Sigma 18-35 + dock nightmare. Help!

I'm ready to gouge my eyes out. *cries* I picked up a 7D II and spent a couple hours yesterday trying to calibrate my 18-35 via the dock. To sum things up, it was a disaster, and I've done this in the past with my 7D classic and it was bang-on so I'm not sure why it's so difficult this time around. Last time I MA'd the lens, I did it outdoors. It's raining cats and dogs right now so I'm stuck inside with a flood light from Home Depot. I was surprised at how drastically different my MA variables were compared to last time. I'll explain my process.

First, I set the lens to manual. Then I manually focus, using the distance scale to match exactly what I see in the Sigma Optimization Pro software for the first of four distances. I set the lens at 18mm, put the camera on tripod and begin moving the tripod and camera closer to the calibration target while watching live view at 10x magnification. Once I've positioned my camera precisely where it needs to be so that I can see the lines on my calibration chart are razor sharp, I stop and go into MA via the camera menu. I use the dot tune method. I find my first number and then my second number which allows me to come up with my MA variable for that particular focal distance and subject distance. For example, at -18 I get AF confirmation but at -19 I don't. I start to move in the opposite direction (usually a difference of14 or 15). At -4 I get AF confirmation but at -3 I do not. So my critical focus range would be -18 to -4. My MA value for 18mm at that given subject distance would be -11.

Then I would turn the zoom ring to 24 and repeat. Then 28 and repeat, 35 and repeat. Once I have all 4 variables at that given subject distance I would change my focus, carefully matching what I see in software to the distance scale on my lens and then reposition my tripod, watching live view until the lines become tack sharp and repeat at each of the 4 zoom settings.

Once I come up with all 16 values, I enter them with the dock, hit save, disconnect and take some test shots. Last night's test shots were horribly out of focus. I'm ready to cry. I have an important shoot tonight and am probably going to have to rent a different lens.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!

- Ryan

I have no clue about how the dock works, but the 7DII is newer than the dock. Perhaps the software for the dock may not be up to date for this. This is pure speculation.
What is the date for the latest dock firmware?

artyH wrote in post #17257701
I have no clue about how the dock works, but the 7DII is newer than the dock. Perhaps the software for the dock may not be up to date for this. This is pure speculation.
What is the date for the latest dock firmware?

That has nothing to do with it. The dock communicates with the lens only to enter the MA values. That is all.

I don't have the sig18-35, but I do have the 35 and 50 prime. What I found the best way is to first get infinity adjusted first. (get everything else at 0) If you don't have this number dialed in, everything can be thrown out of whack. I used live view and my eyes. Dot-tune didn't work for me and my 5diii.
Then MFA the second farthest point. Shoot a point in between that point and infinity to make sure it works. Do the minimum focus point last. Make sure you shoot in between points to confirm your adjustments.

Best of luck

snake0ape wrote in post #17257766
I don't have the sig18-35, but I do have the 35 and 50 prime. What I found the best way is to first get infinity adjusted first. (get everything else at 0) If you don't have this number dialed in, everything can be thrown out of whack. I used live view and my eyes. Dot-tune didn't work for me and my 5diii.
Then MFA the second farthest point. Shoot a point in between that point and infinity to make sure it works. Do the minimum focus point last. Make sure you shoot in between points to confirm your adjustments.

Best of luck

Question. Are you checking at the infinity end of the zoom range first, then entering those values before checking the other end? I read somewhere that you're supposed to enter the values one at at time. Perhaps I've been doing it wrong?! I put the lens on the camera and get all my values on paper, then disconnect the lens from the body and attach it to the dock and enter all 16 values at the end. Could this be the problem?!

Question: have you actually tried the lens at default values without using the dock to MA it at all?

Here is how I adjusted using the dock: (I'll use 18mm as an exapmle but I did it with each focal length at each focus distance)

1. Set my tripod and camera up at the first focus distance from the target.
2. Auto focused on the target
3. Switched to live view x10 and manually focused the lens
4. Took note of if it was front or back focusing (did I have to adjust closer or further from the target)
5. Defocused the lens
6. Repeated steps 1-4 (to see if it was consistently front or rear focusing)
7. Plugged the lens into the dock and put in a adjustment number that I thought might be right (if I had to adjust focus a little in step 3 then I used a small number. If I had to adjust focus a lot then the number was obviously greater)
8. Put the lens back on the camera and again repeated the process until the lens consistently focused correctly in AF.

Once the lens was consistently focusing correctly at 18mm at infinity I'd move the tripod/camera into the next closest focus distance. Once I was done with each focus distance for 18mm I'd go to the next focal length and repeat the whole process for each focus distance for that focal length.

Sirrith wrote in post #17258489
Question: have you actually tried the lens at default values without using the dock to MA it at all?

That's what I was thinking. Mine is close to spot on on my 60D but it way off on my wife's t2i and off differently on my son's t3i. Maybe he's over complementing the adjustment.