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Archive 2014 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.

  
 
coresare
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


When using the outer focus points on my D800E + SIgma 35mm f/1.4 A it would backfocus.

Center was dead on with an AF Microadjust of +3

The tech support rep also told me he was not aware of a firmware addressing this issue or knowing of this issue at all, but was friendly and said they will calibrate the lens to the body for free if I mailed it in after telling me all the things I might be doing wrong to begin with such as using proper test targets, using a tripod, outer focusing points being less accurate and non cross type, explaining the focus point should be 2/5 in focus in back and 3/5 in focus in front, yadi yadi yadi .....

I searched online and all threads with this similar issue seemed to have died off as of late last year with hardly anyone reporting their findings minus user 'binary visions' from here saying the firmware fixed the issue for him.

I want to confirm that it has indeed fixed the issue for me updating firmware from 1.00 to 1.02 via Sigma dock.

Here are the test shots I took using a tripod / mirror lock up / exposure delay at about 4-5 feet away. The top row is with the phase detection / viewfinder focusing. The bottom row is with Live view contrast detection just for reference on what it should look like. Focus point was always on that black veritcal hand written line.



Testing the central focusing point at the 4 different distances the dock is able to adjust showed it needed no adjustment. So basically I paid $60 for an interface to update the firmware of the lens to make it work properly.

**Just some random information. The camera menu for firmware version does not reflect the actual Sigma lens firmware version. Mine said L 1.009 when infact it was version 1.00. After the update it was 1.02 and the camera menu still listed L 1.009. This was contrary to a Sigma tech support rep telling me the L version under camera menu reflects the Sigma lens firmware version. Go figure.



Jun 14, 2014 at 04:26 PM
binary visions
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


Glad it worked for you! I figured $60 was a small price to pay for a way to always update or adjust my lens forever. Plus, given the way Sigma is going, they may well end up comprising a much larger portion of my kit


Jun 14, 2014 at 06:49 PM
coresare
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


If only they added weather sealing! Gahh.


Jun 14, 2014 at 09:08 PM
snapsy
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


Thanks for this. I've had the dock all along and never got around to updating my 35 ART copy. Looks like it's time


Jun 15, 2014 at 11:03 PM
Erik Moore
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


For the record, my experience was similar.

I'm not bitter about the $60 dock though- I see it as an investment- I plan to pick up the 50 A soon, and probably the 85 A when it comes out.

I only wish my current Sigma 85 was compatible with the dock: mine focuses perfectly close up, but backfocuses when subjects are more than 15' or so away.



Jun 16, 2014 at 09:30 AM
binary visions
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


coresare wrote:
If only they added weather sealing! Gahh.


Until they start rating lenses against the weather sealing standards, I'll take "weather sealed" with a huge grain of salt.

What does it mean? Does it mean they just included that tiny rubber gasket at the lens mount? Or are all the focus/zoom rings sealed along with any other ingress points? Sealed with what? To what degree?

I agree it's a nice feature but I've used a lot of non-weather sealed lenses and bodies in adverse conditions without any problems... and one that was supposedly weather sealed where a trip on a sunny day to the beach ended destroying the zoom ring. Hard to tell, and right now there's no standard that the camera manufacturers are testing to, so what each one is doing to make their products "sealed" is open to interpretation.



Jun 16, 2014 at 10:13 AM
drofpilneb
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


A little OT, but does the Nikon exhibit that much CA? I know your set up is kinda a worse-case scenario for it, but I'm trying to decide between the two and just curious.


Jun 16, 2014 at 11:56 AM
coresare
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


I don't have the Nikon 35mm, but here is the Nikon 50mm 1.4G.




Jun 16, 2014 at 03:22 PM
drofpilneb
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Sigma 35mm A on D800E body outer focus resolution.


Yes, that's kinda why I asked. I'm hesitant to use my 50 1.4g in situations where I might get a lot CA. I haven't seen it as much in the 24 or 85 though, so I wasn't sure if the 35 performed better.


Jun 17, 2014 at 12:05 PM





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