Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

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

Update:

Still testing. I don't think I have ever tested a lens this much, but the results are very confusing and seem to change a bit everytime I put the lens on the camera.

As it sits right now, the d800 has a hard time focusing accurately with this lens. I can't put my finger on it, but it is nearly unusable.

My d600 on the other hand seems to be working very well with it.

Jan 16, 2013 at 02:45 PM

Erik Moore
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p.2 #2 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Hardcore wrote:
Update:

Still testing. I don't think I have ever tested a lens this much, but the results are very confusing and seem to change a bit everytime I put the lens on the camera.

As it sits right now, the d800 has a hard time focusing accurately with this lens. I can't put my finger on it, but it is nearly unusable.

My d600 on the other hand seems to be working very well with it.

I just got off the phone with the Sigma tech. He was familiar with the problem and said that this problem is unique to the D800 and that they have a prescribed fix- they "tweak" the CPU on the lens to better work with the D800 AF protocols.

This doesnt exactly jive with my experience: my lens misbehaves on my D700 as well, but perhaps he meant it's unique to Nikon full frame cameras.

I'm wondering if later runs of the lens have the "fix" already incorporated, and that's why some people are not having problems.

Either way, hearing the tech acknowledge and confirm was a relief. My lens is going in today.

Jan 16, 2013 at 03:14 PM

Hardcore
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p.2 #3 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I don't want to say that my D600 is exempt from this problem, but it does seem much better than the d800. Good to know. I will likely send in my lens after I get back from my holidays.

Erik Moore wrote:
Hardcore wrote:
Update:

Still testing. I don't think I have ever tested a lens this much, but the results are very confusing and seem to change a bit everytime I put the lens on the camera.

As it sits right now, the d800 has a hard time focusing accurately with this lens. I can't put my finger on it, but it is nearly unusable.

My d600 on the other hand seems to be working very well with it.

I just got off the phone with the Sigma tech. He was familiar with the problem and said that this problem is unique to the D800 and that they have a prescribed fix- they "tweak" the CPU on the lens to better work with the D800 AF protocols.

This doesnt exactly jive with my experience: my lens misbehaves on my D700 as well, but perhaps he meant it's unique to Nikon full frame cameras.

I'm wondering if later runs of the lens have the "fix" already incorporated, and that's why some people are not having problems.

Either way, hearing the tech acknowledge and confirm was a relief. My lens is going in today.

Jan 16, 2013 at 03:43 PM

michaelwatkins
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p.2 #4 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Erik, that Sigma "tweak" for D800 sounds interesting.

Just checking out my new to me Sigma 35/1.4 on a D800 and, so far, it looks as if lens adjust +7 is working at different distances and in greatly varied lighting conditions / colour temperature. If anything the Sigma is achieving more focus consistency than my 85/1.8G is - shot to shot results are more repeatable. Some more testing is needed to confirm this early first impression though.

Jan 16, 2013 at 08:08 PM

Erik Moore
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p.2 #5 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

michaelwatkins wrote:
Erik, that Sigma "tweak" for D800 sounds interesting.

Just checking out my new to me Sigma 35/1.4 on a D800 and, so far, it looks as if lens adjust +7 is working at different distances and in greatly varied lighting conditions / colour temperature. If anything the Sigma is achieving more focus consistency than my 85/1.8G is - shot to shot results are more repeatable. Some more testing is needed to confirm this early first impression though.

Mine was dead on, but only with the center focus point. It consistently backfocused with all the other points though. Check your outer points.

Jan 16, 2013 at 08:10 PM

Hardcore
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p.2 #6 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Another update. Center focus point seems to be much more accurate without the use of AF assist. Low light seems to be making this lens front focus on my d800. Outer focus points are still backfocusing though.

Jan 16, 2013 at 08:23 PM

michaelwatkins
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p.2 #7 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I see the same back focus occurring on both right and left outermost AF points; haven't tested to see the impact of the AF assist light (which I often force off).

Focus is darn near perfect using the centre point and almost as often is perfect using the mid points. I think I'll use it as is until you folks Erik et al get theirs back from Sigma service for tuning. I'm looking forward to learning how your copies behave after that procedure.

Edit: I've not yet ruled out that my D800 does or does not suffer from outer AF sensor tuning issues, but what I can say is that the centre column of sensors works well with this lens, with subjects two feet away to twenty miles away, in window light, broad daylight, and warm fluorescent light.

Jan 16, 2013 at 10:01 PM

ChinhPhan
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p.2 #8 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I have to agree. Center point focus is about as accurate as any Nikkor lens I have.

Jan 17, 2013 at 05:51 AM

ADCOLE
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p.2 #9 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

michaelwatkins wrote:
I see the same back focus occurring on both right and left outermost AF points; haven't tested to see the impact of the AF assist light (which I often force off).

Focus is darn near perfect using the centre point and almost as often is perfect using the mid points. I think I'll use it as is until you folks Erik et al get theirs back from Sigma service for tuning. I'm looking forward to learning how your copies behave after that procedure.

Edit: I've not yet ruled out that my D800 does or does not suffer from outer AF sensor tuning issues, but what I can say is that the centre column of sensors works well with this lens, with subjects two feet away to twenty miles away, in window light, broad daylight, and warm fluorescent light.

I've seen this issue on both my D800 and D700. AF assistance in camera and on my SB-900s and SB-700 was causing my intial copy to back focus. I disable AF-assist altogether with better results. My first copy AF system ended up failing and I returned it to get a replacement. The AF on the new lens is a lot more consistant and accurate however, this lens requires good lighting in order to perform well. I still get some back focusing with my speedlights but I don't have this problem with any of my Nikkor lenses. I don't know if you guys have noticed, but if you do any micro adjustments at a specific distance, you may have to perform another micro adjustment if the distance has change (if that makes any sense).

Jan 17, 2013 at 05:06 PM

Erik Moore
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p.2 #10 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

ADCOLE wrote:
michaelwatkins wrote:
I see the same back focus occurring on both right and left outermost AF points; haven't tested to see the impact of the AF assist light (which I often force off).

Focus is darn near perfect using the centre point and almost as often is perfect using the mid points. I think I'll use it as is until you folks Erik et al get theirs back from Sigma service for tuning. I'm looking forward to learning how your copies behave after that procedure.

Edit: I've not yet ruled out that my D800 does or does not suffer from outer AF sensor tuning issues, but what I can say is that the centre column of sensors works well with this lens, with subjects two feet away to twenty miles away, in window light, broad daylight, and warm fluorescent light.

I've seen this issue on both my D800 and D700. AF assistance in camera and on my SB-900s and SB-700 was causing my intial copy to back focus. I disable AF-assist altogether with better results. My first copy AF system ended up failing and I returned it to get a replacement. The AF on the new lens is a lot more consistant and accurate however, this lens requires good lighting in order to perform well. I still get some back focusing with my speedlights but I don't have this problem with any of my Nikkor lenses. I don't know if you guys have noticed, but if you do any micro adjustments at a specific distance, you may have to perform another micro adjustment if the distance has change (if that makes any sense).

I rarely use AF assist, and didn't test my Sigma's behavior with, but I did learn that my 24G backfocuses badly when using the AF assist on my SB-800. I've just learned not to use that feature with that lens. Fortunately, that situation (on camera flash in very low light situations) is rare for me and better suited to the 24-70.

Jan 17, 2013 at 05:15 PM

nextelbuddy
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p.2 #11 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

new here, I myself have the sigma 35 1.4, 50 1.4 and 85 1.4

sigma 85 1.4 focuses fine on center point near MFD or being a few feet away from the subject but 10-15 ft or further it always back/front focuses

sigma 50 1.4 very very soft wide open and severely front/back focuses when 10-15 ft away or near infinity and trying AF fine tune helps at those distances but then focus near MFD is off and still soft even stopped down to 2.0

Sigma 35 1.4 (supposed to be so much better with quality control and revamped)
focuses fine up close near MFD. step away 7+ ft or further and front/back focus. use AF fine tuen to fix and then MFD focus is off. Also using center point focus, the right side is always out of focus when the left, top and bottom sides are sharp and in focus.

all 3 lenses have just been dropped off at the sigma GA repair center today so Im hoping for some good luck..

so disappointing.. with Nikon lenses you may have to use AF fine tune but once thats done its all good none of this AF fine tune for MFD and infinity is out of focus crap.

all 3 lenses do the same thing on my D700 and D300s.

Jan 17, 2013 at 06:22 PM

Erik Moore
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p.2 #12 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

nextelbuddy wrote:
so disappointing.. with Nikon lenses you may have to use AF fine tune but once thats done its all good none of this AF fine tune for MFD and infinity is out of focus crap.

Ouch, that IS disappointing. I've had much better luck with Sigma lenses in the past, and I'm holding out hope that Sigma can get the problem addressed with the 35.

My brand new Nikkor 24G was a badly misbehaved focuser when I first got it (sporadic), but a trip to warranty service cleared it up, and it's good now. So from my personal experience, the problem is not unique to Sigma. I don't have the data to assert one way or the other, but casual surveys of web forums seem to indicate problems with Sigma lenses are more common. When they are on though, they are ON. My Sigma 85 is perhaps my favorite lens.

Jan 17, 2013 at 06:28 PM

DontShoot
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p.2 #13 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

I just got my Sigma 35 last night. I tested it on my D600 and I can confirm that ALL focusing points work fine and the lens is very sharp at varying distances. (MFD, 3ft, 6 ft, and infinity)

Edited on Jan 18, 2013 at 07:15 PM · View previous versions

Jan 17, 2013 at 07:52 PM

Airphoto
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p.2 #14 · 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

I agree!! the left Af issue only showed on my 50mm 1.8g and my 24-70mm sigma HSM,, didnt show anywhere on my 16-35mm. Consistently on one camera and inconsistly on another. Some examples might help. It is redundant to say but your center focus spots will always be more accurate. However Nikon did both cameras in one trip and it was very short turnaround time. Done end of November and 20th of December.

Jan 17, 2013 at 08:04 PM

Donzo98
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p.2 #15 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Here is a shot from about 20 feet away...

1.4... focus point on the pipe halfway down the pier on the left side. Sigma nailed it...

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Jan 17, 2013 at 10:13 PM

Erik Moore
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p.2 #16 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Airphoto 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

I agree!! the left Af issue only showed on my 50mm 1.8g and my 24-70mm sigma HSM,, didnt show anywhere on my 16-35mm. Consistently on one camera and inconsistly on another. Some examples might help. It is redundant to say but your center focus spots will always be more accurate. However Nikon did both cameras in one trip and it was very short turnaround time. Done end of November and 20th of December.

I can't help but think that anyone that still thinks this is a camera issue just has not read the entire thread. As stated in the original post, I have 11 other lenses that do not misbehave on my D800. The Sigma 35 misbehaved on both my D800 (my D800 has been into Nikon for warranty AF service and came back working perfectly) and my D700, and on another D800 at the camera shop. Perhaps most importantly, Sigma acknowledged that this is a common problem with this lens and that they have a fix for it. You _still_ think it's a problem with my camera?

Jan 17, 2013 at 11:31 PM

Donzo98
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p.2 #17 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Erik... did you send it in yet??

Jan 18, 2013 at 12:02 AM

Erik Moore
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p.2 #18 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Donzo98 wrote:
Erik... did you send it in yet??

Yes.

Jan 18, 2013 at 04:41 AM

ADCOLE
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p.2 #19 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

Erik Moore wrote:
Donzo98 wrote:
Erik... did you send it in yet??

Yes.

I would appreciate if you would keep us posted. After going back and checking both bodies, my replacement lens is perfect in the center requiring no adjustment. However, on the D800, the left and right are back focusing requiring -20. This adjustment slightly takes away from the sharpness of the center. It is very acceptable and gets tack sharp around 2.8. I also noticed the same behavior on my D700 but only with the outer left focusing point.

Jan 18, 2013 at 03:09 PM

Erik Moore
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p.2 #20 · Sigma 35mm f/1.4 AF problems

ADCOLE wrote:
Erik Moore wrote:
Donzo98 wrote:
Erik... did you send it in yet??

Yes.

I would appreciate if you would keep us posted. After going back and checking both bodies, my replacement lens is perfect in the center requiring no adjustment. However, on the D800, the left and right are back focusing requiring -20. This adjustment slightly takes away from the sharpness of the center. It is very acceptable and gets tack sharp around 2.8. I also noticed the same behavior on my D700 but only with the outer left focusing point.

Will do. Your observation is pretty close to mine, but I would add that the problem is not isolated to the outermost points- it gets progressively worse as you move from center to outer, and the outermost left and right points are merely the worst.

Jan 18, 2013 at 03:41 PM

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