Can lenses over expose?

[matt s.]

I just got the sigma 30mm 1.4 for my D50 and it seems to over expose more than my nikkor 50mm 1.8. i have to crank the EV down quite a bit outdoors. A reviewer on B&H stated that it over exposed too. Would this just be a characteristic of this lens? or is it screwed?


its my first non nikon lens.
one helluva a lens though

 

[TimurCivan]

well it is a half stop faster tha nthe F1.8... so yes it will over expose quicker.

 

[egproductions]

I am not sure why since its the camera that decides metering but I have experienced that different lenses will throw, what should be a middle exposure, off.

 

[matt s.]

i shoot mostly aperature priority mode and i usally keep my ev @ -0.3 but ive been shooting this sigma at between -1 and -2 ev. i havent experiemtned with centerweighted metering yet will give it a shot. im usually shooting matrix mode.

 

[egproductions]

i shoot mostly aperature priority mode and i usally keep my ev @ -0.3 but ive been shooting this sigma at between -1 and -2 ev. i havent experiemtned with centerweighted metering yet will give it a shot. im usually shooting matrix mode.

I don't see why you would even want to shoot with center weighted metering if you put your subjects to the side then its not goign to expose properly and if you put them in dead center it probably isn't composed right.

 

[matt s.]

I don't see why you would even want to shoot with center weighted metering if you put your subjects to the side then its not goign to expose properly and if you put them in dead center it probably isn't composed right.

yeah good point i wasnt even thinking about that

 

[Barry_Green]

A lens doesn't "expose", film exposes (or CCDs expose). So no, no lens can overexpose.

As Timur said, a faster lens might make your film overexpose sooner, but there's no such thing as a lens that overexposes.

 

[Digigenic]

I am not sure why since its the camera that decides metering but I have experienced that different lenses will throw, what should be a middle exposure, off.

Yes, certain lenses can throw the metering off a little and create slight over exposure. From what I've seen it's less likely to occur among matching brands - i.e. Nikon lens/Nikon body - Canon lens/Canon body, but when using mismatched lens/body combinations i.e. Sigma/Tokina/Tamron with a Nikon or Canon or Pentax, etc., or really old lenses you may occasionlly experience some issues with the metering, among other things.
My Tamron lens does the same thing on occassion.
I'd wish it was a little more consistent, but it's still good for me.
In the OP's case, if that's the only problem with the Sigma 30 1.4 you've encountered, assuming focus is sharp and CA is low then you still may have gotten one of the 'good' copies. Comparatively speaking.