Canon micro focus adjustment for sigma 150-600mm

Russdaz1

Russdaz1

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Darren Russell
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Hi,

My sigma at 820mm yes tc fitted seems to focus behind the subjects at extreme ranges, seems good at around 25m how to adjust. Is that a plus or minus on the canon 1dx m2 in micro focus.

Will changing the settings for say 50mtrs effect focus at 25mtrs.

https://flic.kr/p/2gDsxMm

Or am I expecting to much for bird to be in focus?
View: https://flic.kr/p/2gDsxMm
 
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Russdaz1 said:
Hi,

My sigma at 820mm yes tc fitted seems to focus behind the subjects at extreme ranges, seems good at around 25m how to adjust. Is that a plus or minus on the canon 1dx m2 in micro focus.
Click to expand...
It'll require 'minus'.......the + or - refers to the direction that you want to move the plane of focus.
 
Thanks another silly question what does w and t refer to.

I assume from what I read w is for the 150mm end of the zoom, and the t is 600mm end?
 
To be honest that is at extreme range and as such other things will come into play ,such as light disfraction ,heat haze ,athmospherics .... personally I wouldn't mess around with it based on this picture .

The secrets of using a mega range setup such as this successfully is to get closer to your target not think that you can stand further away then get a good shot ..

And for God’s sake Darren I have just checked your iso it’s 6400iso on a full frame 1DX your trying to achieve the impossible leave well alone m8
 
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Yeah that was the most extreme I could go, I wasn’t expecting much from it all.

Just had a play with a true focus card and at 600mm with the tc it seems to focus towards the back to 3stops. But that’s at about 20mtrs without
It’s -1, by the look of it. It’s been noticeable with birds in flight, including planes.

Has a similar effect with the 70-200mm f2.8

As for the iso I have been letting the camera choose it so far. I won’t lie I am pushing the kit to its limits and behond to learn what she can do. Before the DTMs at brands Hatch and Bsb. Where the tc would be a benefit.
 
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Shoot in a.v mode ,auto iso ,keep shutter speed to well above 1/2000th sec with that focal length ,stop down one stop I.e f10 ...shutter speed is the important one here .possibly useing a firm tripod and gimbal might help to unless you have extra steady hands
 
Thanks Yeah stable arm from shooting, and motorsport photography but I have been using a mono pod with a gimbal, getting some good results now I am getting used to it.

Was dark with little sunlight today, very overcast.
 
Thanks with the birds I have tended to use 1/1000 to 1/3000, but at f9. The kingfisher get the a bit early tbh I wasn’t setup, literally I got there and it flow in. I did get some more with faster speed but there pretty dark due to light levels.

I deleted the shots of planes that the focus point was missed.

Not sure how these look on pc only large iPad Pro atm, as haven’t got one and only uploaded LR small 2000pix examples. But the missing of focus only really applies to fitting of the 1.4tc.
 
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Have you thought about getting the sigma dock? I’m putting one in the classifieds tonight.
 
Yeah I was told about these last night, googled for a price of it and for the price I am considering one. Did you find it made much difference?

Do they attach to lens and body when adjusting?

I don’t think there’s much wrong with the lens itself I think it’s the 1.4tc that throw it of it a tad. I took this last night unedited raw top focus with surrounding points enabled, into the sun. Focus was on the eye. (The eye was in the shade) Seems pretty sharp (deffo sharper) to me now up to around 20mtrs. Past that not sure haven’t got any shots past that I’d say where useable but I was hand holding at the time.

https://flic.kr/p/2gEvg3C
View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/182875825@N08/48349779772/in/dateposted-public/


But it would be interesting to setup up other parts of zoom if possible, and make it faster to focus.
 
The dock attaches to the lens and then you can connect to computer and to adjust settings / focus adjust and firmware.

I have a 120-300 and use this facility to tweak focus to my primary camera, then use the in camera MF adjustment on the other to calibrate that.
 
Russdaz1 said:
Yeah I was told about these last night, googled for a price of it and for the price I am considering one. Did you find it made much difference?

Do they attach to lens and body when adjusting?

I don’t think there’s much wrong with the lens itself I think it’s the 1.4tc that throw it of it a tad. I took this last night unedited raw top focus with surrounding points enabled, into the sun. Focus was on the eye. (The eye was in the shade) Seems pretty sharp (deffo sharper) to me now up to around 20mtrs. Past that not sure haven’t got any shots past that I’d say where useable but I was hand holding at the time.

https://flic.kr/p/2gEvg3C
View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/182875825@N08/48349779772/in/dateposted-public/


But it would be interesting to setup up other parts of zoom if possible, and make it faster to focus.
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what the hell is that sticking out of its neck ???? a fishermans lure ????
 
Unfortunately yes, has one each of his neck.
 
Just bought a tc1401 will be coupling it to my 150-600C on the Nikon D7200 should be here in a couple of days so let you know how I get on
 
Pretty much every one talks about a drop off in sharpness with tele converters, but tbh at the range I can test I can’t see any drop off now. The lens at 600mm was actually +1 but -5 with the canon 1.4 tc

Just remember the focus target like I used has to be the same height as the camera. But Canon recommend something on the plus side of 50mtrs for a 600mm
 
When doing a micro adjust if you have a small life size bird figurine , set it up at a distance where it will adequately fill the frame with the t.c attached . And if possible at the same level as your camera . First off take a few shots with o.s off ,lens wide open , single shot mode . Focus on the eye and see if it’s sharp . This will determine whether you need a m.a or not . If it’s still not sharp replace the figurine with a graduated sloping .m.a chart repeat process and check whether you are front or back focussing and if so alter m.a in camera only .
There is totally no point in doing a m.a at the ranges that canon suggest as unless you shooting swans regularly or articulated lorries then it will just confuse you .
Once you get this right ,take off tripod switch o.s back on , stop down to f11 , , put it in burst mode etc ....ensure that your shutter speed exceeds 1/2000th sec and take a few hand held
 
a quick trip out to the beach this morning to test out my new sigma tc-1401 , camera Nikon D7200 , lens sigma 150-600 C I took a hundred or so shots hand held and heres a couple of results with a shutter speed of 1/1000th sec 9 point a/f . I can see from looking through the rest of the files that there are no back or front MA issues but I will have to increase my shutter speed to at least 1/2000th sec to counteract shake hand held .might be easier on a tripod + plus I'm still a bit wobbly after my recent heart attack
1.4 test 2 by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr

1.4tc long range test by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
 
try this one again hand held after re-setting the shutter speed. no range given on the exif data but its a couple of hundred yards away
post test by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
 
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og I did something like that,, that's one reason I knew something was a miss. the actual I target I got made it it easier to see how far out it was.
 
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Russdaz1 said:
Actually really worth getting hold of the software, at one point in one distance I was 17 points out and another end only 7 points out. took 4hours, but really happy with the results. also with the sport model you can use custom settings to speed up autofocus.
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You can on the C as well it’s exactly the same but lighter . I had the sport for three years + but got fed up with the weight no difference bar the weatherproofing. In fact I will state that I have none of the problems with the C that I had with the sport one of which was sending it back to Japan for a total rebuild
 
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the black fox said:
You can on the C as well it’s exactly the same but lighter . I had the sport for three years + but got fed up with the weight no difference bar the weatherproofing. In fact I will state that I have none of the problems with the C that I had with the sport one of which was sending it back to Japan for a total rebuild
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Ouch sounds like you got bad one then. I wasn't sure if you could do the speed on the c, it wasn't mentioned on the video I saw of the c, only sigmas video, an people talking about the sports version.
 
Russdaz1 said:
Y
As for the iso I have been letting the camera choose it so far. I won’t lie I am pushing the kit to its limits and behond to learn what she can do. Before the DTMs at brands Hatch and Bsb. Where the tc would be a benefit.
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When did you last go to Brands Hatch ?
Not been this year but you might find this thread interesting

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/brands-hatch-gp-circuit.696384/

The GP circuit used to have some great places for photography but it seems they have put high fences up ;)
Not been yet this year was thinking of going to the final BSB meet but not sure I will now
 
Gremlin said:
When did you last go to Brands Hatch ?
Not been this year but you might find this thread interesting

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/brands-hatch-gp-circuit.696384/

The GP circuit used to have some great places for photography but it seems they have put high fences up ;)
Not been yet this year was thinking of going to the final BSB meet but not sure I will now
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There even doing it on the local autograss meets I sometimes go to ingrid . Makes it hard work and even when you find a way around it the next time they will have blocked it .sods law
 
the black fox said:
There even doing it on the local autograss meets I sometimes go to ingrid . Makes it hard work and even when you find a way around it the next time they will have blocked it .sods law
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Health and Safety gone mad, I used to get trackside access to lawnmower racing wjhen it was a small local thing, now
it's gone national no chance

ps. Glad I'm not the only one that loves the peace and quiet of wildlife and enjoys the noise and speed of motor
events :D
 
Gremlin said:
When did you last go to Brands Hatch ?
Not been this year but you might find this thread interesting

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/brands-hatch-gp-circuit.696384/

The GP circuit used to have some great places for photography but it seems they have put high fences up ;)
Not been yet this year was thinking of going to the final BSB meet but not sure I will now
Click to expand...

I haven't been this year yet, or the end of last year, but I did stop taking my camera at one point and just enjoyed the racing as I lost a bit of erm mojo the. fences don't normal bother me with bikes and the camera the camera can see through them so to speak. but the focal lengths meant cars could be different made me look for other spots through. I want to go to DTM and BSB this year. Money is a little tight to go every weekend like I was at one point. Wildlife is much cheaper day out.

But the places Id go alway had fences, and some people here (not my original account forgot the password and no longer have the email to it) and else where thought I was press.
 
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