Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM - a question...

[ameerat42]

or two:

1. Does anybody use this lens?
2. Pick a preposition below:

You swear by/at this lens.

3. (Bonus Q.) Why?

Ta, Am.

[ameerat42]

From the prevalence of view and paucity of replies, I know you want me to think that NOBODY'S got one of these here on AP. But I'm SURE I read a post (or more)
with pics taken with this lens. No?
Am.

[mpb]

OK if we start the process of elimination...
I do not have one, now only 19565 members left to reply.

I have been thinking about adding this lens to my lineup.

I have seen many very good photos from this lens and read some good user reviews. The main negative appears to be the bulbous front element.
Positives ultra wide and good IQ.

[ameerat42]

Ta Mark. Now you've started the ball rolling, I expect to hear from ALL the others VERY SOON!
Am.

[Tannin]

For every avalanche there is a first stone.

I would rather like one. I used not to like the idea of that short long end, but with the 15mm-equivalent 24-105 on my 5D II now, 16mm is perfectly OK for me as a long end on a UWA, and I love the idea of 8mm at the wide end.

But I'm gradually moving away from DX format gear and don't much want to buy more of it, and the inability to mount a filter is a bit of a deal breaker. I'll stay with my Canon 10-22.

So there you have it. The second stone. I don't have one either.

[Rattus79]

I have a 10-20 which I love with a passion, but it's in a Pentax mount and is all but useless to you.

I find that it's a little soft until you hit that magic f8 mark, but then it comes into it's own.

[ameerat42]

I have a 10-20 which I love with a passion, but it's in a Pentax mount and is all but useless to you.

I find that it's a little soft until you hit that magic f8 mark, but then it comes into it's own.

And just by a little bit, too! The Σ SA mount is the same as the Pentax K but for the protruding levers. On some older lenses
I use a PK M42 mount and it goes directly onto the Σ. They are completely manual in that mode but I don't mind as I almost always use M.

Anyway, I've been mesmerising myself with the images taken with the 8-16 on Flickr! That UWA shooting is a whole new ball game (head-shake).
Am.

[Rattus79]

I did not know that about the lens mount!

Uwa shooting is great! You can have something almost touching the front element and still have the BG in perfect focus and do it at f10! (Better at f16 tho)

[RobertAcres]

I'm seriously thinking of getting the 8-16 for my Pentax K5,
Do any of you folks with the 10-20mm think the extra 2mm would make THAT much difference?

Rob

[arthurking83]

The 2mm will make a difference.

Don't think of it in terms of pure numbers, think of it in terms of percentage .. or more accurately look at the FOV captured by the two different focal lengths in terms of °

The percentage difference between 8mm and 10mm is about 20%, whereas 2mm difference at say 100mm(compared to 102mm) is only 2%.

FOV is where you will see the bigger picture so to speak.

The 8mm(on Pentax APS-C) gives a 114° FOV, whereas the 10mm only captures 102° FOV.

Question is:
* would you notice it?
* do you need it?
* is it important?

Issues to understand too.

Can you easily mount a filter if need be?

While many people see CPL's on such UWA lenses are more problematic, there are still benefits to be had in using CPL filters even on UWA lenses .. it's not always only about getting a blue sky!

You could eventually modify something to mount filters onto the 8-16mm, but the 10-20 does it much more easily.

The other aspect to be weary of with really really wide lenses .. it's harder to compose your images with them. Not impossible .. just a bit harder at the super wide end .. and in many situations, you will probably zoom in a touch to compensate if other options aren't easily achievable.