Maxxum Lens Mount Question

[dynachrome]

I recently got a Sigma AF 75-200/2.8-3.5 lens in Maxxum mount. At the camera show where I bought it I tried it out on an old Maxxum 7000. The 7000 doesn't have very fast auto focusing but the lens worked. When I got it home I saw that the rear section of the lens was loose. I had that tightened up. My problem is that the lens won't work properly on the Maxxum bodies I have - two 600sis and a 7xi. This morning I tried it on a Sony DSLR and it worked properly. My guess is that the lens was made before the 600si or 7xi and that either software or hardware (or both) changed over time. What is the latest Maxxum body I can use to get the lens to function properly? I have two 70-210/4 "beercans" which work properly. I just wanted something a little faster.

 

[BMbikerider]

Quite a number of Sigma lenses were not fully compatible with the cameras for which they were intended but at the time Sigma (in UK) offered a service where, if you sent the lens back to them they would update the software, at a cost of course.

I have no idea if they would still offer the service where you are, but there is no harm in asking.

 

[Wallendo]

Minolta was very stingy about releasing technical information about their mounts. As a result, third=party lens manufacturers had to reverse-engineer their lenses.

For details about alpha-mount lenses, I would recommend the lens review section at dyxum.com - a website devoted to Minolta/Sony alpha mount lenses.

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Sigma-75-200mm-F2.8-3.5_lens248.html

Apparently, it is a hit-or-miss lens with modern cameras.

 

[dynachrome]

Thanks for the replies. I thought I would try the 7000i so I bought two of them. The 75-200 will not work with either of them. I put test film in both of them today and hope to use them with my other A mount lenses, which are mostly Minolta originals. I am waiting for a Maxxum 5000 to show up so I can try the 75-200 on it. Getting a 7000 is a hit or miss proposition. The oldest ones are now thirty-two years old and their LCD screens often show "bleeding." The 5000 came out a year or two later, I think.

 

[Paul Howell]

I have 3 older Sigma lens, a 70 to 300 red ring, 28 to 135 and a 200 that only work with first generation bodies, the 70 to 300 works well on my 9000, but given the price point I other than the 200 2.8 I would go for a Minolta lens.

 

[dynachrome]

When I couldn't get the Sigma lens to work on the 600si, 7xi or 7000i, I got an older Maxxum 5000. That camera wouldn't power up so I sent it to my repairman. He will install a new lithium memory battery and if that makes it power up, I have learned something. Today another Maxxum 5000 arrived. It looks new even though it could be from as far back as 1986. It powered up and works perfectly with the Sigma lens. After loading film and taking a few test frames with the camera I turned it off and removed the AAA battery pack. The LCD panel went out. I put the battery pack back on and the LCD panel went back on. This tells me that there is a lithium memory battery inside and that it still works. I now have some spares in case it dies. The 5000 has a more rudimentary AF system and it is sometimes easier to get correct focus by turning the camera vertically. It depends on the subject. Generally I don't like to use a camera in Program mode so I will experiment with the Manual mode. I wonder whether it is safe to try my older Minolta 360PX flash units on the 5000 in TTL mode?