Sigma Corporation Garners Prestigious Magazine Awards for Innovative Lenses

RONKONKOMA, NY--(Marketwire - January 6, 2010) - Sigma Corporation of America (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 secured two highly-coveted awards for two of its lenses.

Last month, Popular Photography recognized Sigma's standard zoom 24-70mm F/2.8 EX DG HSM with a 2009 Photography's Outstanding Products "POP" Award. The company's 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM lens was also recently honored with Professional Photographer magazine's esteemed 2010 Hot One Award in the Wide Zoom Lens category.

Mark Amir-Hamzeh, general manager of Sigma Corporation of America, said the two awards reinforce Sigma's status as a pioneer in the development of advanced lenses.

"We are excited and honored to receive each of these awards. Sigma has refined its lens technology to offer photographers exceptional performance and image quality at moderate prices, and these awards affirm Sigma's reputation for innovation and industry leadership," said Amir-Hamzeh.

Popular Photography said the 24-70mm F/2.8 EX DG HSM "represents a gauntlet thrown down before the Canons and Nikons of the world. With its excellent sharpness, superior build, compact proportions, very well controlled distortion, no edge falloff to speak of, high speed, and quick, quiet autofocus, Sigma is giving the big guys a run for their money."

Introduced in 2009, the Sigma 24-70mm is a third generation Sigma lens and is enhanced with the addition of the Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM), ensuring a quiet, high-speed AF as well as full-time, manual focusing capability. It is a large aperture standard zoom lens ideal for all general photography, including portraits and landscapes.

The 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM, also introduced in 2009, is the widest zoom range lens that incorporates Hyper Sonic Motor technology and is the only ultra wide zoom lens with a fixed aperture, offering better light and speed capabilities.

Professional Photographer will announce the full list of its 2010 Hot One Award winners on its Web site (www.ppmag.com) in early 2010 and detail the products in the February 2010 issue of the magazine. Last year, Sigma's super quality telephoto lens, the Sigma APO 200-500mm F2.8 / 400-1000mm F5.6 EX DG, took the award for the best product in the Telephoto Zoom Lens category.

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.

About Sigma Corporation

For nearly 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, 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.

Contact Information: Christine Moossmann Sigma Corporation 631-585-1144 www.sigmaphoto.com Erik Arvidson Matter Communications for Sigma Corporation 978-499-9250 x 320 www.matternow.com