jennea Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 I'm about to go digital (for real this time) and have a hopefully quick question for you all. Is the Sigma 24-70mm 2.8EX lens for Canon compatible with the E-TTL II ability of the Canon 580EX flash? I'm going to get a 30D very soon and am figuring out my lens situation (I already have the Sigma lens). Thanks in advance for your help. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Since it is the camera body that has ETTL II, the answer to your question (at least, on the surface) would be yes, the lens is compatible with ETTL II and the 580EX. However, Sigma lenses have had compatibility problems with Canon bodies in the past (not always specifically the flash implementation). I haven't heard of that particular lens having any problems with Canon bodies or with the flash implemenation. I have heard of the Sigma 18-50 f2.8 having an initial problem with focus assist on Canon 20D bodies only, but that was fixed in subsequent production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennea Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 Thank you, Nadine. I'm also planning to get the Canon 100mm 2.8 USM Macro which I'm fairly excited about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_rubinstein___mancheste Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 The canon forum is probably the most appropriate place for this post. Chances are the folks there will know more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennea Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 Ben, you are absolutely right. I'm just used to interacting with this forum, so I didn't even think to post elsewhere. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gluteal cleft Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 <p><i>"Since it is the camera body that has ETTL II, the answer to your question (at least, on the surface) would be yes, the lens is compatible with ETTL II and the 580EX."</i></p> <p>In order to use E-TTL II, not only do the camera and flash have to support it, the lens must support it as well, in that it must transmit distance information to the body.</p> <p><a href="http://www.pbase.com/fstopjojo/2470">This page</a> has a letter from a Sigma rep, which says the following:</p> <p>"Thank you for your inquiry. 24-70mm F2.8 relays distance information with ETTL-II information with the camera and Speedlite. "</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 A lens doesn't HAVE to send distance info to the camera body for ETTL II to work, but it is nice if it did. ETTL II can function without the distance info, as it does if the flash is bounced, for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_beckmann Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 That's right, distance information is only used with direct flash. And many Canon lenses don't provide it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Yes, if the Sigma lens is newer than 3 years, or if it has been re-chiped by Sigma. That's what I know at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steen holst Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 When Sigma lenses are released, they work with all of the current hardware. When Canon upgraded and changed the communcication protocol between the lens and camera, Sigma was great about re-chipping their older lenses. Fast service/turn-around, and it was completely FREE. It seems like every time Sigma lenses come up, "compatibility" issues are raised. Sigma had a fundamental flaw with their older lenses, which they've corrected. Based on my own personal experience, I would NOT be afraid of compatibility issues in the future. Even if something did "break" a Sigma lens, I'm sure they would provide the same quick free upgrade service they have provided in the past. Here's my experience of the way they handled correcting the problem: - For the ones that could be fixed/upgraded, they provided this service for free. Didn't matter if it was in warranty or out. You had to pay a couple of bucks to ship it to them, but they upgraded it and sent it back for free. - For the ones that couldn't be upgraded, they offerred an upgrade credit. They would credit you on the upgrade and you could keep your old lens (Yes, that's right--this wasn't a buy-back program, it was an owner loyalty program). Granted, this is still (a lot) more money than if the old lens simply worked, but all in all, a fairly generous offer from them. OK, enough of my rant... I just feel like Sigma gets a bad rap in the present for something that happened in the past and has been generously corrected. All of that being said, I'm currently only buying Sigma when there not a similar Canon lens available. If the Sigma 24-70 2.8 just had HSM it might have been another story! Have fun with the 30D! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean_michel_nunes_da_silva Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I've tried today with my Sigma 15-30 EX and 28-70 EX and unfortunatelly , both are not compatible with ETTL II (Canon 20D) Example, metering & distance data are not passed to the camera via the lens. 580EX is not adapting automatically to selected focal length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now