I’d be the first to say that techniques and knowledge have a lot more to do with taking good pictures than expensive equipment, but I had my eyes set on a wide-angle lens for a while, especially since we have a pending trip to England that we hope will offer plenty of views of the beautiful English countryside. After saving up some money and deliberating and researching for months, I finally pulled the trigger on a Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM lens last week when I saw it on sale for $45 less than the sticker price. The lens had gotten strong reviews from both the reviewers on Amazon.com and the Digital Photography School website as a good, not-too-expensive option for a wide-angle lens (it’s actually classified as an extra wide angle lens because it goes under 20 mm).

The lens arrived yesterday, well ahead of schedule, and I couldn’t wait to try it out, so I snapped a few pictures in and around the house. At a focal length of 10 mm, lines do start to look distorted, but that’s to be expected. The maximum focal length of 20mm is a bit on the short end, and I found that I had to stand pretty close to the subject. But hey, it’s a wide-angle lens, after all. Overall, I’m very satisfied with the lens after my brief experience with it so far, and the image looks pretty sharp. I’m looking forward to taking it out for a real field test this weekend.

Some samples:

Living room, shot at 10 mm. So that’s why those houses in real estate listings look so spacious.

Rabbit lawn figurine at 20 mm.

Rabbit lawn figurine at 10 mm.

Courtney in the kitchen, shot at 10 mm with me standing a foot away.

Bingley, right before he took a swat at my new lens as I was getting up in his face.

And finally … our two stuffed primates.