Well, done this MD 35 1.8 convertion for Sigma sd14 - really good lense
just test snaps
all f1.8







well, very good alternative 50mm equivalent for crop body

any comparisons between the MC and MD versions?

At the moment HH version is not converted yet.

35 1.8 md version - smooth background

Nice!

focusing starts from 1 ft

Even better! 1 ft is very good for a 35, IMO.

I have been tempted by this lens for a long time, and you have just pushed me over the edge...

...but, I will wait to see your HH. I have a feeling I might like it better.

If you take out the focus-stop screw, the 35 1.8 will focus down to about 6 inches(!). I did one of mine that way. Very cool, near-macro quality. I haven't tried the MD (yet) but have 2 HHs I converted (and one I haven't converted yet), they are a great lens. Complex conversion but doable.

1.8 makes it one of the fastest 35s out there, esp. @ reasonable prices.

-Ed

Dim.ka_, you should try the Nikon 35mm f1.4 AI-S on your SD14. It has amazing bokeh for such a wide lens:



And I've just discovered thats its really good for nightshots on the SD14 too:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/699190

Thanks Alf for another 35 alternative, but think i have found what i really like

Some more MD 35 1.8 snaps - it is really good for close up shots, but overall i like tiny size and impressive perfomance.

all f1.8

Really cool shots, Dmitry. I especially like the leaf on the car. And the first flower shot further up is also beautiful. Seems like a fun lens, worthwhile your efforts!

Andrй thanks - i can note that yours last photos in alternative thread really impressive especially from rokkor

Dim.ka - nice stuff! Thanks for posting. Good to see I am not the only one enjoying this lens (though I have the MC not MD)

-Ed

I finally got sick of just looking at my Fl and took some time out last night and this afternoon to get it useably converted. Haven't made up a shim to go between the a/m ring and the mount but its perfectly useable. Oh and i lost that darn click-stop ballbearing from the A/M switch - on a rug hopefully I can find a suitable replacement.

I took photos of the conversion so if anybody desperately would like to see them I can upload somewhere.

I took it and the rokkor out for some quick tests this evening on the 20D, didnt get too scientific but used a tripod for most shots.

First impressions: Resolution! I must need to calibrate my rokkor or sell it because the FL just punches it right in the lp/mm-face. Yes, there are crops coming so you can see for yourself. Infact at this stage im wiling to put my CR2 where my mouth is and host a few raw files for you to pick apart.

The FL still lacks the character and 3D pop of the rokkor, and is just a little bit flat tonally. When I say lacks 3d i mean that contrast is fairly uniform from focused to defocused areas, whereas the rokkor has less contrast in OOF areas, which i personally like very much and to me greatle enhances the feeling of space in a picture.

The FL has much less focus shift and is easier to focus on my 20D.

Note that I havent painted the mount black yet so there is a fair amount of haze in bright sunlight shots and some in shade shots too.

Samples in my next post.

Comparison:

Full files resized and exported from lightroom as jpg quality 82 on default settings (sharpening 25, 1.0, 25). Crops resized from LR-exported PSDs in CS3 and saved as jpg 11. No sharpening.

The Rokkor crop is from a slightly different part of the picture as focus was not on the exact same point (remember i wasn't being scientiffic here. my battery was flat so i was squeezing off frames in-between warming it up. I didnt get time to focus bracket before the battery would go flat).

Let the debate begin!

Canon FL @1.2


Rokkor @1.2


Canon FL @1.2 crop


Rokkor @1.2 crop


Canon FL @4

More examples

Canon FL @1.2


Crop


Canon FL @1.2


Crop


Canon FL @1.2


Crop


Canon FL @1.2 Handheld


Crop


Bokeh and flare @1.2 ( i quite like it here, nice for portraits)

Man, got to get started on converting my lens.

SJMD, thanks for your PM. I think that would be the first time someone has informed me that i have motivated them to anything other than disgust
Not really but im glad you found my pictures compelling enough to take action.

I will put pictures from the conversion up this evening.

It really is a simple process converting the lens. The only problem I had was getting an accurate location for the screw holes in the new mount. I essentially just did it by eye and then hoped for the best. The result is a little scrappy looking but solid.

One note before you start pulling it apart and playing around: try not to lift the A/M ring because the ballbearing under it will make a concerted effort for freedom. If you absolutely MUST see how it works under there, do it inside a ziploc freezer bag or something so that it can't escape.

Cheers

I'll second the ball bearing on the A/M ring. If you find a good replacement Empire... please let us know (and I'll do likewise). Right now I just use a wide rubber band to keep the ring in place, and it works fine. But I'd rather find the bearing replacement and make some kind of spacer so the ring stays snug without my cheap rubber band solution.

Empire wrote:

I will put pictures from the conversion up this evening.

Cheers

Please do! This lens has been lying around the house for the best part of a year, me not getting around to / building up the courage to doing the conversion. I will also do a rokkor 85/1.7 soon and could do them both at the same time. The more knowledge, the more likely to dare trying. Good to see that it is "easy"

As requested, pictures from my conversion.

-CAVEAT: This is a sloppy job, I just had an adapter handy and a modest amount of initiative. I will probably Re-do this at some point but for now it is fine. Absolutely no play in the mount. Furthest focus is ~7.5m. I need to adjust the focus stops.


Removing the mount. That screw hole near my thumb - there is no need to take that screw out. It is the stop for the breech lock mount. if you take it out you canseparate the siler part by unscrewing it CLOCKWISE. This may be handy for making your drill markings on the new mount .


This is the inside of the mount. lots of nice little ballbearings in THERE aint it?


This is the mounting boss. Only 3 screw holes as you can see.



Bad idea. I really miss that litle ballbearing already



As a substitute for using the A/M switch to stop down, a slice of body cap could be made to fit in behind the stopdown lever here. No more need for A/M ring then, although I would prefer to be able to switch between wide open for focussing and f8 for shooting without having to look at the lens...



Bar-clamps. a few dollars and bloody useful.



Here they are put to use holding the m42 adapter in place while i mark the 12 o'clock position and relative screw positions on it. As somebody elses noted, the screw holes fall inbetween the bayonet teeth, making for easy drilling.



rudimentary way of plotting drilling points for screw holes



A joyous result. this was placed on the back of the adapter and centered by eye and then the two were clamped together. I then used a leather punch to make small marks where i needed to drill)



drilling setup. I found this to work quite well.



When drilling, I first made wide cuts into the side of the adapter and slightly then turned it over and using a small bit made the actual screw holes. These required some widening to allow for inaccurate measurement.




The frankenstein result. I found that two of the screws required a slight trim to allow smooth mounting. It was extremely tight before this. In regards to the considerable amount of scratches, I recommend you use wiether a grinding bit or a dremmel to make the recesses. I used a drill bit and it shows




The gab between adapter throat and rear element retaining ring is tiny. This helped in getting my screw holes aligned accurately (sort of )




Lastly, once you have converted this lens you will need to be very careful of the rear element. the retaining ring does not extend to the edge of the glass so if you put the lens down on its bum, make sure you wind the focus in to about 1.5m or so to avaoid damage.



Here you can see the gap between the AM ring and the mount. Did somebody say that a body cap or lens cap is the perfect thing to fashion a spacer out of for this?
There is obviously quite a bit of play but i think not quite enough for that ballbearing to come out.

Wow! Thank you! Brilliant write up.

How about infinity focus? You are currently below 7.5m?

Phew! excuse the spelling mistakes, its 2am here and i've been doing uni work all day/night. I hope this helps a few of you out in your own conversions.

All I can say after 'writing' that crappy piece is Cogitech is a weapon. His how-to must have been a PITA to make so thanks Cogi!

Yep i can get about as far as 7.5m.

It's quite annoying actually, I dont quite need infinity, but somewhere around 12-15m is a must for the kind of shots I like to use a fast lens for (a-la Cogi's environmental portraiture with 0 dof )

Edit again: That will change as soon as I get a FF body though so 7.5 will probably be spot on for my needs then.

I need to suss out where the infinity adjust screws are.

Well, I found a source of ball bearings.

Microtools has an asortment of them in sizes from 1mm. I bought 1mm and 1.2mm and the larger turned out to be a good fit.

I have also just finished tuning infinity with the helicoid focus stop. Got it bang-on by removing the left-most of the three screws and sliding the stop to the right untill it met the next screw.

I get mirror collision when focussing past about 30m but at that setting there is enough DOF to get good infinity performance at f2.8. Alternately for tripod shooting mirror lockup can be done with the lens focused closer and then it can be set to infinity. Just focus closer afer the shot to let the mirror return.

I owe someone a big thank you.

Over a year ago I bumped into this site/forum. I lurk here now and again. After finding this thread, I picked up a nice copy of a Canon 55 1.2 on that popular auction site that starts with an E.

I contacted Jim Buchanan (a member here) about a conversion. He was fast, friendly and professional. His work was was of the highest quality. Not only did he give me a perfect conversion... but the lens came back to me cleaner and in better shape then when I sent it.

I added the auto confirm chip and placed it in my camera bag. I never thought that I would use this lens as much as I do. In the last 6 months it has provided me with many great images. This lens has a personality like no other lens I have.

I picked up an original hood for it to control the flare when I wanted to... and it seems to help.

If you have been lurking here and thinking about getting this lens... or thinking about getting a conversion done to it... go for it.

So thanks Jim... I could not be happier.