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Sigma 16 mm

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astevens54

astevens54

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I see a lot of threads about problems with the Sigma 16mm and certain aperture settings with work a rounds. Is the lens that bad or are people being hypercritical?
 
Austin Stevens said:
I see a lot of threads about problems with the Sigma 16mm and certain aperture settings with work a rounds. Is the lens that bad or are people being hypercritical?
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I've never used this lens, nor am I advocating for it. But I think this forum is pretty critical. If you look at ratings on Amazon or B&H, they are about 95% 5-star and 5% 4-star. No ratings have 3 or fewer stars on those sites. Granted there are only about 75 ratings combined between the two.
 
I am considering buying this lens, based on the advise i got in this forum and local camera store.. although i find the price a bit steep for me.. the lens might be deserving, but my budget is not!
 
Mostly hysterics. I'm a pretty casual shooter and this lens is just fine in terms of AF (by casual I mean I'm not investigating these issues or work arounds). Accurate, Passable for native performance
 
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Austin Stevens said:
I see a lot of threads about problems with the Sigma 16mm and certain aperture settings with work a rounds. Is the lens that bad or are people being hypercritical?
Click to expand...
The lens is excellent, but it’s good to be aware of the issue so you can work around it. There are certain apertures and focus distances with AF-S that will result in out of focus images, and other combinations that will result in very slightly misfocussed images. Depending on what type of photography you do, you may take thousands of photos and not encounter any issue.

To be on the safe side, I recommend to use AF-C and/or EyeAF, or focus magnifier, which are all good solutions that give consistently accurate results. (AF in Focus Magnifier works on A6300/6500).
 
Thanks, I would like it for car shows and aircraft museums.
 
Austin Stevens said:
Thanks, I would like it for car shows and aircraft museums.
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Among other things, I use mine for car shows, museums and other interiors for it's wider aperture. I've done work for a couple of museums and I wouldn't hesitate to use it. I use it with AF-C/BBF and there are no issues with the AF.
 
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Austin Stevens said:
I see a lot of threads about problems with the Sigma 16mm and certain aperture settings with work a rounds. Is the lens that bad or are people being hypercritical?
Click to expand...
There is a huge thread still active concerning this issue...my lens is affected missing focus at 2.0 to 2.4. Using Continuous Focus eliminates that focus error. The lens is amazing and among my favorites. I did put a little sticker on the lens hood to remind me of the possible AF issue at 2-2.4.
 
I have this lens and love it. I have not had any of the issues described at 2-3 everyone focuses great. This is the main lens on my a6000 now
 
Wonderful lens. Very sharp and probably the best lens I have for this platform. The focus issue may well exist, but I have yet to notice it. Recommended without reservation.
 
Another to the list of people who don't experience any issues at all...mine's been performing flawlessly on my A6300, without any workarounds. My primary settings for shooting with this lens is from F2.8 to F1.4, always using EVF with live view settings on, Balanced emphasis release mode, Flex spot focus, AF-S only...No focus misses in any situations or subject distances so far.
 
It is a very good lens with only the issue you've seen here on the forum. But that is not a big one, no reason not to buy it.
 
paul wassermann said:
Austin Stevens said:
I see a lot of threads about problems with the Sigma 16mm and certain aperture settings with work a rounds. Is the lens that bad or are people being hypercritical?
Click to expand...
There is a huge thread still active concerning this issue...my lens is affected missing focus at 2.0 to 2.4. Using Continuous Focus eliminates that focus error. The lens is amazing and among my favorites. I did put a little sticker on the lens hood to remind me of the possible AF issue at 2-2.4.
Click to expand...
I know and have been following it. I wanted to hear from others if the people were being hyper critical about the lens. That said, it is good to know about issues and potential issue with your equipment. I would like to thank everyone for their input. I intend on purchasing the lens in the next couple days.
 
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Austin Stevens said:
paul wassermann said:
Austin Stevens said:
I see a lot of threads about problems with the Sigma 16mm and certain aperture settings with work a rounds. Is the lens that bad or are people being hypercritical?
Click to expand...
There is a huge thread still active concerning this issue...my lens is affected missing focus at 2.0 to 2.4. Using Continuous Focus eliminates that focus error. The lens is amazing and among my favorites. I did put a little sticker on the lens hood to remind me of the possible AF issue at 2-2.4.
Click to expand...
I know and have been following it. I wanted to hear from others if the people were being hyper critical about the lens. That said, it is good to know about issues and potential issue with your equipment. I would like to thank everyone for their input. I intend on purchasing the lens in the next couple days.
Click to expand...
I can assure you you will love the lens...I have used scores of lenses over the years, and this is certainly one of the most impressive. I forgot to mention, it does focus correctly through all apertures in single shot focus if I I set Live View Display.....Setting Effect OFF (camera 2 tab page 7 on A6500)
 
Austin Stevens said:
paul wassermann said:
Austin Stevens said:
I see a lot of threads about problems with the Sigma 16mm and certain aperture settings with work a rounds. Is the lens that bad or are people being hypercritical?
Click to expand...
There is a huge thread still active concerning this issue...my lens is affected missing focus at 2.0 to 2.4. Using Continuous Focus eliminates that focus error. The lens is amazing and among my favorites. I did put a little sticker on the lens hood to remind me of the possible AF issue at 2-2.4.
Click to expand...
I know and have been following it. I wanted to hear from others if the people were being hyper critical about the lens. That said, it is good to know about issues and potential issue with your equipment. I would like to thank everyone for their input. I intend on purchasing the lens in the next couple days.
Click to expand...
Good decision, you will enjoy!
 
It's now my favorite overall lens to use. I haven't found any issues.
 
zackiedawg said:
Another to the list of people who don't experience any issues at all...mine's been performing flawlessly on my A6300, without any workarounds. My primary settings for shooting with this lens is from F2.8 to F1.4, always using EVF with live view settings on, Balanced emphasis release mode, Flex spot focus, AF-S only...No focus misses in any situations or subject distances so far.
Click to expand...
Ok, I got curious an used your settings with my Sigma 16/1.4 on my A6500 at an aperture of f/2.5 and compared it to my usual AF Emphasis release mode and the issue was not evident when using Balanced Emphasis. I also used AF-C for a third check.

I toggled back and forth between several iterations and AF Emphasis looks softer than Balanced Emphasis, also, Balanced Emphasis looks just like AF-C.

As a double check, would it be possible for you to try your's using AF Emphasis instead at f/2.5 and see if there is a slight softness compared to Balanced Emphasis and AF-C?
 
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rjjr said:
zackiedawg said:
Another to the list of people who don't experience any issues at all...mine's been performing flawlessly on my A6300, without any workarounds. My primary settings for shooting with this lens is from F2.8 to F1.4, always using EVF with live view settings on, Balanced emphasis release mode, Flex spot focus, AF-S only...No focus misses in any situations or subject distances so far.
Click to expand...
Ok, I got curious an used your settings with my Sigma 16/1.4 on my A6500 at an aperture of f/2.5 and compared it to my usual AF Emphasis release mode and the issue was not evident when using Balanced Emphasis. I also used AF-C for a third check.

I toggled back and forth between several iterations and AF Emphasis looks softer than Balanced Emphasis, also, Balanced Emphasis looks just like AF-C.

As a double check, would it be possible for you to try your's using AF Emphasis instead at f/2.5 and see if there is a slight softness compared to Balanced Emphasis and AF-C?
Click to expand...
I'll give it a try - probably tomorrow night once I get home from work. I don't usually use AF emphasis for walkaround shooting but curious to see if maybe that's where the issue is hiding.
 
Does anyone know if this issue can be fixed with a firmware update?
 
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