question about sigma USB dock firmware etc...

Hi folks. In about 1 week I will be getting my S18-35 and usb dock
but i was wondering - did the software for optimization come with the dock itself in the package or did you download it from Sigma's website?

When you use the software - do you have to have access to the internet or is it self-contained?

thanks for some of the simple answers.

The software is installed and run from a PC, maybe Mac as well. Firmware and software updates are available from the web. Note, it won't run on WinXP, should you still be using it.

ceriltheblade wrote in post #16942228
Hi folks. In about 1 week I will be getting my S18-35 and usb dock
but i was wondering - did the software for optimization come with the dock itself in the package or did you download it from Sigma's website?

When you use the software - do you have to have access to the internet or is it self-contained?

thanks for some of the simple answers.

When you use it, it needs to have access to the Internet since checks for the latest downloads. Not sure what will happen if you try to use it without a connection.

thanks for that. I was trying to ascertain - if there is a disc that comes with the device? did you download the program? I tried looking for unboxing videos on youtube and didn;t find one.

mwsilver wrote in post #16942446
When you use it, it needs to have access to the Internet since checks for the latest downloads. Not sure what will happen if you try to use it without a connection.

Sigma states

It will still operate properly, you just have to chose an "Ignore" option. The purchased dock comes with a disk but you can download or update the software here (http://www.sigma-global.com/download/en​/) but I don't know if it would install or run without a dock. You should let Google be your friend by the way; the link I provided was the first hit with a search on "Sigma dock software".

well, shoot....
color me embarased. i tried going through the sigma site of the dock itself and support for software and firmware and got nothing.
thanks a bunch. I didn't plan on using it without the dock - just that the dock is sitting at a family member's house about 10,000 km away and I will only get my grubby paws on it in about 1 week.
thanks for the patience and help on your part

John from PA wrote in post #16943701
Sigma states

It will still operate properly, you just have to chose an "Ignore" option. The purchased dock comes with a disk but you can download or update the software here (http://www.sigma-global.com/download/en​/) but I don't know if it would install or run without a dock. You should let Google be your friend by the way; the link I provided was the first hit with a search on "Sigma dock software".

What disk? No disk came with mine. The box from Sigma isn't big enough to contain one. It is barely big enough to hold the dock and a USB cable.

Edit: I just checked the instructions that can with it. No reference to a disk there either. It only mentions downloading Sigma Optimization Pro from their website.

The version on the CD appears to be 1.0 which I've actually never installed. As I look at the CD contents now has version 1.0 of the dock software and a PDF of the manual for the dock but the balance of what is on the disk is primarily marketing type information like a catalog of the full lens line and the strobe line. I had purchased the dock at a Camera Show from a Sigma distributor who also at the time told me to download the software as a much newer version existed. I don't think the CD was packaged with the dock as it was just handed to me at the time.

John from PA wrote in post #16944592
The version on the CD appears to be 1.0 which I've actually never installed. As I look at the CD contents now has version 1.0 of the dock software and a PDF of the manual for the dock but the balance of what is on the disk is primarily marketing type information like a catalog of the full lens line and the strobe line. I had purchased the dock at a Camera Show from a Sigma distributor who also at the time told me to download the software as a much newer version existed. I don't think the CD was packaged with the dock as it was just handed to me at the time.

OK that accounts for it. It was probably a promotional item for the show, and perhaps they were even intending to include a CD with the dock at the time.

Confirming no disc; I just got the dock a couple weeks ago and there is no disc, and little information. Basically a piece of paper telling you to go to a website and download everything. The firmware on the doc was not the latest and I installed the new firmware.

wait - so there is firmware for the doc itself as well as the lens?
interesting.

ceriltheblade wrote in post #16945890
wait - so there is firmware for the doc itself as well as the lens?
interesting.

That is correct. Which I think is a good thing, as functionality of the dock can be updated to correspond to functionality in new lenses.

I find it funny how some people claim that the USB Dock is a sign of Sigma having lousy lenses, since they need to issue the dock to fix focus problems. Do these people never use the MFA in their camera bodies to correct AF problems with Canon lenses? By their logic, can we conclude that by providing MFA Canon is admitting that they make lousy lenses? Of course not.

Sigma can't control the MFA that Canon provides, and this allows them to give their customers something more sophisticated that is tailored to Sigma lenses. Every lens manufacturer should do this. It would be great if it would work on older lenses, but apparently Sigma was unable, or unwilling, to do that.

hehehe. i find the fact that they offer an end-user way to try to fix a specific element of the function of the specific lens refreshing. I can choose what I want as an end user and I can do it without sending my lens off to somewhere at the mercy of the Sigma, or the postal service.

But I am a do-it-yourself kind of guy. If I can reasonably do it by myself - then I would prefer it. I wish each company would allow for it!!!

ceriltheblade wrote in post #16946352
hehehe. i find the fact that they offer an end-user way to try to fix a specific element of the function of the specific lens refreshing. I can choose what I want as an end user and I can do it without sending my lens off to somewhere at the mercy of the Sigma, or the postal service.

But I am a do-it-yourself kind of guy. If I can reasonably do it by myself - then I would prefer it. I wish each company would allow for it!!!

Using the dock is a bit daunting. Sixteen different setting are available, (four focal lengths and four distances) and there probably is some overlap, meaning how you adjust one setting could have implications for adjacent settings. There are no adjustments specific to apertures. So if shots at f/4 are sharp and shots at f/1.8 are not, there is no adjustment to remedy it. Also accurately figuring out what adjustments to make can be very very time consuming and requires an accurate and repeatable tool/technique to test the changes.