Company’s latest super-wide angle zoom lens offers professional photographers exceptional image quality with Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) functionality

Ronkonkoma, NY, June 29, 2009 – Sigma Corporation (www.sigmaphoto.com), a leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider for some of the world's most impressive lines of lenses, cameras and flashes, has announced the availability of the Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM super-wide angle lens.

The 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM is the widest zoom range lens that incorporates Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) technology, ensuring quiet and high speed auto focus (AF), as well as offering full-time manual focusing capabilities. This unique lens is the only ultra wide zoom lens with a fixed aperture, which affords photographers better light and speed capabilities. This DC lens has a maximum aperture of F3.5 throughout the entire zoom range, making it ideal for indoor low light situations, as well as architectural and scenic photography, truly enabling photographers to emphasize the subject they are shooting.

“Starting in the late 1970s with the introduction of the Sigma Zoom Gamma 21-35mm F3.5-4, the first wide zoom lens in the industry, Sigma Corporation has led the way in providing photographers with innovative lenses at accessible prices,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, general manager of Sigma Corporation of America. “With the introduction of the highly anticipated Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM, we’re combining exceptional performance with unparalleled quality, allowing photographers to produce strikingly sharp images with less vignetting and decreased instances of distortion.”

By incorporating two Extraordinary Low Dispersion (ELD) glass elements, combined with a Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass element, the Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM provides the photographer with excellent correction of color aberration, producing sharper end results. Furthermore, the inclusion of four aspherical lenses, along with Super Multi-Layer coating, ensures exceptional image quality throughout the entire zoom range by providing correction for distortion and allowing for reduced flare and ghosting.

This lens, ideal for professional photographers, has a minimum focusing distance of 9.4 inches (24cm) throughout the entire zoom range and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:6.6. The light-weight design also incorporates an inner focusing system that eliminates front lens rotation, making it particularly suitable for using the Petal-type hood and polarizing filter to block extraneous light and reduce internal reflection.

The Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM is currently available for Canon and Nikon mounts for $950 MSRP in stores nationwide, and will be available for Sigma, Pentax and Sony mounts in July.

To locate an authorized Sigma dealer nearest to you, visit www.sigmaphoto.com/where/where.asp. For information about Sigma Corporation of America, visit www.sigmaphoto.com.

Sigma's 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM lens. Photo provided by Sigma Corp.

About Sigma Corporation
For more than 50 years, Sigma Corporation’s expertise and innovation has driven the company’s core philosophy of “knowledge, plus experience, plus imagination,” with an emphasis on producing high-quality, high-performance photographic technology at moderate prices. This family-owned organization is the largest, independent SLR lens manufacturer in the world, producing more than 40 lenses that are compatible with most manufacturers, including Sigma, Canon, Minolta, Sony, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax.  Sigma Corporation also produces digital SLR cameras and high-definition digital compact cameras. The company is headquartered in Japan, with offices strategically located throughout Europe, Asia and North America. For information, please visit www.sigmaphoto.com.