Many of my students once asked me. Is it worth to invest in a fisheye lens for an APS-C size camera body?
If yes, which one? That was a tough question. That goes into the equation of costs versus picture quality issue versus the angle of coverage.
As the owner of several Fisheye lenses from various brands and for several systems, having a fisheye is an added bonus. It gives an ultra-wide
angle of view and the round up distortions on the sides creating interesting perspectives that normal lenses can’t do. Although some may argue
with me that most cameras today comes with built in or digital filters that usually includes the fisheye, well dun be fooled. Yes, you get the fisheye effect, but what the camera did was to take your original photo and simply “Bloat” up the centre, I believed most of you who are reading this may already start to have a pretty unpleasant mental picture of what I am talking about – yes, simply aweful.

I went on a trip recently to Philippines covering a few projects at the same time. I was really excited & happy when I was issued a Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye for this trip by Sigma Marketing (Singapore). This is one of the compulsory lens to have when travelling to places with ancient old buildings and churches. Simply perfect.

Picture: Ferdinand Magellan’s Cross, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

The Sigma 10mm Fisheye is a diagonal fisheye lens. Means you get the full coverage from corner to corner unlike
circular fisheye lenses. Depending the system you are using, you get an almost equivalent angle of view which is about
15-16mm on a 35mm full frame system. (Now you know why most brands has a 15mm or 16mm Fisheye for their system)

This ultra wide gives architectures, outside or interior a creative touch. A little lens as it is, this solid built lens weights a
mere 475gm, pretty sensible making it favorable to have it in any travelling photographer’s bag. And it focus down right
to 13cm (although Sigma claims 13.5cm).

Picture: A Mass is going on inside the Basilica Menor del Santo Niño, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

The 10mm fisheye closes from F2.8 to F22 and it is a 7 blader. Those new to Sigma, “DC” in the lens code means this lens is made
specially for APS-C cameras. As expected from Sigma’s “EX” line of lenses, the lens comes with the company’s signature “Super Coating”
and to sweeten the deal, this Fisheye comes with hyper-sonic motor (HSM) for ultra fast, seamless and quiet focusing. It’s like the
king of Fisheye for APS-C cameras. (Other similar focal length Fisheye lenses from other makers are either in Manual Focus Only, running
on noisy back-dated step motor or loudest of them all – the micro motor.)

Picture: Devotee Deep in Prayers inside the Basilica Menor del Santo Niño, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: A View from the Back inside the Basilica Menor del Santo Niño, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: People outside the Basilica Menor del Santo Niño, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Note the full coverage of the church on the above photo? Now look at the foreground to see how tight the distance
is from where I am standing to the wall of the church. A typical 14mm lens will not be able to cover the whole length
of the church too. The 10mm Fisheye saved the day.

Picture: A Low-to-Ground Shot of the People outside the Basilica Menor del Santo Niño, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: The Hut Built to shelter Ferdinand Magellan’s Cross from the elements, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Soon, I found myself on a floating buffet restaurant having lunch while cruising down the Loboc River.
It was a pretty cramped floating platform made into a Tourists lunch place but the food was decent and
the Loboc River was calm and peaceful. I decided to snap a shot of this floating restaurant and the “regular”
lens I was using was not able to cover the full width of the boat as I would like to have the shot showing
not just the restaurant, but also the river views from outside the boat – the Sigma 10mm Fisheye to the rescue.

Picture: Floating Buffet Restaurant on Loboc River Cruise, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: On the Road to Chocolate Hills (Carmen), Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: Mahogany Man-Made Forest, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: Mahogany Man-Made Forest, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

The shot above was something that I always see on Nat Geo magazines, now we know what lens were used to
produce such a shot. 🙂

Picture: Baclayon Church, Philippines. Everything here is hand-built.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: Baclayon Church, Philippines.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: Blessings Candles at Baclayon Church, Philippines. Each Color Represents a Blessing.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: Baclayon Church, Philippines. The Magnificience of it all.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: Blood Compact Monument, Philippines. The Significance, the place where Blood, Wine & Brotherhood were forged.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Interestingly, the Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye came packaged with a “Circular Adaptor”. When fitted to the lens,
it gives the user the effect of a circular fisheye by blocking the “diagonal-horizon” creating a photo of what a circular fisheye
might produce. See the below photos.

Picture: Crown Regency Residence, Guadaluphe, Philippines. Shot with the Circular Adaptor.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: The Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye with the Circular Adaptor for the shot above.
Photo by: Yu Ling

Picture: Crown Regency Residence, Guadaluphe, Philippines. Shot without the Circular Adaptor.
Photo by: Allan LEE

Picture: The Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye without the Circular Adaptor for the shot above.
Photo by: Yu Ling

Picture: Me with the Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye.
Photo by: Yu Ling

Picture: Photo Made by the Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye.
Photo by: Yu Ling

Interesting eh? Apart from the adaptor, the Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye comes standard with a good
quality carrying pouch, paperworks and lots of fun and creativity at your finger tips. Still wondering which Fisheye
lens to get for your APS-C camera?

Look no further, the Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye is Absolutely worth your every Fish Dollar.
To Find out more about this wonderful lens, visit here.

Special Thanks to Sigma Marketing (Singapore) for the lens!
I Love it!

For other Sigma Related Articles & Reviews click here.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
** Sigma had re-organized their whole lens line into 3 category.
They are “C” Lens, “A” Lens & “S” Lens.

C Lens = Contemporary Lens Line

Featuring the very latest technology, and combining optical performance with compactness, Sigma’s high-performance Contemporary line covers a wide range of needs. Lenses in this category are Standard zoom lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, high-magnification zoom lenses.

A Lens = Art Lens Line

Designed with a focus on sophisticated optical performance and abundant expressive power, Sigma’s Art line delivers high-level artistic expression. Lenses in this category are Large-aperture prime lenses, wide-angle lenses, ultra-wide-angle lenses, macro lenses, fisheye lenses.

S Lens – Sports Lens Line

While offering sophisticated optical performance and expressiveness, Sigma Sports line lenses deliver high action-capture performance, enabling photographers to get exactly the shots they want. Lenses in this category are Telephoto lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, super telephoto lenses, super telephoto zoom lenses.

Sigma Marketing Singapore Pte Ltd. is a subsidiary of Sigma Japan Corporation.

For more information, please visit http://www.sigma-global.com