Sigma 10 20 for 30d

I was all set to buy the Canon EF-S 10-22 but when I tested it out in the store

(B&H) and then tried the Sigma 10-20, the Sigma just felt better, and so did the

price. I checked out the reviews on

http://photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/sigma_1020_456/index.htm

and image quality between the two are very close and high. So I bought the

Sigma 10-20 and have been unsatisifed with the images that it has been

producing, nothing seems very sharp. I don't know if I have too high of

expectations, or I've heard to many stories about Sigma's QC, or this is

ACTUALLY something wrong with the lens I own. I've taken shots at a variety of

apertures and nothing seems to be impressive at all. I've uploaded two

pictures, the only two pictures in my portfolio or gallery on here, they're 100%

crops, unedited; I just was wondering if anyone with the same lens and 20d or

30d could check them out and see if theres something wrong here. I would

greatly appreciate it.

 

The one of the tree dead center, is a dead center 100% crop @ wide open. The

2nd picture with the water and rocks are at f/9 or 10.

 

Any input of help would be appreciated.<div></div>

the other photo<div></div>

When I checked your EXIF data, the values were Shutter Speed 1/500 at F/4. I would guess you did not have the focus right on for the tree one. The rock/water one looks fine. If you want to get rid of the lens I will take it off your hands...

 

~Ryan

Ryan, The tree was in focus. I did the same shot a number of times with manual and automatic focus. Thanks for checking them out.

My guess is that there is a focus issue. You may need to send the lens in to Sigma for "re-chipping" to the 30D. This is not uncommon. Set the camera on a tripod, stop the lens down to F8, with it focused at infinity. I am sure it will produce decent results.

Ryan,

I did what you suggested and I did infact get slightly better results, but still decent and not what I expected. I guess it does need to be rechipped, but I guess there is still a problem with the optics, which I hear is quite common with Sigma lenses.

You should have bought the Tokina 12-24 f4. Sharp & built like a battleship.

Not wide enough for me with the 1.6X factor.

 

 

Does anyone have this lens (Sigma 10-20) that can compare some of their shots to mine?

I use the sigma 10-20 on a 300D. It is hard for me to comment on your 100% crops, without looking at some 100% crops of my own (which I can't do right now). I would say that my lens is very sharp and contrasty. It is basically as sharp as my sigma 18-50 f2.8 EX and my Canon 28-135IS. It is possibly a even a little sharper than the Canon. It drops of a little in the extreme corners, but overall I am pretty happy with this lens.

 

I am not sure what other lenses you use, but if it is not performing at least as well as other good quality prosumer glass, then there is probably something wrong.

Hello Sean,

I have the Canon 10-22mm. Reviews read the Sigma being very similar. The MTF's have the Sigma maybe even a smidge better than the Canon. Your first shot is definately soft in comparison to the Canon, very soft. The entire crop looks soft so it probably isn't a focus problem and you've tried a number of shots anyway.

 

The 2nd shot is much better at center but I'd say it's softer than the Canon at the left edge but a little better in the corners. The Canon is quite soft in the extremes of the corners but it's quite good everywhere else, even wide open.

 

I wouldn't mess around too much with this, you need to change it. It's not your job to have to fix something you just bought new. If you can still bring it back to the store you might be able to try another one right there and bring home the shots to test (get the serial number or have them put a hold on it).

 

Hope this helps, and sorry to hear you get a bad one --Peter

I use both the Canon 10-22 and the Sigma 10-20 regularly, mostly with a 20D. I find them to be equally sharp. You've indicated above that you were careful about focusing, so I think your Sigma has a problem. It might be the rechipping issue that others have suggested, or it might be just a bad unit. The first Canon 10-22 I had was defective and I had to exchange it for a good one, so it's not just Sigma that sometimes has quality control problems.

I use the Sigma 10-20 on a 20D and the images are tack sharp so I would say you definitely have a focus problem.

Using a Sigma 10-20 on my 10D, I typically get sharper images than your example. I need to stop down to avoid soft edges, but this isn't unexpected, nor do I find it problematic, with a lens this wide. I don't put much stock in stories on the internet, but if the lens isn't producing for you, I'd try another copy. As a statistician, I do put quite a lot of stock in sampling variance.

 

--tom

Oh, here are some links to compare your images with others...

 

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=159168

 

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=143064

I use a Sigma 10-20 on my 30D, and that combination rarely produces a bad result for me. I don't think there's any question about those two components being compatible, and the focus on mine is almost as quick and accurate as with my Canon 'L' lenses. I usually close it down at least a stop or two and it's nice and sharp, but it's definitely not bad wide-open, either. I played with the Canon 10-22 before making my choice, and I'm very happy with the Sigma.

Thank you all for the responses. I was convinced there was something wrong with my lens and I brought it back to the store and they exchanged it for me. I got the new one home and it was a big difference. It might have been because I was more optomistic about the fact that statisticly I was less likely to get ANOTHER bad one (if the first one was really bad in the first place). But i reshot some of the same pictures and there is definitly a difference in quality. After using the new lens for a few days I am really impressed with it, and very happy for getting it.

 

So thanks again everyone for you input and your help, I'm a happy camper.