…or something along those lines. Took a walk into O’Learys camera shop on Oliver Plunkett st. today while wandering aimlessly around town and spotted something I’ve been oogling now for ohh… ages. A batch of Canon fit Sigma 10-20’s had arrived! Hurrah! Finally! Quite a compact lens, probably smaller than the outrageously expensive Canon EF-S 10-22mm and most certainly cheaper. Before they arrived, I was given a rough price of €650/700 from another camera shop. Took a few shots…
10mm
Again at 10mm, but err, outdoorsy.
@20mm
There doesn’t seem to be anything immediately evident in the pictures that would make the wide angle sigma an inferior lens.. Or at least not as far as I can see. As far as I can make out, these shots look quite similar to the ones I took with the Canon 10-22 some months ago. There’s bound to be slight differences in contrast & colour tones, but whatever takes your fancy. Personally, I think it’s an amazing lens. Comes in a bit cheaper than I was quoted previously too. Turns out the actual price is €499. Why… that’s almost as cheap as ebay!
Not wanting to leave the shop without first fulfilling my raging lens lust, I spotted what I can only assume is a new Sigma 80-400 with “Optical Stabiliser”. Took a few shots but at 400mm it appears soft. Maybe it’s just me.
@ 80mm.
@ 400mm.
High-res versions of all the above available on flickr.
No HSM in this one. It’s a weighty beast and would no doubt require you to have a monopod permenantly connected to your hip if you were out shooting with it. It’s not a Canon L, it’s a bit soft on the long end but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper. In Ireland it’s around the €1k mark, or about €150 cheaper if you get it from ebay (and can avoid import duty). Compare that to the Sigma 50-500 (or Bigma if you prefer). No “OS” but you do get HSM. €300 more than the 80-400. Of course, you can get it from ebay for around the €800 mark (plus shipping & import duty if youre unlucky) but that’d just be cheating. Choices choices…
The cheapest I can find the 10-20 on ebay for is €409. That’s without shipping (approx €50) and any import duty. But for an extra €40 or so you could walk into a local shop and get it. Hardly worth the effort of turning your PC on. Well, I’m in love with the 10-20; and I find it simply stunning that even at the ebay price of the Canon 10-22 (approx €650), the Irish price of the Sigma 10-20 still beats it by €150! A cheap lens in Ireland? What’s going on? I’m scared…
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite
Greetings from sunny cyprus! Having a great time. Found a new local called booms, plenty of karaoke! Hope all is well at home. Hurry up and do some pub reviews! Jason and Therese are getting married tomorrow in the church. They are already legally married but have the blessing tomorrow. Were back on Friday morning. Say hi to Sandy! Slan
Eoin
If yer buying anything of ebay please give me a bit of notice so I can warn my neghbours that the postman may be lazy and ask them to take care of a dubious looking parcel. Duty…..taxes what are they?!
I get all my ebay camera stuff from Hong Kong so it’d be delivered directly here.. Tis a bit miffing when the morally sound seller marks the correct price on the import documentation.. damn import duty
(thankfully it hasnt happened to me in ages though)
Bought the 10-20mm 2 weeks ago in the Galway Camera Shop. Normally their prices for big stuff is fairly high, but the Sigma was priced 499 euros (so I bought it on the spot).
Very nice series!
I’ve been looking for a review on the 10-20 and your seems to be the only one with actual photos.
Great to see shots of Cork! I used to be an (the?) architectural photographer in Dublin in the early 70s. I actually started the Doors of Dublin work for Bord Fáilte but left Ireland before it was finished.
So I just ordered the 10-20..are you still keen on the lens?
Cheers!
Bob
Bob,
despite what some naysayers might say about the 10-20, I love mine. It’s allowed me to get alot of shots that I couldn’t have even dreamed of getting previously.
I’ve taken hundreds of shots with it now, if you take a look around my flickr photos you’ll see some of the better ones.