Sigma 17-50mm didn't like my new Canon 7D Mark II

IntrepidB · Nov 8, 2014

For the past year I've been using my Sigma 17-50mm 2.8 OS with a Canon 70D. It was a very good match with a decent autofocus reliability, without needing any Micro AF adjustment.

Today I bought a 7D Mark II, and the Sigma 17-50mm showed a totally unreliable focus no matter what number I set for the Micro AF adjustment. If I fix it for short distances, it will completely misfocus in medium/long distances, and also the other way around. I tried different calibration methods and it only fixes the problem for that specific distance I calibrated for.

The 85mm 1.8 and the 100mm macro 2.8 had no issues (tried many distances using the largest aperture), and are nailing almost every shot when I use them on the 7Dm2. So I can't blame the camera body.

For a final test, I put the 17-50mm back on the 70D, and it worked very well without any adjustment.

Has anyone had a similar problem with a specific combination of 3rd party lens and a Canon body? The Sigma warranty already expired, and I don't know if they would actually fix something because the lens works fine on the 70D body.

Short version: Sigma 17-50mm focuses well on a 70D but misses a lot on 7Dm2. The 7Dm2 body works well with other Canon lenses that I have.

Overread · Nov 8, 2014

This can happen

Sigma doesn't use the licence for Canon mounts so they have to reverse engineer how to have their lens talk to the camera. However because they do this subtle changes in the cameras code can end up messing up the lens's ability to communicate.

Best you can do is contact Sigma direct - if this is a problem with the code and your lens is fairly modern then chances are Sigma will currently or will in the future re-chip it with a new micro chip.

This is why Sigma is rolling out those lens-cap USB hubs - because with them they can simply give you a new software update and you download it into the lens and away you go. Note that the lens-cap USB hubs won't work on just any lens - far as I know they only work on a select few of newer lenses built with this feature in mind.

IntrepidB · Nov 8, 2014

Thanks a lot. I've sent an email to Sigma, I'll report the outcome here.

buddywoods · Nov 13, 2014

I'm having the same problem. I posted about it on Photography on the net forum and one other person said they were having the same problem also.

Derrel · Nov 13, 2014

I saw a couple posts about this on dPreview this week as well: this is NOT a new issue for Sigma, and has happened before. This is most likely due to the NEW focusing system the 7D Mark II has: the lenses were made well,well before the 7D-II's new focusing protocol was finalized, and so Sigma's earlier reverse-engineering of the Canon AF protocols is not correct on this new camera with all lenses. As Overread mentioned, contact Sigma. It's likely that as more and more 7D-II cameras ship that the issue will generate a formal announcement, likely from Sigma Corp, but possibly--maybe, from Canon. I doubt Canon will make any kind of an announcement, but who knows. Sigma OTOH, has in the past undertaken and announced very well-publicized re-chipping/updating programs. With the new USB hub system though, I am not sure if they will address this the same way they used to do, which was to have the lenses actually physically sent in, and brought up to modern status. The last major, major malfunction I recall was when Nikon added the AF-ON button to the mid-level Nikon bodies, when the D200 was premiered....OMG....that was a nightmare!

Overread · Nov 13, 2014

Sounds like it will affect all those units then. If its a communication issue then it will be the same for all. There might also be a few other lenses it affects as well.

Best thing you can do is to contact Sigma
Derrel - I suspect that Sigma will rechip the lens if its not already got a USB hub - I expect that the chips that work with the hub are different. The bonus is that (in theory) they could put Hub capable chips into the lenses. A standard hub chip would mean they could rechip any lens and then fix things up software wise for each one.

Canon would only say that they don't officially support 3rd party gear and that using it might void your warranty if it causes damage to your camera etc....

buddywoods · Nov 13, 2014

I just sent an email to Sigma.
I'm giving my 7D to my wife. I was going to give her my Canon 15-85 lens but I may have to rethink that. The Sigma 17-50 lens works fine on the 7D.

IntrepidB · Nov 14, 2014

After 5 days, the local Sigma service center in Thailand replied to my email.

They said that I had to provide them the serial number, because some models could not be upgraded.

If they are referring to the possibility of using an USB dock, then I think I'm screwed. I'm waiting for their next reply, but my expectation is quite low since my lens does not support the USB dock.

KmH · Nov 14, 2014

Yep.
Many 3rd party lenses, regardless of brand, will not be forward compatible with new cameras and will need to be re-chipped or otherwise have their electronics re-programmed.
I don't know of any other 3rd party lens maker, other than Sigma, that has a USB port built into their lenses so their lenses can be updated by the lens owner.

Derrel · Nov 14, 2014

Overread said:
Sounds like it will affect all those units then. If its a communication issue then it will be the same for all. There might also be a few other lenses it affects as well.

Best thing you can do is to contact Sigma
Derrel - I suspect that Sigma will rechip the lens if its not already got a USB hub - I expect that the chips that work with the hub are different. The bonus is that (in theory) they could put Hub capable chips into the lenses. A standard hub chip would mean they could rechip any lens and then fix things up software wise for each one.

Canon would only say that they don't officially support 3rd party gear and that using it might void your warranty if it causes damage to your camera etc....

This Sigma/Canon 7D Mark II lens incompatibility issue is, I think, likely to be "fixable" one way or another, at least for newer Sigma lenses made within the past few years. On significantly older lenses however, there is the chance that some lenses will never work properly. One can see this on the pages of KEH.com with the small "film cameras only" notation on some older lens models; there comes a point where the lens makers simply do NOT offer updates to older lenses so that those lenses work on more-modrn camera bodies that use markedly different protocols. I happen to own an old film-era Sigma 70-210 f/4~5.6 "film cameras only" zoom lens on a REBEL XT film camera...it will not work on my 20D or 5D cameras...well, it works maybe for one out of three or four frames, then Err's out the camera!!!

The $64,000 question might be this: will Sigma offer in-factory or service center lens re-chipping? Orrrrrrrrrr, does the new USB Dock updating development signal the end of the older way of doing things? This could develop into a VERY serious issue for either Sigma Corp,and Sigma lens owners, and potential buyers for the new Canon 7D Mark II.

Overread · Nov 14, 2014

Sigma is being serious about taking a slice of the good end of the lens market - the USB dock is essential to that because it means people can spend thousands on their lenses and still get decades of good use out of them.

Note if Sigma don't have any new chips for your lens do check independent suppliers. They will sometimes offer services Sigma won't simply because the costs are uneconomical for Sigma to rechip but are economical enough for the independents - although this tends to be more the case when Sigma already did re-chipping and then sells off its old stock (or at least has re-chipped stock in circulation which independents can copy once official support is gone).

bratkinson · Nov 15, 2014

Older lenses with newer cameras has the same problems as older software on a newer computer with a newer operating system.

Absolutely every operating system upgrade I've made since Windows 386 has required me to upgrade some or all of my other software, from assemblers to compilers to Bible study software and photo editing software. Sometimes the upgrades are free. But I typically end up spending $200-$500 in upgraded software to get back to having everything I had before. And, for what it's worth, I still have a Windows XP computer running when I need prior-version capabilities not available in current-version software...aka, MS Office 2000 won't run in Win 7, but has filters and converters not available in Office 2010. Nor can Office 2000 output files in Office 2010 format. And if I'm REALLY in a bind, I still have 5.25" and 3.5" floppy drives installed AND DOS 6.2 installed on a drive I can slide into the XP box and run DOS!

IntrepidB · Nov 24, 2014

It's been 15 days after the my first emails to Sigma (one to Sigma Headquarters and another to my local service center) regarding this issue with the 17-50mm and the 7dm2.

The Sigma Headquarters didn't answer. The local service center asked for the lens' serial number 10 days ago (which I promptly informed), and never replied me after that.

It's really a shame that Sigma has such a poor customer care. How can I buy their lenses again knowing that in a few years they might not be compatible with the new camera bodies?

Another thing that bugs me is the fact that the 17-50mm can't be considered really old. I would perhaps understand if it was a lens from 1990, but the 17-50mm is just a few years old and still being produced/sold nowadays.

For now I'm sticking with Canon lenses. They might not be the sharpest or the cheapest, but at least they are guaranteed to work when I upgrade.

Lumens · Nov 24, 2014

IntrepidB said:
For now I'm sticking with Canon lenses. They might not be the sharpest or the cheapest, but at least they are guaranteed to work when I upgrade.

Unfortunately it is what it is. Software protocols and hardware connections are proprietary to the manufacturer. Therefore third party manufacturers must reverse engineer or pay for partnerships with each manufacturer to obtain that information. Tamron and Sigma do an excellent job of trying to keep up, but bottom line only the ,manufacturer has the info in a timely enough manner to keep up.

That is why I prefer to stay with the proprietary lens whenever possible. There are some lenses though that just outshine and cost Soooo much less, the third party makes sense if I know I don't plan to upgrade the camera any time soon.

Overread · Nov 24, 2014

Considering how new the 7DMII is and that Sigma won't have gotten hold of a copy until it went into general distribution; so chances are it might take them a while to back-engineer a new working design and also then produce new chips to work in the lens.