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D5500 and Sigma lens

d5500 sigma compatibility

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17 replies to this topic

#1
Oric Man

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Should my D5500 work with the Sigma 50-500 OS HSM lens ?

 

Got one off ebya but there's no autofocus. I've tried updating firmware but not getting any joy from that.

I guess it's going to have to go back.

 

 



#2
ScottinPollock

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A lot of older Sigma lenses don't do Auto on newer Nikon bodies. You should contact Sigma to see if they are willing/able to update the firmware in the lens.



#3
dcbear78

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It should work. That lens has an internal focus motor which is the usual problems for compatibility with the D3x00 and D5x00 cameras. Sigma did have a firmware problem with that lens and the D5300. They offered a free firmware update or I believe you can do it yourself if you have the Sigma dock. That may be the problem, but I couldn't say for sure as I thought it was just with that particular camera.

 

edit: To clarify I am talking about the lens' firmware, not the camera.



#4
Oric Man

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It seems to be outside of the serial numbers that were problematic.

 

When I press the i button I noticed it is switching between AF-S and MF, like there is a connection problem. I've cleaned the contacts with no joy. I guess I'll have to send it back. If I had to get a repair or buy a dock and then maybe a repair it's  too much money to gamble. :(



#5
Oric Man

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 Sigma did have a firmware problem with that lens and the D5300. They offered a free firmware update or I believe you can do it yourself if you have the Sigma dock. That may be the problem, but I couldn't say for sure as I thought it was just with that particular camera.

The D5500 is very similar to the D5300. This lens isn't listed as being compatible with the Sigma dock. Can any confirm if this lens can be updated with the dock ?



#6
Merco_61

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I am nearly certain that the 50-500 is too early for the dock, but not 100%.

 

The compatibility problem is caused by Nikon starting to use parts of the communications protocol that wasn't used in earlier bodies. This caused many reverse-engineered third-party lenses to stop working as there was no way for the designers to capture a signal to analyse  before the new bodies became available. Before the dock, many SIgma lenses used chips that needed to be physically changed to upgrade the lens firmware.



#7
Oric Man

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So will a lens firmware update fix it?



#8
Merco_61

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Can you borrow an older body to try the lens on from somebody? If it works on a D5200, D7000 or something like that, you will have eliminated there being something wrong with the focus motor, wiring or contacts. If that is the case, it is probably firmware-related.



#9
Oric Man

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So back to the Sigma topic .....

 

Can anyone clear up which lenses work with the D5500 ?

I've seen the Sigma 17-50 and 17-70 listed as recommended lenses, but Sigma say the older lenses may well need updating.

(I got my 50-500 updated. I believe they fit a new chip. Works well but if you buy second-hand and have no receipt it'll cost over ÂŁ40 plus delivery there. So it's be nice to know beforehand.)

Sigma say the newer lenses (with a letter, like C for Contemporary) should work. I'd like a bit more reassurance then 'should'.



#10
Merco_61

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The Contemporary, Art and Sports lenses are all from after the expansion of the Nikon communications protocol. Besides which, they are all Dock-compatible AFAIK. They work, but Sigma won't commit themself and say so. I haven't been interested enough in the Sigma lenses to keep track of what works with what among the earlier production.



#11
Oric Man

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Thanks.

I had a Sigma17-70 for my Pentax which was pretty good. The Sigma 17-50 is meant to be better still ( f2.8 throughout.)

The older version of the 17-70 will need upgrading, I guess. The new one is a Contemporary. The 17-50 is just the old version so would need upgrading.

 

I was thinking of getting a Nikon 16-85 but it doesn't look that much of an improvement over the 18-105 that I have.  So I wondered about the Sigma 17-50

 

I'm interested in getting a wide zoom. There's a Sigma 10-20 in two versions. But there is a Nikon 10-24 which costs a bit more so I'm trying to figure out what the price of a Sigma 10-20 plus an upgrade is going to be vs the Nikon. The older version is cheaper, the new one is f3.5. The Nikon is better according to Ken Rockwell.



#12
Merco_61

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If you are looking for a fast walkaround zoom, the non-VC Tamron 17-50/2.8 is well worth investigating.

 

Here are some samples on a D7200:

One week, one camera, one lens week ending January 14 2018 - Mini-Challenges, Member Contests, and Games - NikonForums.com

One week, one camera, one lens week ending March 11 2018 - Mini-Challenges, Member Contests, and Games - NikonForums.com

 

And on a D300:

One week, one camera, one lens week ending May 21 2017 - Mini-Challenges, Member Contests, and Games - NikonForums.com



#13
Oric Man

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That looks nice - thanks.

 

How are the issues with compatibility? I'd assume if Nikon has changed the way the camera talks to the lens affecting older Sigma lenses then you'd get similar problems with Tamron (???)

 

There's some nice shots there. Do you have any full size ones?

(I'd like to compare with mine at 100%. My own image seem a bit more grainy. Tweaking noise reduction and sharpening isn't quite as effective as it seemed on my Pentax. I got my D5500 online so I worry if it is not 100% genuine. But it mostly seems to perform as expected. )



#14
Merco_61

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Tamron seems to have avoided that protocol problem. I don't know if they were lucky or if they paid Nikon to license the full protocol, but unlike both Tokina and Sigma they have continued working with the new bodies that have proved problematic for the others.

 

I mostly shoot in raw and do the raw conversion with Capture NX-D. This makes it possible to tweak the nose reduction and tone curves while still using Nikon's own debayering and mapping algorithms for the conversion.

 

By the way, you have a PM.



#15
Oric Man

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Thanks that's useful. Tokina too have problems? I was considering a wide zoom from them. 

 

One wonders if Nikon did this to scupper Sigma. I don't see any benefit other than to make Nikon lenses the safe option.

 

I quite like the 18-105 zoom but it's a little soft and I think I should get better sharpness and bokeh from a 17-50. I'm not convinced the Nikon 16-85 is enough improvement to warrant the price.

 

I do shoot Raw - well Jpeg and Raw. I'm still developing my processing skills, so sometimes after tweaking I prefer the jpeg from the camera. Tweaking things in Raw can make things look unnatural, I find. I've tried Aftershot Pro and Raw Therapee but have more success with Lightroom.

The amount of sharpening that is effective seems less than with my Pentax. The noise reduction seems a little more subtle too. So I'm finding I can only improve things a little with sharpness & NR.



#16
Merco_61

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I read some theory that the change was implemented to make the af-p lenses faster and more precise.

I don’t remember if Tokina where caught out this time, I think their problem was an earlier change in the protocol.

Nikon charge a hefty sum for the full protocol specifications, and some third-party lens manufacturers choose to reverse-engineer the protocol instead.

I find that i spend much less time getting things as I want them since I changed to Capture NX-D from ACR for the basic processing.

#17
Oric Man

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Haven't tried Capture NX-D - I'll give it a try.

 

Reading back over the thread I'd like to confirm some points I've learnt after a bit of research and talking to Sigma.

 

Sigma docks only work with the current range that have names like Contemporary, Art etc. So you can't update older/legacy lenses with the dock.

 

The older lenses will likely need updating to work with the newer Nikon cameras like D3300 and D5500. It requires a change of chip, so can't be done via firmware / dock.

This chip upgrade is free if you have the original receipt but will cost you if you don't.



#18
Merco_61

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That sounds just like I have understod it too.





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