Will Barton

I am a huge fan of Sigma’s optics and cameras, but I recently decided to consolidate some of my camera gear and switch to a Sony’s E mount camera. But I wanted to continue using some of the Sigma lenses I have and love.

For a number of years Sigma has offered a mount conversion service to convert Sigma lens you already own from one mount to another, as long as the lens is offered in the destination mount. It’s an intriguing prospect in the abstract, being able to switch systems and not rebuy all new lenses. However, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information out there from people who have had experience with it. I decided to give it a try, and write about my experience, breaking down the price I paid, the time it took, and to compare alternatives and provide some rationale for why I personally decided to use the service in late 2025.

Update: see below for an update based on my experience of converting another lens, my 24-70 II.

The Sigma fp L is a strange little camera. Little because it’s barely larger than the the lens mount. Strange because it has a 61MP senso and some significant drawbacksquirks that you have to work around. But maybe that’s part of its charm.

I got it because I was intrigued by the size and the relative affordability it brought to that resolution. I’ve come around to thinking the fp L is the best camera for a certain photographic niche that I find myself in. It has exceptional image quality for lightweight walking/hiking travel, landscape and environmental photography. If you can work around those quirks.

After my successful effort to capture the eclipse in 2017 I was hooked. I made plans to see the total eclipse of April 8, 2024 early. I figured I’d take my full astrophotography rig since it totality would be driving distance from my home.

That was until I went out to practice setting up during daylight. Getting good enough polar alignment to allow me to track the sun during daylight was doable, but it was somewhat frustrating. The thing I learned in 2017 was that the solar eclipse is not a photo opportunity, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I didn’t want to clutter the experience with the tedium of equipment setup and alignment.

What I optimized for was: keeping the photography simple so I can enjoy the experience of totality. I think I did this somewhat less intentionally in 2017, but that became an overriding concern for 2024.

I hadn’t had opportunities to observe a total solar eclipse before 2017, but I knew I wanted to try my hand at photographing it. And photograph it I did!

Before that though, I did some research and captured notes and a simple, fine-grained order of operations, because I didn’t know what I was doing and it’s not something you can really try over again if you fail. Plus, I actually wanted to enjoy the moment without fiddling with my camera, and having a concrete plan helps with that.