Jman13 wrote:
Who did this conversion?
I did all the design and fab work. I had some help getting the mirror box re-installed so that the mirror drive motor gears would mesh properly with the shutter mechanism.
How difficult was it to do? What other Canon lenses have you tried the hybrid camera with? Also, would you consider doing this conversion as a side-business?
EDIT: BTW, bravo! That is some fabrication work.
Edited by HawaiianOnline on Aug 10, 2008 at 10:08 AM GMT
Interesting.... if this can be done without issue, I would definitely be interested in changing out the Sigma SA mount over to EF mount and use it instead of a 30D body....
I would suspect it's a simple pin-to-pin electronics connection. There isn't really any room for other electronics. From a quick look over the Conurus conversion, that one is the same sort of pin-to-pin connection as well. Still quite impressive though from a mechanical point of view.
Jman13 wrote:
How did you get the Sigma electronics to talk to Canon lenses? That's quite impressive. I'm an engineer, so the details are interesting to me.
Not that impressive actually... It appears Sigma adopted the EOS electronic protocol when they developed their SA mount. We Sigma users have been swapping the mount and electrical contact module on Canon EOS lenses with SA mount parts for years. Even the pinout for the contact module is the same between SA and EOS. It has been reported that Canon's IS lenses won't actually engage the IS function when used on a Sigma camera. That seems to be the only glitch with native compatibility between the two systems.
HawaiianOnline wrote:
How difficult was it to do? What other Canon lenses have you tried the hybrid camera with? Also, would you consider doing this conversion as a side-business?
EDIT: BTW, bravo! That is some fabrication work.
Difficult? Yes, It's been a very challenging and time consuming project. Most people said it couldn't be done at all, a few times I thought they were right.
I have tried it with the Canon 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.2L, 135mm f/2L, 200mmf/1.8L and the Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX and 80-400mm EX OS. It works fine with all of them. The Canon 18-55mm EF-S kit lens will not fit, it's rear element protrudes too much.
It appears that I will be doing at least one more. I don't think very many people would be willing to pay what this conversion would cost in terms of labor alone. Considering that the camera only costs $500 at Cameta, the mod would cost more than a new camera. That fact would be a deal-breaker for practically everyone I'm sure.
There is a guy who modifies the SD14 for Leica R and Nikon MF. Works in
Aperture preferred mode, as well as (of course) manual. Reason to do it is
the Foveon Sensor. I just bought a SD14 from Cameta and the conversion kit
from SigmaCumLaude and will be
doing the Leica "R" conversion myself this weekend. Doesn't look terribly difficult.
No machining, drilling, mirror shaving, or attempted mayhem on camera
body. And...looks like it is reversible...
Back on Topic. ...Canon conversion is an order of magnitude or two
more difficult. The mount being much bigger than the hole.
And making the electronics mate up... Brilliant!
photo: copyright Luis Guevara HawaiianOnline wrote:
How difficult was it to do? What other Canon lenses have you tried the hybrid camera with? Also, would you consider doing this conversion as a side-business?
EDIT: BTW, bravo! That is some fabrication work.
Edited by HawaiianOnline on Aug 10, 2008 at 10:08 AM GMT
Bravo.
This project looks Great! How did you make it with Button release? Seems difficult.
I search a lot to do my conversion on SD14 but I still have many questions unanswered
giorgosmg wrote:
Bravo.
This project looks Great! How did you make it with Button release? Seems difficult.
I search a lot to do my conversion on SD14 but I still have many questions unanswered
The locking pin and it's release tab is rather crude looking but works surprisingly well. It is a standard canon locking pin with a spring under it to provide upward pressure. The pin comes already affixed to it's release lever which extends out the side of the mount. It positively locks the lens and releases easily with a fingernail so I've decided to overlook it's cosmetic inelegance in favor of dependable simplicity.
Grant808 wrote: yeah, I'm tired of using an SA-EOS 1.4X just to mount Canon glass...and to think that's still 'alternative' when done that way
So no proposed price for the conversion?
I've been charging $600 for the conversion but due to unexpected problems I am not committing myself to do any more conversions right now.
The dust protector turned out to be a major headache on my last conversion. The little locking feet on the underside of the dust protector are fragile to the point of being arguably defective. Replacing them at $60 a pop is getting old, I've got to come up with some other method of fitting the dust protector into place. I have even managed to break a locking foot off, just removing the dust protector from a stock unaltered camera.
The dust protector feet fit into a couple of slots in the SA pinset module. Pressing on the face of the dust protector causes the locking feet to wedge downward in the slots and snap under the front surface of the pinset module. When the SA pinset is removed, the slots for the dust protector's locking feet are of course lost too. With my first conversion I simply installed a pin across the EF pinset at the depth of the face of the original SA pinset. The locking feet snapped under this pin and held the dust protector against the front of the mirror chamber. This design seemed perfect, but apparently it was just a case of "first time's a charm". It has since proven to be maddeningly difficult to get this pin perfectly placed so that it holds the dust protector tight enough not to rattle and not so tight that it breaks off the delicate little locking feet. I assume it would be possible to mount the dust protector with a couple of screws as a last resort. I have one more conversion scheduled and will be starting on it within a few days. We'll see how this one goes.
If I do decide to do any more conversions you guys are at the top of the list.
In the meantime, If you want to try doing the conversion yourself, I'd be happy to offer you my help in the form of advice, details on my technique and guidance if you get stuck.
Regards
Jerry
arky wrote:
The locking pin and it's release tab is rather crude looking but works surprisingly well. It is a standard canon locking pin with a spring under it to provide upward pressure. The pin comes already affixed to it's release lever which extends out the side of the mount. It positively locks the lens and releases easily with a fingernail so I've decided to overlook it's cosmetic inelegance in favor of dependable simplicity.
I will start my SD14 conversion project to EOS mount next week. I am waiting for the spare Canon mount to come.
Do you think its better to do the conversion to my older SD9 first? Just for practice and measures ?
