their products to be worthy of their bottom-dollar prices, and have gone through a few low-end and high-end models with limited satisfaction. When my fellow Nikon shooter pressured me into considering the Sigma 10-20, my collection of lenses consited of only Nikon AF-D's and a couple AF Tokinas. My original plan was to buy a Tokina 12-24 wideangle, as Tokina was always the un-disputed best 3rd party Nikon lens for me. I caved to peer pressure and bought this Sigma.

The lens itself is very heavy duty, on par with high end Nikon models. It has a professional 77mm filter and a smooth zoom ring, smoother than many Nikon lenses I own. The bayonet and AF electronics lock up tight, and the focusing motor is quiet and accurate (a BIG problem with other Sigma lenses).

Sigma has a possibly deserved stereotype of fuzzy optics. This is not so for the 10-20. Not only are the optics clear, but the lens has surprisingly little barrel distortion, less than other 12mm wideangles I've tested, and certainly less than other Sigma offerings such as the 12-24 and the 15-30. Focus seems sharp, although I have not tested it in all aspects of photography. Sharpness is best, or course, at F6 or F12, but open at F4 is still professionally useable. In this day of low-noise/high-iso cameras however, you could shoot at F6 all day and night.

If you're considereing a Tamron ultrawide, forget it. If you'd like to look at the Tokina 12-24, they just released a constant F2.8, but I would suggest you take your SLR body to a camera shop and try it out. If you can find the Sigma, however, you will be getting a sturdy and clear lens that opens wider than most comparably priced lenses on the market and produces and image with equal or greater clarity than other 3rd party offerings. I cannot compare it to Nikon's 10-17 as I've never mounted one on my camera, but I can say that I spent many years badmouthing Sigma and am quickly learing to eat my words.

Nice lens to have for landscapes. With a 1.5 crop factor the 15mm equivalent makes for wide pics. Not good for architecture as there is significant distortion in the corners. After using this lens for a while I was wanting something wider. Wide angle is addicting.