New Sigma 30mm f1.4 Art

mwsilver wrote in post #15844929
They did it while I waited. Took a half hour. I gave them the camera as well. You go into the front entrance foyer. Its not set up for customer support. No desk or anything. You ring the bell at the double glass door. Nothing but cubicles inside. It'll feel like you're in the wrong place. Someone will come to the door. Tell them what you want and they'll send a tech out to talk to you and take your lens/body. The lobby, such as it is has a small table and a couple of chairs. I called first, but not sure you have to. Get there by around 3pm or earlier if you don't want to risk having to leave it. You may not need it but bring your proof of purchase.

Thanks much!

aquaforester wrote in post #15845018
Thanks much!

Since this lens and the 35mm f/1.4:are new, their workload may be a bit heavier than before, so I would call first. They do give priority to walk-ins.

mwsilver wrote in post #15845093
Since this lens and the 35mm f/1.4:are new, their workload may be a bit heavier than before, so I would call first. They do give priority to walk-ins.

Done, just went and came back already. It was just like you said, 'bout 1/2 hour.

so any improvements after calibration?

ekinnyc wrote in post #15845422
so any improvements after calibration?

Yes and no. Remember I have the original version, not the Art version,The lens had been back focusing and that problem has been resolved completely. Much much better now! However, as many others have pointed out, the earlier version has somewhat inconsistent AF, resulting in 10-20% of shots very slightly out of focus depending on the subject, the distance and the lighting. I'm not sure if that problem is fixable via calibration.That's why I purchased a focus screen for manual focusing. The new Art version is supposed to be a lot better in that and every other respect to the older lens.

mwsilver wrote in post #15845842
Yes and no. Remember I have the original version, not the Art version,The lens had been back focusing and that problem has been resolved completely. Much much better now! However, as many others have pointed out, the earlier version has somewhat inconsistent AF, resulting in 10-20% of shots very slightly out of focus depending on the subject, the distance and the lighting. I'm not sure if that problem is fixable via calibration.That's why I purchased a focus screen for manual focusing. The new Art version is supposed to be a lot better in that and every other respect to the older lens.

I've had the original version about 3 years now -- no calibration needed -- but what interests me is the note about the inconsistent AF -- I've never experienced that with my copy over that time and it is my most used prime. It makes me wonder -- if yours does it and mine doesn't -- something is different, and maybe they CAN fix the reason yours does it.

Hi Guys,

Just registered to post my experience with new Sigma 40 F1.4 Art. I'm from Germany - just got mine today from Amazon.
Just had time today to test autofocus - and first dissapointment - stable huge front-focus - see picture(crop from bigger picture):

IMAGE LINK: http://album.foto.ru/p​hotos/or/491409/306484​2.jpg

dnauer wrote in post #15845988
I've had the original version about 3 years now -- no calibration needed -- but what interests me is the note about the inconsistent AF -- I've never experienced that with my copy over that time and it is my most used prime. It makes me wonder -- if yours does it and mine doesn't -- something is different, and maybe they CAN fix the reason yours does it.

Glad you have a good copy. Inconsistent AF is the single biggest complaint about this lens. On most shots where it occurs, it's noticeable when you're viewing a shot st 100% and compare it to a similar shot which is dead on. The effect seems to seem more like a softening of the image rather than being grossly out of focus.Thus for many photos its not a big issue unless your prints are very large or you are cropping a lot. If you don't view or print at large sizes and don't crop much, you might have the same issue and not realize it. Or you just have a great copy. The problem seems at its worse at f/1.4, and is very much lighting and distance dependent. The AF on my 15-85 is much more accurate under similar circumstances.

Here's a pic I took right after the calibration at Sigma in the waiting area. This is wide open focusing on the $150 to the right. Looks pretty good. They were very accommodating. They said the lens had a slight back focus which was adjusted. My issue with these lenses (had the old 30 as well) is similiar to what mwsilver describes as a softening. I just wasn't getting that tack image I thought I was going to get.

PHOTOBUCKET EMBEDDING IS DISABLED BY THIS MEMBER. Photobucket sends ads instead of embedding photos from their free galleries. Click the link (if available) below to see the image in a gallery page. http://i236.photobucke​t.com …MG_9824-1_zps9152474e.jpg

aquaforester wrote in post #15846374
Here's a pic I took right after the calibration at Sigma in the waiting area. This is wide open focusing on the $150 to the right. Looks pretty good. They were very accommodating. They said the lens had a slight back focus which was adjusted. My issue with these lenses (had the old 30 as well) is similiar to what mwsilver describes as a softening. I just wasn't getting that tack image I thought I was going to get.

IMAGE LINK: http://s236.photobucke​t.com …24-1_zps9152474e.jpg.html

Glad you had a positive experience there. You saw that its really not set up for walk-ins, but they were friendly and efficient. If the Art is at all like the old version, the AF may vary depending on the circumstances. However, from what I understand, the AF of the Art version is better the the EX model. I use manual focus a lot and often get better results manually than with the AF. Time will tell.

mwsilver wrote in post #15846442
Glad you had a positive experience there. You saw that its really not set up for walk-ins, but they were friendly and efficient. If the Art is at all like the old version, the AF may vary depending on the circumstances. However, from what I understand, the AF of the Art version is better the the EX model. I use manual focus a lot and often get better results manually than with the AF. Time will tell.

Do you MF at f/1.4? Do you have a special focus screen or the standard one that comes with the 60D?

syoma wrote in post #15846161
Hi Guys,

Just registered to post my experience with new Sigma 40 F1.4 Art. I'm from Germany - just got mine today from Amazon.
Just had time today to test autofocus - and first dissapointment - stable huge front-focus - see picture(crop from bigger picture):

IMAGE LINK: http://album.foto.ru/p​hotos/or/491409/306484​2.jpg
I wonder about quality control of new ART series.
The test was probably not high quality - bulb light in the evening, but under same conditions Canon 50/1.8 worked perfectly on my EOS 550D. In LiveView mode autofocus also worked perfectly, but I assume - there is another type of focusing used.
Any suggestions?

well you can either exchange it, or send it to sigma to fix it...

Yogi Bear wrote in post #15846465
Do you MF at f/1.4? Do you have a special focus screen or the standard one that comes with the 60D?

Yes I do. I use the EF-s focus screen. An unfortunate name since it has no direct relation to EFs lenses. It's intended for fast wide aperture lenses. It aids manual focus by blurring significantly more when not in focus than the standard screen, making manual focusing easier. The down side is its a lot darker looking through it when using a slower variable aperture lens (above f/2.8), especially with an f/5.6 maximum aperture. In low light its especially dark at that maximum aperture. Note this doesn't affect a fast lens being stopped down, only slower lenses at their maximum aperture at a given focal length. Outside in decent light its not an issue, but inside in low light, looking through the view finder with a slower lens can be problematic.

mwsilver wrote in post #15846723
Yes I do. I use the EF-s focus screen. An unfortunate name since it has no direct relation to EFs lenses. It's intended for fast wide aperture lenses. It aids manual focus by blurring significantly more when not in focus than the standard screen, making manual focusing easier. The down side is its a lot darker looking through it when using a slower variable aperture lens (above f/2.8), especially with an f/5.6 maximum aperture. In low light its especially dark at that maximum aperture. Note this doesn't affect a fast lens being stopped down, only slower lenses at their maximum aperture at a given focal length. Outside in decent light its not an issue, but inside in low light, looking through the view finder with a slower lens can be problematic.

OK - Good to know.

Thank you, Mark!

Yogi

^ah...that's a different lens...that ones been proven to be a winner...the 30mm is crop only, and i think the jury is still out on what to expect