Lense conversion?

[yobenny]

An elderly friend of mine (84) gave me a new in the box Sigma 35mm that he bought in a clearance sale three years ago and never opened it, he didn't realize the digital era was upon us and that this camera uses film.

It came with a Sigma 70-300 lense that is the exact same lense that came with my nikon 3200 but the mounting bracket wont work on my camera.

I was wondering if a person could just order a new mount bracket and change it out and then this lense will work on the nikon?

Any advice appreciated!

[Black Pearl]

The vast majority of lenses have a fixed mount dedicated to a specific brand.

The lens you have has a Sigma mount and won't fit on other branded bodies.

You can get adapters that allow some lens fitting to work on other bodies but unless you are desperate to keep the lens you have I don't see the point.

[Shadowman]

An elderly friend of mine (84) gave me a new in the box Sigma 35mm that he bought in a clearance sale three years ago and never opened it, he didn't realize the digital era was upon us and that this camera uses film.

It came with a Sigma 70-300 lense that is the exact same lense that came with my nikon 3200 but the mounting bracket wont work on my camera.

I was wondering if a person could just order a new mount bracket and change it out and then this lense will work on the nikon?

Any advice appreciated!

Check the serial numbers on the two lenses, they can't be the same if one doesn't fit. You can buy a mounting bracket (if I read your post correctly the donated lens is for a film camera) and it should work. I've only tried third party film lenses in this fashion and you do lose autofocus and some other features.

[Black Pearl]

The donated lens is on a Sigma camera body (likely a SA5/7/9 or similar) and they had there own specific Sigma SA mount - it won't fit onto a Nikon F mount body....or any other brand of body.

[Manfred M]

This might be a question to ask your local Sigma importer; would they be able to do a conversion and if so, what would it cost you.

As has been pointed out, the Sigma has a unique lens mount, but we do know that Sigma does make lenses for use with other brands, so installing a Nikon mount might be all that it takes. If they can, the issue is going to the be cost of doing so, and the end functionality of the lens (i.e. will you get the features you expect like stabilization and autofocus).

[Glenn NK]

There will likely be a problem with Register Distance:



Register Distance is the distance from the mounting face of the lens to the sensor. The table indicates that the RD for Nikon lenses is 46.5 mm; the longest of the common makes.

When a lens with a shorter RD is mounted on a camera with a longer RD, infinity focus is impossible without adding optics. Adding optics (corrective lenses) virtually always affect image quality.

To make matters worse, any mechanical adapter will have a thickness, which adds to the problem.

So in short, other brands can often use Nikon lenses, but Nikon bodies can not often use other lenses.

Olympus 4/3 bodies can potentially utilize a vast array of lenses (with the proper adapter).

Glenn

[William W]

An elderly friend of mine (84) gave me a new in the box Sigma 35mm [Film SLR Camera] that he bought in a clearance sale . . . It came with a Sigma 70-300 lense that is the exact same lense that came with my nikon 3200 but the mounting bracket wont work on my camera.

I was wondering if a person could just order a new mount bracket and change it out and then this lense will work on the nikon?

Re-iterating what Robin wrote:


If the 70 to 300 lens is for a SIGMA 35mm FILM CAMERA, then it has a ‘SIGMA SA’ bayonet Lens Mount.

The Register (Flange Distance) for ‘Sigma SA’ is 44mm
The Register for ‘Nikon F’ is 46.5mm

Therefore, it is impossible to have an optics free adapter.

Also, I know of no adapters for Sigma SA lenses to Nikon F mount Cameras (maybe out there but just mentioning I know of none) – and as mentioned if one does exists, it would require optical elements to maintain infinity focus on the lens.

You could bastardize the lens’s mount and fit a Nikon Mount to it. That however would not be my advice, as, (almost 100% sure) you will lose both AF and AE.

It is easier and in the long run cheaper, to buy a Nikon Mount version of the same lens, if you want it.

WW