Adapter compatibilty issues with EF 80-200 L?

So I've got my hands on a Canon EF 80-200 L (one of the first Canon EF lenses from back in 1989) as my staple telepohoto after upgrading to a7C. However, I did notice a few issues with this lens, my a7C body, and the Sigma MC-11 adapter:
- Occasionally when powering on the camera with this lens attached (cold start), the camera would be stuck at counting the number of images left on the SD card (blinking shots remaining indicator, no shutter speed or aperture indication showing up, and controls except power unresponsive). This can be resolved by disconnecting and reconnecting the lens while the camera is still powered on (hot plug).
- Also occasionally, the camera would start alright, but the lens would not respond to any AF commands (the AF-C indicator shows it's tracking, but the lens would not actually focus. This can also be resolved by hot plugging the lens. Though when the lens focuses, it focuses very well and the real-time tracking works like a charm.
- In DxO PhotoLab 4, the lens gets consistently being mistaken as the Minolta 80-200 F/2.8 APO G lens.

I am wondering would the Metabones Mk. 4 or Mk. 5 do better in terms of AF compatibility and lens ID recording? Since Sigma does not promise compatibility with Canon glass, I don't think it would ever be fixed. Since I don't own any Sigma lens for now, I am seriously considering switching to Metabones if it does offer an improvement.

That's why I asked. That lens was very popular in the early 1990s but has mostly declined to a relatively rare cult lens nowdays (at least in the English community - this lens is still somewhat popular in Japan), so it's not surprising to see Metabones not bothering to test it at all. Other first-gen EF lenses were also not listed, like the 28-80 L and the 50 F/1.0 L, so it's probably that they just did not test these older lenses. However, these lenses are still relatively inexpensive if it can be bought directly from sellers in Japan.

I was trying to see if anyone had the chance to try the combo I was interested.

Edited by butangmucat - 08 November 2021 at 18:47

addy landzaat wrote: The 80-200L is OLD. Did you try the lens on an EOS camera? It is likely the problem is your lens due to its age. Christopher Frost does not mention any problems with the 80-200L on his A7r2. Also, this thread over at Fred Miranda has several users saying it works fine with Metabones but also with the MC-11.

Not yet, don't really have any Canon bodies around.

When the lens works, it works well. It's just that sometimes when powering on it would behave incorrectly - and that's why I'm more inclined to think that it's a software/firmware issue. The lens is functional if the startup went alright.

The bad startup also don't always happen - maybe once a day or two, so it can go unnoticed. Also I'm using an a7C, and none of the links above used this body either.

Edited by butangmucat - 08 November 2021 at 21:31

Although the SIGMA MC-11 is frequently upgraded. Is it the latest version?
It has been reported that the version upgrade improved the need to loosen the lens once and then retighten it every time the old Tamron lens malfunctioned.

I searched for the original post but couldn't find it.
I think it was more than half a year ago in my vague memory, so You may not expect much from the firmware update.

The adapter arrived today. Unfortunately it's actually a MKIII adapter. The seller misidentified it. Will still try if everything works.