Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

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Erik Moore
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p.1 #1 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I just got my second copy of this lens. I returned the first copy because of sporadic AF performance, and strange behavior with the outside focus points.

The second copy seems so far to not have the sporadic AF issues, but does seem to have problems with the outside focus points: my images are backfocused on 100% of shots where I use the outermost left and right points on my D800.

I obviously don't want to use AF fine tune to address this because I would ruin the AF accuracy of shots using the other points.

Since I've seen this on two copies of this lens now, I'm wondering if it's a characteristic of this lens. I was hoping that someone that has a copy could check to see if theirs does the same thing? Bonus points if you also have a D800, but I think any full frame camera would do. I'm testing with subjects in good light, at f/1.4, usually focusing about 3 feet away. I get similar behavior on my D700 and D800, and none of my other fast primes do this.

Thanks-

Jan 10, 2013 at 08:19 PM

BenV
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p.1 #2 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

The D800 has been known to have left AF issues, any chance that could be it? FWIW, my lens needs 0 adjustments on a D800 and -2 on a D700.

Jan 10, 2013 at 08:36 PM

Erik Moore
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p.1 #3 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

BenV wrote:
The D800 has been known to have left AF issues, any chance that could be it? FWIW, my lens needs 0 adjustments on a D800 and -2 on a D700.

I should have mentioned that this is most definitely not the D800 left point AF issue. My other lenses behave just fine, including my 24G.

Jan 10, 2013 at 08:38 PM

Mark_L
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p.1 #4 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I had exactly this issue with my D700 and the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 (there is a thread on here about it somewhere). Only the very leftmost and rightmost af point, Sigma even contacted Sigma Japan and couldn't figure out why.

I haven't tested it on my D800E come to think of it, I have just got used to avoiding those two points.

BTW for focus tests 3ft is very very close, does it improve at distance?

Jan 10, 2013 at 08:45 PM

Erik Moore
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p.1 #5 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Mark_L wrote:
I had exactly this issue with my D700 and the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 (there is a thread on here about it somewhere). Only the very leftmost and rightmost af point, Sigma even contacted Sigma Japan and couldn't figure out why.

I haven't tested it on my D800E come to think of it, I have just got used to avoiding those two points.

BTW for focus tests 3ft is very very close, does it improve at distance?

I just tested at about 6 feet and at about 10 feet: same thing.

Jan 10, 2013 at 08:55 PM

DontShoot
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p.1 #6 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Erik Moore wrote:
The second copy seems so far to not have the sporadic AF issues, but does seem to have problems with the outside focus points: my images are backfocused on 100% of shots where I use the outermost left and right points on my D800.

Hi Erik,
How about when you use the center point? Would it otherwise focus spot on? Can you reliably reproduce the same outcome under different subjects? Have you tried this lens on another body? Does it happen wide open or stopped down?

My Sig 35 is on its way to me as we speak, but I'll be more than happy to report back when I receive it (albeit on a D600). FWIW, fast wideangles tend to misfocus from time to time due to the wide FOV, as per my experience with both 24 1.4G and 35 1.4G, especially when there's not enough light.

Jan 11, 2013 at 06:50 AM

Erik Moore
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p.1 #7 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

DontShoot wrote:
Erik Moore wrote:
The second copy seems so far to not have the sporadic AF issues, but does seem to have problems with the outside focus points: my images are backfocused on 100% of shots where I use the outermost left and right points on my D800.

Hi Erik,
How about when you use the center point? Would it otherwise focus spot on? Can you reliably reproduce the same outcome under different subjects? Have you tried this lens on another body? Does it happen wide open or stopped down?

My Sig 35 is on its way to me as we speak, but I'll be more than happy to report back when I receive it (albeit on a D600). FWIW, fast wideangles tend to misfocus from time to time due to the wide FOV, as per my experience with both 24 1.4G and 35 1.4G, especially when there's not enough light.

AF accuracy is much better using the center points, and I observed last night that the problem gets progressively worse as I move from center points to outer points. The problem is not image clarity, it is most definitely backfocus.

I've tested with several different subjects under several different lighting conditions with near perfect repeatability. I have only tested wide open though, and haven't shot with the lens in a real world scenario yet. I haven't tested my current copy with my D700, but I did test the last one, and it seemed to do the same thing on both bodies.

I have the 24G and 35D, and previously owned the 35G. I can say with certainty that my other two wide primes don't exhibit this, but to be honest, I only had the 35G for a couple of months, and couldn't say for sure if it would have done the same thing. I searched my library for shots from that lens that used the outer focus points, and could only find a few, and they seemed fine.

Jan 11, 2013 at 03:18 PM

Erik Moore
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p.1 #8 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Is there really no one on this forum that owns this lens that is willing to try confirm my results?

It would be helpful to me even if someone just gave some anecdotal "outside focus points seem to work fine for me". But of course, a careful test would be that much more helpful.

Thanks in advance to anyone that is willing to take the time to help.

Jan 15, 2013 at 05:46 PM

davenfl
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p.1 #9 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I not sure what you want people to do for you. I now have 2 copies of the lens and have tested it on our D800E, D800, D4, D2Hs, D2h, and D700 and both copies, purchased 6 weeks apart are tack sharp across the entire focusing field on all cameras. One of the 35mm does require a minor AF finetune adjustment but that's perfectly normal. I tend to think based upon current history with the D800's you probably have a camera issue. It only took 3 trips to Nikon to get our D800e to focus and only a single trip for our D800. The now both work well with all 27 of our Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina lens whereas before about 6 of the lens had serious issues.

Dave

Edited on Jan 15, 2013 at 06:13 PM · View previous versions

Jan 15, 2013 at 05:58 PM

rioni
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p.1 #10 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I just tested my sigma 35 on my Nikon d600 and I do not have a problem with focus on the extreme left/right focus points. I tested this at f/1.4 on both near and far objects.

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:01 PM

Erik Moore
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p.1 #11 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

davenfl wrote:
I not sure what you want people to do for you. I now have 2 copies of the lens and have tested it on our D800E, D800, D4, D2Hs, D2h, and D700 and both copies, purchased 6 weeks apart are tack sharp across the entire focusing field on all cameras. One of the 35mm does require a minor AF finetune adjustment but that's perfectly normal. I tend to think based upon current history with the D800's you probably have a camera issue. It only took 3 trips to Nikon to get our D800e to focus and only a single trip for our D800. The now both work well with all 27 of our Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina lens whereas before about 6 of the lens had serious issues.

Dave

Thanks Dave. To clarify, you are are saying the when autofocusing with the left and rightmost points, your Sigma 35 nails focus with your D800?

Unless my camera has a problem with this lens and this lens only, it is not a camera problem. I own and regularly shoot several other fast primes, from 24G to 200/2, and none of them behave like this on my D800. What's more, (also stated above) the Sigma 35 is behaving the same on my D700.

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:03 PM

Erik Moore
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p.1 #12 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

rioni wrote:
I just tested my sigma 35 on my Nikon d600 and I do not have a problem with focus on the extreme left/right focus points. I tested this at f/1.4 on both near and far objects.

Thanks Rioni, your time and report are much appreciated. I really, really want this lens to work, and am holding out hope that I just got two lemons in a row.

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:04 PM

rioni
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p.1 #13 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

np - hope you are able to find one that's working properly.

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:05 PM

Erik Moore
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p.1 #14 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Erik Moore wrote:
davenfl wrote:
I not sure what you want people to do for you. I now have 2 copies of the lens and have tested it on our D800E, D800, D4, D2Hs, D2h, and D700 and both copies, purchased 6 weeks apart are tack sharp across the entire focusing field on all cameras. One of the 35mm does require a minor AF finetune adjustment but that's perfectly normal. I tend to think based upon current history with the D800's you probably have a camera issue. It only took 3 trips to Nikon to get our D800e to focus and only a single trip for our D800. The now both work well with all 27 of our Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina lens whereas before about 6 of the lens had serious issues.

Dave

Thanks Dave. To clarify, you are are saying the when autofocusing with the left and rightmost points, your Sigma 35 nails focus with your D800?

Unless my camera has a problem with this lens and this lens only, it is not a camera problem. I own and regularly shoot several other fast primes, from 24G to 200/2, and none of them behave like this on my D800. What's more, (also stated above) the Sigma 35 is behaving the same on my D700.

Also of note is that my D800 did require a trip to Nikon service just after purchasing because every single one of my lenses required massive AF fine tune. It came back working really well though, and I had no AF complaints until this Sigma.

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:06 PM

davenfl
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p.1 #15 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Erik Moore wrote:
davenfl wrote:
I not sure what you want people to do for you. I now have 2 copies of the lens and have tested it on our D800E, D800, D4, D2Hs, D2h, and D700 and both copies, purchased 6 weeks apart are tack sharp across the entire focusing field on all cameras. One of the 35mm does require a minor AF finetune adjustment but that's perfectly normal. I tend to think based upon current history with the D800's you probably have a camera issue. It only took 3 trips to Nikon to get our D800e to focus and only a single trip for our D800. The now both work well with all 27 of our Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina lens whereas before about 6 of the lens had serious issues.

Dave

Thanks Dave. To clarify, you are are saying the when autofocusing with the left and rightmost points, your Sigma 35 nails focus with your D800?

Unless my camera has a problem with this lens and this lens only, it is not a camera problem. I own and regularly shoot several other fast primes, from 24G to 200/2, and none of them behave like this on my D800. What's more, (also stated above) the Sigma 35 is behaving the same on my D700.

Yes both my lens are working on the outer most focus points on both the D800E and D800 with no problems as well as all of the rest of our Nikon bodies. Because of the type of work we do we regularly test all lens when we get them to see if there are any issues. Perhaps it is time for you to return and move on unless you want to use Sigma service which has been terrific for us as of late. Much better then the 6 1/2 weeks Nikon (NPS) took to fix a minor issue on our last D3s (which I should have kept). Best of luck.

Additional: My son just walked in and we tried it on his D800 and D4, both copies work great on his bodies.

Dave

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:30 PM

Erik Moore
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p.1 #16 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

davenfl wrote:
Erik Moore wrote:
davenfl wrote:
I not sure what you want people to do for you. I now have 2 copies of the lens and have tested it on our D800E, D800, D4, D2Hs, D2h, and D700 and both copies, purchased 6 weeks apart are tack sharp across the entire focusing field on all cameras. One of the 35mm does require a minor AF finetune adjustment but that's perfectly normal. I tend to think based upon current history with the D800's you probably have a camera issue. It only took 3 trips to Nikon to get our D800e to focus and only a single trip for our D800. The now both work well with all 27 of our Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina lens whereas before about 6 of the lens had serious issues.

Dave

Thanks Dave. To clarify, you are are saying the when autofocusing with the left and rightmost points, your Sigma 35 nails focus with your D800?

Unless my camera has a problem with this lens and this lens only, it is not a camera problem. I own and regularly shoot several other fast primes, from 24G to 200/2, and none of them behave like this on my D800. What's more, (also stated above) the Sigma 35 is behaving the same on my D700.

Yes both my lens are working on the outer most focus points on both the D800E and D800 with no problems as well as all of the rest of our Nikon bodies. Because of the type of work we do we regularly test all lens when we get them to see if there are any issues. Perhaps it is time for you to return and move on unless you want to use Sigma service which has been terrific for us as of late. Much better then the 6 1/2 weeks Nikon (NPS) took to fix a minor issue on our last D3s (which I should have kept). Best of luck.

Additional: My son just walked in and we tried it on his D800 and D4, both copies work great on his bodies.

Dave

Thanks so much for your feedback. This is my second copy, and both were misbehaved, albeit not identically. I will be talking to Sigma today.

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:33 PM

Hardcore
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p.1 #17 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Erik,

My testing on the D800 echos what you are seeing. Backfocusing on extreme left and right hand focus points equally.

My d600 works better on left and right hand focus points, but more testing is needed.

I'm at a loss right now and at the moment, this lens may have to be used on my d600.

Corey

Erik Moore wrote:
davenfl wrote:
I not sure what you want people to do for you. I now have 2 copies of the lens and have tested it on our D800E, D800, D4, D2Hs, D2h, and D700 and both copies, purchased 6 weeks apart are tack sharp across the entire focusing field on all cameras. One of the 35mm does require a minor AF finetune adjustment but that's perfectly normal. I tend to think based upon current history with the D800's you probably have a camera issue. It only took 3 trips to Nikon to get our D800e to focus and only a single trip for our D800. The now both work well with all 27 of our Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina lens whereas before about 6 of the lens had serious issues.

Dave

Thanks Dave. To clarify, you are are saying the when autofocusing with the left and rightmost points, your Sigma 35 nails focus with your D800?

Unless my camera has a problem with this lens and this lens only, it is not a camera problem. I own and regularly shoot several other fast primes, from 24G to 200/2, and none of them behave like this on my D800. What's more, (also stated above) the Sigma 35 is behaving the same on my D700.

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:36 PM

ChinhPhan
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p.1 #18 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I'm experiencing the same issue with two d800's and a d700 and the outer-most points. This is only an issue for me when I focus on subjects at a distance, so I'll just live with it and use focus-recompose until I hear Sigma has a fix. The lens to too good to give up for this issue, which I hope can get resolved. Let us know how your call with Sigma goes. I'd like to know if they can calibrate individual focus points.

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:42 PM

Hardcore
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p.1 #19 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Here are my findings. D800 does require +15 or so of MA. D600 Requires none so maybe that could be an issue.... I dunno.

Both shots below are cropped to fit focus calibrator chart.

EDIT: After some more testing, I'm even more confused. It now seems the D600 also need MA of about +10. More in line with the D800, but I'm getting some inconsistent AF which is making it hard to determine what the actual problem may be.

2013 © Hardcore

D800 Outermost Right hand Focus point
NIKON D800 35 mm f/1.4 1/200 sec 400 ISO +1.0 EV

Jan 15, 2013 at 06:49 PM

ChinhPhan
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p.1 #20 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Spoke with Sigma and the tech asked me to send the lens in. Hope it works out.

Jan 15, 2013 at 11:26 PM

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