Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG IF HSM Aspherical Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Pentax and Samsung SLR Cameras

by Sigma

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 9 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002I6YVE
• Item model number: B0002I6YVE
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 21, 2004

Product Description

The large angle of view of the Sigma 12-24 4.5/5.6 EX DG ASPH Zoom (122 degree super wide angle of view at 12mm along the diagonal axis) is ideal for shooting indoors as well as landscape photography. It has a variable angle of view from 122 degrees to 84.1 degrees. Four Special Low Dispertion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. Two pieces of Glass Mold and one-piece Hybrid aspherical lenses offer excellent correction for distortion as well as all types of aberration. By effective arrangement of lens elements and advanced technology this lens has Super Compact dimensions of 100mm full-length, and 87mm Maximum Diameter. It is equipped with an Inner Focusing System that will keep the length of the lens unchanged, while controlling aberration. The models which are equipped with the HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) System (only in Nikon, Canon and Sigma Camera Mounts) offer Full Time Manual Focusing. It has a minimum focusing distance of 28mm at all focal lengths. This lens is equipped with an integral Petal-Type Hood, to block out extraneous light.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good enough. Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG IF HSM, March 9, 2008

By 

George E. Robertson (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG IF HSM Aspherical Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Pentax and Samsung SLR Cameras (Electronics)

I have had this 12-24 wide zoom for a while now and my opinion of this lens is improved. It is growing on me. The review I wrote below is true enough, but it is pretty understated. I must say I'd give this lensanother star after using it for a while. You could invest in the Pentax 14 mm and 21 mm wide primes and the 16-45mm Pentax Lens to try to cover this range with something optically superior, and that might improve on the images you can get some of the time. You would lose the convenience of the zoom below 16 mm and you would give up the range below 14mm entirely. You'd gain a stop in light gathering ability for sure, but you'd need to be a juggler and you'd need wheels on your camera bag to haul it all around. I am finding this almost fisheye zoom range is addictive, I get the shots I need with this. They are everything they need to be to use in the marketing materials that most of my images are destined for.
Original review:
I was torn between the Sigma and the Pentax zooms at this focal range. they both seemed to offer to adequately provide the wide angle range that I needed to do the everyday shooting of building interiors and exteriors. Both were wide enough and seemed optically good enough. The test images I saw seemed like they might be sharp enough, and they were surprisingly free of spherical distortions for lenses that wide. Both lenses were reported to be prone to some bad optical flare effects from direct sun on the lens. It's all true for the Sigma at least. It could be sharper. It is, however, good enough if you're using your shot nearly full frame. If you're needing to crop much of the image the sharpness may not be there to get a good large print. the Sigma was about a hundred bucks under the price of the Pentax so I went for it. I have nothing to go on to compare the Sigma to the Pentax 12-24 zooms, except the sample images posted on Amazon and in other reviews on line seemed on close reading to favor the Sigma. I think they both are nothing to write home about in the sharpness department when you zoom way in. But they are still darned wide zooms and reasonably free of spherical distortion for a lens that wide. I'm getting good enough images and prints to use at 8X10, (without photo shopping any distortion out) provided I'm careful to frame the shot close to the way I want to print it.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Lens Has Changed My Life, August 10, 2010

By 

Rusty Spoons (North Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG IF HSM Aspherical Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Pentax and Samsung SLR Cameras (Electronics)

My life is now divided into two separate and distinct regions: Before my Sigma lens, and after my Sigma lens(the later being the better part).
Seriously, I cannot form into words just how much this thing has improved my work.
I now look back on images I used to be so proud of and say to myself, "I wish I had shot this with my wide-angle".
This lens is used in conjunction with my Pentax K20D camera, and it is my belief that they have fallen madly in love with each-other...
That's fine with me, because their love has spawned some of my best photography work to date.

As for durability, I have (unexpectedly) shot with this thing numerous times in the POURING rain, with no cover whatsoever.
One of those times was on a five-hour venture around Sandy Hook, NJ. As the name may have led you to believe, this is a place with much sand.
Sand that I later had to clean out of all the nooks and crevasses in this lens, this lens that still works perfectly even after all the crap I make it deal with.
So if you plan on using this thing for more "traditional" purposes, rest assured it is quite hard to damage or make upset.

This lens may be one of the finest creations of the 21st century.
I think it quite possible that the people at Sigma dabble in magic, and perhaps employ wizards to craft their lenses.
This is of course light magic and the good kind wizards...


~Rusty