Sigma 10-20mm Lens Test

    As a Canon 10D user the Canon 10-22mm was not an option so I ordered the Sigma 10-20mm for my super wide angle option.  Reviews for the Tokina 12-24mm have been very positive but the Sigma gives an extra 2mm so I went with Sigma even though no reviews are out yet on this lens.  I ordered the lens from Canoga Camera (my first time ordering from them and their service was excellent, they even price matched the lens to B&H even though B&H was out of stock).

    Photos were shot off my balcony.  I compared this lens to the Canon 16-35mm.

Sharpness Comparison

Both lenses were shot at 16mm @ F4/4.5 and F8, 100% crop.

        Sharpness between the two lenses at the center of the frame are very similar.

        At F4 it appears the Sigma may be slightly shaper.  At F8 both lenses are very similar in sharpness (I can't tell the difference).

        The sigma lens seems to give a reddish color cast.

Edge Performance

Both lenses were shot at 16mm @ F4/4.5 and F8

        Edge performance on the Canon 16-35mm is very poor.  Chromatic aberration is present at F4 and F8 and sharpness is very poor.

        The Sigma is decent at F4.  Chromatic Aberration is very noticeable.

        At F8 the Sigma improves in both sharpness and chromatic aberration.

        Note: The sigma performed much better on this test, however it should be remembered that the Canon 16-35mm is really bought for its speed (F2.8).  However at 3 times the price of the Sigma it does make you wonder...

Sigma 10-20mm @ 10mm

        The performance of the Sigma @ 16mm as compared to the Canon 16-35mm is very surprising.  Although it does give off a reddish color cast,  sharpness and chromatic aberration is better than I expected.

        Now lets take a look at the performance of the Sigma at 10mm

Sigma 10-20mm at 10mm @ F8

I am only going to compare edge performance @ F4, F8 and F16

F4.5 Edge Crop

F8 Edge Crop

F16 Edge Crop

        The Sigma does seem to exhibit chromatic aberration.  It is very bad at F4 but improves at F8 and even more at F16.

        Sharpness also improves from F4 to F16.

        Conclusion:  I bought this lens to be able to get pictures at 10mm.  Does it suffer from barrel distortion, chromatic aberration, softness, and color shift?  Yes yes yes, and yes.  But that is to be expected from a super wide angle zoom such as this.  At $469-$500 I think this lens is a great value and compared to the Canon 16-35mm L lens I think it performs admirably.  I wish I could compare it to the Canon 10-22, Tokina 12-24 and the canon 17-40mm but alas I don't have access to those lenses.

Here are the original picture files if anyone is interested: