Sigma 150-600mm contemporary and D3200 possible compatibility issue

micloi

I was testing the Sigma 150-600mm contemporary today with different cameras.

Exposure with the D7200 and D750 is spot on.

With the D3200 though the lens is overexposing by 1.33 stops.

This was consistent with different metering modes on the D3200 and was the case with 2 different copies of the 150-600.

On the same camera the Tamron 150-600 and all of my other lenses meter correctly.

Before I contact Sigma on Monday I was wondering if anyone else has the same camera/lens and they experience the same issue.

Also if people can test the lens with other, older, cameras it would be great.

I will see if I can find another D3200 to repeat the test.

If it is a compatibility issue thank God for the ability to update the firmware using the USB dock

NSXTypeR

That's the problem with Nikon, it doesn't ever want to play nicely with any other 3rd party manufacturers. I think they either need to stop doing that or make lenses we actually want to buy... say DX primes?

I think you may need to either send it to Sigma or get the USB dock to fix this.

Ahem, Sigma makes the 18-35mm, Nikon wake up!

Best of luck to you!

PB_PM

That's the problem with Nikon, it doesn't ever want to play nicely with any other 3rd party manufacturers.

Or the third party manufactures suck at hacking the firmware Nikon uses in it's lenses/cameras.

I never get why people think Nikon should do anything to help their direct competitors. That would basically be the equivalent to asking Nikon to make their DSLR's with a Canon EF mount.

spraynpray

I don't think NSXTypeR meant Nikon should help the 3rd party lens manufacturers PB, I think by saying that it is the problem with Nikon, I think he meant that it if you buy a Nikon, you should be aware that the 3rd party lenses don't always work with Nikon bodies like they do with the other manufacturers bodies.

Used to be that they always worked fine, and were much cheaper but the image quality wasn't as good but now, the image quality is better and the prices are still cheaper. I am not a paranoid person but I do wonder why there are these compatibility difficulties... :-?

snakebunk

I never get why people think Nikon should do anything to help their direct competitors.

If Nikon cameras don't work with third party lenses they would be a lot less attractive. Nikon does not want to help the competitors but they do not want to shoot themselves in the foot either.

To make the best out of the situation I think Nikon should license the mount and share all the technicalities to those that are prepared to pay a small percent of their lense sales.

That would basically be the equivalent to asking Nikon to make their DSLR's with a Canon EF mount.

Why is it equivalent? I am interested to hear your reasoning because I think it is different from mine.

PB_PM

Nikon has no obligation to make their cameras work with third party equipment. The fact that third party gear works at all is nice, and if you check my gear list you will see that I use third party gear, so I'm no Nikon fanboy.

That would basically be the equivalent to asking Nikon to make their DSLR's with a Canon EF mount.

Why is it equivalent? I am interested to hear your reasoning because I think it is different from mine.

It's not a hard concept to grasp, and I already gave the reason. The third party lens manufactures are direct competitors of Nikkor lenses. So is Canon, since they make lenses too. So, just as Canon is a competitor of Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, Tokina etc are competitors of Nikon Nikkor lenses. Nikon would be shooting themselves in the foot if they went out of their way to help those third parties make their lenses work better with Nikon bodies, just as they would if they suddenly started shipping Nikon bodies with a Canon AF system and an EF mount.

At that same time I never see any Sigma DSLR users complaining about the lack of third party lens support... hmm. I guess if Nikon should give up their firmware and software to Sigma etc it should go the other way too? Yeah it's not a one way street.

@spraynpay I don't buy into the argument that Nikon cameras are any worse off with third party gear than Canon, Pentax etc. I see just as many Canon users complaining about third party batteries and lenses. Pentax and Sony users just complain because the third party manufactures don't make much for those mounts at all, so that's another story altogether.

Ironheart

Rather than bit@&ing about Sigma or Nikon and their "frenemy" status, let's try to help the OP >-

@mickoi, is it possible to borrow/beg another copy of the D3200 to see if it just that one? Also how did you determine the over-exposure? DX may have to "over expose" by about 1stop to make up for the light loss...

PB_PM

Rather than bit@&ing about Sigma or Nikon and their "frenemy" status, let's try to help the OP >-

Except that it is part of the issue at hand. Short of the OP sending the lens to the manufacture for calibration to work with the D3200, or trying another camera, there is nothing we can do.

snakebunk

@micloi: It sounds like a good idea to talk to Sigma. If it is always overexposing by 1.33 stops I think there is a good chance for a firmware update. The USB dock is a great tool when needed. Worst case scenario is that you always have to compensate for the 1.33 stops.

@PB_PM: I understand that the different camera makers are competitors, but I don't get your point as to why they cannot work together when there is a profit to be made for both parties.

PB_PM

@PB_PM: I understand that the different camera makers are competitors, but I don't get your point as to why they cannot work together when there is a profit to be made for both parties.

How does Nikon make any profit if you buy a Sigma or Tamron lens? Tamron and Sigma don't make bodies with Nikon mounts, thus there is no benefit for Nikon to give them support.

snakebunk

How does Nikon make any profit if you buy a Sigma or Tamron lens?

Support for third party lenses makes the Nikon DSLRs more attractive, therefore they will sell better and generate a profit for Nikon. If Nikon would license their mount they would in addition get a profit out of each sold licensed lense.

PB_PM

There is no need to license the F-mount, all the patients on it are long expired. The area that would require licensing is the firmware, which would be hard since Nikon outsourced firmware development a number of years ago. When you factor that it, it just makes things more complicated.

snakebunk

I am not talking about legal rights but something like an "Approved by Nikon" batch on third party lenses. I think Sigma or Tamron would be willing to pay for up to date information without the need to reverse engineer, and hopefully it could bring over customers from the other mounts. I can of course not say for sure what is best in the long run but I think this is an interesting option, and I think a large and open f mount user base is better for Nikon than a small and closed one.

@micloi: Let us know what happens. I promise not to hijack your thread anymore and I hope for the best!

NSXTypeR

Sprayandpray hit it right on the head with my comment- there's no obligation for Nikon to make their cameras work with 3rd party devices, but other than Sigma, no other lens makers make their own DSLRs. Tamron, Tokina and Zeiss don't, and so if you don't buy a Nikon camera, what could you possibly use a F-mount 3rd party lens for except on a Nikon camera (except maybe Sigma, who will change the mount for you with a fee)? It would steal a lens purchase away from Nikon, but ultimately you would need the Nikon body to make it work. I guess you could argue you can buy a lens adapter and use it on mirrorless cameras, but outside of manual focus lenses, it generally isn't done.

But my intention was not to hijack the thread. Like others have said before, I think your only way to troubleshoot this lens is either contact Sigma or get another D3200 (preferably with the same firmware versions) to troubleshoot.

Pistnbroke

This lens is probably not suitable for a D3200 as for a 600mm lens you need the AF fine tune spot on ..I have the 150-500 and its at +8 ..you have no adjustment on a D3200 wrong camera for the lens IMHO.
You could be lucky and find a perfect match but even then you dont have the buffer capacity.

Parke1953

I don't know but could you fine tune it with the sigma dock?

Ironheart

From http://www.sigmaphoto.com/product/sigma-usb-dock

"For the Sports category, changes can be made to: Autofocus speed, focus limiters, manual focus override and optical stabilization functionality."
This includes the Contemporary 150-600 as well. It would have to be a firmware fix from Sigma, assuming it's really an issue and not a one-off with that particular D3300, or a camera setting out of whack.

micloi

After my suggestion one more user tested the D3200 and D3300 side by side and confirmed that, indeed, the D3200 over exposes around 1 stop:

http://www.pbase.com/image/160337666/original
http://www.pbase.com/image/160337665/original

snakebunk

Is it a problem for you? Personally I always compensate up and down and it doesn't matter to me if it it reads 0 or -1. Not perfect of course but not really a problem either.
If it is a problem I think you should contact Sigma, hopefully they will make a firmware update. I think it is an easy bug for them to fix once they know about it.

micloi

It is a little inconvenient having the wrong exif displayed and having to use different settings for my cameras when using more than one set to teach photography.

Just emailed Sigma and waiting for their reply, I am sure they will have a new firmware in due course.

Pistnbroke

Looks like you can do AF tune with the Dock..but a 3200 is not a birding camera IMHO

Msmoto

As to the issue of Nikon's responsibility to make their bodies compatible with non-Nikon lenses......Nikon produces a body, then an out side source produces an accessory for the body. Nikon has no responsibility to change their body.

Like a Ford pickup truck...someone produces a camper shell....does Ford have a responsibility to make certain they are compatible? The original manufacturer of any product cannot anticipate the issue of all the accessories in the market.

The one exception is when the software is designed to purposely inhibit the use of outside sourced goods... as may occur in the computer industry.

So, the answer to any issues of a lens working on a camera body might be best resolved by contact with the support area of the lens manufacturer. Totally my opinion, not necessarily true...LOL

snakebunk

@Msmoto: I think your opinion is true, close to the point of it not being an opinion .