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Sigma 150mm 2.8 question (1 Viewer)

Derry

Derry

Well-known member
just tried one on my new Oly E3 and the lens had a front focus issue of about 8 inches,, would not focus on infinity and obtain anything clear,,

know others that love this lens and was wondering if anyone else has had a front or back focus problem with theirs,, I sent it back to B&H for a replacement and waiting for the next lens to arrive,,

a call to Sigma in New York indicated they knew of no problems on any camera,,

perhaps it was just one of a lot that was out of whack,,
 
It does happen sometimes with lenses, I guess you just got unlucky. With one this far out you've done the sensible thing in returning it for a replacement, if you have one that is just out then Sigma can recalibrate it for your camera.
 
I have been researching (posh word for looking at other sites) as I am seriously thinking of purchasing one for macro work.
On the sister site (World Photography) there were some posts that were very negative.
Postcard-if I remember correctly you eventually decided not to get one.
Has anyone any copmments-possitive or negative?
Thanks
 
Have you seen this thread? It's also worth searching galleries for shots taken with different lenses but bear in mind that it's possible to take poor shots with a great lens.
 
well I received my second 150mm 2.8 from B&H late yesterday and headed outside for some quick shots before the sun was gone,, quickly saw that the photos were very soft and the lens was hunting all over,,

headed for the basement to place it on my tripod and used the focus test chart by Tim Jackson,, focus speed is terrible on this lens compared to the first lens,, this lens will at times just click click click and not even be moving the internal focus,, battery was just off the charger and I reset the lens five times trying to see if the contacts were possibly not all touching, never made any difference,, using the test chart at 36 inches I would have to manually focus the lens as it would not even attempt to find the chart,, when I manually focused it on the central heavy line that says focus here I could clearly read the wording,, as soon as I touched the release button for auto focus the wording would immediately jump out of focus placing the 10mm line in focus,, when I changed the focus sensitivity to small the lens would never attempt to find any focus,, talk about a screwey mess,,

went back outside this morning and the lens was getting worse as it would not even attempt to try and focus, would just click click click again and nothing internal was moving,, called Sigma in NY and all they would say was send it in for repair and was not interested in the serial number or even discussing the problem,, have since found that many other 150mm owners are having problems with focus on a variety of cameras,, my camera is the Olympus E3,,

B&H photo is sending me my UPS label for a return and refund,, sure not going to try for a third time,,
 
Derry said:
went back outside this morning and the lens was getting worse as it would not even attempt to try and focus, would just click click click again and nothing internal was moving,, called Sigma in NY and all they would say was send it in for repair and was not interested in the serial number or even discussing the problem,, have since found that many other 150mm owners are having problems with focus on a variety of cameras,, my camera is the Olympus E3,,
QUOTE]

That is exactly what I was referring to (see above)-I saw on the other forum that there are some (many??) people with dodgy copies of this lense and it does make me nervous.

By the way-why is it so important to use a tripod-I would have thought 2.8 would make it a fast lense?
Click to expand...
 
David Smith said:
I have been researching (posh word for looking at other sites) as I am seriously thinking of purchasing one for macro work.
On the sister site (World Photography) there were some posts that were very negative.
Postcard-if I remember correctly you eventually decided not to get one.
Has anyone any copmments-possitive or negative?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Indeed, I tried one out in a local shop and was impressed with it, feels good in the hand, and produced good sharp images. However I didn't feel it was a big enough step up in working distance over the 105 f2.8 that I already had, so I spent my money on a 70-200 f4 instead.
 
David Smith said:
Derry said:
By the way-why is it so important to use a tripod-I would have thought 2.8 would make it a fast lense?
Click to expand...

With the tiny DOF and big 'magnification', any tiny movement of the lens will markedly alter the area in focus. Add extension tubes and the problem multiplies. Having said that, I've taken quite a few macros handheld and many using just a monopod. If you're not using it for macro work it doesn't matter as much.
Click to expand...
 
Tim Taylor said:
David Smith said:
With the tiny DOF and big 'magnification', any tiny movement of the lens will markedly alter the area in focus. Add extension tubes and the problem multiplies. Having said that, I've taken quite a few macros handheld and many using just a monopod. If you're not using it for macro work it doesn't matter as much.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tim.
Do you per chance have any shots "hand held" that you could post? I'm not really a tripod man-mainly because I've not got used to them (apart from friends weddings etc.) and I would like to think I can get lots of use from the lense hand held.
Click to expand...
 
I'm terrible at record keeping but from memory I think that this picture was hand held. I fired off a fair few of this little critter fairly low down where using a tripod would have been tricky. Quite a few had the main focus point in the wrong place so that probably indicates hand holding!

Hope that helps.
 
I fired off a fair few of this little critter fairly low down where using a tripod would have been tricky. Quite a few had the main focus point in the wrong place so that probably indicates hand holding! Hope that helps.[/QUOTE said:
Very helpful thanks. I see what you mean about the dof-left side legs are spot on while the far side are out of focus.
Brilliant shot-I would be made up with that.
Click to expand...
 
David Smith said:
Tim Taylor said:
Thanks Tim.
Do you per chance have any shots "hand held" that you could post? I'm not really a tripod man-mainly because I've not got used to them (apart from friends weddings etc.) and I would like to think I can get lots of use from the lense hand held.
Click to expand...

Hi David. I think if you intend on getting involved with macro photography, you'll need to use a tripod most of the time. With such a shallow depth of field and high magnification any vibration, even the slightest, ruins the shot. Moreover, that nice f2.8 and 150mm focal length gives an even shallower DOF, as you know.

Occasionally I can get a decent image with my 60mm 2.8 handheld of a flower or something not 1:1, but with these old hands, I don't think I'd try it with a longer lens or 1:1.

Tim's bug shot is really surprising and really good. He must have technique that I've not mastered to do that handheld.
Click to expand...
 
Guidenet said:
Tim's bug shot is really surprising and really good. He must have technique that I've not mastered to do that handheld.
Click to expand...

Looking back through that series of shots I see there were only one or two that were sharp enough in the right place to keep. I think part of my 'technique' was firing off an awful lot of shots hoping that there would be a few keepers. Anyway, this bug season with my new benro 'flexpod' tripod, I'm hoping to get some really sharp shots and a much higher proportion of keepers.

Tim
 
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