Sigma lens and Sony

The total strangeness of Sigma's lenses on Sony/KM cameras continues to astound me.

I have a Sigma 300mm f4 Prime and a 500mm f7.2. Both lenses work great on my Sony a700. Both lenses work great on my Dynax 9. Neither lens works on my Maxxum 7.

I plan, if I have batteries for them, to check operability on the Maxxum 5 and any other old bodies I have laying around.

Just venting a bit, and a warning if you use older cameras.

Phil

What happens? Lost aperture control?

The lens is not recognized on the Maxxum 7. no aperture, AF, nothing.

As long as they work on the Sony, and the KM9, I am in good shape. Just disappointed that I cannot use them on the 7's

Phil

Sigma is always hit or miss on Alpha because they 'reverse engineer' rather than paying for licensing. They are also having a lot of trouble on the new SLTs. – Terry

Yes, I know. UPDATE: It works with the Maxxum 5 also. I have tried the lenses on all of my Maxxum 7 bodies. I was just commenting on how weird it is.

Anyone buying an older Sigma lens should take their camera to test compatibility. That is the only way I know to be sure.

BTW, I do love the 300mm f4 and my zoom, 170-500mm. As long as they work on the 9 and 700 I am happy.

Phil

My Sigmas do not work with the A550
As I dreaded they would not . I have emailed Sigma UK if they can be rechipped . I do hope they can do this for me . Has anybody else had this problem & can it be resolved successfully .I do hope so . Will keep you informed about their answer in due course

Regards peter

James Lao makes chips for older Sigma lenses. So far just primes.
M42 M42-MAF/SONY alpha Adapter With Focus Confirmation

If you don't have any luck with Sigma, try there.

Phil

I have just had an answer back from Sigma UK service dept
As follows
Thank you for your email and sorry to hear you are experiencing problems
This is due to your lens not being compatible with the new Sony bodies.Unfortunately we are unable to rechip / upgrade this model due to spares no longer available

Our currant lenses are fully compatible if you would like me to send you brochure ect !!!!!!!!!!!!

If they cannot repair the earlier lenses to work properly I for one WOULD NOT buy any more Sigmas
There are plenty of fishes in the sea .

Not too worried about 28-70
It is the 75-200 f2.8 that peeves me .I would dearly like to get it updated

Regards Peter

I won't buy Sigma for the A-mount.

"Our currant lenses are fully compatible..." Until the next Alpha body.

Terry

Yes indeed Terry It is a good job I am not relying entirely on sigma . A lesson learned I had a nagging feeling things were going too well .( Any ideas on a 75-200 or a prime lens ) Not sigma .To say I am miffed is an understatement .
Peter

I have two Sigma lenses that I really like. I will not complain too much, they work on my A700 and either the Maxxum 9 or 7, but not both. I think my 700's will last me a while.

I have a Sigma 75-200 f2.8-3.5 that works on the old 5000/7000/9000, but not any other cameras. I plan to see if James Lao can/will design a replacement chip for that one. I have seen several on the market, most on Ebay. I hope he will start making chips for some of the zooms, but I won't hold my breath.

I don't think that Sigma is too worried about loosing Sony Owner's business in the long run. Maybe that will change if Sony manages to grab a bigger share of the market.

Just my thoughts,

Phil

I have cooled down a bit Phil vented my spleen phew
On reflection the lenses always worked well on my 9000 .It has been a massive upheaval for me to go full digital . Thinking you can reuse your lenses & then finding you cant (gloom). I have purchased a Tamron 18-200 as an interim lens brand new at a good discount . I could not have done that if I had spent the extra on say an A55 or A580 . As I started looking at A200s about 3 months ago it has turned out very well really . Sorry to digressing on this post
If you can find out about a rechip for the 75-200 that would be good for the future. All happy again
On the last weekend I bought a Minolta lens mint 35-80 for a tenner inc shipping bargains are out there

Peter

I notice after my comments about Sigma lens not working on some Sony cameras . A lot of sellers are saying this lens works with a list of Sony bodies . Quite right too sort the wheat from the chaff . So perhaps some sellers took notice I do hope so

Peter

Great thread, confirms what I've researched outside of this forum which I'm new to regarding Sigma lenses.

I sold the Sigma 500mm prime, 400mm prime and the 170-500mm zoom. I purchased the newer Sigma 150-500mm HSM OS, etc which works very well on the Sony A700, and KM7. My KM9 does not have the upgrade, so it does not work on it, but I am a happy camper.

The new lens is head and shoulders above the older lenses in sharpness, I am very impressed. I do wish it focused faster, but I shouldn't complain. I bought the lens slightly used, with a B&W filter for considerably less than the going price on EBAY ETC.

I have some PP to do on my last shoots as soon as I get my primary computer system reassembled. I will update when I get that done.

Phil

This is a great thread - and I want to say my piece just for the spleen venting pleasure of it. I got into Sony as the natural progression from Minolta and got lucky as all the lenses that I possessed at the time were perfectly compatible with the Sony a100 and later the a700 and a900. When I moved into wild life and bird photography the only lens available for the a - mount in my price bracket was the Bigma (50 - 500 Sigma) which rendered pretty good results (sweetest between 100 and 400mm). I am fed up with the paucity of really good long (prime or zoom) lenses from Sony and the on-going uncertainty of what's coming next - it seems to me that Sony are all over the show with the direction that they are taking. Legacy Minolta lenses are not readily available here in RSA so I took the leap and have migrated to Nikon for all long focal length photography (birds / wild life) and have retained the a700 and a 900 for everything else. Bottom Line - Sony would do well to get into bed with Sigma in order to overcome the paucity of lenses available - give their customers some decent options until they develop a comprehensive system.