You can see a slight bit of longitudinal CA in the transition from shadow to sunlight on white flower petal and a bit on the edge of a petal transitioning into the green background. thank you. After WWII most of Carl Zeiss production facilities were shipped to the Soviet Union. $20 Minolta MC 1.7/55 and the $1000 Zeiss 1.8/55, Adapters for Manual Lenses on the Sony a7 series: The Guide, A $400 lens kit for your Sony a7 series camera, User guide to Ultra Wideangle lenses for the Sony Alpha 7 series, User-Guide to wide-angle lenses for Sony a7s, Affordable < $99 manual lenses for the Sony a7 series, The best lenses below $499 for the Sony a7 series, The Guide to Canon FD lenses in the digital age, The rated List of Minolta MD/MC Lenses on the Sony a7. Any idea how effective the ibis would be while in magnified mode while hand held trying to focus. Id like to know if in the pictures you show in your articles you use an APSC sensor, because a 50mm lens will become a 75mm , for instance, or in the other hand, a 50 mm is a real 50 mm. I think I will be switching to Sony thanks to your recommendation. Usually a 50/60mm focal length is what will reproduce your drawings with the less distortion. The 7rII has slightly better performance at high ISO than the 7II. Of course, the kinds of legacy lenses you use may vary a lot in their contrast, so you can vary the (+) settings of the Sharpness in the Creative Style. Didnt know you were an OM user of old, Kit! Number one: its silent shooting mode. Thank you for the prompt reply. I agree in general, but I DID have some reliability problems with both the III and the IV while shooting underwater, they would lose the lens from time to time, and opening the housing and reattaching the adapter is no real option there. You are the first person to say anything in response to my question other than, I dont know, but thats an interesting question! Thank you so much!! Thank you, I have done that for a while with Minolta lenses and it worked very well for me . I do those kind of shooting and you want to be in sport mode or equivalent with high frame rate and high autofocus speed. Choose Menu > Camera icon (Page 3) > Focus Mode > AF-S, AF-C, etc Sony a7II would certainly address all your needs for IS . With an attached price tag of $1,999, the A7 III might be the most complete entry level full frame . Its been extremely informative. @David B-M: I have been a commercial photographer on and off since I was about 19 two Nikon F Photomic head bodies and lenses (and the massive Pentax 67 camera; another story)and much like 4/3rds today, had the extraordinary OM1 with a few lenses for personal work (all the while being a television and film director). You seem to use an adapter per lens, but I presume it might be acceptable to work the other way around and leave a single good adapter on the camera, at least initially? Firstly can i say i love your site. I my self calibrated Canon FDs 50 and 28mm and Minolta MDs 24 and 135mm on my FUJI X-Trans camera. I have been looking for an affordable E mount lens for ages and then found your site. And last but not least it is dirt cheap at $20-30. Hmm, hard to diagnose what the issue is. 3. Another but of course slightly more modern wide angle Ive found to be excellent on the A7R is the compact but solid 20mm Nikkor f2.8 AF, examples of both on flickr. The Sony Alpha 7s is a specialist. hmm, curious. The wide angle lens are very sensitive to the adapter. Many modern lenses control the aperture through the camera. I think on all E-mount cameras it is activated by default, thats why I didnt mention it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D8RM8E8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00. I am only absolutely sure about one thing : I want to travel light (next trip will mix a 9 days trek + a road trip in Ladakh). You can use a Gretag Macbeth color checker card, or a white balance card in order to get the right colors : just rake a picture of the card at the beginning and then correct the results in postprocessing. Or any result? Being a manual lens, it didnt need to stop down to the taking aperture, it stayed in f/8. Is it easy to focus ? I cant find any adapters with manual aperture and some lenses dons have manual aperture. What am I missing? Thank you. Getting started with an (Alpha) camera. Any body else? I bought myself a Sony RX100ii two years ago now I am retired as a carry everywhere camera to see if I could enjoy getting back into photography after many years of just carrying a point and shoot compact for holidays as my family grew up, whereas in my twenties and early thirties I had a really good Exacta then a Contax film camera and lenses and used to enjoy taking really nice images, particularly landscapes, but which I havent used for 25 years. Exactly. I took your advice and ordered some used Minolta lenses for my A7. So, I was very interested in two points you make in your blog post, one is the peaking sensitivity. Sometimes i hear people say though that those old lenses do not offer enough resolution for modern high-res sensors. I use them on my a7II and my a850, an a-mount Sony that I picked up cheaply this year with only about 5000 shutter actuations. If you could help me, I would be very grateful! Will it be obvious which little screw needs removing? It would be greatly appreciated if you would answer these questions. Just like me you could find more enjoyment in photography and you could save a lot of money. Only you can decide! Hi Phillip, My photos at : Voigtlander M mount 15 mk2 So set that option to FF. I will review the SP 5.6/300 but not soon. Another issue is that sometimes peaking will paint your whole image red/yellow/white if there is a lot of detail like when you take pictures in a forest. Ernst, you are using some very heavy adapter. You can turn the peaking display on or off quickly while shooting in the manual focus (MF) or direct manual focus (DMF) mode. Some mentioned in your article. They refused and made excuses. I noticed you snuck a shot with the Tamron 54B in this article. Very accurate, well engineered AND incorporating two baffles to prevent internal reflections. The two Leitz lenses are as old as the oldest Nikkors I have. Research led me to an obscure-ish lens made by Pentax an f/3.5 version of one of their 28mm lenses. All the A7 are saying that you over or underexpose, arent they? Transfer photos and videos to a Windows computer using PlayMemories Home. I have been really pleased with the RX100ii, most recently using it mainly with Manual mode, Raw, and toggling to manual focus and focus magnification on critical images, although have had to learn how to get the best out of the autofocus as my film cameras were manual focus only. 35-105 (first version), 70-210 f4 (beercan), APO 100-300, and 50mm f1.7 all in excellent plus condition that cost me a total of $1000 more or less. 2. I'd imagine you have Sony's ear. If the lens is a zoom lens, make sure that the lock switch is unlocked. Personally I have the luxury of owning a FE 4/16-35 aus well but most often I use a manual 28mm lens. I used mine a lot for two years and still use it occasionally. I am having issues with a MD 16mm F2.8 Fisheye. It is still abit of work and you have to remember lens and aperture but it can be very handy. I got 3 old Nikon lenses to go with my A7: 50mm, 105mm, and 200mm. It is sharper than a razor, light as a feather, and with a click of a button I can put on AFS-C and get a 200mm lens. Face palm moment but i need your help with lenses. If I get good adapters they can be quite expensive. Im not talking about the 28-70mm, but the 35-70mm. I would like to extend my photography experience with a manual focus lens and I would like your advice. I may make a video on how to because I think that properly calibrated infinity focus is soooo handy i many situations. For the sake of debating theres a couple thing I dont agree 100%: The Helios 44-2 has very primitive coatings so shooting into the light will cause severe issues and at f/2 it is only sharp in the very center of the image. personalmente creo que las lentes nativas son demasiado caras y poco luminosas, prefiero adaptar lentes manuales y disfrutar relajndome de mis disparos. I dont have experience with older manual lenses or anything, but Ive been using my 24mm TS-E on my A7ii and its all manual. Great work and fantastic guide for newbie (like me). This will result in over sharpened JPGs but if you are shooting raw this wont bother you. final image/ uprocessed raw. . I also find that for landscapes and nature images my results are more reliable than when I use AF and I enjoy the process more because it is me who is focusing, not the camera guessing were I want to focus. No the Minoltas show far less distortion, see this article for a compariosn. I am looking at the Sony A7 and would love to start using the manual lenses more often. November 16, 2015 Phillip Reeve 172 Comments. I also like the Tessars from the fifties and sixties. All with an EMF chip if not native. Here are two examples of very fine lenses: Of course not every manual lens will be that good, here are some general observations I made while using manual lenses for 6 years: Many people worry a lot about the sharpness of a lens and then upload their pictures to social media where it is impossible to tell an excellent from a decent lens. Hi and thank you fot your hints. Very useful. Just twist the ring to hard stop and shoot . Bringing up enlargement , I can focus fairly well also thanks to the fact that I can regulate my viewfinder brightness by allowing more or less light to enter through my aperture. Is there a setting somewhere I need to change? Personally I would choose the smaller and lighter Voigtlnder. Inline to be able to print big, but thats not the main aspect in case of noticeable disadvantages of the big sensor. My advice would be to stick to just a few lenses in the beginning but if you need some inspiration for other lenses check out our guides: For manual lenses I prefer full frame cameras like the Sony Alpha 7II over APS-C cameras like the Sony a6000. . A few observations: Due to its long flange distance, the Nikon will only accept Nikon F-Mount lenses. And I congratulate you on your excellent use of english too. - Izzy \u0026 Adam *************************************************SONY a7 II TUTORIAL | How To Do Manual Focus on Sony Alpha 7 II Cameras And theres also an Nikon G adapter available allowing to control aperture by means of a f stop scale. Do you know if it would be compatible with the A7? For in-depth information on adapters and recommendations for many mounts check outAdapters for Manual Lenses on the Sony a7 series: The Guide. This is a screen capture jpg (ignore the compression) of the before an after. Hi, Philip! Its an involving process and it really slows the camera down. One of the most lenses with the best price/performance ratio, How does this compare to the FD 4/200? Thanks, looking forward to moving on from DSLR, Would just like to add my adapter recommendation, for Kindai(rayqual), Japanese manufacture. I had loved my A7 and it had totally changed the way I shoot (from the old, and mediocre, days of mirror filled Nikons), but I was going to Thailand and thought some of the perks of the RM2 would be useful. Configure the peaking level and color beforehand using MENU 1 [Peaking Setting]. if you set your Sony a6000 to ISO 100 and use the MC 1.4/50 @ f/1.4 you will get the same exposure times as you would get with the XE-7 and a ISO 100 film. Now, the focus magnifier is all I use. Is streetphotography a speciality? Colorshift will be worse on the a7II. 5. Great, thanks. You will be luckier with SLR lenses that have a retro focus design. But with those lenses, everything is manual. I found that there are lots of quality contents on your website. Consider adding an ebay.co.uk affiliate links as well. Sometimes M, but mostly A, yup. I use it 95% of the time. I have now invested some time in to getting to grips with post-processing my selected images in Lightroom and have been very pleased with the results and all with my 1-inch sensor camera! I bought a sony A6000. Thanks for the constant prodding, Phillip. If you look for a set of lenseshave a look at this article:A $400 lens kit for your Sony a7 series camerain which I present a very affordable set of manual lenses and a few alternatives. I prefer it, others dont. However I think the old OM lens is actually sharper than the Sony zoom was before it became damaged. Few reports so far but the new EVF should make using manual lenses even more enjoyable. kannst Du (ggf. You will have to live with a few trade offs but overall it is still a very capable camera, especially with manual lenses. So you would have lost very little. I was able to use both Nikon and Leica lenses on the A7ii with simple adapters (e.g., Novoflex), at least in the manual focus, aperture-priority mode. Go to page 8 (label: Custom Operation 1) Open the top "Custom Key" selection. Would you be able to recommend a good manual focus modern lens in 24 to 35mm range which I can use? Two issues: 1) In both cases when I set up the menu under Camera Settings(screen 7) Steady Shot SettingsSteady Shot Adjustwhen I press Steady Shot Adjust, it comes back with a message, Lens, Invalid because lens not attached. Apologies in advance for this long winded post. I have much fun using my 30 years old Nikkor 1,4/50 with Novoflex adapter for close-ups with f 2 or 2,8 for little deepth of field. Sony A7II. How do I focus manually on a Sony Alpha a7II? I would suggest a sharp lens like any 50mm lens at f/2.8 and some fabric to focus on. Im looking for lenses with a short focus ring travel and short flange distance la Leicas and Voigtlanders. Thanks , you can edit the the exif info with a tool called LensTagger. Thank you very much. Have you ever tried out the OM Zuiko 50mm f/1.4? Wow, such a great and informative article! And his little brother is also terrific closed down. This will give you a better feel for the optimal focus position but it also slows operation down so you could use focus magnification right away. Nikkor Ais 28/28 With the NEX-6 and Novoflex adapter, I have had a lot of trouble of getting a sharp focus (nowhere near the Sonys autofocus). it wont vignette. Just tried it and it is perfect for the 500mm f8 mirror. 0. . Any advice? This is what I am wondering, all of my lenses will be FD primes so could you just put the adapter on the camera and leave it there? I also use the AF feature of the Metabones IV frequently, as you know, especially with longer (Canon L IS USM) glass like the 4/70-200 or 4/300, and I am quite happy with reliability and even focus speed. Take a look at this article for further information. I appreciate your help and look forward to more of your work. To get the full experience on Sony.com, please change your settings to allow JavaScript. No such problems with the MC-11. I have no budget to get one, is it can use a cheaper adapter to control the Aperture? My current kit is a7riii with loawa 15 f2, 24 GM, zony 55 1.8 & 85 1.8 FE mostly for taking pictures of my 2 years old son (thanks AF) & for landscape photography. Battery Type. The 44-2 version is liked by many for its what some would call optical shortcomings and others character. The EVF is 0,5inch with 2.359.296 pixel. If you intend to adapt rangefinder lenses (like Leica-M or Contax-G) this camera is your best bet. Ive also used it with my digital Leica M cameras, with flash both wired and wireless. Your website is a tremendous help for people who want to shoot legacy glass on modern cameras! Many thanks for the Distagon 2.8/28 recommendation. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Best wishes from Texas. Maybe useful for others as well: C1 Zebra on/off (quite easy to reach this one here for me, just toggels the function), C2 Selftimer prior to Auto-Bracketing when using a tripod (I dont use it that often, that is why I set it up on a key which I found less easy to reach with with my finger when I have the a7 in front of my eyes), C3 Grid Lines (I quite often take architectural pics), Control Wheel ISO (quickly able to override Auto-ISO here, which I use by default), Control Wheel top button standard (Monitor Display settings), Control Wheel left button standard (Drive Mode), Control Wheel middle button Focus Magnifier (quite optimal on this key as one has to subsequently click through the magnifications with this key anyway), Control Wheel inferior button Steady shot on / off (freehand / tripod). Hi Phillip, Just copped a clean, used a6000 body this week on Adorama, so Im officially in the club. Anyway right now, Sony A7 is a very nice camera to use vintage lenses.The onley thing In dont like,is the shutter would,but its ok, om getting used to it. I also heavily use MF when focusing manually. 2) Sony is not the best in terms of good quality for price. Hit that button once then the Center Button and you're in business. The whole exercise takes just a few seconds its like a little karate move! Highly active question. https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/youngadventure/31683245810/. I have about 20 EF mount lenses now; native, adapted and converted mounts. Also, as I have an A7 and an A6000, I also get some variation of telephoto capability. Anything you can recommend to get rid of this? Cheers. And isnt it better to use the Picture Profiles for gaining more moir effect (sharpening, crisp aso.)? Thank you SO much for this article, found while considering whether to buy a used A7R ii to fit my Minolta and Olympus OM lenses to. Unfortunately I see it only at certain distances and focus magnifications. I couldnt see one on the site though for Amazon UK? especially the 42mp. Its better WO at 35mm than the Minolta version, but a bit less good at 50 and 70mm. Der Adapter hat objektivseitig jedoch extrem Spiel, vermutlich mehr als 1mm und erzeugt dadurch bei Einstellung auf Unendlich fr unschrfen ist also praktisch unbrauchbar. Computer doesn't recognize the USB connection from a camera. A flexible system is very valuable in these moments! Hi just curious if you have lens wiggle if so, do you think its a big deal? On the top of that, calibrating them is really easy. Zoom as well. About $1800 used at ebay.com or new at Amazon.com*. I know the Leica SL series has a thinner stack. To get started the cheaper K&F adapters*for $20 are perfectly fine. So after that rather lengthy preamble here are my questions! Hope this helps. so having the button that switches it on assigned to the Control Wheel means that my thumb can seamlessly start moving the target without having to move around the camera, since its already in exactly the right place. Focus with open F stop is good even without magnification, but I did use my F1 with the laser viewfinder lens without any focus help for years and am used to it. And there are even more which arent any good. Should be less than $300. Nice to see this article get an update.