I'm having trouble finding out the answer: do the zoom rings on ALL Sigma and Tamron zooms turn in the reverse direction of Canon's lenses? (What about Nikon?)
And if so, why? Can't be a patent issue; reverse-engineering the mount would seem to be much more problematic there.
I had a Tamron 28-75 and liked it fine but whenever there was a crucial shot and I tried to zoom in, I found myself zooming OUT and losing the shot, so I gave the lens to a friend. Recently I was considering the Sigma 120-300/2.8 for sports but concluded the same "feature" would cause me to miss too many shots.
Nikon and Canon are opposite zoom directions. For whatever reason, the third party companies have gone with the Nikon design --- which is probably the more standard direction. Canon chose to be the opposites here.
With regard to it being opposite, and you zoomed out instead of in, then gave the lens to a friend --- I hate to sound blunt, but that sounds pretty stupid to me. Learn to use the equipment. Giving up and giving the lens away is kind of like the "I'm taking my ball and going home" approach.
Ben Horne wrote:
With regard to it being opposite, and you zoomed out instead of in, then gave the lens to a friend --- I hate to sound blunt, but that sounds pretty stupid to me. Learn to use the equipment. Giving up and giving the lens away is kind of like the "I'm taking my ball and going home" approach.
Interesting that Nikon's zoom direction is the way the others have gone.
As far as "Learn to use the equipment," well, I guess I like my equipment to be transparent (i.e., I don't want to have to THINK about what lens is on the camera). I have six Canon zooms that zoom one way, and putting a lens on that zooms the other way requires too much thinking about things that (to me, anyway) should be instinctive.
So yes, maybe I'm "pretty stupid," but the reality was that for this dumb guy at least, the one lens that zoomed the other way from the other six caused me to miss too many shots.
Sorry I'm such a loser, but with regard to "proper planning," I just can't train myself to pause for a moment before every action shot to think about which way the zoom ring on the currently mounted lens turns.
(I know, I know: the solution is "Buy only Canon lenses!")
You said it...Canon and Nikon decided to use different directions just for you to stick with their brand. When you start as a Canon user, it will be difficult for you to go to Nikon (reverse is true) since you would feel unconfortable.
my 2 cents
I might be a complete dunce, but I never even noticed that Canon and non-Canon lenses zoom in a different direction until I heard someone mention it on a forum. I had been happily using my lenses for months without realizing there was this horrible ergonomic inconsistency!
I must just operate the camera more as an intuitive feedback loop where others consciously make settings adjustments. Strange how brains are different, eh?
p.1 #10 · Canon zoom ring reverse of Sigma/Tamron?
CKrueger wrote:
I must just operate the camera more as an intuitive feedback loop where others consciously make settings adjustments. Strange how brains are different, eh?
Yes, it is strange. The first two responses in this thread (and yours) indicate that it clearly isn't an issue for some; one other response implied that Canon engineers KNEW it would be an issue for some users (like me) and adopted the "unconventional" direction for that reason.
But I'm not sure I "consciously make settings adjustments." Like you, I get the feedback in the viewfinder of seeing which way I've zoomed (albeit too late in action shooting with the Tamron), but for me which way to zoom is a matter of instinct, not feedback.
It's as if six of the rooms in my house had normal dimmer sliders (Up=Brighter) and the seventh was reversed (Down=Brighter). I suspect that with time I'd learn when entering that room to push the switch down to brighten the lights, but if getting it right meant getting or missing a photograph each time, more likely I'd just invert the switch in that room first! (Wish I could reverse the zoom ring on non-Canon zooms....)
p.1 #11 · Canon zoom ring reverse of Sigma/Tamron?
CKrueger wrote:
I might be a complete dunce, but I never even noticed that Canon and non-Canon lenses zoom in a different direction until I heard someone mention it on a forum. I had been happily using my lenses for months without realizing there was this horrible ergonomic inconsistency!
I must just operate the camera more as an intuitive feedback loop where others consciously make settings adjustments. Strange how brains are different, eh?
I never noticed either (had one or two sigmas around for at least 10 years!), but I haven't been zooming happily either--I just figured that I was constantly "forgetting" which way to zoom because I'm an idiot! :P
Another situation where a company chooses exclusivity over interoperability to the detriment of its customers, I guess.
p.1 #12 · Canon zoom ring reverse of Sigma/Tamron?
Talk about being different, btw my first zoom is the Canon 18-55, then I moved to Sigma 18-125 which zooms and focuses the same way. Then I got a Sigma 70-300 which zooms in an opposite direction, I don't find it problematic as I don't use it often.
Then I traded the Sigma 18-125 to the Sigma 24-70 which zooms like the 70-300, then I had a real problem as that was my "walkaround" lens. But I got used to it after a while. My 2 subsequent Tokina lenses zooms like that too, and that became a norm for me.
Then I ditched all my zooms for primes and I have been zoomless for quite a while now. One day, a friend of mine handed me a D50 with the kit lens and asked me to take a couple of shots for her. Man, that zoom ring feels weirder than the Nikon interface.
p.1 #13 · Canon zoom ring reverse of Sigma/Tamron?
Ralph,
You are definitely NOT a loser. Yes, I often initially zoom the wrong way when switching from canon to tammy, and it can be annoying when shooting action with the 70-200. Since I shoot with the tammy far more, for the first 10 or 15 minutes with the 70-200 I initially twist the wrong way. Obviously I correct the mistake, but it can be a bit of a problem. It happens, and it is annoying. Not sure hy canon is backwards from the others, but you get used to it. All tamrom lenses go the opposite way, but I think some sigmas twist in the canon direction.
