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Archive 2015 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps

  
 
larryt
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


My brand new sigma sport 150 to 600mm stops auto focusing in temps of 14*. After 30 min. in the cold it will not auto focus. Back in the car to warm up a little then it will focus. Happens every time I take it out in the cold. I will be getting this info to sigma so in the mean time if any one has experienced this problem or doesn't when out in the extreme cold please post here or send a PM to me. thanks, larryt


Feb 20, 2015 at 04:23 PM
CanadaMark
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Can you exchange it? I would not be pleased if my brand new lens did that, especially here in Canada where it gets WAY colder than that haha. If your replacement also does that, I'd return it until you get comfort that it was either an isolated issue (hopefully) or a fix becomes available.


Feb 20, 2015 at 04:45 PM
Frogfish
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Problem is all manufacturers cover themselves by giving 0C or 32F as the official low end of the working range.


Feb 20, 2015 at 09:11 PM
larryt
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Here is sigma's answer to non focus issue...
Hello Larry,
Pretty much, the lens should be good to 20 degrees and a bit lower for short periods of time. At 14 degrees ambient temperature the lens is probably closer to 5 degrees.
Yours Truly,
Paul Pizzano
The Sigma Corp. of America



Feb 20, 2015 at 10:20 PM
morris
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Hi Larry,

Mine has not focused once this morning when it was 6f. Then again, it still has not shipped. I don't know who has the bigger problem.

This is frustrating yet I'm not known to be out for long in conditions like this.

Morris



Feb 20, 2015 at 10:26 PM
larryt
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Are you sure yo want one now?


Feb 20, 2015 at 10:30 PM
Danner
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


"At 14 degrees ambient temperature the lens is probably closer to 5 degrees."

What does this mean?



Feb 20, 2015 at 10:35 PM
Gollan
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


The 150-600 mm is intended to be used outdoors for wildlife. In much of Canada, a minimum temperature of -6°C/20°F would rule out the entire winter and pre-sunrise on most early spring and late fall mornings. I just can't believe that this is Sigma's official rating for their premium wildlife lens.

Could the real issue be a dodgy battery in the camera?



Feb 20, 2015 at 11:05 PM
Hardcore
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Not good news at all! I was told 10 days ago my lens would be in in 10 days. I'll believe it when I see it , but I will definitely put it through the paces in some cold canadian weather. Of interest, on nikon cafe there is a canadian who photographs snowmobile races in Canada and he said the lens worked flawlessly for that. Is it a humidity issue?


Feb 20, 2015 at 11:15 PM
John Skinner
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


I've never had a body or lens fail on me in over 40 years of shooting. In any weather.

But I've never bought outside of the brand either.

Savings? Or PITA? You decide.



Feb 21, 2015 at 12:22 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Danner wrote:
"At 14 degrees ambient temperature the lens is probably closer to 5 degrees."

What does this mean?


It means that Sigma USA is clueless and/or it was a typo.

EBH



Feb 21, 2015 at 01:33 AM
woos
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


larryt wrote:
Here is sigma's answer to non focus issue...
Hello Larry,
Pretty much, the lens should be good to 20 degrees and a bit lower for short periods of time. At 14 degrees ambient temperature the lens is probably closer to 5 degrees.
Yours Truly,
Paul Pizzano
The Sigma Corp. of America


I wish pc cooling worked like that. It's 68 degrees in here but the water cooling loop is 62! LoL.

That guy is evidently clueless--kind of scary!



Feb 21, 2015 at 02:55 AM
Frogfish
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


John Skinner wrote:
I've never had a body or lens fail on me in over 40 years of shooting. In any weather.

But I've never bought outside of the brand either.

Savings? Or PITA? You decide.


Luck of the draw John. I've had a few Tamrons & Sigmas & a Tokina, never an issue with any of them. However new Pentax K5 (twice), new Pentax DA300/4 (motor), new Nikon D800 (contact ring split), new 300/2.8VRII (motor failure after 13months - that's out of warranty here) - there's probably more ! I look after my gear, it's not treated harshly and is regularly serviced.

The industry standard for some type of failure with new cameras / lenses is around 3-5%. They are all production line entities after all.

Some of us draw the short stick



Feb 21, 2015 at 03:55 AM
Frogfish
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Danner wrote:
"At 14 degrees ambient temperature the lens is probably closer to 5 degrees."

What does this mean?


You (OP) seriously want to clarify this. How on earth could the lens be colder than the ambient temperature. Does he actually understand the meaning of ambient ?



Feb 21, 2015 at 04:04 AM
Disaster
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Frogfish wrote:
You (OP) seriously want to clarify this. How on earth could the lens be colder than the ambient temperature. Does he actually understand the meaning of ambient ?


Actually, surfaces can get colder than ambient, or warmer, depending on the light. This is why a car will have frost form on it when it is above freezing. However, this is caused by black body radiation when the atmosphere is dark so it isn't likely to be something you would experience in typical photography (short of astro photography.)



Feb 21, 2015 at 04:57 AM
Frogfish
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Disaster wrote:
Actually, surfaces can get colder than ambient, or warmer, depending on the light. This is why a car will have frost form on it when it is above freezing. However, this is caused by black body radiation when the atmosphere is dark so it isn't likely to be something you would experience in typical photography (short of astro photography.)


Thank you for that explanation. Warmer I can understand however colder I can not (unless just after sunrise when the subject still hasn't had enough time to conduct the sunlight) during normal daytime shooting conditions. And certainly not the 8F difference the rep. insinuated.



Feb 21, 2015 at 05:24 AM
DaveOls
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Disaster wrote:
Actually, surfaces can get colder than ambient, or warmer, depending on the light. This is why a car will have frost form on it when it is above freezing. However, this is caused by black body radiation when the atmosphere is dark so it isn't likely to be something you would experience in typical photography (short of astro photography.)


I was going to chime in on a similar note about glass and metal radiating heat faster than the air and getting colder because of it. Perfect example is the glass on your car having frost on it when it is just above freezing. I don't think that the difference would be as much as Sigma is saying though.



Feb 21, 2015 at 06:33 AM
iammikie
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


larryt wrote:
My brand new sigma sport 150 to 600mm stops auto focusing in temps of 14*. After 30 min. in the cold it will not auto focus. Back in the car to warm up a little then it will focus. Happens every time I take it out in the cold. I will be getting this info to sigma so in the mean time if any one has experienced this problem or doesn't when out in the extreme cold please post here or send a PM to me. thanks, larryt


What body are you using it on?

It's about 11 degrees where I am at right now near Chicago. I put the lens mounted to a D4s outside, still somewhat dark at the time, for about an hour. It started getting light so I went out and had no problem with focus. Even tried to defocus completely, AF came right back when I pressed the shutter button . Another good test is to see if you can point up with the lens since this takes more power to focus than if shooting straight on. Sigma had a huge problem with this issue when the first 120-300 OS lens was released, which I owned at the time. Again, no problem for me.

Perhaps it is a battery issue with the body you are using.



Feb 21, 2015 at 07:17 AM
larryt
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Cold solder joint? That's what came to my mind the first thing. A cold solder joint is when contact os lost due to movement or maybe this case cold temperatures. Both D800e and D4 were used.. same problem. I also exchanged the battery for a freshly charged one.

The store I bought it from ( Norman Camera ) agreed to replace it. They said I would go to the front of the list.. well I hope so!



Feb 21, 2015 at 09:50 AM
low325
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · sigma 150 to 600 stops focusing in cold temps


Oh sigma.


Feb 21, 2015 at 09:58 AM
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