sigma 12-24 question

i am thinking of getting this lens later in the year for my birthday.

could people who have owned the lens comment on the usability with a front filter attached.

i plan to use it for landscapes so it is essential to be able to use filters sometimes.

i could probably live with not being able to have it zoomed completely out with a filter attached but can the filter or lens be damaged like this? what is the widest it can get with a filter attached?

btw in case others want to suggest alternative lenses, it is for FF (5dmk2) and the other player at present is the 17-40. My budget will not stretch to the 16-35 or any of the superwide primes.

For my 5D, I considered this, 17-40 and 11-16 used at 16mm. I decided to go with the Sigma due to its very versatile range. I have never tried using it with a filter, and I don't think it's possible on a FF body. On Crop you can leave the cap ring on and attach a 82mm filter. A filter will not damage the lens, just vignette.

it's possibly but not cheap. GNDs (the filters you really need ) work fine but aren't cheap. Panel NDs do to. But you need X-pro sized filters which means cokin's or special order from Format (hitech) from the UK.

http://gear.benjacobse​nphoto.com …s-that-cant-take-filters/

jacobsen thanks but i can't really see myself

a) doing the diy or
b) lugging that lot around

i guess i need to decide how important filters really are

those filters aren't that much bigger than normal filters anyway, so the lugging isn't an issue. They're 130mm x 170mm I think -vs- 100mm x 150mm... The holder is a size up as well, but again, nothing major if you're already bringing filters.

As for the DIY, all you do is grind off the lip of a spare cowl. It takes maybe an hour if you're all thumbs and new to dremels. Then you press if that into the other ring (IE get out the hammer and a piece of wood) and you're done.

DIY hood mods and the 14-24mm filter holder are much trickier.