C200: AF-Performance with Sigma with 18-35mm F1.8

M

michi

Member
Hello C200-Users

I'm looking to buy a C200 so I tested the camera today with my two Sigma-Zooms. While the 50-100mm F1.8 worked flawlessly on the C200, its little brother, the 18-35mm F1.8 did not. "Touch to focus" didn't work at all (actually AF didn't work at all) and the settings to adjust AF-Speed and AF-Delay were greyed out. Now my 18-35 is fairly old, I bought it short after its release and have never updated the firmware (so I assume it's Version 1.0). Does any C200 user know if a 18-35-Zoom with updated Firmware works in AF-mode on the C200 and if the settings for AF-Speed and AF-Delay are still greyed out?

Cheers,
Michael
 
my 18-35 is working just fine with the c200 auto focus.
AF-Speed and AF-Delay are still greyed out but you can adjust response time.
they are also greyed out on my 24-105L is
 
Thanks for your feedback. Good to know! Do you know what firmware version is on your 18-35? I wonder if the issue i had can be fixed through a firmware-update. Or could it be a hardware-related problem (meaning sigma changed some of the lens interiors during production)? As your 24-105L my EF-S 17-55 too had those AF-functions greyed out. Probably that old USM-motors are just not up to the task. Nevertheless AF worked great with that lens...
 
I have a Sigma 18-35 with latest firmware and touch to focus or auto focus works fine on the C200. You might try it with aperture wide open. There was an old firmware with that lens that only worked with Dual Pixel Auto Focus on the C100 when you had the F stop set to 1.8.

As avian said, I don't think you'll get access to focus speed and delay but everything else is available. Those settings are probably reserved for STM or more modern and Canon-branded lenses.
 
recently updated to the latest firmware don't remember what the previous one was.
my lens was one of the first batch lenses as well so you'll probably will be good
 
Thanks again. So I‘ll have to look out for one of thos sigma usb-docks...
Appreciate your help!
Cheers
 
You can rent them from lensrentals.com I think, but also Adorama has a TON of them used at the moment. I bought mine used and it has worked flawlessly.
 
Joined the Sigma 18-35 & Sigma Dock club this week. Did some testing today (with the latest firmware). Works good for stationary-ish subjects, but the Sigma is still noticeably slow on the draw when tracking subjects that are coming towards or away from the camera. Even though the camera's focus tracking overlay is tracking every move perfectly, it's almost as if it takes the lens half a second to realize something's moving and then the AF motor kicks in. Once it's kicked in, it's a hair behind, but catches up pretty quickly once your subject stops. Would be nice if it gets better in a firmware update.

Tested some new Canon lenses after this lens (50 1.4 and 85 1.8) and the Canon motors definitely kick in faster once something starts moving.
 
chris f said:
Joined the Sigma 18-35 & Sigma Dock club this week. Did some testing today (with the latest firmware). Works good for stationary-ish subjects, but the Sigma is still noticeably slow on the draw when tracking subjects that are coming towards or away from the camera. Even though the camera's focus tracking overlay is tracking every move perfectly, it's almost as if it takes the lens half a second to realize something's moving and then the AF motor kicks in. Once it's kicked in, it's a hair behind, but catches up pretty quickly once your subject stops. Would be nice if it gets better in a firmware update.

Tested some new Canon lenses after this lens (50 1.4 and 85 1.8) and the Canon motors definitely kick in faster once something starts moving.
Click to expand...

Can you adjust response time to compensate, or it doesn't work like that?
 
chris f said:
Unfortunately not on the Sigma, you can with Canon brand lenses through the camera though.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I forgot. For gimbal work, are you exclusively Canon lenses? I'm thinking of picking up a sigma 50-100. Do you think the AF would be OK for sit down interviews? I prefer the 50-100 range over the 24-70. I already own a 70-200 ii. Maybe I could get by with a 50mm prime. Are you talking about this lens - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12140-USA/Canon_2515A003_50mm_f_1_4_USM_Autofocus.html?
 
The Sigma 50-100 is a decent lens, but you would never want to use it with continuous AF. The focus breathing is pronounced and any little adjustment would cause a noticeable shift in the framing.
 
cpreston said:
The Sigma 50-100 is a decent lens, but you would never want to use it with continuous AF. The focus breathing is pronounced and any little adjustment would cause a noticeable shift in the framing.
Click to expand...

Even for an interview? I.e. if you need to adjust focus manually anyway, it shouldn't matter?

My personal aesthetic preference aside, I think if a production is happy to use a c200, there's a strong chance the clients won't have a clue about breathing, and may even think it looks cool, otherwise it's in the real of a shortcoming they can live with. Showing a product page with the price tag of a cinema lens that doesn't breathe would go a long way.

You make a good point though, it's important to be conscious of whether a shot is too jarring. I'm definitely going to borrow the lens and do lots of tests before buying.
 
Do a YouTube search for Sigma Art 50-100 breathing. It’s a very nice lens but a focus pull, even while just on an interview, may look a little unnantural. The glass just travels a lot when focusing. This is of course subjective so if it’s fine for you I think the lens is a steal. I personally opted for the 50 and 85 Art instead of the 50-100.
 
A couple months ago, Steve Oakley put of a nice quick video talking about the Sigma 50-100. Mainly focusing (<-- lens joke!) on AF performance, but of course he also talks about breathing (starting 02:45 in). Steve's a pretty sharp guy, imo (<-- worse lens joke!), so this is worth the 07:30 length, imo:

 
rob norton said:
Oh yeah, I forgot. For gimbal work, are you exclusively Canon lenses? I'm thinking of picking up a sigma 50-100. Do you think the AF would be OK for sit down interviews? I prefer the 50-100 range over the 24-70. I already own a 70-200 ii. Maybe I could get by with a 50mm prime. Are you talking about this lens - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12140-USA/Canon_2515A003_50mm_f_1_4_USM_Autofocus.html?
Click to expand...

Yep that's the lens. I picked up that one and the 85 1.8 almost exclusively to serve as face-detection autofocus interview lenses on the C200. If I remember right those two lenses combined are significantly cheaper than the Sigma 50-100.

Personally for gimbal work I do everything with the Canon 16-35 f/4 or the Canon 10-18 and both work great - good autofocus and image stabilization to help smooth out bumps. If the director insists that I use a different lens I hold my breath and hope that warp stabilizer comes to the rescue.
 
If you are shooting at f/1.8, the focus breathing will be somewhat hidden by the changing bokeh. At an aperture that allows the background to be distinguishable, you will see a very noticeable shift in the framing. I think the 50-100 is a great complement to the 18-35, but the focus breathing makes it somewhat of a specialized lens. My tests showed that at close focus, the lens is more like a 75-150mm rather than a 50-100mm.
 
Apologies to michi for derailing the thread, although I guess it's slightly relevant.

Thanks for all the replies, this is all really interesting stuff.

I obviously need to find where I draw the line but size, price, weight, AF ability, $$ that can go elsewhere, and opportunity to leverage equipment all sit higher on my priority list than breathing. If canon made a smaller (than Sigma) f/2.8 50-100mm I'd buy one instantly!

Thanks Chris, I hadn't considered the 50 1.4, that may be the way to go!
 
cpreston said:
I think the 50-100 is a great complement to the 18-35, but the focus breathing makes it somewhat of a specialized lens.
Click to expand...

But one of the specialties, for many, is interviews... I love working with primes, but don't always have the ability to scoot the camera to the precise place I want. So a zoom (say, the Canon 70-200... or the Sigma 50-100) is a pretty helpful tool. Steve's video above shows a couple examples of the breathing; looks acceptable for lots of jobs...

But away from interviews, ya, it's a bit more specialized...
 
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