Sigma 10-20 Question

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TheCROW

New member
Hey guys, I need to change my Tokina 12-24 (first version) as the autofocus is acting up and I find myself needing a bit wider than 12mm on DX.

I have decided on the Tokina 11-20 but it is out of stock from where I am able to get it.

So if this fails I think my next logical option is the Sigma 10-20 cos the Nikon 10-24 and 12-24 are out of budget and I cannot purchase any of them used.

I understand that there are 2 versions of the Sigma, the F/4 - 5.6 old version which reviews conclude is sharper than the F/3.5 which is newer.

I plan on using these on my D7100 and D7200 so I need this lens to be extra sharp in order to handle that resolution and be somewhat able to handle future DX resolutions.

The first version of the lens is fairly old! Do you think it is a safe bet to get it? Is it fully supported by my cameras? Or should I get the newer F3.5 model? How is the focus speed on both? I need a fast AF for sports sometimes.

What do you guys think/recommend?

All insights are really appreciated.
 
T

TheCROW

New member
Thank you for your replies guys,
Lee and Michael, these are pretty nice shots! Thanks for sharing.
I need a fast focus ie; same as the Nikon lenses cos I sometimes shoot motorsports and basketball from pretty close distances, when not using my D4 of course.
Well it seems this lens is sharp enough, but the question remains: how will it perform on the latest 24mp DX bodies and possibly future bodies with higher resolution.
Does it focus in live view? Is there some incompatibility firmware-wise? How much better than the F/3.5 version is it?
Thank you kindly.
 
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Lee532

Senior Member
@TheCROW, thanks.
My father just bought a D5300 which is 24mp and borrowed my lens to take on a cruise last week. He was really impressed by the results. No software problems encountered at all.
I cant comment on the comparison with the f3.5 as I havent used one.
 
T

TheCROW

New member
Thanks again Lee, I think I will buy one if I fail to get my hands on a Tokina 11-20.
Any additional thoughts on the subject will be greatly appreciated.
 
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Tom Grove

Senior Member
My 10-20mm is one of my favorite lenses... Here's a couple of shots I've done... Like the others said, you would need to be right in the action for sports to be effective with this lens...

Blue Hour Sunset, Tidelands Park, Coronado, San Diego, CA.jpg

DSC_9791_tonemapped2_DxO (2)2-15.jpg

Horse Rider Jumping Post in HDR.jpg
 
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TheCROW

New member
Great shots Tom! That last one is exactly what I mean by close action!
Another thought: Is 10mm that different than 11mm on the wide end?
 
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Tom Grove

Senior Member
Thank you... I don't know about the 1mm differential. BTW... That horse shot was gotten because the girl miscalculated her jump and got close to the post... lol I felt the wind as they went by!
 
S

salukfan111

Senior Member
TheCROW said:
Hey guys, I need to change my Tokina 12-24 (first version) as the autofocus is acting up and I find myself needing a bit wider than 12mm on DX.

I have decided on the Tokina 11-20 but it is out of stock from where I am able to get it.

So if this fails I think my next logical option is the Sigma 10-20 cos the Nikon 10-24 and 12-24 are out of budget and I cannot purchase any of them used.

I understand that there are 2 versions of the Sigma, the F/4 - 5.6 old version which reviews conclude is sharper than the F/3.5 which is newer.

I plan on using these on my D7100 and D7200 so I need this lens to be extra sharp in order to handle that resolution and be somewhat able to handle future DX resolutions.

The first version of the lens is fairly old! Do you think it is a safe bet to get it? Is it fully supported by my cameras? Or should I get the newer F3.5 model? How is the focus speed on both? I need a fast AF for sports sometimes.

What do you guys think/recommend?

All insights are really appreciated.
Click to expand...
there are tamron and nikon 10-24s on ebay right now.
 
T

TheCROW

New member
Tom Grove said:
Thank you... I don't know about the 1mm differential. BTW... That horse shot was gotten because the girl miscalculated her jump and got close to the post... lol I felt the wind as they went by!
Click to expand...

Lol!! I know exactly what you mean; it happens to me all the time but with rally cars instead of horses :)

salukfan111 said:
there are tamron and nikon 10-24s on ebay right now.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads-up, but I'm not planning on buying a used lens. I will have a look though!
 
T

TheCROW

New member
I just learnt that I can get the Tokina 12-28 F/4.
Is that lens sharper than the Sigma 10-20 F/3.5? I am willing to sacrifice 2mm on the wide end if that is the case.
Thanks!
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
TheCROW said:
I just learnt that I can get the Tokina 12-28 F/4.
Is that lens sharper than the Sigma 10-20 F/3.5? I am willing to sacrifice 2mm on the wide end if that is the case.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
DPReview likes it better than the Sigma:
DPReview said:
The Tokina AT-X Pro SD 12-24mm F4 (IF) DX is a lens that could easily be overlooked by buyers considering a wideangle zoom, simply because of its more limited angle of view compared to most similar lenses on the market. But perhaps because of its more modest aspirations, it comprehensively outperforms the other third party APS-C wideangle zooms we've tested recently, i.e. the Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM and the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di-II. It's simply a much sharper lens, especially wide open, delivering consistently good results at almost all settings; it also scores well with respect to its distortion and falloff characteristics. These characteristics, coupled with the constant F4 maximum aperture, makes it much better suited to shooting interiors or in low light than similar lenses (with the exception of Tokina's own 11-16mm F2.8), adding to its overall versatility. This from an extremely solid, well-built lens which feels like it would shrug off knocks capable of breaking less rugged designs, and which also has excellent operational characteristics; the zoom and focus rings are impressively smooth, and the focus clutch system is one of the better-implemented of its kind.
Click to expand...

Their full review of the Tok' is here: Tokina AT-X Pro SD 12-24mm F4 (IF) DX review: Digital Photography Review
.....
 
C

cbay

Senior Member
Don't know where you are but BH has the 11-20. Would think it to be available most places pretty soon, it was at BH middle of July.
 
T

TheCROW

New member
cbay said:
Don't know where you are but BH has the 11-20. Would think it to be available most places pretty soon, it was at BH middle of July.
Click to expand...

Chris! You have the 11-20, how is it on the D7200? Did you compare it to any other wide angles? 12-28, 10-20, 10-24, 11-16 )
 
C

cbay

Senior Member
TheCROW said:
Chris! You have the 11-20, how is it on the D7200? Did you compare it to any other wide angles? 12-28, 10-20, 10-24, 11-16 )
Click to expand...
Hi, I never had a wide angle to compare it with so it's new territory for me but i am satisfied with it. On the 7200 it focus tunes at -16 and won't quite get there with my D7000. Now with this lens it's not that critical - as i normally don't shoot at 20mm at f/2.8 but it is something to consider for close ups. I returned the first one because of this and the second one was further out than the first, but it struck me as being sharp and i didn't want to chance another copy. I'm a landscape shooter so it's all good here, and will focus fine on the 7200 at any setting.
I think it's just the nature of these and other lenses that the sharpness falls off in the distance on images so i can't really say it's a problem or any worse than others. Foreground shots i think are this lens's specialty - and i've taken some images with it that are razor sharp so i know it is capable. Some were so so and i just assume that is a result of the ole "good light - bad light" factor. All in all i'm glad i got it.
I have some samples here in my thread http://nikonites.com/project-365-an...bays-2015-journey-along-12.html#axzz3jwg3Rq8A
And some better to view on my flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/130798075@N03/
Hope this helps.
Chris
 
T

TheCROW

New member
Thanks Chris!
These are very nice!
Well guess if I' not able to get the 11-20 I'm gonna have to get the Sigma 10-20 f3.5 then.
 
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