Auto Focus Dilemma: This is a two-camera and one-lens dilemma. a. Nikon D500, b. Nikon D800E, c. Sigma DG 150-500 mm 5-6.3 APO HSM. The dilemma: Both the 800E and the 500 will focus...

starShoot

This is a two-camera and one-lens dilemma. a. Nikon D500, b. Nikon D800E, c. Sigma DG 150-500 mm 5-6.3 APO HSM.

The dilemma: Both the 800E and the 500 will focus all of my lenses, except for the Sigma (c).

The 800E shows an error not listed in the manual. When the lens is attached to the 800E, "AF-S" flashes and the camera will not focus this lens. It does focus in Manual. As stated, the lens does autofocus on the 500.

I know that a lot of you Nikonians are technically more astute than me (not hard to achieve), so any idea about why this lens and the D800E seem incompatible? Does anyone have an idea of what might be a solution?

Thank you for your consideration of this mystery.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

starShoot wrote:

This is a two-camera and one-lens dilemma. a. Niko... (show quote)

Hmmm. Curious. I'll check back and see if you get some answers.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

starShoot wrote:

This is a two-camera and one-lens dilemma. a. Niko... (show quote)

Have you checked with sigma to see if the lens is fully compatible with the 800e? It looks like it is, but maybe verify that with sigma.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

starShoot wrote:

This is a two-camera and one-lens dilemma. a. Niko... (show quote)

The question I will ask is whether the firmware in the D800E is current. The statement I will make is that if you check out the Nikon lens compatibility chart at
https://www.nikonusa.com/images/learn-explore/photography-techniques/2011/which-nikkor-is-right-for-you/media/nikkor-lens-compatibility-chart.pdf
you will note that the D500 is compatible with more Nikkor lenses than any other Nikon DSLR. It is possible that the same is true for compatibility with lenses by other manufacturers. There could also be a need for updated firmware in the lens to make it work on the D800E.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

larryepage wrote:

The question I will ask is whether the firmware in... (show quote)

Note too the D800e is a FX camera and the D500 is a DX. Makes sense their compatibilities would differ.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

lamiaceae wrote:

Note too the D800e is a FX camera and the D500 is a DX. Makes sense their compatibilities would differ.

I also don't know if, since the D800e is an astro-modified camera, there may be specific differences in the camera firmware or in the camera tables built into the lens firmware. I do know that the D810 and D850 use even DX Nikkor lenses just fine. But I don't have any experience with the D800 family.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

lamiaceae wrote:

Note too the D800e is a FX camera and the D500 is a DX. Makes sense their compatibilities would differ.

The Sigma DG 150-500 mm 5-6.3 APO HSM is an FX lens

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

PHRubin wrote:

The Sigma DG 150-500 mm 5-6.3 APO HSM is an FX lens

cmc4214 Loc: S.W. Pennsylvania

larryepage wrote:

I also don't know if, since the D800e is an astro-modified camera, there may be specific differences in the camera firmware or in the camera tables built into the lens firmware. I do know that the D810 and D850 use even DX Nikkor lenses just fine. But I don't have any experience with the D800 family.

D800E astro modified???

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

cmc4214 wrote:

D800E astro modified???

That was an error that I realized too late to fix. I'll have to live with it until it fades from memory.

I do wonder if there could be firmware differences, though, since it was prototyping no anti-aliasing filter.

JBRIII

larryepage wrote:

I also don't know if, since the D800e is an astro-modified camera, there may be specific differences in the camera firmware or in the camera tables built into the lens firmware. I do know that the D810 and D850 use even DX Nikkor lenses just fine. But I don't have any experience with the D800 family.

Some companies set the focus to a specific lens when doing astro-mods, also the clean sensor options no longer works. Never heard this causes your problem, but just mention this. A true astro-mod would never be useful at short distances as only far red gets thru the filter?

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

Why don’t you call Sigma. They should be the experts.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

starShoot wrote:

This is a two-camera and one-lens dilemma. a. Niko... (show quote)

I had that lens. The autofocus motor was was. Sent it to sigma they fixed it for a little over a hundred bucks. I also told them I was shooting a d500 and it came back sharper than before. It was a great lens.

JerryN

It is possibly a firmware issue. I bought a used D610 and checked the firmware, it was not current. Before updating I checked for any issues and found that the update could cause issues with Sigma lenses. There are a number of posts on the internet showing problems with some Nikon models and Sigma lenses after a firmware update. Two solutions: downgrade the firmware or send the lens to Sigma.

starShoot

True. The lens is an FX lens. That it auto focuses with the DX camera, but not with the FX camera causes this to be even more vexing. Two updates: The D800E is NOT specialized for astronomy, and trying to speak to Sigma was akin to pulling hen's teeth. Not going to send the lens in. I'll just use manual focus with the D800E for land and city scapes and auto focus with the D500 for birds, aircraft and other moving subjects since it has more apparent reach in any case. Thank you to those who responded; it was appreciated.