Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

Love this lens. Just bought a used one recently. It is indeed a great sharp and fast focusing lens. And I don't even have to use a polarizing filter to get dark blue skies. It seems like there is a built-in polarizing filter in it! Fantastico! Yes. look for this lens even if it is a discontinued item. I will highly recommend to friends.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I looked at this lens and the much more expensive (and faster) Nikor and found this to be a good option for the money saved. There is noticeable difference in lower light situations, but overall the use of this lens for architectural interiors, panoramas and wide angle shots are very comparable at half the cost.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

This particular lens purchase was made exclusively for my trip to California. Due to it's scenic mountains and hills I wanted a wide angle lens that would capture the majestic landscape of California.

I will use this lens in other locations but this was purchased right before my trip and purchased at a point where I had decided to no longer buy any more lens since I have a good stable kit at this point.

Sadly though, my bad timing or my bad luck. I have not been able to utilize this lens due to horrible weather here in California.

Hope it breaks this weather and I can put this lens to the test. I have no doubts about its performance.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I needed a wide angle lens for my Nikon D3 but couldn't afford Nikon glass. Did my research and found the Sigma. WOW! It produces crisp, brilliant shots that need no post processing (apart from aesthetic cropping) to bring them up to gallery standard. It is a rectilinear lens and any distortion that does appear can be easily removed with CaptureNX2 adjustments.

I did worry about not being able to use a polarizer filter but this lens doesn't need one! The saturation has to be seen to be believed.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I use this lens on my D700 (full frame) and could not be happier with its performance.

I aim this thing in every direction, up close, to the distance, at the sun, in the dark, and have not had a single bad word to say. There is absolutely zero vignetting, despite what another review says. There is also absolutely zero distortion. And it's sharp. If you hear about this lens being soft it's likely user-error with focusing. This thing can focus as close as a foot away, and with the massive field of view if you are not aware of what you are doing you will get out of focus foregrounds. Hyperfocal focusing is key with this thing.

The only other thing is you've got to keep it level. Slightly angled up or down and you'll get some funny effects. This of course can be creative, but it's best to keep it level.

Build is phenomenal. Every other lens I own is Nikon (no, not the $2k lenses), but this is much more solidly constructed than everything else I've got. It's quite impressive.

Cons? It's not a low-light lens, but that's obvious. There's Nikon's 2.8 for double the price, but are you really interested in this lens for low-light performance?

It's my favorite lens hands down.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I am using this lens with my Nikon F6 and I am definitely impressed on how this Sigma lens performs.

I think the best use of this lens is for interiors, but I am sure that is not its single use. I already used it for some outdoors pictures and the lack of aberration is remarkable.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

First things first, I would not recommend this lens to everyone, because depending on your situation there may be better choices. The best feature of this lens is that it is a full frame (FX) lens. If you are shopping for a wide angle lens for a DX digital camera, there are better choices (I suggest the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8). I'd only buy this lens for a DX camera if you knew you were going to upgrade to FX in the near term future. Also, from 14-24mm, the Nikkor equivalent lens is faster by a stop or two, and without question sharper... so if money is no object, and you don't care about 12-13mm, then get the Nikon lens. (although it is worth noting that on a D700/D3/D3s, you can overcome both short comings by cranking the ISO, and stopping this lens down to about f/8 to f/11.)

All that said... you buy this lens to shoot it at 12mm on full frame, and for that it is downright amazing, VERY fun to shoot, and highly recommended. There is no other full frame rectilinear lens this wide. When shot correctly (ie stopped down, and correctly framed), this lens takes stunning pictures. 2mm doesn't seem like much, but consider that this lens at 12mm gives an 8 degree wider field of view than the Nikon at 14mm, and that going from 14mm to 12mm is almost a 15% change in focal length. The field of view this lens gets is jaw dropping. The other advantage to this lens is that it costs less than half what the Nikon 14-24mm costs... if you do the math, that's a fair amount of savings. I am quite happy I got this lens. 12mm is that much fun.

One last note: my copy focuses fine. I've read horror stories about Sigma's quality control, but I've personally never been bit. I have 5 Sigma EX lenses, and all five focused correctly out of the box. Your mileage may vary, but sometimes I think the people who get a bad sample are louder than the people who get good ones.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

Being both a Nikon D700 owner AND an ultra-wide shooter I of course was drawn to the legendary Nikkor 14-24...a fine lens whose quality and performance can't be disputed.

However, I needed a full-frame oriented UWA now and the Nikkor's price was to much to swallow.

Enter the Sigma 12-24.

This lens does have a few cons and for some could be a deal breaker.

Yes, it does vignette out to about f/8, but this aberration can be dealt with easily with software especially if you shoot RAW.

Yes, it's slow with variable apertures; this could be a problem with low light shooters.

Yes, there is some corner softness wide open but this improves stopping down. Again this could be an issue for low light shooters.

I shoot mostly landscapes and architecture, so it was the vignetting that bothered me most. Adobe RAW, which I use, takes care of this.

This lens performs best at f/11 and f/16 for what I shoot.

On the plus side, my copy of this lens is very sharp and contrasty, and the flare isn't as bad as some have said, although it's there if you shoot into the sun...which I do sometimes. But I think most lenses, especially this type of lens, will exhibit flare under the right conditions.

And then there's the price...about half of the Nikkor 14-24.

Build quality is superb by the way, and I like Sigma's EX finish and feel. I also own the Sigma 24-70, and these two lenses exchange places on my D700 on a regular basis. I don't leave home without them.

It's possible I'll own the Nikkor 14-24 and 24-70 in the future. But for now I have other priorities and the two Sigmas are doing the job I want at a very economical price point.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

Used on a Nikon D700 mainly for cityscapes.
Very sharp even in the corners, I think I was very lucky to get a nearly perfect copy.
Great color, good focus, and the most amazing thing about this lens is the lack of distortion!
I would have given this 5 stars but there is some glare at times, but really only when you have tuff light conditions that any other lens would have problems also.

At first I was hesitant to get this lens but have no regrets now, very good for its value compared to the Nikon version.

Compared it to my Tokina 10-17 (DX) fisheye and its as wide on FX but with no distortion!

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

Great full frame wide angle. My copy received is very sharp across the range and has little to no distortion. Some people say it is heavy, I do not find it all that heavy.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I bought this lens as a lower-cost alternative to the Nikor 14–24 f/2.8 for use on my D700. I mostly use it for interiors and fun portraits. The lens focuses quickly thanks to Sigma's HSM, build quality feels excellent, and it's plenty sharp and contrasty. The lack of distortion is amazing. It also focuses down to 28 cm, which opens up a world of unusual close-up opportunities. The only downside is fuzzy corners, but they're not as bad as the Nikkor 70–200 VR.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

This lens is an engineering miracle. Really! It is flawed in that it flares like all get out if you are in the unfortunate position with respect to your light. It vignettes like crazy if not stopped down, but this is only noticed indoors. I don't really notice it outside. But you can certainly fill an image with a room. At is a true 12mm zoom on my D700. No filters allowed. It is fat and heavy, but I don't know of any lens on the market that can do what this one does. I see no distortion or curvature on it, and I will live with its flaws because its uniqueness is unprecedented. It is very fun to shoot with, regardless of its warts. I highly recommend it if you are a wide angle freak! But only with a FX sensor.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I use this for walking around on city streets, interiors, and hiking, or when I expect to be in cramped quarters (like inside a car). 12mm is simply awesome on a full frame or 35mm body (I have an F100 that this lens is pretty much glued to). Sometimes I wish I had the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 for the speed, but this lens is wider and half the price. To borrow a phrase from Spinal Tap, this goes to 12!

I suspect my 24mm f/2.8 Nikkor is sharper but that lens doesn't zoom out to 12mm!!!

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I use this lens already 3 years.
With D100, D200 and D300. Now with D700.
If you only will try to remove chromatic abberation in RAW convertor - you will see the REAL quality and way better sharpness of this lens, comparing to shots from in camera's internal JPG process.
Real vignetting on a full frame isn't two great... It is easy fully compensate in RAW convertor. Vigneting isn't higher than most of such type lens with the same or even smaller angle of view.
The other very positive thing is almost no linear distortions even on 12 mm. For Architecture this one simply perfect. Also for some wedding photographs where you need to put a lot of people in a small area of room sometime. I personally use this lens most often underwater instead of FishEye (the last one I use only on wrecks and in not so clean water now)

Yes, it isn't Nikkor 14-24, but the price is 2 times smaller. And in some features, like linear distortions I think it is better than any other to date of full frame lenses.

What this lens dislike - it is any durst on the lens, then you may have the flares of light in direct light and great decreasing of sharpness (don't know why so much, comparing to the same conditions with other lenses)

Don't know how it will works on full frame ~25 MP, but resolution on full frame 12MP is perfect for A3+ and even higher if to shot in RAW and remove then in editor chromatics in the edges of frame.

I have more than 100 film cameras and a lot of Nikkor's lenses that to say it.

Sorry for my English. Its not native my language.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I've used this lens for over 3 years for landscapes (up to 16X24 print sizes). First on my Fuji S2, then my Nikon D2X and occasionally on my Nikon N90 with Fujichrome Provia. While it is pretty amazing at 12mm, it has a little field curvature. It improves vastly at 14mm - less corner softness and CA. Distortion is as stated in earlier reiviews - non linear, but overall not distracting in landscapes. For architectural work you might need to resort to a second or third order distortion correction to get really straight lines.

I haven't experienced the flare mentioned below, but I've found that many Sigma lenses benefit from a thorough, careful cleaning of the front and rear elements. Don't assume the lens comes clean from the factory. I see no internal reflections, so I think it may be from packaging. In all light I get superb color/contrast as long as the lens is clean.

Watch out for a little focus shift between 12 and 16mm.

If I used filters like polarizers and limited my use to APS sensor size cameras, I'd rather go with the Sigma 10-20mm (or the Nikon 12-24, or....), but I expected Nikon to relent and eventually produce a full 35 format sensor and wanted what I see in the N90 viewfinder.

What optical faults I've seen are almost all correctable with editing, so in my book this lens is hard to beat. And the price is amazing.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

A well constructed lens, great on my D70s and D300, not so great on a D3. Too much vignetting below about 18mm on the D3 Focus is good and fast.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

I use this on my Nikon D80 (APS-C) and Nikon N90s (Full Frame) and it performs very well on both. Colors are accurate and CA's are minimal. Shouldn't use a polarizer on a wide angle lens due to banding so inability to mount filters is only a minor annoyance to me.

Highly recommended.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

Don't know what reviewer jj was referring to, but this is a full frame lens - possibly the widest full frame zoom ever produced. And for that it's amazing. The expansive rectininear view on my N80 is far more than normal peripheral vision - a real mindblower. But the real surprise for the price is the low level of barrel distortion even at the widest angle. Quite an accomplishment for the price. Other zoom lenses of comparable focal lengths are strictly ATS format digital and can't be used without vignetting on full frame 35mm cameras.

On my D200, distortion is even better, and this lens is essential for truly wide angle views especially at 1.5x magnification.

Highly recommended in spite of its bulk and exposed front elements. Keep it out of the sun to avoid flair.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

Lens flare is a very real issue. Light almost has to bebehind you to avoid it. There is no place for a filter (Therear gel filter guide is a joke.) so you can't use apolarizer to help with reflections on water. On the plusside it does render beautiful deep blue skies when you getthe right lighting.

Problems Encountered: Mechanically, none. Flare, lots.

Comments about Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM Wide Angle Autofocus Zoom for Nikon AF:

Only for 2/3 size (not 24x36 mm film) cameras. It's a wonderful lens, although one would wish for more range than 12-24, it's hard to build something rectilinear that big, I know.It's heavy, but stable. No problems (well, it is a short lens) to speak of on a D200. Even works with vignetting on my old N-series cameras.

Problems Encountered: Problems? Well, it's heavy. I don't see any way around that, though. You do have to remember to take off the ring that holds the lens cap, too.It may be too big around for some bags. I had to boot the N70 out of my Tamrac to fit it in.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: Sigma 24, Nikor 28-80, lots of Nikor stuff.

Items I Recommend: Nothing, really. It is what it is.