Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DS HSM

The Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DS HSM ($1,100 list) is a lens that either speaks directly to your soul or you find nearly impossible to use effectively. It's available for Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Sony/Minolta, and Pentax APS-C cameras, where it produces a field of view equivalent to 12-24mm in classic 35mm photography. Its ultra-wide field of view isn't for everybody, but if it's for you, prepare to live with some optical shortcomings.

The lens itself is fairly large, which is not uncommon for wide-angle designs. It's 4.2 by 3 inches (HD) in size and weighs a hefty 1.2 pounds. The lens doesn't offer any sort of stabilization?for something this wide, stabilization would be unusual. The only physical controls are the zoom ring, focus ring, and an AF/MF toggle switch. The front element is hemispherical in shape, so you won't be able to use any sort of screw-in filters with the lens. The hood is built in to the barrel, and a slide-on cap is included to protect the front element from damage when not in use.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness and distortion with the Sigma SD1 Merrill as my test camera. The results were pretty disappointing at 8mm and 12mm, but it sharpens up nicely at 16mm. At the widest focal length and f/4.5 aperture it scores 1,572 lines per picture height of sharpness, well shy of the 1,800 required for a sharp image. Photos are noticeably soft at this aperture, and distortion is pronounced?3.1 percent of the barrel variety. Stopping down to f/5.6 improves the sharpness to 1,700 lines, and it does cross 1,800 at f/8.

At 12mm the lens opens up to f/5, where it notches only 1,356 lines. It improves only to 1,509 lines by f/8. Barrel distortion is not that bad here, however, at only 0.75 percent. The lens does its best in terms of sharpness at 16mm, where it already resolves more than 2,000 lines at its widest f/5.6 setting. Distortion switches from barrel to 1.4 percent of the pincushion variety.

If you're a wide shooter and understand the limitations of this lens, it can be quite rewarding. Landscape shooters and others with the necessary skills will be rewarded by the unique point of view that it provides, but more casual shooters may discover that such an epic field of view is simply too difficult to put to effective use. The lens is best suited for working slow, and taking your time to frame the perfect shot and nail the perfect exposure. When used with that mindset, it shouldn't be a problem to shoot at f/8 or smaller and bring along a tripod. Just don't expect to take a run-and-gun approach with this lens and get amazing results.

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