Why the New Lens Mount Conversion Service is Great for Photographers

Many times I’ve been asked on Facebook and elsewhere if it is possible for a photographer to keep their favorite Sigma lens and get a lens mount swap after making the decision to switch from one camera to the next, and now, finally, I can answer them with the answer they (and I) want to hear!

Owners of lenses in Sigma’s line of the Sigma Global Vision lenses: Art, Sports, and Contemporary, can now send their lenses in for a mount swap. This is a paid service, and lenses will be shipped to our Aizu, Japan factory for the mount conversion service. You can read the full details and process here in the press release. For photographers, this is great news.

Previously, there has been a great amount of what you could call “existing lens investment inertia” that made the concept of switching from brand X to brand Y or Z a pretty terrifying financial decision. Deciding to swap camera brands to take advantage of improved autofocus for sports action tracking, or a better HDSLR feature set–or any other personal and performance reasons–meant that you’d also be forced to replace all your lenses to match the new lens mount. But now, with the Mount Conversion Service from Sigma, you can keep your Art, Sports, and Contemporary lenses, and have them switched to the new camera system. (Current SLR lenses that can be converted include the 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports, 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM | Art, 30mm F1.4 DC HSM | Art, 17-70mm F2.8-4.0 DC OS HSM | C, and DN lenses for swapping between Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-Mount include the 19mm F2.8 DN | A, 30mm F2.8 DN | A, and 60mm F2.8 DN | A lens.)

You can keep your amazing Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art lens, and swap it from being the sharpest lens on your Nikon D800 to being the sharpest lens on your Canon 5D Mark III, for example. Previously, whether it was a Sigma lens, or a similar-in-focal-length-OEM lens, you’d have to sell the one version and apply the money towards the purchase of the replacement in the new mount, and you’d almost always take a sizable loss in the process. And hence, there’s always been a lot of existing system inertia. It had better be a huge performance advantage to swap systems in order to justify the costs. Now, with the Mount Conversion Service, that lens swap cost is significantly reduced.

Let’s look at just one lens for an example. Right now, the street price/MAP for the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art lens is $899. The online quotes for selling this lens to two reputable used camera dealers in Like New Condition, with Hood and Carrying Case included ranged from $445 to $489 depending on lens mount selected.  Applying that $489 trade-in cost towards the price of the new lens in the new lens mount is an out-of-pocket expense of $410. By comparison, the $120 for the Mount Conversion Service on this lens is much kinder on the wallet. Now throw a few more lenses into the mix and when you think about the trade-in/re-buy route versus Mount Conversion, it gets even better!

Lenses truly are the heart and soul of the camera system, and the new Sigma Art, Sports and Contemporary lenses are designed from start to finish for delivering years of outstanding performance. From cutting-edge optical designs for super-sharp wide-open performance, to enabling firmware updates and microfocus adjustments with the USB dock, and now, with the added flexibility to keep your Sigma lenses even if you choose to change camera systems, it’s a great time to look at how Sigma is seriously rethinking lenses–with a focus firmly on what works best for photographers.

Learn more about the Sigma Global Vision and how Sigma is Rethinking Lenses.