Sigma’s 8-16/f4.5-5.6 DC HSM ultrawide zoom lens is another first for the Japanese lens maker, and a useful tool for any sports photographer’s arsenal.
While not a lens for capturing fast-moving action, this digital-only ultrawide is exceptionally well corrected for distortion and offers the widest viewing angle available on sub-frame DSLRs like the D300 and Canon EOS 50D. For atmospheric venue and crowd shots, this lens offers a real advantage over other lenses in the 10-12mm range in terms of angle of view.
8mm angle of view
12mm angle of view
Outdoors, the difference may not be quite as dramatic, but is nonetheless useful for capturing football stadiums without having to leave one’s sideline perch.
8mm angle of view
12mm angle of view
Not surprisingly, this DX-format lens is quite small, significantly less bulky than the Sigma 12-24 which is its equivalent on a full-frame camera. Weighing in at just under 20 ounces, it is a mere three inches in length, and much like the Sigma 12-24 includes a permanent, petal-shaped hood to protect its bulbous, protruding front element. Also like the 12-24, it includes a deep slip-on lens cap with a separate snap-in cap and filter threads (72mm vs the 82mm thread of the 12-24) at the end of the slide-on cap. Using filters in this manner produces significant vignetting, of course, which tends to defeat the purpose.
One thing I have liked about ultrawides is the ability to capture tall subjects while keeping the lens level, avoiding perspective distortion (or the need to correct for it in post-processing). With a maximum effective focal length of just 24mm, however, this lens is definitely a specialty optic. At a street price of around $700, it is also one of the pricier options among such lenses – though it is definitely worth that premium, in my opinion.
I’d call sharpness, color, and distortion good overall. Given the extremely wide focal length range, though, this is actually quite good and nearly as good as Nikon’s excellent (but extremely expensive) 10-24 zoom.
Buying Resources–Ultrawide Zooms
Sigma
8-16/f4.5-5.6 DC HSM (Nikon)
10-20/f3.5 EX DC HSM (Nikon)
10-20/f4.5-5.6 EX DC HSM (Nikon)
12-24/f4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM (Nikon)
Nikon
10-24/f3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX
12-24/f4.0G ED-IF AF-S DX
Tamron
10-24/f3.5-4.5 di-II BIM LD (Nikon)
Tokina
11-16/f2.8 AT-X Pro DX (Nikon)
12-24/f4.0 AT-X Pro DX (Nikon)
12-24/f4.0 AT-X Pro DX II (Nikon)
1 response so far ↓
1 Dave // Aug 15, 2010 at 6:25 pm
This lens looks really interesting. I use my Tokina 11-16 a lot, and always with I could go wider. Wish it was a little faster though.
Everyone I know uses their wide zooms at the widest setting the majority of the time. Makes me wonder why nobody has built a “digital only” fixed-length wide angle, somewhere around 10mm, f/2.8 or better. It would be lighter and cheaper than a wide zoom – I bet they would sell a ton of them!
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