Camera Labs

plainman007 if your sure you've picked one up with a fault and it's new you'll be able to change it or get it fixed through the manufacturers warranty but it would be beneficial if you posted some test shots at different f-stops and preferably taken on a tripod to avoid any camera shake. f8 seems to be that lenses sweet spot according to the Flickr groups, they also say it's quite soft when it's wide open. As Westcoast says using a wide angle takes some getting used to.

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"I'm playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order" - Eric Morecambe
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D7000 and too many lenses.

West Coast > I didnt say all their products were 50% bad copies. Ive learned, only now that this particular lens had an issue with dishing out soft pictures. It was reported on the net as a quality control issue with only this product.

Your 'elvis is alive' anology apart, but arent even we discussing on the net. Not everything on the net can be just despised as nonsensical. Im sure most of us found camera labs forum via google. It depends on what you search for. And what i searched for was relevant and i found a thread of 257 reviews from customers who bought it. Heres the link...

http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-10-20mm-4-5 ... Descending

If you do read it youll find out that there are many happy (lucky) customers who got a good copy. But there are equally large number of professionals there who got bad copies of this lens. And a large number of them who had to ask for replacements and then got a good copy. If it boils down to usage technique, how come the very next day most of these people got their replacements they were able to shoot discernibly sharper pics and be happy about it.

Now even im able to shoot sharp pics with this, but only above f9 or so. And even then after a certain distance theres softness.

Remember the amazon reviews link ive given above is from all people who've bought it and then reviewed it. Im sure people spending quite some money on an UWA lens are not novices with a point and shoot camera.

Sigma itself has tested these return lenses and replaced them with proper ones which means they screwed up on the quality control for this one.

Customer Reviews
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras by Sigma

Average Customer Rating
4.4 out of 5 stars (257 customer reviews)
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Those are very impressive numbers, actually a bit better than I would have rated the lens.

So what are you saying ? Because you and others got lucky (or putting it vice versa, a lesser few got unlucky) the unlucky ones are supposed to feel proud that several people like you are happy with it and go on ? Because your happy with your lens and you got a good copy that doesnt make my faulty lens a right thing to do to a customer.

Its a fantastic lens. If you got a good unit. You get a new car some things dont suit you, you live with it as everything cant be perfect. But if the damn car wont do even 10 miles an hour then why get a car, you can walk.

Stacey > Hi, i just missed your post. Ive taken some test shots. At various apertures and modes. I can upload them to flickr and just give you the link ?

How do i insert the pics within here because on flickr you cant download the entire large size jpg file right ? Youd want to see the files at actual size im guessing ?

Or can i pm you a link to my own server where you can download it please ?

Thanks

Just to the right of the Facebook icon above your image is a little downward arrow, select this and it'll drop down an option to grab the link. Make sure its on BBCode and the size you want to post, select it and past it here. There's no need to put image tags around it. I think you should post in the forum rather than send to me as I'm not that experienced myself.

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"I'm playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order" - Eric Morecambe
________________________________________
D7000 and too many lenses.

Hi,

I dont have a facebook account. I have a flickr account. if i just give the link to the images can you see it ?

Thanks

Perhaps the envelope icon, above your images and to the left and next to the actions icon. Or just post the link to your page if your struggling.

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"I'm playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order" - Eric Morecambe
________________________________________
D7000 and too many lenses.

Hi,

Just uploaded some test shots (no aesthetic compositions here) purely for the image softness.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43002363@N ... 010721130/

Please look at it with an unbiased opinion and let me know if this amount of softness is normal and my lens is ok. Or if you own the same lens and usually get much sharper results than this at these kind of apertures.

The retailer has accepted to give me a refund if the unit is really a dud. So id really like to know for sure, so as to be fair and square.

Awaiting your replies.

Thanks & Regards

Not a single reply after i posted the link to the images.

Not exactly helpful. Especially after all the repetitions to post samples.

Its urgent since i need to find where i stand and either return the lens or keep it if its ok.

I really don't have access to a monitor that can be trusted to pass judgment on a lens. My iPad is as good as it gets, for now. Moreover, my eyeglass prescription needs to be updated. I may be unable to perceive softness that others will see. Some of your images appear quite good and clear. I do see what appears to be substantial, uneven distortion along the top of image 033, but ultra-wide lenses tend to have a certain amount of distortion away from the center. I am unsure what would be considered acceptable on a third-party UWA zoom.

My point of comparison is my Canon 10-22mm EF-S.

I will look further at your Flickr images when I can see them on a better monitor.

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Canon 7D/5D/40D/1D2N; Nikon F6, FM3A, & Coolpix A; Canon 40mm Pancake, 135L, 50L, 35L, pre-II 50mm 1.8, 100mm 2.8L Macro, 10-22mm EF-S, 28-135 EF, 400mm 5.6L; Nikkor 50mm 1.2 AI-S, 50mm 1.4G, 50mm 1.8D, 16mm 2.8D Fisheye, 180mm 2.8D, 100-300mm 5.6 AI-S; Tokina 17mm & 100mm 2.8 Macro

I personally would go for the Sigma for its HSM, although being mostly for landscapes and wide views it's probably not that big of a deal. The Tokina does also have it though.

Thanks Rex ! Ill be waiting.

Mark > A little late for that. Ive already got the Sigma. But it seems like i might have got a faulty lens. Because the images seem to be slightly soft.

But i couldnt decide and the only way is for members who also have this lens to look at the pics and tell me if this softness is normal or not.

Now thats where the matter stands.

Regards

But for 1 or 2 members, not many here willing to spend a few minutes in looking at an mage and telling me if its sharpness is ok.

Unfortunately now id have to keep this lens and cant return it any more. After this i can only claim a warranty repair to meddle with my brand new lens i guess. What a nice feeling.

Your link does not work and you are being a little bit agressive with your posts. Due to these reasons I doubt you will reacieve more replies.

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D5000 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G and 50mm f/1.4G