Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm

kopio · 10th August 2007

I went out on an impulse purchase today and found that the Sigma might be more useful in general photography. Any advise?

creampuff · 10th August 2007

Before even considering between the 2 lenses, perhaps it might be a good idea to know the differences between them. The Pentax is a zoom fisheye whereas the Sigma is a rectilinear wide angle zoom.

Both might start at 10mm but the Pentax has a much wider field of view and being a fisheye, straight lines that don't pass thru the centre of the image appear curved. The Sigma is corrected, which means straight lines remain straight lines. The FE is a fun lens and you can correct the curvature effect by software but the rectilinear is more practical.

Either way, both lenses need careful composition because of the wide field of view.

So, did you buy the Sigma?

alanswan · 10th August 2007

Sounds like he bought the 10-17....

My opinion is it's more fun...
And It may be just me, but I find that that's how things should look in extreme wide angles like 10mm... ;P

kopio · 10th August 2007

Originally Posted by alanswan

Sounds like he bought the 10-17....

My opinion is it's more fun...
And It may be just me, but I find that that's how things should look in extreme wide angles like 10mm... ;P

Hee, hee...

more like "sounds like SHE bought the 10-17"

kopio · 10th August 2007

Originally Posted by creampuff

Before even considering between the 2 lenses, perhaps it might be a good idea to know the differences between them. The Pentax is a zoom fisheye whereas the Sigma is a rectilinear wide angle zoom.

Both might start at 10mm but the Pentax has a much wider field of view and being a fisheye, straight lines that don't pass thru the centre of the image appear curved. The Sigma is corrected, which means straight lines remain straight lines. The FE is a fun lens and you can correct the curvature effect by software but the rectilinear is more practical.

Either way, both lenses need careful composition because of the wide field of view.

So, did you buy the Sigma?

Actually I know the difference(having used the Sigma) but went out to buy the FUN one when I should consider buying something that is more useful for work.

fengwei · 10th August 2007

Originally Posted by kopio

Actually I know the difference(having used the Sigma) but went out to buy the FUN one when I should consider buying something that is more useful for work.

Well, most of us shoot for fun only. And this DA1017 FE lens is one of the coolest lenses ever made for digital. I'm sure you'll like it

fengwei · 10th August 2007

Besides, it takes wonderful portraits too

istDeS · 10th August 2007

The pentax 10-17 is a fun lens and the sigma 10-20 is a more useful lens for WAV. The 10-17 is fun but you can't use it very often and you won't want to use it that often also i guess.

night86mare · 10th August 2007

10-20,

Unless you have a FE effect fetish.

kopio · 11th August 2007

Fengwei, your pics never cease to amaze me..........

VSonic06 · 11th August 2007

The Pentax 10-17 is fun...and affordable too

Get tired of the curvature can always de-fish the images to make them look rectilinear (but won't be as sharp as from a true rectilinear lens). Photoshop plugins like PTLens can do the job.

kopio · 11th August 2007

Great stuff!

VSonic06 · 11th August 2007

Originally Posted by fengwei

Besides, it takes wonderful portraits too

http://www.eng8.nus.edu.sg/FileStora...IMGP0644_s.jpg

you had to be REALLLY close to take that... he didn't mind at all?

kopio · 11th August 2007

Originally Posted by VSonic06

The Pentax 10-17 is fun...and affordable too Get tired of the curvature can always de-fish the images to make them look rectilinear (but won't be as sharp as from a true rectilinear lens). Photoshop plugins like PTLens can do the job.

Ok, looks like I'll play around with it first. I volunteer as a photographer at a non-profit org so sometimes a lens like Sigma 10-20mm comes in really handy.
Maybe when I get tired of FE, I'll put it up for "adoption" for the Pentax folks.

fengwei · 11th August 2007

Originally Posted by kopio

Fengwei, your pics never cease to amaze me..........

Well, it's an amazing lens afterall

fengwei · 11th August 2007

Originally Posted by VSonic06

you had to be REALLLY close to take that... he didn't mind at all?

Oh yeah, definitely less than 300mm

Actually he asked me to take that photo

And the DA1017 can focus as close as 140mm!

alanswan · 11th August 2007

Originally Posted by kopio

Hee, hee...
more like "sounds like SHE bought the 10-17"

Oops...

alanswan · 11th August 2007

Originally Posted by night86mare

10-20,

Unless you have a FE effect fetish.

Like me....

alanswan · 11th August 2007

Originally Posted by fengwei

Oh yeah, definitely less than 300mm Actually he asked me to take that photo

And the DA1017 can focus as close as 140mm!

Heh... My 'models' always get very intimidated when I go in close to take their 'big head' photos...

creampuff · 11th August 2007

kopio, welcome to the fisheye club. Don't get buyer's remorse, the 10-17 is really a unique lens.

Sorry but I can't get over your nick. I'm thinking... sweet Pentax gal who drinks lots of black coffee or have black hair. Get the brown and gold K10D Grand Prix Special Edition and you can change your nick to kopiSEe.

Don't know how to get close? Can test on pets first.

K100D with Sigma 16mm fisheye.

10th August 2007	#1
kopio Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Posts: 1,062	Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm I went out on an impulse purchase today and found that the Sigma might be more useful in general photography. Any advise?

10th August 2007	#2
creampuff Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: East side Posts: 3,353	Re: Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm Before even considering between the 2 lenses, perhaps it might be a good idea to know the differences between them. The Pentax is a zoom fisheye whereas the Sigma is a rectilinear wide angle zoom. Both might start at 10mm but the Pentax has a much wider field of view and being a fisheye, straight lines that don't pass thru the centre of the image appear curved. The Sigma is corrected, which means straight lines remain straight lines. The FE is a fun lens and you can correct the curvature effect by software but the rectilinear is more practical. Either way, both lenses need careful composition because of the wide field of view. So, did you buy the Sigma? __________________ http://ideastoprint.blogspot.com/ Last edited by creampuff; 10th August 2007 at 10:10 PM.

10th August 2007	#3
alanswan Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Seng Kang Posts: 944	Re: Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm Sounds like he bought the 10-17.... My opinion is it's more fun... And It may be just me, but I find that that's how things should look in extreme wide angles like 10mm... ;P

10th August 2007	#7
fengwei Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Bukit Gombak Posts: 9,096	Re: Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm Besides, it takes wonderful portraits too

10th August 2007	#8
istDeS Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: "River end" Posts: 2,913	Re: Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm The pentax 10-17 is a fun lens and the sigma 10-20 is a more useful lens for WAV. The 10-17 is fun but you can't use it very often and you won't want to use it that often also i guess.

10th August 2007	#9
night86mare Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: in your mind Posts: 19,330	Re: Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm 10-20, Unless you have a FE effect fetish. __________________ Gallery \| Dreamscapes 09 Pentaxian 伪君子之所以更可憎

11th August 2007	#10
kopio Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Posts: 1,062	Re: Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm Fengwei, your pics never cease to amaze me..........

11th August 2007	#11
VSonic06 Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 808	Re: Pentax 10-17mm vs Sigma 10-20mm The Pentax 10-17 is fun...and affordable too Get tired of the curvature can always de-fish the images to make them look rectilinear (but won't be as sharp as from a true rectilinear lens). Photoshop plugins like PTLens can do the job.