So I've picked up a Sigma 400 Yashica AF mount (very nice) and have same lens with MA mount (bad inner glass-affects shots).....I want to attempt the mount swap to save my MA 400 (have tech exp and am not afraid) - anyone have exp. with such an endeavor?

Thanks,
mikey

Lets hope they continue to support a-mount...downside, we already can't get a lot of the newest lens etc. since aftermarket is also dropping the a-mount (tamron & sigma for example). I have a large lens inventory in a-mount and currently have 4 Sony cams...granted I could hold out for a long time, but it sucks when you see the new super duper hot lens and you can't even buy one. Since they are still selling new a-mount cameras, maybe theres hope.

mikey

very nice!

What fun...wife and I await their return to Florida every fall...we have set up a small habitat to lure them (and all the other snow birds/song birds) for our viewing and their feeding pleasure, During the better years we get as many as 8 males and a greater number of females and youngsters. We have had one or two get into our screened porch, but they wouldn't come in the house!! The last two Cat4 hurricanes have had an effect on the numbers (less this year).....oh, did I mention squirrels...can't feed birds and ignore the squirrels, they won't let you! Hope he stays around for you...if you get a family group it lights up the area.
OH - THEY LOVE PRE-HULLED SEED (shelled) Pennington ultra waste free blend is a big favorite with all the seed eating song birds. During the really cold spells all the bug eaters also join in.
mikey

HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOON TONIGHT....looks fab!! Fire was good, do it early on Sundays cause everyone else is goin to work tomorrow (old guy will be workin on his roof, in the last 16 months we've survived two 140 mph hurricanes, not without some damage...but so lucky compared to neighbors within bb gun distance). I'd take some moon shots but its useless here except in mid winter/no humidity. Loved road trips into New England in the day, what great fun...wish I'd been more serious about photography at the time...but I was loving my sports cars and sport bikes, wife and I had a lot of fun in those days...still together and tryin to have fun!! (ps-she was an excellent photog in her youth...just can't get her to jump back in..still have fab slides)...have fun, stay safe
olemikey

here is one

(Download)

I think Andy has hit it well in this game. I too have bought a couple of stinkers...but we easily resolved the issue each time, and Ebay watches over the actions, and I see them flush bad actors all the time. TucsonDave - give it a shot next time you are looking for a piece. If you are not in a hurry you can watch auctions and see what folks actually pay for items, and you can pull that historically, so its fairly easy to get a feel for how things will go. I watched auctions on items I was into early on just to see how folks bid and how they time their bids at the last minute........I'm pretty good at it now. Some sellers will accept offers too. Arcitech1776 (sp?) I like the kit you have put together....shiny new is great and I have bought some things new, but in this case, not new camera gear.

This past week, I just picked up an older Sigma 400mm A/F in beautiful condition, not a mark, and only tiny amount of dust. Now..its not the fastest lens, better manual focus for birds/moving items - sharpness = on tripod, steadyshot off, using remote trigger, shooting manual.... I'm now quite pleased with it. No, its not on a par with your big Canon, but for $35.00 it kicksssss asssssssss. I would not be afraid to print and display the shots it produced today of my wifes Firecracker Hibiscus flowers....with no vibration, proper exposure, some loving care....pics look very nice.

Used is not always a bad thing - my favorite car has always been a 1969 Alfa Romeo GTV Veloce Coupe, in Alfa red...that I traded a wore out Suzuki 380 street bike for in 1976. It didn't run, it looked bad inside, smelled and needed some loving care. (I'm an old car guy - have restored a number of muscle cars/hot rods/and Jeeps, I love old/new Jeeps CJs, wranglers, etc. still have two) A year later it was roasting Porsches on the two lanes and expressways of Long Island (Grumman F-14 program at that time in my life). Old is often just right!

Anyway, time to head out to the family evening fire pit...the weather is near perfect today, mosquitos nope (ya know, since they stopped spraying regularly here, there are hardly any - I have guessed that they were actually spraying us with mosquitos).... Take care all, and happy hunting.
till next time, mikey

Just think, those latest and greatest items will be coming into our world during the next couple years..we just get them a little later than the L&G crowd. The big brown truck still shows up, maybe even more often. Andy, aren't those 18-300s/18-400s something, keep getting better and better. I have the Tamron 28-200, 28-300 and an 18-300 that are all pristine and work very well... have approx. $165 in all 3. I'm struggling on a hi-qual big tele though...so far mold/fungus, haze and delamination have been issues. Fortunately, I've been able to work out refunds that allowed me to keep the lens (keep them off market-and get to play/repair/experiment with them-usually not much argument from the seller-they knew it was there) - I won't resell them, I call them "shelf queens" and use one A300 that is dedicated to the lens that might let fungus escape into the camera, they don't go on my other bodies, ever. Anyway, every day is an adventure! Keep on shooting!
mike

Like I said - its fun and keeps the mind woirkin! I retired when they shut down the Space Shuttle program at KSC and at the same time serious health issue kept me from going back work ....and then, even though I was financially short of my retirement goals (by about 7 years) and once well, we decided that enjoying the life we've been blessed with was more important (you never know when it will be over). I don't post much, but I really enjoyed your trip into low budget photo land and have very much enjoyed mine. The satisfaction of seeing peoples reaction to my gear when out birding and such is priceless...the larger screens, attached radio gear, control from distance, etc. and if that alligator/bear/wild boar/eagle grabs my old cam and tripod....well, hope he doesn't get indigestion!! Cheers!!!
mike

Hi, you did well. I used the same approach via Sony ( I still have my old Minolta 7000 - and some old glass - so I started with that. Couple years later (via E-bay) I have a thrift shop Sony A58 (had a shutter count of 213 !) for $110 - best score so far...an A37 I paid around $200, and 2 A300s that had bad LCD for approx. $90. Have mounted 5" FPV (cheap drone view screen meant for goggles) LCD monitors to the A300s and they have a new lease on life, and a 5" monitor really helps my old eyes...bought a third monitor to use with the a37/a58 as the 5" screen is wonderful. E-bay and B&H (love those "daily deals") produced 3 Vello remote triggers that are wonderful for bird/animal shots, coupled with more FPV gear 5.8 ghz transmitters/receivers (very small, great video "live feed", cheap and if they can handle drone crashes they have to be tough) that allow me both visual feed of what the camera see's, and the vello gear gives me focus and shutter control (yes I can also use a tablet and some apps, but this setup is so inexpensive and works quite well. Lens!! oh my, my wife says I've gone bonkers...many classic Minolta, Tokina, Tamron, Sigma from wide to ultra tele, zooms and primes....tripods, alum. cases, nice bags, heads, gimbals, lights oh my. I guess my take is yes, I could have spent probably $4K to do what I'm doing (with new gear) but what I have so far works very well, and since I'm a gadget freak and extensive tinker type person, I get as much joy out of modifying and adapting gear as I get from shooting (and I think nothing of burning off hundreds of shots a day.

Anyway....I'm getting long with this, but I think you've found the low dollar nirvana that I have - its fun and I laugh when people want to know how many thousands are tied up in my room full of camera gear!!!!!! Have fun and enjoy this very engaging hobby..... now, what to do with all those racing and camera drones....hmmmm
mike

There are a lot of reviews of this lens on youtube.......might be the best way to a quick determination....probably a good one (esp. at that price)....with B&H, buy it, try it, if you don't like it you can return it (cheaper than renting). Good luck!

pics and prices?

OP is extremely lucky that this action did not burn down his house. Li-po and Li-on batteries require special advanced chargers (I'm a R/C hobby guy -drones-boats-planes-cars/trucks) and I use a lot of Li-on and Li-po batteries). Multi-chemistry chargers are available, but you have to have the right combination, and use it properly. Please read directions and be thankful you didn't burn your place down..... YES, THEY CAN AND WILL EXPLODE AND BURN. We have all seen the phone videos, and I've seen first hand how violently they will burn. olemikey