A7 with Some LTM, M mount lens

Argenticien said:
Thanks, Godfrey, for all your detailed insight on my Av (&c.) questions. It's great to hear your views, as you have clearly used the camera a lot in this way, instead of so much repeated Internet "wisdom" that's out there. It sounds like this machine would do well for the use I'm accustomed to, which is mostly aperture priority. I'd likely buy it without even one FE lens, spending my funds instead on a bunch of adapters for legacy glass. It's sad to hear that some RF lenses don't do well, but I've got a fairly good range of focal lengths between my M42 and MC Rokkor sets, so I'd not be left blind even if the LTM ones were useless.
Click to expand...

You're welcome.

I bought the A7 just that way too, sans lens—found a deal on it from a seller on Ebay who was opening the A7 kit packages and selling the kit lens separately (I think that's the only way to get it other than buying the A7 kit). I have no intention of ever buying a native mount lens for it, it is exclusively for use with my favorite manual lenses with lens mount adaptors.

There are tons of lens mount adapters on the market and I've tried a bunch. Most are junk, including Metabones (they currently are the only manufacturer hitting a home run ... all three of the Metabones adapters I tried I handed back to the store as unusable). The best I've found are Novoflex ... they're very expensive, but because I'm concentrating on just Leica R and Nikkor lenses, it's not too outrageous given that I have six R lenses and four Nikkors. The Leica R adapter (NEX/LER) stays on the camera almost all the time, and I just exchange lenses on the adapter. One nicety of using the Novoflex adapters: if you use a tripod very often, you can purchase the Novoflex ASTAT/NEX tripod mount to use with all NEX mount adapters in their line. It slides onto the adapter and provides a more balanced, stronger mounting foot (both screw thread and Arca-Swiss QR mount compatible). It also allows the camera to be rotated from landscape to portrait orientation without changing the lens axis. Handles up to my Elmarit-R 135/2.8 very nicely (longer than that, my lenses have their own tripod mounting points).

Again not cheap, but a very good system if you are intent on doing a lot of photography.

Rayqual, Kipon, and Voigtländer are the only other adapters I've used that I found consistently dimensioned and a quality build.

G
 
Tom A said:
So far I have had no problems with it - apart from its less than user friendly menu set up. Image quality is high - at least on the screen. I haven't printed anything from it yet.
I like it as a platform for using the about 70 different lenses that I have - multiple mounts, Ltm,M,Nikon SLR,Nikon Rf, Pentax M 42 and Leica SLR.
Click to expand...

Tom, thanks for that -- sounds like good news -- and please do continue to share. If anyone could give a fair evaluation of how this camera performs with adapted lenses, I'm sure it's you with your experience (as an official lens tester for Cosina/Voigtlander) and the range of lenses you've got.

--Dave
 
Tom, you've taken the digital plunge, and the 28 Ultron f2 looks like a winner on A7! I see no vignetting, and the top corners are sharp.

I have the 1.9, which supposedly introduces less focus shift; but it isn't quite as good in the corners. I had trouble finding an M-mount 28 that covered corners well and ended up with Hexanon.

Congrats on this successful combination (and any others you discover)! Please let us know,

Kirk
 
My tests with the Ultron 28/2 didn't look as nice as Tom's does. I consider its performance unacceptable until stopped down to about f/8. By comparison, my Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8 is acceptable to satisfactory at f/2.8 and by f/4 it's very good (f/5.6 to f/11 : excellent).

I've not found too many M-mount lenses of the ones I own that I feel works all that well with the A7 sensor until about 40mm, and even the Nokton 50/1.5 seems somewhat iffy.

G
 
Godfrey said:
My tests with the Ultron 28/2 didn't look as nice as Tom's does. I consider its performance unacceptable until stopped down to about f/8. By comparison, my Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8 is acceptable to satisfactory at f/2.8 and by f/4 it's very good (f/5.6 to f/11 : excellent).

I've not found too many M-mount lenses of the ones I own that I feel works all that well with the A7 sensor until about 40mm, and even the Nokton 50/1.5 seems somewhat iffy.

G
Click to expand...

Which 40, the Minolta/Leica f2 or the vc f1.4? The 50f1.5 is also a bummer.

Gary
 
I ordered an Elmarit-R 19mm lens. But I happened to be at the camera shop today. Glancing into the used gear department, I saw a very good looking Nikkor 18mm f/3.5 AI-S. My curiosity was piqued, I remember this as being a darn good lens once upon a time. I asked my buddy there what they would take for it. He quoted me an absurdly low price... Oh, piffle.

Now I'll be able to compare the two lenses when the Elmarit arrives.









Sony A7 + Nikkor 18mm f/3.5 AI-S
All at f/3.5 for testing ...​

I think it does rather nicely on the A7, at least wide open and at close range. I'll have to see how it performs at greater focus distances. And, of course, I have the Nikon F to use it with if I ever feel like shooting some film. ;-)

fun fun fun ...
enjoy!

G
 
Trying out the Adobe Flat Field Plug-In (with Expodisc): It couldn't work better?
A7 with 40 Summicron @ f2.8


12838250235_8845171ab1_o.jpg
[/url]
Another anti-portrait by thompsonkirk, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
I took out the Nikkor 18mm f/3.5 AI-S and the Voigtländer Nokton 40/1.4 MC on my morning walk today.

140301-00406-s.jpg


Did most of the shooting with the Nikkor. It produces good results wide open and excellent results at f/8, good at infinity although I think it sings best a bit closer in. I think this lens is a winner for the Sony A7 in the ultra-ultra wide class.

A page with links to a few full-size JPEGs for your entertainment … https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25268645/sonyA7-nikkor18mm/index.html

I have less enthusiasm for the Nokton 40. It's very nice on center but does not have the crisp focusing feel of the Nikkor 18, never mind any of the Leica R lenses. There's some minor corner smearing visible in photos which have fine corner details. However, it's a very handy size and weight, could be a good lens when I want a lighter, smaller camera, and the small amount of corner smearing is likely unimportant for most shooting situations I'd use this lens for. I'll do some more shooting with it.

G
 
nandemofoto said:
Japanese doll festival
Sony a7 + M-Rokkor 40mm f2
More pictures with this setup: http://www.nandemofoto.com/news-photographer-japan/
Click to expand...

Interesting. I've been shooting a little with the Nokton 40/1.4 MC but there are some corner issues. I'll have to compare with the M-Rokkor 40/2 gen II: I have one of those that lives on my CL all the time. They're both small and light lenses for when I want to carry less, and I've always liked the 40mm FoV.

G
 
nandemofoto said:
I sold the cv 40/1.4 and kept m-rokkor 40/2 CL, not only it is lighter but it is giving me better results than the CV
Click to expand...

Interesting – could you add more info?

I'm currently using the 40 Summicron from CL as my everyday A7 lens and am happy with it, but I was thinking of trying the CV 40 too (thinking it might be sharper at f2 than the Cron). I wonder in what ways CV fell short – resolution, corner smearing, tinting, or whatever?

Thx for any reply,

Kirk
 
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