Sigma 80-400 OS Flash Problem

RayLarson

I am still test driving my new Sigma 80-400 OS. I am, for the most part, loving it. There is an odd occurance and maybe someone has some insight. On "Auto" and this lens installed the internal flash will open but not fire. If I put my 18-200 back on the flash works fine. Any ideas?? I was hoping to check this lens out at the 80-120mm range with flash. I haven't tried an external flash yet.

ian408

Bump.

RayLarson

ian408 wrote:

Bump.

I think it was a dirty pin or something. Now it is working perfectly.

ian408

RayLarson wrote:

I think it was a dirty pin or something. Now it is working perfectly.

Cool! Thanks for the update.

photobug

RayLarson wrote:

I am still test driving my new Sigma 80-400 OS. I am, for the most part, loving it. There is an odd occurance and maybe someone has some insight. On "Auto" and this lens installed the internal flash will open but not fire. If I put my 18-200 back on the flash works fine. Any ideas?? I was hoping to check this lens out at the 80-120mm range with flash. I haven't tried an external flash yet.

I had a Sigma 80-400 OS lens (Canon mount) and loved it. Never any problem, and the glass was really sharp with good contrast.

I do not recommend using it with pop-up flash. The flash is too near the axis of the lens and it's a physically long lens, so there is a strong possibility you'll get lens shadows in your shots with pop-up flash -- especially at the wider focal lengths.

You're more likely to get away with it at the longer end of the focal lengths, but then, your subject is likely to be more distant, possibly outside the range of the built-in flash.

RayLarson

I agree....the pop up flash is ok at about 80 to 100mm but obviously because of the physical size of the lens an external flash would be in order. I use an SB600. It was just odd that it would not flash at first. Now everything is fine. I find the lens outstanding but it takes some getting used to. The AF works quite well but I find myself using manual focus a lot with it. The glass is very sharp and does provide good contrast. The OS is outstanding. I find it a great lens for the money. The only downside is that children run and birds hid when they see it..

photobug

Sigma black barrel is good!

RayLarson wrote:

The only downside is that children run and birds hid when they see it..

I hear ya. It is big. And if you're hand-holding a high-quality lens like the Sigma (or L glass) in that focal-length range for any length of time, you also need to build up your left arm muscles to support it .
God Bless Canon "L" lenses, every one, with their high optical quality (I even own a couple). The white barrel on longer ones provides a kick-butt, take-no-prisoners, "Heh, I'm pro glass!!" look (kicking sand in the face of nearby Nikons) ... but that white barrel does have its downside -- it's not as unobtrusive as a matte-black barrel, esp on a black camera body. So at least children won't run and birds hide quite as quickly from the Sigma 80-200 as from a Canon 70-200 L or 100-400 L!


Canon claims that the white (Canon calls it "putty") color on the longer L lenses is to reduce heat build-up in the sun ... but do you think Canon really objects when the TV camera pans over photographers on the sidelines of a pro sporting event and all those white lenses pop out in the picture?? Canon has even run magazine ads showing photos of large gaggles of pro sports photogs shooting an event, where 90% of the lenses are white, impuning that pros overwhelmingly depend on Canon cameras and L glass. (Canon no doubt was clever enough to pick an event for the ad with an unusually high white-to-black lens ratio )

RayLarson

Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water my lens is having problems again. When first mounted on the camera it works ok but after a few shots the battery indicator on the camera indicates an almost dead battery. If I re-mount the lens or turn the camera on and off everything is ok. Since the lens is a little over 3 weeks old I am sending it back to Sigma to be checked. None of my other lens have this issue with the D80 body so I suspect something is amiss with the lens. It needs to be fixed since it is less than reliable when I need it. Other than that the glass is sharp and the autofocus is adequate. The OS works well also. My other complaint is that this lens will focus past infinity which I find a little disconcerting but it may be designed that way...I guess I will have to wait until it returns from Sigma to make any more comments.

RayLarson

My 80-400 OS is back from Sigma with no issues found. It looks like me next move is to have the D80 body checked by Nikon. Bought a new 50mm F1.8 and had some focusing issues with that so I am suspecting the body. This is a PIA because this equipment is all practically new and has been handled delicately. So much for QC.