Sigma 150-600mm Sports - Intermittent Focus Problems

[bvishneski]

Sigma 150-600mm Sport - Sigma did a great job with this lens. The stabilization is capable of consistently producing sharp shots at 600mm and 1/60th shutter speed. With Tracking turned on, the camera and lens are able to lock on a bird's eye from 40-50 feet away at 600mm, often under challenging lighting conditions.
After testing 3 copies of this lens on two A7IV bodies, using a variety of AF/MF settings, however, I found each lens exhibited the same behavior on both cameras — intermittent failure to autofocus.
When the problem occurs, the normal green box fails to appear, the lens does not focus, and you see a white box in the center of the screen. Switching the various settings on the exterior of the lens seems to allow the lens/camera to reestablish communication, but there is no reliable change that works every time.
Sigma customer support has acknowledged the issue, suggesting the issue requires a firmware fix from Sony. Sigma further indicated Sony is aware of similar issues with Sony 200-600mm, and they may be related.
Sony customer support acknowledged there are known focusing issues with the A7IV/200-600mm, but would not go so far as to suggest those issues are related to the Sigma focus issues I reported.
No word from either company regarding a firmware fix. If anyone is experiencing similar behavior, I urge you to reach out to Sigma and Sony, as this may accelerate delivery of a solution.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Interesting that Sony acknowledged an issue with the 200 600 (I've not had any such issue) and that Sigma have suggested similar too. I wouldn't hold your breath for a firmware update now, and, in fact, I don't think it would help the 200 600, as I know that's more an issue with early RIV's and poorly aligned sensors. It may well be different for the Sigma though, as 3rd party lenses often need software tweeks.
Interesting thread, thanks.

 

[Jeff A]

Welcome to the Forum Robert. We're glad you could join us.

Thank you for the descriptive technical report. As a M4 owner myself, I don't own the 200-600 G lens but I do have a 100-400 GM. Has this issue been reported on lenses other than the 200-600? I will try and test this myself. I have a park nearby that has some calm ducks and geese that may be helpful.

What part of the country are you in, Sir?

 

[bvishneski]

Welcome to the Forum Robert. We're glad you could join is.

Thank you for the descriptive technical report. As a M4 owner myself, I don't own the 200-600 G lens but I do have a 100-400 GM. Has this issue been reported on lenses other than the 200-600? I will try and test this myself. I have a park nearby that has some calm ducks and geese that may be helpful.

What part of the country are you in, Sir?

Jeff,
I am in Pittsburgh. Neither Sony nor Sigma mentioned any other lenses being affected. I suspect Sony and Sigma will find some software quark between the A7IV's options and those of the zoom lenses that have multiple optical stabilization modes and customization options.
I have a Tamron 70-180mm — with none of these options — and it never experienced this problem on the A7IV.
It would be a breath of fresh air if these companies were more forthcoming about issues with their technology. I'm not sure who thinks it is a good idea to have known issues and have customers have to "rediscover" and deal with them.
Please let us know if you can replicate the issue.
Bob

 

[Jeff A]

Jeff,
I am in Pittsburgh. Neither Sony nor Sigma mentioned any other lenses being affected. I suspect Sony and Sigma will find some software quark between the A7IV's options and those of the zoom lenses that have multiple optical stabilization modes and customization options.
I have a Tamron 70-180mm — with none of these options — and it never experienced this problem on the A7IV.
It would be a breath of fresh air if these companies were more forthcoming about issues with their technology. I'm not sure who thinks it is a good idea to have known issues and have customers have to "rediscover" and deal with them.
Please let us know if you can replicate the issue.
Bob

I might slip out today anyway. The sun is shining and it's 56° going for a high of 61°.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I hadn't heard of a problem with the 200-600 and an A7IV, but there are a number of reports of issues with the 200-600 and the A7RIV - I wonder if someone got the A7RIV confused with the A7IV? Would not be hard to do.

There is a workaround for the A7RIV (I don't remember what, but Google is your friend) - couldn't hurt to see if the workaround helps the Sigma, could it?

 

[bvishneski]

I hadn't heard of a problem with the 200-600 and an A7IV, but there are a number of reports of issues with the 200-600 and the A7RIV - I wonder if someone got the A7RIV confused with the A7IV? Would not be hard to do.

There is a workaround for the A7RIV (I don't remember what, but Google is your friend) - couldn't hurt to see if the workaround helps the Sigma, could it?

AlphaWorld,

I never contact customer support for any issue until I do some research using the available documentation and resources on the internet. I always assume such issues are my fault until I familiar with and have experimented with the various settings and options available to me.

The Sigma rep was pretty confident Sony confirmed issues with both the Sony 200-600mm and the Sigma 150-600mm Sports lens with the Sony A7IV that were similar in nature. Whether Sigma/Sony will persist in this belief (as they investigate) remains to be seen. I've Googled this issue quite a bit but have not found any reference to a workaround for it on any Sony camera body. I also suspect Sigma might have been aware of such a workaround and offered it as a possibility. If anyone knows of such a link, please pass it along.

The autofocus problem can manifest itself as soon as I turn on the camera. Sometimes not. Autofocus works perfectly for multiple shots and then it becomes unresponsive. Press the back button or shutter button and it focuses. Try it again — nothing. There's no consistency to the steps I follow when the lens works properly or it fails. It's a roll of the dice. I've tried many permutations of the various settings on both the lens and the A7IV's menu, but none have eliminated the problem. Pick a setting from the AF/MF menu, and I've likely tried changing it to see if it had any effect. Same with those on the lens.

As a software industry veteran, I suspect the issue has something to do with an API responsible for communication between the camera and the lens. The lens and camera work perfectly together and then cannot establish a connection with one another. It is as if the camera "forgets" a lens is attached.

 

[Jeff A]

Jeff,
I am in Pittsburgh. Neither Sony nor Sigma mentioned any other lenses being affected. I suspect Sony and Sigma will find some software quark between the A7IV's options and those of the zoom lenses that have multiple optical stabilization modes and customization options.
I have a Tamron 70-180mm — with none of these options — and it never experienced this problem on the A7IV.
It would be a breath of fresh air if these companies were more forthcoming about issues with their technology. I'm not sure who thinks it is a good idea to have known issues and have customers have to "rediscover" and deal with them.
Please let us know if you can replicate the issue.
Bob

Bob, my a7IV worked flawlessly with my FE 100-400. It was the 1st time I have shot using Bird Eye Auto focus. As a matter of fact, I think it's the first time I have shot with any of the Eye Auto Focus modes.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I hadn't heard of a problem with the 200-600 and an A7IV, but there are a number of reports of issues with the 200-600 and the A7RIV - I wonder if someone got the A7RIV confused with the A7IV? Would not be hard to do.

There is a workaround for the A7RIV (I don't remember what, but Google is your friend) - couldn't hurt to see if the workaround helps the Sigma, could it?

There have been loads of reported issues with this combo. Some had issue with the RIV, but not all. Sony have definitely admitted that there's an issue with the new model though.

 

[bvishneski]

Bob, my a7IV worked flawlessly with my FE 100-400. It was the 1st time I have shot using Bird Eye Auto focus. As a matter of fact, I think it's the first time I have shot with any of the Eye Auto Focus modes.

Jeff,
Thanks for the update. That's good news. The Eye Auto Focus is amazing to see in action. I've had it lock on the eye of a pigeon 40-50 feet away at 600mm.
Bob

 

[Jeff A]

Jeff,
Thanks for the update. That's good news. The Eye Auto Focus is amazing to see in action. I've had it lock on the eye of a pigeon 40-50 feet away at 600mm.
Bob

It is pretty cool, no doubt. The capabilities of this camera continue to amaze me.

 

[spudhead]

When I got the 200-600 on launch day and paired it with the a7iii I was using then it was patchy with focus and sharpness, as I recall a couple of updates came and wow the lens was bang on focus and sharp as you like. I guess you use the sigma adaptor with the 150-600?

 

[Clix Pix]

I've never had any issues with my A7R IV and the 200-600mm, nor with the A1 and that lens. I've never tried the Sigma so can't speak to how well that works with the A7R IV. If I recall correctly one of the supposed "fixes" for people with issues was to remove the UVHaze filter or any filter that they may have had on the 200-600mm lens. I have shot both with a filter and without and have not noticed any difference, but some who had reported issues did seem to feel that taking off the filter helped a lot.

 

[bvishneski]

Brownie,

2 Sony A7IVs, 2 Sigma 150-600mm Sport lenses - same issue - camera fails to focus using either the back button AF or shutter button focus methods. I tried every combination of settings available but still experienced the issue intermittently regardless of subject, lighting conditions, etc.

I eventually reset both cameras to factory settings which seemed to reduce the number of focus failures, but did not eliminate them. I only had a few occurrences when photographing some seagulls the other week. Despite the reviews claiming the Sigma lagged the Tamron and Sony, the Sigma seems to keep up with just about anything I focus on.

Regarding the veracity of Sigma, I have no reason to believe its customer support staff are any less/more honest than those of any other camera/lens manufacturers. Sony's customer support suggested to send in two cameras for repair, firmly convinced they had mechanical issues. It turned out that the issue was caused by a setting in the menu - which 6 Sony staff members were unfamiliar with. The chat dialogue from both situations reads like something from a Dilbert cartoon.

I just updated to the latest firmware for the A7IV, but haven't had a chance to test it with the Sigma Sport. Will follow-up once I do.

Bob

 

[bvishneski]

This is cut and paste from an email from Sigma. The issue? Why Sigma hasn't updated firmware in lenses that are still in stock:



So, it's all Sony's fault. Sigma didn't update firmware because Sony doesn't want to pay royalties.

Nah. Sounds like bullshit to me.

In any event, I hope you get it sorted out.

Brownie,
Perhaps. Perhaps not. I ran the issue by a few of the most popular reviewers on the net. All suggested that it was likely an issue with the camera and not the lens. Sigma did get back to me suggesting that this firmware issue may have addressed the issue, but they were not sure due to Sony's description.
Bob

 

[spudhead]

Sigma 150-600mm Sport - Sigma did a great job with this lens. The stabilization is capable of consistently producing sharp shots at 600mm and 1/60th shutter speed. With Tracking turned on, the camera and lens are able to lock on a bird's eye from 40-50 feet away at 600mm, often under challenging lighting conditions.
After testing 3 copies of this lens on two A7IV bodies, using a variety of AF/MF settings, however, I found each lens exhibited the same behavior on both cameras — intermittent failure to autofocus.
When the problem occurs, the normal green box fails to appear, the lens does not focus, and you see a white box in the center of the screen. Switching the various settings on the exterior of the lens seems to allow the lens/camera to reestablish communication, but there is no reliable change that works every time.
Sigma customer support has acknowledged the issue, suggesting the issue requires a firmware fix from Sony. Sigma further indicated Sony is aware of similar issues with Sony 200-600mm, and they may be related.
Sony customer support acknowledged there are known focusing issues with the A7IV/200-600mm, but would not go so far as to suggest those issues are related to the Sigma focus issues I reported.
No word from either company regarding a firmware fix. If anyone is experiencing similar behavior, I urge you to reach out to Sigma and Sony, as this may accelerate delivery of a solution.

 

[spudhead]

So long story short do think the a7/4 is the issue or the sigma lens the issue, or both and then factor issues with the 200-600, nightmare!

 

[Jeff A]

My 2 cents - I believe the combination of the a74 with the Sigma is the issue. I own the exact same 150-600 Sports with the a7riii and it is absolutely problem free (keeping my fingers crossed).

Two of my friends own the 150-600 contemporary, one uses it with his D500 Nikon and the other with his Cannon. Neither have had any problems.

Hence my opinion that the combo is the culprit.

My money is on you charlyee!