Question about rechippng a Sigma lens

[mvs]

Anyone that's had a Sigma lens rechipped....how long did it take for you to get your lens back? I've sent mine in a couple of weeks ago and just wondered what the "normal" time frame is.

[rsnadel]

I had two experiences with Sigma. First time was when they re-chipped my 17-35mm lens to make it compatible with the Canon D30 (seems like forever ago). It was very fast turnaround...maybe 10 days from Calif to NY and back. When I bought the 10D, the lens became unreliable, so I sent it back to them again. They spent a couple of months telling me they couldn't get the right part from Japan. Finally, after a number of calls, they simply swapped the lens for one that worked. I don't know if the lens was new or refurb...but as I say, eventually they made it good. Hopefully your experience will mirror what happened the first time I returned it to them.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I have not done this myself.. but as the Forums un-official historian and semi-human search engine results provider I can tell you that it became a bit of a mixed bag.

rsnadel's expeirience seems to be a wonderfull representation of the Sigma re-chip history in it's own microcosm.

At first they were very quick about it as well as freindly and supportive.

Once the 10D hit the streets and was so popular Sigma it seems became a little overwhelmed ... things started to take longer.

The first tangible signs were the removal of the notice for free re-chipping on there US website. Now you just had to know... the no longer proferred the fix themselves.

About this time last year would be about the time Sigma began telling people it could not be done.. when in fact it could be. (although there are lenses that can not be rechipped .. Sigma it seems was just looking to get the customer to "give up" )

By now I should think the demand for rechipping is down dramtically from this time last year.. but at the same time.. they have been doing this for several years now and have to be loosing money on it.

Anyway.. you will need to be firm without being a pest.. if they try to give you the run around.

Good luck.

[Orogeny]

I have a 100-300 DL (it was free, what can I say :? ) that took about 10 days from the day I shipped to the day it arrived at my house.

Tim

[Chris1le]

A month and a half. :x Seriously it was a month and a half. Never got one call from them. I had to call, email etc... many times before I finally got my lens back. It does focus better now though. :D

Here is a link to the thread I started regarding my "Sigma Experience"

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36738&highlight=

[treeduck6]

They rechipped my 28-300 in less than 6 hours and fixed an internal focus problem at no charge too.
I must add that I work near their LI facility so there was no shipping involved.

[Ian_H]

Here in the UK it took Sigma 6 weeks to rechip my 17-35 and it was no better when it came back so they said send it in again and we will have another go, which didn't inspire me with much confidence and guess what, it still doesn't autofocus with my 10D or 1DMKII. That was the first and last Sigma lens I will be buying :evil:


Cheers
Ian

[ron chappel]

I think here in australia they will charge for this service! I hear it is free elsewhere.
That's what the guy in the service center told me anyways-i want to ask again to be sure.It can't be right surely....

[Danny Boy]

Dumb question but what is 're-chipping'? Obvioulsy it is fix to the lens of some sort but just curious as to what it is.

My first thought on this thread was: If someone chipped a lens and got it fixed, why whould someone want to re-chip it? :lol:

[robertwgross]

There is a semiconductor circuit inside a modern lens, and this semiconductor "chip" contains a stored program of how it "listens" to the camera body and what it "replies" when spoken to. Often the program was written back in the old days before digital cameras became so pervasive. Then, when digital cameras starting "talking" to the old lenses, the reply came back "huh?"

The digital camera body would hear "huh?" from the lens and post an Error Message 99 or something like that to indicate that an unexpected or unexplained error had happened.

In many cases, the lens manufacturer can remove the semiconductor chip and replace it with a similar one that replies correctly.

Sigma did one of those for me one time, and they had it in-house for only about three days. Of course, that was back in the days before the Canon 10D, so the demand for this service was still low. I think the Canon 10D made Sigma change gears a bit.

---Bob Gross---

[mvs]

I emailed Sigma about having the lens rechipped when I first got my DRebel and they gave me the info to send it in right away. Seemed very helpful, but said to send it quickly while they still had new chips.
Sent it back a couple of weeks ago and just wondered what to expect. No biggie...I emailed them earlier today to see what they estimate. I've got no problem pushing them about it.

[Danny Boy]

Bob,

Thanks for that explanation, it was extremely helpful. I was sure it was something logical like that but I'm still learning as my old digital camera was a P&S (two second delay between click and shoot :cry: ). My old SLR was a Canon AE-1 (dating myself :lol: ).

Thanks again.

Dan