Sigma 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5?

On a whim I bought this from ebay - not for a heck of a lot of money.
Sadly, it gives me an error 99 on both bodies.
I've phoned the sigma service department and they've told me they can't do anything as they have no spare parts for this lens.

I've given the lens contacts a clean so it's not that. Is there any way it could work?
I've found an old thread:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=122304
and according to the OP, it can be used wide open, but mine isn't able to do so.

So is there anything I can do to get it to work - even if only MF & wide open?

Okay this is partly a post to bump this thread onto the first page again. But I have another question!

Is it possible to get an EF-EF lens adapter - I'm sure this sounds stupid, but if I use the lens rotated so it's not locked in position on the body, I don't get the error 99 and can use it as a manual focus lens. I know I can't adjust the aperture but that's not a huge concern.

I'm wondering if it's possible even to get two adapters - like X-EF and EF-X so that the two adapters can be fitted to one another and the lens can be secured and used manually. So what do you folks think?

I have no experience with the specific lens, but...

Without getting too technical, there is a set distance between the lens and the sensor which must be maintained in order for the lens to focus over its entire range. If you move the lens to close to the sensor It won't focus on the near end and if you move it to far away it won't focus to infinity. Adding one or even two adapters between the lens and the body will move it to far away.

Don't Wory... there is a solution!!!
Find some tape. Anything thin, even just scotch tape. Place a small piece over the metal contacts of the lens before you mount it. It should still lock into place but will not be able to communicate with the body. That should give you a MF & wide open, but still functional lens.

Green_Tea wrote in post #11423774
I have no experience with the specific lens, but...

Without getting too technical, there is a set distance between the lens and the sensor which must be maintained in order for the lens to focus over its entire range. If you move the lens to close to the sensor It won't focus on the near end and if you move it to far away it won't focus to infinity. Adding one or even two adapters between the lens and the body will move it to far away.

Don't Wory... there is a solution!!!
Find some tape. Anything thin, even just scotch tape. Place a small piece over the metal contacts of the lens before you mount it. It should still lock into place but will not be able to communicate with the body. That should give you a MF & wide open, but still functional lens.

Would it be worth sticking something thin over it with super glue (allowing it to dry thoroughly before mounting so there's no way in heck the tape can come off and fall inside the body?

Thanks for the fast reply too!

Ross Murray wrote in post #11423823
Would it be worth sticking something thin over it with super glue (allowing it to dry thoroughly before mounting so there's no way in heck the tape can come off and fall inside the body?

Thanks for the fast reply too!

You could... but that would obviously be a more permanent mod. You would not be able to un-do it very easily, but if you are alright with that then go for it. Just remember that whatever you put in there and whatever glue you use must be non-conductive and very thin.

If it were me, I would (and have) just used the tape. Once the lens is on, the tape is held in place by the body's spring-loaded pins. You'd just need to be careful when taking the lens on and off, and maybe change the tape once in a while if you are worried about the adhesive wearing out.

Green_Tea wrote in post #11423874
You could... but that would obviously be a more permanent mod. You would not be able to un-do it very easily, but if you are alright with that then go for it. Just remember that whatever you put in there must be non-conductive and very thin.

If it were me, I would (and have) just used the tape. Once the lens is on, the tape is held in place by the body's spring-loaded pins. You'd just need to be careful when taking the lens on and off, and maybe change the tape once in a while if you are worried about the adhesive wearing out.

I'm not too fussed over wrecking the lens - only cost £21 and won't work as it is. It'll be going on the "lens changing body" so that if anything happens I've still got the 20D to use. I still am paranoid about getting anything inside the body of the camera. I'll probably super glue it for my own peace of mind.

I'm now wondering whether a thin layer of super glue would do the job on its own!

I'll get to that tomorrow afternoon and post back the results when I get the chance. Thanks for the advice.

My experience with old EF mount Sigmas is that they produce the error when attempting to stop down, but that they still autofocus ok. The ones that I have tried would produce the error when pressing the DOF preview button or taking the picture at anything less than wide open aperture.

The solution might be to use Av or M mode only, set the lens to 28mm and f/3.5, and then don't adjust the aperture again so that the lens will always will be wide open when using that lens. This will have a limited depth of field all of the time however.

For a few more pounds you could get a Canon EF 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 (II or not) that would work perfectly and be very sharp. I'm not sure that I would be able to be able to handle not being able to control the aperture in normal photography.

macroimage wrote in post #11426449
My experience with old EF mount Sigmas is that they produce the error when attempting to stop down, but that they still autofocus ok. The ones that I have tried would produce the error when pressing the DOF preview button or taking the picture at anything less than wide open aperture.

The solution might be to use Av or M mode only, set the lens to 28mm and f/3.5, and then don't adjust the aperture again so that the lens will always will be wide open when using that lens. This will have a limited depth of field all of the time however.

For a few more pounds you could get a Canon EF 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 (II or not) that would work perfectly and be very sharp. I'm not sure that I would be able to be able to handle not being able to control the aperture in normal photography.

It won't even let me start the camera without producing the error 99. I'll probably bung this one back on ebay and buy the canon - which I should have done to start with. It would probably pain me to use it as a standard lens as I tend to shoot in Av, just because it gives me the control I want. Good call.

I'd better wait till Santa makes his rounds, though!

Going to use it as is till then anyway.

That's probably what I would do. If you want a similar lens that is pretty nice, look at the Canon 24-85 USM.

Very old thread but I am having the same issue with my Canon 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 and a Canon 30D.

It's not the classic sigma issue. Try cleaning your metal contacts.

It won't focus on the near end and if you move it to far away it won't focus to infinity.

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Probably broken or misaligned motor, then.