Sigma Lens Locked

[billy320]

My sigma 500 mm locked up on me I was zooming in on a bird and it locked up in most extended position.

I tried the unlock button and it won't move, it was not dropped or banged or dammaged in anyway

[Photo-John]

Did you try taking it off the camera and putting it back on? Did you try physically pushing it back in? I would be careful with it. But it could be that the internal gearing just jammed a little and a bit of help will get it working again. That said, the best think to do might be to contact Sigma customer service. You don't want to damage it any more on your own. Is it still under warranty?

[billy320]

Thanks

I almost had a big problem, I called sigma and told them what happend and where I bought it. I bought it from Sigma4less.com which is not a qualified seller of sigma merchindise so the warrenty was void and I would have to contact sigma4less, but to my surprise they changed there name to photo4less. I called them and they said that if had the sales receipt sigma has to honor the warrenty.

So I call Sigma back and they said o yeah thats right we won the court case so just send the lens to the service dept and it should be taken care of.

[Photo-John]

Thanks

I almost had a big problem, I called sigma and told them what happend and where I bought it. I bought it from Sigma4less.com which is not a qualified seller of sigma merchindise so the warrenty was void and I would have to contact sigma4less, but to my surprise they changed there name to photo4less. I called them and they said that if had the sales receipt sigma has to honor the warrenty.

So I call Sigma back and they said o yeah thats right we won the court case so just send the lens to the service dept and it should be taken care of.

That's interesting. A manufacturer warranty is a manufacturer warranty, no matter where you bought the camera. At least in the US. The exception is if you buy gray market stuff, shich has a non-US warranty. So it's good to hear they are honoring the warranty. I'm surprised they tried to get out of it in the first place. That's borderline sleazy. But all's well that ends well.

Good to know that Sigma4less is not an authorized dealer, too. They market heavily on the Web and I'd never thought about whether they were legit or not.

Please give us an update when you get your lens back. And please write a review for it, if you haven't already. We need reviews for all your gear. This site runs on user reviews

[billy320]

OK John I will write a review when I get it back.

I was told that sigma4less or photo4less buy damaged cameras, lens etc and use sub par materials to repair them.

[billy320]

I am not getting the lens fixed after all, I sent it back to sigma and they sent me a repair estimate
which came to $350.00, I questioned this and they said that the lens was dropped and that was the only way the damage could have happend.

Well I am very careful with my equipment and I know I did not drop it, all I did was zoom in on a bird and it locked up.

I told them not repair it and send it back

O well

[drg]

I am not getting the lens fixed after all, I sent it back to sigma and they sent me a repair estimate
which came to $350.00, I questioned this and they said that the lens was dropped and that was the only way the damage could have happend.

Well I am very careful with my equipment and I know I did not drop it, all I did was zoom in on a bird and it locked up.

I told them not repair it and send it back

O well

I am curious as to where you sent the lens. Sigma upgraded and changed some of their warranty service in the past year. Did you send it directly to Sigma Corporation of America? Or did you send it to one of the three authorized service centers? Here are links about how to get authorized Sigma Warranty -

Sigma Streamlines Service

and a direct link to the

Sigma Website Service Information

The 50-500 lens was discontinued by Sigma some time ago and even their extended warranty service (up to 4 years on many models) may have expired from the original sale.

The way Sigma super-zooms work almost any regular camera shop that does any service work can 'unstick' the tubes if they get a bit out of alignment or bind from temperature differential. The cam gearing is an ABS like material and may have worn or elongated a bit at the extreme and just needs to be popped back into place. Five minute fix.

On the other hand if the lens was partially extended at all and received a blow even in a bag it could need a replacement part. I have seen a couple of these 'Bigma's' take abuse from dropping to pretty heaving handling and work without a hitch. This was always a rather unusual lens and I would think twice about 'abandoning' it.

[billy320]

I sent it to Sigma in Ronkonoma NY

The person I talked to said that it would cost $350.00 becuse it was dropped and that void the warrenty

I did not drop it or bang it I had it on a tripod I zoomed in on a chickadee and after I took the picture I could not moved back it was stuck.

[Frog]

This is becoming a thread for the legal forum.
I'm curious about which party has to prove it was dropped or not dropped.
I, also, would not just take their first response without complaint and/or going up the ladder.

[Lys]

I am having a similar problem with my Sigma lens and Sigma service.

I have a Sigma 17-70mm 2.8

I was casually taking photos at home when all of a sudden the autofocus stopped working. The lens has never been dropped or hit against anything. I bought the lens only 9 months ago, so I went ahead and sent it to Sigma for repair, since it is under warranty. i got an email a couple of days ago saying that the cost of the repair was going to be $200. I called them immediately and they told me that a piece was broken and that the lens must have been dropped for that to happen, so the warranty would not cover the repair.
I told them that the lens has never been dropped/hit and they do not wan't to honor the warranty.

I really do not know what to do. I have called them twice already and their response is the same. Any opinions?

Thanks in advance

[havana_joe]

Well, you could take a day where you've got some free time and play the phone game, call in many times, ask to speak to a supervisor, then a manager, then a VP, etc. If the situation is not corrected, call back in again and start the process over. Sometimes after a number of calls you might get someone sympathetic or someone who is simply tired of you calling.

Or, you may want to check the small claims rules in your state, if it's an easy process with a small filing fee you can send them a letter of intent to file suit, just be prepared to go through with it if they ignore you.

Other than that, I've got nothing…

[drg]

Lys,

Welcome to photographyreview if not under the best circumstance!

Did you send your lens to CRJ(Camera Repair Japan) or to Precision Camera? If you sent it directly to Sigma in N.Y. it is at one of those two or even possibly in Arizona at C.R.I.S.

Did you speak with a Sigma Rep in New York or directly to the repair people? That can make some difference as to the explanation. If it was N.Y., they don't have any way to evaluate at the Sales facility what is wrong. So they may just quote a standard repair 'anything' fee. What you want to know is just what part or piece has been damage and what external visible proof of impact is evident. Hopefully you took a picture of the lens before shipping it and recorded the serial number.

The only Sigma lens I have had fail is one that I saw sitting on the hood of the truck with the rain coming down in torrents. It had a frozen aperture (the blades had stuck together) and was soaking wet. Without the shipping, it was only $75 to get it completely redone (parts too) and re-chipped (that was free). That was within the past two years, no warranty for at the time a seven+ year old lens.

I looked at the Sigma Warranties I have and it, the warranty, is rather explicit in the first couple lines of the second paragraph what is and is not warrantied. Even for the 4 year extended warranty. Plus they don't transfer (consumer warranties in most States don't unless they are an insurance product).

I'd also suggest for no longer than you have had the lens, to go back to where you purchased it and see if they can help you. If that vendor isn't an authorized sales agent (or was at the time of the purchase) there is unfortunately no warranty.

If you have kept your camera in a well padded case when not using it, never have put it in the trunk, back seat, or on the floor of a moving car to say nothing of having dropped or 'banged' it, have a valid warranty, then fuss loudly.