Sony A7 with what lens adapter?

[westfreeman]

I have access to my own wide angle Canon Glass, I also have access to some old Nikon Glass and some old Leica Lenses.  I am looking at the Sony A7 or A7r soon and wondering which lens adapter might be best to try first.  I was thinking to try out the Leica lenses with it, but at the same time wondering what is the best  Lens adapter; Metabones ?  What focal length works best with all of the adapters that are out there? 

I have both a Canon 5d MKII and a 1Ds MKIII both are just getting too heavy with normal everyday use that is not a paying job; (i.e; for my self, heck I just don't want to pick them up and I'm not a small person).

Is it worth getting one of these Sony's?  There does seam to be lots good said about them and I have read some bad also (shutter vibration in a certain range; 1/30 to about 1/125th)  I mostly use a tripod for my landscape work so I don't think that will be an issue. 

Love to hear the good and the bad ...

[Jim Kasson]

I have access to my own wide angle Canon Glass, I also have access to some old Nikon Glass and some old Leica Lenses.  I am looking at the Sony A7 or A7r soon and wondering which lens adapter might be best to try first.  I was thinking to try out the Leica lenses with it, but at the same time wondering what is the best  Lens adapter; Metabones ?  What focal length works best with all of the adapters that are out there? 

I have both a Canon 5d MKII and a 1Ds MKIII both are just getting too heavy with normal everyday use that is not a paying job; (i.e; for my self, heck I just don't want to pick them up and I'm not a small person).

Is it worth getting one of these Sony's?  There does seam to be lots good said about them and I have read some bad also (shutter vibration in a certain range; 1/30 to about 1/125th)  I mostly use a tripod for my landscape work so I don't think that will be an issue. 

Love to hear the good and the bad ...

There is no shutter vibration problem with the a7 if you turn EFCS on. The a7R doesn't have that option. At long exposure times, the a7R shutter shock is not detrimental.

My favorite M-adapter is the Voigtlander VME, followed by the Novaflex. All the adapters are short, which throws off the focusing scale; the Voigtlander is the least short. The WATE is great on any of the alpha 7 cameras.

There are Nikon adapters that let you use G-series lenses, but not fully electronic ones. Fortunately there aren't many of those.

There are few compatibility problems with Nikon F-series lenses. M-series ones are more hit and miss. The 28 Elmarit is not good. The Zeiss 35mm Biogon M lens is bad. The 50 'lux doesn't work well, but the 50 'cron, does. Anything over 75 mm is pretty much guaranteed to be OK. The 135 APO Telyt and any of the alpha seven cameras is a great combination.

There's a lot of a7 stuff here.

I'll be happy to answer additional questions.

Jim

[westfreeman]

Jim

Thanks for your reply.  I am still in the learning stage of this and this info helps a lot

West

[mcbroomf]

For your Canon glass, as well as the Metabones (rev 4 is the latest) there are a number of AF adapters available on ebay.  All of them (including the Metabones) are subject to sample variation from too stiff to too loose connections, poor contacts and in 1 case I racall damage to the lens contacts due to poor springs in the adapter contacts.  The AF in all of them is very slow, so best to think  of them as a way to adjust aperture.  No-one makes an aperture only adapter.

For Leica M and LTM I use a Hawks adapter which has a helicoil that allows closer focusing than the native lens.  Useful for RF lenses which often don't have very MCF.

If you Nikon lenses are old they are likely not G lenses and the aperture will just adjust manually.  Assuming this is the case a generic adapter will do.

In every case just make sure you can return the adapter to the seller, and test it once you get it.  Thing to check for; too tight, too loose, infinity, flare, parallel (some reports of lenses being soft/OOF on one side with an adapter, even the metabones).

[bcooter]

The Sony (and most mirrorless) don't track focus well and if your adapting full frame lenses, like Canon, Nikon, Leica, then it's just hit and miss in regards to the adapter and the lens.

To really make any of the Sony A7 cameras work well you need either the new Sony FE lenses or adapt the Sony's larger A series lenses with their smart adapter.

Which leads you to the bottom line of a new lens set along with a new camera.   If size is that important then it might be worth it (as long as your subjects are still).

It depends on how much you want to give up for size.   Track focusing, high battery use, new lens set.   

It seems the people most enamored by the A7 series buy the R and use it with canon tilt shift lenses, but then again their subjects aren't moving and they're not shooting walk around imagery.

Lately most of the A7 series have had price reductions.   Don't know what this means, but usually it is because there is a new version coming on line.   This may or may not matter to you.

Honestly they're cheap to rent from borrowlens and those other online rental companies, so before you dive deep, why not just rent for a week or so and see if that works?

IMO

BC

I have access to my own wide angle Canon Glass, I also have access to some old Nikon Glass and some old Leica Lenses.  I am looking at the Sony A7 or A7r soon and wondering which lens adapter might be best to try first.  I was thinking to try out the Leica lenses with it, but at the same time wondering what is the best  Lens adapter; Metabones ?  What focal length works best with all of the adapters that are out there? 

I have both a Canon 5d MKII and a 1Ds MKIII both are just getting too heavy with normal everyday use that is not a paying job; (i.e; for my self, heck I just don't want to pick them up and I'm not a small person).

Is it worth getting one of these Sony's?  There does seam to be lots good said about them and I have read some bad also (shutter vibration in a certain range; 1/30 to about 1/125th)  I mostly use a tripod for my landscape work so I don't think that will be an issue. 

Love to hear the good and the bad ...

[Jim Kasson]

The Sony (and most mirrorless) don't track focus well and if your adapting full frame lenses, like Canon, Nikon, Leica, then it's just hit and miss in regards to the adapter and the lens.

Since you mention Leica, it seems you're talking about both AF and MF lenses. You are probably entirely right about AF lenses. I don't know, I've never tried AF lenses with and AF adapter on an a7x. But for manual lenses, I think there's a lot to be gained by fitting third party lenses with an adapter. Sure, some rangefinder lenses don't work well. There's a lot of information on the web about that. Some of the ones that do work well are fantastic. I'd much rather use the 135 APR Telyt on the a7 than on the M240. Better liveview, movable zoom points, no add-on finder, EFCS, better DR, articulating LCD. It loses points for tactility, though. I've got a project I'm doing with the Otus 55 on the a7R that's just going great, and the tilting LCD is a big part of it.

I really like the 24mm Elmar-M ASPH on the a7S. The WATE is a good match there, too.

WRT adapters, I've had really good luck with Novaflex and Voigtlander.

To really make any of the Sony A7 cameras work well you need either the new Sony FE lenses or adapt the Sony's larger A series lenses with their smart adapter.

Which leads you to the bottom line of a new lens set along with a new camera.   If size is that important then it might be worth it (as long as your subjects are still).

Not my experience, though I like MF in many situations. I have two Sony FE lenses and all three alpha 7's. I find that I use Leica M-mount and Zeiss F-mount glass on the cameras more than I use the native lenses.

Jim

[westfreeman]

I am finding that even with my Canon 5D MK II I am mostly using manual focus.  So auto focus is not that important to me.  There is always some spot that does not line up well with the auto box and I then flip the switch to manual to make sure that certain areas are tack sharp. 

I guess I will rent a body and different adaptors to see how I like the system.  Thanks for all the hints.

[Isaac]

Lately most of the A7 series have had price reductions.   Don't know what this means, but usually it is because there is a new version coming on line.

Sony Alpha Rumours: "Brand new Alpha PRO FF E-mount camera to be announced before the CP+ show in February!"

[allegretto]

I'm with Jim on this

From 21mm-135mm the M-glass is exquisite on the A7s body

Have the Zony 55mm 1.8 and it is a great lens. Great handling and IQ. Ditto the 70-200mm 4.0 OSS for knocking around. May get the 26-35 due out soon for video. The 24-70 is a bit soft for critical photography but great for video on the 7s. Tracks well.

But the action, feel, size and IQ of the M's is fantastic! The Voigtlander VM-E also allows the Leicas a bit of macro

So a new Sony camera, huh? Probably water resistant and other heavy duty stuff. Some Pros will like all that

I have tried the 'bones IV and it sucks. Won't hold or even pick up an AF, much less track... Need a 'bones for EF or it will just sit at max f-stop. Would have liked to have kept the Novo but not iris coupling. The 'bones is clunky and clattery. Also adds a lever to the lens... just what you don't want..!

Will wait for more Zony lenses. If you don't mind MF the Loxias loo pretty good and should be out soon.