Sigma 15-30mm F/3.5-4.5 EX DG

Thomas Sotheron Estcourt was the Member of Parliament for Devizes who also founded the Wiltshire Friendly Society. Photographed with a Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF lens on a Nikon D2Xs. Optically, the lens is capable, although suffering from flare if pointed towards a source of light. It is versatile too, being compatible with full frame Nikon cameras as well as APS-C format. But it is a big lens occupying a lot of bag space, and although well-built and in Sigma's professional range, I did not think it was the sweetest lens to handle.

I used a Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF as wide as it would go on a Nikon D2Xs camera. That lens is also compatible with full frame and 35mm film cameras, making it a true wide angle asset. The lens has two weaknesses: first, it will flare if the sun is anywhere in the picture, and secondly, it is a big heavy optic to lug around when a 17-50mm will probably get the picture anyway (using APS-C format cameras). Moreover, a 17-50mm lens has the extra range that I always seemed to run out of when the Sigma was fitted.

The cloisters at Lacock Abbey, photographed with a Nikon D2Xs and a Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF lens.

Under the Westbury White Horse, Wiltshire. Nikon D2Xs + Sigma AF 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX DG lens.

Photographed with a Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF lens on a Nikon D2Xs. Optically, the lens is capable, although suffering from flare if pointed towards a source of light. It is versatile too, being compatible with full frame Nikon cameras as well as APS-C format. But it is a big lens occupying a lot of bag space, and although well-built and in Sigma's professional range, I did not think it was the sweetest lens to handle.

I used a Sigma 15-30mm lens* at its widest on a Nikon D2Xs camera, and although the D2 has a crop sensor, the wild distortion of ultra wide angle is evident. I got rid of that lens because it was big and heavy and did crazy things with light. But before full frame digital cameras became available, it was the poor man's best option for something wider than a kit lens. *Sigma AF 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX Aspherical DG

A chance encounter. I asked if I might take her photograph. She did not object. She wondered if the picture would be improved by some sweeping action. Of course she was right. This was easily the best of the three photographs I made of her. How wonderful it is when strangers agree to be photographed. Nikon D2Xs + Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. Typical for many ultra wide-angle lenses the Sigma AF 15-30mm EX suffers from very heavy barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom range. The situation eases continuously towards the 30mm where the lens is almost free of distortion. This photograph was taken at 22mm. Distortion was very noticeable and difficult to correct in post processing.

Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF on a Nikon D2Xs.

I used f/8 to get depth-of-field and a slow shutter speed to create a sense of movement. Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical lens at 15mm on a Nikon D2Xs. 100 ISO.

Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF on a Nikon D2Xs.

The ivy-clad shed in the churchyard of St. Mary the Virgin, Seagry, Wiltshire, photographed with a Nikon D2Xs and a Sigma AF 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX Aspherical DG lens.

The church tower at All Saints Christian Malford is very similar to the tower at nearby Kington St. Michael erected circa 1725. In that year the villagers of Malford voted for ten shillings (50p) to hang bells in the tower. The Malford tower possibly pre-dates the one at Kington St. Michael as there is a graffito date of 1721 on a buttress. During the second world war the Home Guard used the tower as a vantage point to look out for invading Germans approaching from the south beyond the river Avon adjacent to the churchyard. Any who came could be sure of a hostile welcome from the pill box which was built a stone's throw beyond the church and which is now much overgrown. The church clock has stopped again, which is a shame. Maybe the locals don't care for its strident chime. Nikon D90; Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX DG lens; 1/250th at f/11; 200 ISO.

Rectors of this Wiltshire church come and go, but this notice endureth. It was there in Canon Barkwell's time and it may even predate his incumbency. Canon W H Barkwell (1893-1984) was Rector of Christian Malford from 1951 to 1960, moving subsequently to Wigtoft, Lincolnshire, as parish priest. Whilst serving in Christian Malford, his wife Mabel, died, and is buried in the churchyard with a simple stone bearing only her initials, 'MSB'. Footnote: Visiting this church during August, 2022, I noticed with a twinge of sadness that the notice was no longer displayed in the porch. All things must pass, I suppose. Sigma AF 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX Aspherical DG lens at 30mm on a Nikon D90.

A detail of Springfield House Gates in Hilperton Road, Trowbridge. Springfield House was demolished in 1958 to make way for housing development. Only the gate piers at the town end of Springfield Park survive. They are grade II listed lest anybody gets an idea to do away with them too. Springfield House was built around 1840 in the Italianate style favoured by wealthy early Victorians. It was the home of William Stancomb, a prominent clothier, who was part of the flourishing Trowbridge wool business. In 1862 Stancomb also built the Market Hall, where the buses now stop in Trowbridge centre. Only the facade of that building remains as the entrance to the Wetherspoons pub named Sir Isaac Pitman in honour of the Trowbridgian inventor of Pitman shorthand. Stancomb’s name lives on in Stancomb Avenue, a nearby residential street. Photographed with a Nikon D90 and Sigma 15-30mm EX IF lens.

Springfield House on Hilperton Road, Trowbridge, had become dilapidated and was demolished in 1958 to make way for new housing. Only these gates and their piers remain at the town end of Springfield Park. The house was built in the Italianate style circa 1840 by a wealthy woollen manufacturer, William Stancomb, who was Lord of the Manor. He also built Trowbridge Market House, of which only the facade now survives, and serves as the portico for Castle Place shopping centre and a Wetherspoon’s pub. Stancomb later moved to an even grander home at Blount’s Court, Potterne, but his name lives on in a street nearby these gates. The sad fate of Springfield House may yet be repeated for Knees of Trowbridge, whose van is passing the gates in the photograph. Earlier this year (2014) they closed their iconic department store in the centre of town and relocated on a smaller scale to an out-of-town shopping park. Arguably this has had a greater effect on the townspeople than the conspicuous display of the enormous wealth of the late William Stancomb. Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF lens on a Nikon D90.

Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF lens on a Nikon F90X.

Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF lens on a Nikon D90. Used here at its full telephoto.

The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin was started in 1092 but was not completed for another 200 years. Beneath the church are the massive remains of a Saxon church begun in AD 905. It was heavily restored 1853-5 by T.H. Wyatt. I used a Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG Aspherical DF lens set at 25mm on a Nikon D2Xs.