Fuchs
Well-known
Just one week ago a friend of mine brought me from China a Yeenon branded AF adapter to mount the famous Contax G lenses on Sony Nex mount cameras.
As soon as I got my hands on it, I mounted it on my A7, and proceeded to give my G lenses a try. I have a Biogon 28/2.8, a Planar 45/2, and a Sonnar 90/2.8, whose performance I know very well, as I used them extensively over the years on my Contax G2 body. Sadly, they sat unused next to their mother camera for almost a year, as even if they are stellar performers, I prefer largely the M6 viewfinder to the Contax's.
I will not describe their optical goodnesses, as they are very well known and enough has been written on the web about them.
Anyways, the arrival of the G-to-NEX adapter got me all excited about being able to use them again on a regular basis on the full frame A7 body.
The adapter itself looks to be very well built, it is all metal and very tight in the fitting both to the camera and to the lens side. It inspires confidence, as there is no play once everything is put together.
Autofocus is maintained, and the speed is reasonable, meaning it is at least as fast as the native AF speed when the lenses are mounted on the G2 body. Focus accuracy is excellent, and I have not yet missed a focus point to date. The field where this adapter struggles is focus acquisition in poor lighting conditions, decidedly more than a native Sony lens and more than these lenses on the G2 body. As the aperture is closed, the light that reaches the sensor diminishes and also the lens "hunts" more during focus acquisition. The AF motor drive is in the adapter body, and it is powered by the camera battery, so I suspect this "hunting" back and forward will impact negatively on battery life.
There is always the option of manual focus via a small wheel to the left of the adapter body, with the option of focus assist magnification on the A7, so this is a minor annoyance. This wheel drives a focus-by-wire mechanism, there is no mechanical linkage, so even manual focusing drains battery power.
There are electronic contacts on both ends, and it seems some kind of magic is done here, as the lens names register correctly in the EXIF, which is of great help when editing, to know at least which lens was used when. This has almost always worked, as the Planar 45/2 failed to be recognized in a couple occasions.
So, summarizing (and assuming these are just my initial use impressions):
PROS:
-Finally being able to use Contax G lenses on a Full Frame digital body
-AF speed is acceptably good
-AF precision is excellent
-Manual focus available
-Build quality is excellent
-EXIF data registration
CONS
-Focus acquisition in less than optimal light conditions, subject contrast, or when using small apertures can be difficult
-Manual focusing wheel is maybe too small to be always comfortable to use
-It shortens camera battery life
In any case, the delight of using these lenses on the A7 overcomes for me any inconveniences caused by the adapter.
As soon as possible, I will post some images made with them.
PS: English is not my first (not even third) language, so please let me know if there's anything difficult to be understood in the post.
As soon as I got my hands on it, I mounted it on my A7, and proceeded to give my G lenses a try. I have a Biogon 28/2.8, a Planar 45/2, and a Sonnar 90/2.8, whose performance I know very well, as I used them extensively over the years on my Contax G2 body. Sadly, they sat unused next to their mother camera for almost a year, as even if they are stellar performers, I prefer largely the M6 viewfinder to the Contax's.
I will not describe their optical goodnesses, as they are very well known and enough has been written on the web about them.
Anyways, the arrival of the G-to-NEX adapter got me all excited about being able to use them again on a regular basis on the full frame A7 body.
The adapter itself looks to be very well built, it is all metal and very tight in the fitting both to the camera and to the lens side. It inspires confidence, as there is no play once everything is put together.
Autofocus is maintained, and the speed is reasonable, meaning it is at least as fast as the native AF speed when the lenses are mounted on the G2 body. Focus accuracy is excellent, and I have not yet missed a focus point to date. The field where this adapter struggles is focus acquisition in poor lighting conditions, decidedly more than a native Sony lens and more than these lenses on the G2 body. As the aperture is closed, the light that reaches the sensor diminishes and also the lens "hunts" more during focus acquisition. The AF motor drive is in the adapter body, and it is powered by the camera battery, so I suspect this "hunting" back and forward will impact negatively on battery life.
There is always the option of manual focus via a small wheel to the left of the adapter body, with the option of focus assist magnification on the A7, so this is a minor annoyance. This wheel drives a focus-by-wire mechanism, there is no mechanical linkage, so even manual focusing drains battery power.
There are electronic contacts on both ends, and it seems some kind of magic is done here, as the lens names register correctly in the EXIF, which is of great help when editing, to know at least which lens was used when. This has almost always worked, as the Planar 45/2 failed to be recognized in a couple occasions.
So, summarizing (and assuming these are just my initial use impressions):
PROS:
-Finally being able to use Contax G lenses on a Full Frame digital body
-AF speed is acceptably good
-AF precision is excellent
-Manual focus available
-Build quality is excellent
-EXIF data registration
CONS
-Focus acquisition in less than optimal light conditions, subject contrast, or when using small apertures can be difficult
-Manual focusing wheel is maybe too small to be always comfortable to use
-It shortens camera battery life
In any case, the delight of using these lenses on the A7 overcomes for me any inconveniences caused by the adapter.
As soon as possible, I will post some images made with them.
PS: English is not my first (not even third) language, so please let me know if there's anything difficult to be understood in the post.
