I have a SIGMA lens on my Nikon body and ‘FEE’ is displayed on the cameras’ LCD.
Simply turn the lens’ aperture ring to the minimum aperture (eg. f/22) where it will lock into position. This is usually indicated by an orange dot.
I have just purchased a new SIGMA optically stabalised lens and notice that the lens makes a slight noise when I half press the shutter button. Is that normal?
OS lenses do make a soft noise upon start up. This noise emits whilst the OS system is setting into position. Once the OS is set, generally after one or two seconds, the noise will stop. This is completely normal for OS lenses.
I have just purchased a SIGMA lens for my Nikon camera, however the aperture will not close. Is the lens faulty?
No, simply set the aperture ring to F22, marked in red, and lock the aperture ring. Then use the camera to change the aperture instead of the lens.
My EX tele-converter won’t fit on my SIGMA lens.
EX converters are matched tele-converters designed to give optimum quality. This does limit the lenses they can be used with.
When attaching my old SIGMA lens to my new Canon digital camera, an Error99 message appears.
This could either be due to the lens’ iris or the lens’ circuit which may need upgrading. Please contact us for further details. To speed up you enquiry, please have to hand the exact model number and serial number of your lens.
I have an old SIGMA 70-300mm lens which I gather needs ‘re-chipping’ to work on my new Canon digital SLR. Can this be done?
The majority of lenses we can rechip. However there are a few older lenses which we are unable to re-chip due to parts no longer being available. In order to answer your question, we need to determine which 70-300mm lens you have. If you look at the lens, is the Macro switch held on by two screws? Or does it state ‘Super’ on the unit?
My lens makes a loud, grinding noise when I manual focus.
Ensure that the camera / lens is in MF mode when manual focusing otherwise this could cause damage to the gearing system.
The zoom action of my lens keeps slipping when I point the lens down.
Each of the Sigma prime macro lenses offer up to 1:1 (Life-size) reproduction images, but at different working distances. For example, the 50mm lens provides the shortest working distance and the 180mm lens the longest working distance. Therefore, if you are looking to do copy or reproduction work, the 50mm is likely to be your best choice. If however you photograph small insects, the 150mm or 180mm may be better suited as these allow you to stand a little further away from the subject whilst still giving you the same image. This may prevent disturbing the insect. All provide excellent optical performance, and are fully compatible with current 35mm AF and digital SLR cameras.
I have several specs of dust in my lens. Will this affect my pictures?
No. This will make no difference to image quality as the dust is too far away from the sensor. If you do have dust specs on your pictures, this will be due to dust particles on you image sensor.
My front element is chipped.
Small chips are unlikely to make any difference to picture quality and therefore is generally not worth any further action. Larger chips may cause flair under certain lighting conditions. If you feel this may be the case please contact us.
I appear to be getting a thin red outline around high contrast areas in some of my pictures such as tree branches against a light sky.
This is more than likely due to a phenomenon called ‘bleeding’ on your image sensor. This is where light from one pixel bleeds over to an adjacent pixel which is designed to detect a different colour. This is a disadvantage to Bayer type sensors and the result is a thin red outline around dark areas on a bright background.
There is slight movement between my lens and camera when connected.
Very slight ‘play’ between lens and camera is quite common. If all the functions are working correctly, ie. the aperture information is being passed from the lens to the camera, you will not need to take any further action. If the functions are not working correctly, please send the lens into us.
I am getting vignetting in the corners of my images.
Ensure you are not using a DC lens on a full frame or 35mm film camera. If your lens uses a petal type lens hood, ensure this is correctly fitted otherwise the hood outline will appear in the corners of the picture. If your lens uses a front cap adaptor ring to hold the lens cap in place, such as a fisheye or 12-24mm, ensure this adapter ring is removed.
I am getting a dark area at the bottom of my pictures when using my camera’s built-in flash.
This is due to the lens hood blocking part of the light from the flashgun. Either remove the hood from the lens or purchase an external flashgun such as the EF-530 DG ST.
My SIGMA teleconverter won’t fit to my new 50-500mm lens.
Zoom the lens out to 100mm or further and lock the ‘CONV’ switch into place. This will allow your converter to fit without damaging the rear element of your lens. See your instruction leaflet for further details.
I can´t get my lens to autofocus.
If you have a DF (Dual Focus) lens, you will need to pull the clutch/focusing ring to activate the AF. See you lens’ instructions for further details. If using a Nikon camera, the AF/MF switch is located on the camera body as opposed to on the lens, ensure you turn this switch to the AF position.