Sony Annnnnnd...we're off!

Yeah, we’re going to see just what companies want to do post-Christmas for sales. Some years there are some really hard to pass up deals. I also got that KEH email, and I was surprised at what they considered “overstock.” Normally when I hear ”overstock,” I think of retailers trying to clear out things like size 45-26 pants and size 18 shoes. No, they had current M43 gear in there, along with lots of DSLR and Film stuff.
Just secret code for stuff that isn't selling. They had some PL 50-200 lenses starting at $1100 less 20%. That's a killer deal.
 
Just secret code for stuff that isn't selling. They had some PL 50-200 lenses starting at $1100 less 20%. That's a killer deal.
I saw that, too. I’m surprised, since that lens is often not even available used. At one time, I would have been very tempted, but I’m hoping the 40-150 f4 is more to my taste. The 12-45 f4 is such a great little lens, so I’m hopeful for this one, too.
 
I saw that, too. I’m surprised, since that lens is often not even available used. At one time, I would have been very tempted, but I’m hoping the 40-150 f4 is more to my taste. The 12-45 f4 is such a great little lens, so I’m hopeful for this one, too.
It's usually not available because it's not that popular. Strange, since it sets way toward the top of best M-4/3 lenses available. I think the problem is cost Vs Focal Range. There are plenty of options, the 40-150, 45-150, 45-200, 70-300, and all except the 40-150 Oly 2.8 pro are less $ by a good margin.
 
The 'like new' condition factory refurb lens came today. There's a dent on the barrel and marks all over the focus ring. Very disappointing.

I have purchased lenses from KEH in excellent and even bargain grade that looked better than this. I sent them an email suggesting they sent me the wrong lens. There are no other listings for that lens in LN condition so I'm pretty sure this is the only one they had.

Highly unusual for KEH. They are usually ultra-conservative in their grading. Not sure what to do. It was still a good deal but when I buy something in LN condition that's what I expect. If they can't replace it, I may ask them to discount it to 'good' condition.

Sucks.
 
Pretty agitated right now. I just mounted the100-400 to the camera to check firmware. Shure as hell, it has the old firmware V 1 which cannot be updated by the user. If I want to update it I'll have to send it to a Sigma service center for them to do it. Screw that, I am absolutely not going to send a brand new lens to the manufacturer and wait for who knows how long for it to come back. It'd be different if I already owned the lens for a while when they discovered the problem. I didn't check in the store because I figured the old ones would be long gone by now. :doh:

I'm going to take it back tomorrow and if they don't have one with updated firmware to exchange I'll get a refund. Maybe B&H has some in stock. This time I'll ask first.
 
Pretty agitated right now. I just mounted the100-400 to the camera to check firmware. Shure as hell, it has the old firmware V 1 which cannot be updated by the user. If I want to update it I'll have to send it to a Sigma service center for them to do it. Screw that, I am absolutely not going to send a brand new lens to the manufacturer and wait for who knows how long for it to come back. It'd be different if I already owned the lens for a while when they discovered the problem. I didn't check in the store because I figured the old ones would be long gone by now. :doh:

I'm going to take it back tomorrow and if they don't have one with updated firmware to exchange I'll get a refund. Maybe B&H has some in stock. This time I'll ask first.
If you run into a wall I can tell you that the Sigma Service in Ronkonkoma, NY is on the ball. I noticed some softness in my 150-600 intermittently and after checking with the local shop I sent it in to them. I thought I'd be in for a long wait and parade of excuses as to what it could be.

I was wrong.

They couldn't replicate what I was seeing so they decided to send me a brand new lens and send the 6 month old one I sent them back to Japan for them to do an autopsy on it.

The whole process took less then 10 days. I couldn't be happier. Probably the best customer service I've experienced in years.

One other note. The store you bought the lens from may be able to do the update there if they are licensed dealer for Sigma.

Another point that may or may not be related. The A7riv I just bought is the one without the updated swivel screen, which is what I wanted. Nobody has them but it showed up at the local store after being backordered for months as a result of supply chain issues. Your lens may have been stuck in the pipeline and missed the update as a result. As I said, that may or may not be the case, just a thought.
 
I don't think the store can do the update, they're not a service center. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Turns out there's a Sigma service/repair center in Wyandotte, MI, (not sure why you had to send yours to NY?) which is about 35 miles away. I don't know if I can take it in and they'll do it while I wait or what. So, unless the store can do it or has a replacement, my options are to mail it in at my own expense or spend $15 on gas to take it to the service center. Neither one of those is an acceptable answer for a brand-new lens. In any event they aren't open until Monday, and I'm taking this lens back tomorrow. Only other option is if the store wants to deal with it and give me a loaner while I wait. I have a very low tolerance level for this kind of crap.
 
I don't think the store can do the update, they're not a service center. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Turns out there's a Sigma service/repair center in Wyandotte, MI, (not sure why you had to send yours to NY?) which is about 35 miles away. I don't know if I can take it in and they'll do it while I wait or what. So, unless the store can do it or has a replacement, my options are to mail it in at my own expense or spend $15 on gas to take it to the service center. Neither one of those is an acceptable answer for a brand-new lens. In any event they aren't open until Monday, and I'm taking this lens back tomorrow. Only other option is if the store wants to deal with it and give me a loaner while I wait. I have a very low tolerance level for this kind of crap.
Yes, it seems we have to be extra diligent these days to make sure we are getting what we pay for. I chose to send mine to NY to eliminate any possible issues with a middleman. Sending it directly to Sigma Corporation seemed the better choice over an "authorized Sigma Service Center". The service center may have been able to resolve the softness issue, but I doubt they would have offered a new replacement as fast as Sigma Corp did. In the end it may have involved a little more effort on my part, but I'm happy with the way it turned out....And the new lens has a tighter lockup with my A7rii than the other did, so that was a plus.
 
Well, I was hoping to learn more about what the update accomplishes since Sigma's description is so vague. I've searched so many different terms it's ridiculous. I can't find anything else, just some people on forums saying they've been waiting for a month or more. Seems like this entire issue just fell through the cracks.

I spoke with B&H. They have no idea if the lenses in stock have V1 or V2 firmware, and they won't make any effort to find out. He said it's on Sigma, they should be recalling the lenses within the serial # range and updating them. I agreed that would be the best way to go, but also pointed out that B&H has a responsibility to their customers to make sure they aren't selling new product with obsolete firmware that must be returned to the manufacturer for correction at the customers expense. Seems to me they'd contact Sigma and ask which of their stock needs to be updated.

I called the store once they opened. They agreed these are hoops one shouldn't have to jump through. He also pointed out that it'd be tough to tell which lens you have, since the warehouses and manufacturer's don't rotate stock. It's highly probable an older one could get shipped recently if stock is low.

They don't have any more in stock nor do they have one in their rental system, so they offered 2 solutions:
  • Full refund
  • They will send the lens to Sigma so I don't have to deal with it. Problem with that is we don't know how long it will take.
Since we know that there's a local service center, he's going to call them tomorrow to try and figure out turnaround time. He's also going to check to see if they can do it while someone waits, since if it's truly a firmware update it should only take 10 minutes.

Interestingly, both he and the guy from B&H believe that since it must be returned for the update and it's taking a month or more for people to get them back, they're probably changing something physically in the lens. Early reports were that people were getting them back quickly, so this could be a chip swap with a supply chain issue.

Rats.
 
I know more now. I decided to send Sigma a nasty-gram via their website contact form, and unbelievably a guy responded yesterday (Sunday). His first email was pretty bad, blaming the entire thing on Sony due to Licensing/Royalties/Permissions, something to do with Apple and their lens docking device. I told him that regardless of excuses and finger pointing it's been going on for 7 months and Sigma should have addressed it by now. Surely they have a serial number range and could alert the stores so it can be addressed.

It is a firmware upgrade, but it's deeper. According to him, and this is a copy/paste quote from the email:

it took us a little while but we actually came up with a firmware fix that actually negates that issue but we have to do that in the service facility as it's writing binary code back to the lens

He offered to send a label to me so I didn't have to pay for shipping and said turnaround time to them (US Headquarters in NY) is about 5 days, so figure 10-12 days with shipping. Me, still being pretty steamed (some because of his bullshit response about the excuses) and the smartass that I am, suggested he send me a new lens and include the shipping label in the box, with which I'd be happy to return the old lens.

Oddly enough I think it worked, almost. He asked me for the lens serial number and where I bought it. I think he's going to send the lens to the store and I'll exchange it there.

The worst part of this whole thing is that no one is going to do anything to fix this for the next guy. No squeaky wheel, no grease. It's all about cost. This should have been a recall, plain and simple. Sigma has decided to ignore it until someone bitches. That doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence.

If anyone sees this on other forums I am duplicate posting the entire thing on several Sony forums to get the word out. It isn't much but it might help the next guy.
 
Sigma is sending a new lens to the store, where I will exchange the old one. About as good an outcome as one could expect. I told them at the end I hoped they were taking steps to ensure other people didn't have to go through this frustrating experience on a new lens purchase. I'm pretty sure nothing will change though.
 
Wrapping this up, I picked up my new lens yesterday. V2 firmware and all is well. I would urge anyone who purchases this lens new to hold Sigma's feet to the fire in getting it taken care of. It should not fall to the customer to chase this crap down on a brand new lens, nor should it take this much communication and terse responses to get it resolved. If you ordered on line you may need to send it in yourself but they'll offer to send a pre-paid shipping label if you contact them.

I continue to ask them to do something about this on an across-the-board basis, but I doubt they ever will. I suspect if they were going to they would've done so by now. It's unlikely I'll ever purchase another new Sigma.
 
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