Sony A7 thoughts and Lens sample variation

[Jason Denning]

I bought a Sony A7 to replace my Imacon 132c medium format digital back recently and it is a great camera even with my old manual mamiya lenses, give or take it matches the quality with the added benefits of speed, high iso and great live view. It seems to be the perfect macro camera with it's electronic shutter at the start of an exposure minimising vibrations. It is slightly too small for my hands but once you get a leather case on it it is just about right. The evf is good and the ability to customise various buttons, wheels and menus means I have it set up just the way I like to shoot.

I got it with the kit lens since it was a cheap extra and ended up with a bad copy, but after going back to the store and testing a few I got a good one. There is certainly some bad sample variation. I attached a image showing the difference between 2 of the same lens in the corner, both shot a f8 28mm. Centre sharpness is pretty good. I shot some comparisons with this lens and my mamiya lenses and the detail is far better with the mamiyas as I expected.

I also went into a sony store to test some of the FE Zeiss lenses, and whilst it wasn't the ideal situation I am not sure I was so impressed with the zeiss lenses, chromatic aberration seemed worse than my kit lens but sharpness on the primes was good across the frame. The zeiss 24-70 zoom didn't seem like it is worth the cost as the edges at 24mm should be better. Has anyone any thoughts on these lenses?
I also noticed the detail of my kit lens seemed to match the zeiss lenses in the centre. which makes my think even my mamiya lenses would out perform the zeiss lenses. They certainly don't have the Chroma issues.

So now I am looking for a great wide angle for the camera if anyone has any suggestions?

Thanks

Jason

[David Campbell]

Canon TSE24mkII is obvious choice if you are shooting landscapes on a tripod. You will need a Canon EF to E-mount adapter.

[Manoli]

Sean Reid is preparing a full review of the A7/A7r with RF lenses. I'd suggest waiting for his report as he is one of the few authoritative sources that I'd trust. I'm looking at using the leitz 24mm/3.8 with a custom profile for correction of vignetting in LR /C1.

[scooby70]

I have Zuiko and Rokkor 24mm and 28mm f2.8's and use them with Novoflex adapters and I'm happy with all four.

[Glenn NK]

Canon TSE24mkII is obvious choice if you are shooting landscapes on a tripod. You will need a Canon EF to E-mount adapter.

Where does one find one?  Any sources?

regards,

Glenn

[MrSmith]

Metabones do an adapter that allows the aperture to be changed by the camera.

[Paul Roark]

I have a number of M mount lenses, and none of them wider than 50 mm have edge sharpness that is acceptable.   Even the Zeiss 18mm ZM Distagon that was said by some as OK has noticeable edge smear.  The light fall-off is not the main problem.  The problem is ray angle and resulting blurring of the image.  SLR wide angles are probably the only non-OEM wides that will work well.  The 50mm Zeiss ZM f/2 and the 75mm Leica f/2.5 are outstanding.  (Go with the Novoflex adapter.)

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Jason Denning]

I bought a kiwi eos to nex adapter in Hong Kong for $30 but only used for manual lenses. For the money it's great, fits nicely and infinity focus is good. You can get them on ebay but not so cheaply. Perfect for testing with.

Where does one find one?  Any sources?

regards,

Glenn

[The Photo Fundamentalist]

Sadly, you are right. My first 35 FE Sonnar had one obviously soft corner, but thankfully the second is wonderful. My 28-70 kit lens is very good but not perfect. The bottom left extreme corner is a little behind the others, but its so good overall I'm not that bothered. Truth be told, if you test most kit lenses you will find some issues, but sample various in top primes is a little more frustrating.

As for good wide primes, the best I have available (and hardly practical for most) is a 24 Summilux asph. By f5.6 is 'good' but by f8 it is very good indeed and would allow for beautiful prints. The corners are very crisp by this aperture, so for landscapes its fine.

The CV 35 1.2 II is superb. Absolutely brilliant. By f5.6 it overtakes the 35 FE Sonnar at the edges and at f8 is immaculate across the frame. The Sonnar, however, is better at f2.8 on the edges and in the corners than the CV 35 1.2 is at f4, however.

I think everyone is waiting for Zeiss to release a 24mm prime, or perhaps a 21mm. A 16-28 or similar would be great, but no sign on the near horizon it seems.

[The Photo Fundamentalist]

Oh, and the Kippon adaptor seems to be performing very nicely. I have a photodiox pro as well, but find the release button much less reliable.

Aside from the 24 lux and 35 CV 1.2 II, none of my wide angle M mount lenses perform well. The 24 lux at f8 is far better in the corners than my second best 35mm - the Summarit-M.

[Telecaster]

Add Zeiss FE 24 & 85mm lenses to the 35 & 55mms and I'll be all set. No interest in big, heavy lenses with this (A7r) camera.

-Dave-

[Jason Denning]

My Mamiya 645 manual lenses perform very well on the A7. No CA, distortion and sharp across the frame. I'm thinking of getting a shift adapter for them.

[Telecaster]

I plan to give the Mamiya 50/4 shift lens a spin once my adapter arrives. Lotsa E mount adapters currently backordered... I like the lens a lot, previously used it on a Canon 5D. Very even performance across the (35mm) frame, even at maximum shift.

-Dave-