Nex 7 + E to M adaptor

[Out to Lunch]

I have never used a camera with an adapter. Be nice please.

My question: when using an adapter (E to M), on a Sony Nex camera, apart from AF, what other NEX functions will go by the wayside?

Many thanks for your feedback, Peter

 

[sevo]

My question: when using an adapter (E to M), on a Sony Nex camera, apart from AF, what other NEX functions will go by the wayside?

Well, it is strictly speaking a matter of manual lenses rather than adapters - there are two adapters for Sony alpha AF lenses, where everything will work like with native lenses (indeed with even faster AF on the LA-EA2 which adds PD AF).

Besides being non-AF, manual lenses don't have from-camera aperture control and aperture setting feedback. So they can't be used in S, P and all derived modes and are down to M, A (and A derived) modes. For the same reason, the camera cannot preserve the aperture across lens changes and will not write aperture values to EXIF. Not knowing the focusing distance or flash range from AF and aperture settings, it will also be limited in its fill flash capabilities.

Some mounts are harder to adapt due to extra limitations that have to be dealt with by the adapter - like missing a aperture ring (e.g. Nikon G, EOS and many other recent AF mounts), the aperture (some sixties leaf shutter SLR mounts) or even the entire focus helical (Contax/Nikon RF). YMMV as to how well the adapter implements these things...

 

[Out to Lunch]

Thanks Sevo. Not for me then. I don't see the point in paying for NEX functionality which can't be used with non-E-mount lenses. A concern even more so since the Sony E-mount lens line-up is limited.

 

[sevo]

Thanks Sevo. Not for me then. I don't see the point in paying for NEX functionality which can't be used with non-E-mount lenses.

Well, yes - if you consider auto-everything the main point in camera functionality, the Nex series currently is a worse choice than a MFT camera, as the latter have a much broader choice of native, compact AF lenses.

But bear in mind that all the things you "lose" with a manual lens on the NEX (or any other digital camera) have never even existed in any rangefinder, and with the exception of S/P modes, not in any non-AF SLR either...

 

[semordnilap]

I really like the 5n with my M glass... It's a bit different than rf focussing with the peaking, but all of the important (to me) features are there–good high iso, decent customizability, good video... It's a nice complement, for me, to my M8.

 

[Adanac]

I used M glass on my NEX-5N exclusively - the AF kit lens was used for exactly six benchmark shots and then placed back in the box.

Probably the way to look at this is if you enjoy using manual focus, manual aperture, lenses on other cameras, you will probably enjoy using them on a NEX. Or on a Ricoh GXR maybe even more. 😉

Or a different way of looking at this would be the NEX cameras, for some folks, are essentially a digital back for their manual focus lenses.

The major benefit of the NEX beyond the overall good performance provided by its APS sensor is the short flange focal length (18mm) allows for adapters of all sorts to be made. The relatively small line up of native E mount lenses for the system need not be a problem for a photographer that is keen to supplement (or replace) native E lenses with adapted manual focus lenses - be they rangefinder or SLR glass.

One thing to watch out for with adapters is whether the adapter centres and aligns the lens properly, and how it deals with infinity. Quite a few allow focus past infinity; some never reach it.

Some adapters provide new abilities to old glass. For example the Hawk helicoid M to NEX E mount adapter has an ingenious built in close focusing helicoid. With my Zeiss 25/2.8 this allowed me to drop the minimum focus distance from 0.5 meters to ~ 0.06 meters - from about a foot and a half to a distance barely more than three finger widths in front of my lens. This opens up new worlds of exploration to rangefinder glass that isn't possible when mounted on a rangefinder camera.

I joked about the GXR earlier in this post; if one is looking for an alternative camera for M or adapted LTM->M lenses only, the GXR really should be considered, especially if wider angle lenses are a big part of one's photography. Some issues with colour shifting and smeared edge and corner detail on the NEX with certain wide angle lens designs are not a problem at all on the GXR. The GXR Mount A12 (soon to be the Mount A16 with the same sensor as the NEX-5N) has no anti-alias filter (like the M9) and accepts native M mount lenses without a third party adapter, having been built specifically for this purpose.

Both NEX and GXR are excellent and quite different cameras; once one knows what the strengths and weaknesses of each it is relatively easy for a photographer that knows what they want to pick one or the other.

 

[segedi]

Probably the way to look at this is if you enjoy using manual focus, manual aperture, lenses on other cameras, you will probably enjoy using them on a NEX. Or on a Ricoh GXR maybe even more. 😉

Adanac - your whole post sums up my experience perfectly. The only thing to add is that if you enjoy manual focus, you might enjoy it even more on the NEX or GXR line.

OP: I wouldn't dismiss the NEX or GXR lineup solely on the basis of native lens lineups. Having M glass, you already have an extended lens lineup - and one that you will be more happy with in the end. The quality of the images these RF replacement digital backs creates abundant opportunity for great photos. And at a fraction of the cost of the Leica alternatives.

 

[Pablito]

More broadly speaking, the NEX (at least to me) is a modern equivalent of the old film RF experience. Using the NEX with manual focus and manual exposure, it's like shooting with a digital FM or an M6, only with the advantage of precise framing. Anyway, I have the EVF, which is terrific. Also, don't discount the use of older SLR lenses. One of my favorites on the NEX is the Nikon 24mm 2.8.

 

[sevo]

I don't see the point in paying for (...) functionality which can't be used in {my use case}

That sentence really is worthy a separate discussion: This really is a very generic matter with modern cameras - computerization has made feature creep essentially a free ride, and pretty much every camera is marketed to many different niche users, by throwing in features only appealing to a small subgroup. When buying a digital (or digital controlled - this already started with the multi-program automation in the late eighties) camera you always buy more than you need or want. And you have to rid yourself of the feeling that you should need or use every feature bundled into it merely because it came attached to something you bought to suit your needs.

In some ways this is something generically wrong with modern cameras. Even if it is irrational, buying a camera with sixty modes out of which we only want to use one seems wasteful, and remains a insult to the sense of thrift we inherited from the age of mechanical goods. And ergonomically modern cameras tend to be a bit challenged by that overwhelming choice, too - no maker so far has been so daring as to make menus editable to the point that you could lock out every menu item except for one single mode set, like manual focus with spot-metered manual exposure...

 

[dbm]

P and S modes with manual lenses on the NEX

P and S modes with manual lenses on the NEX

Besides being non-AF, manual lenses don't have from-camera aperture control and aperture setting feedback. So they can't be used in S, P and all derived modes and are down to M, A (and A derived) modes.

This statement is incorrect. Manual lenses can be used in S and P modes - They just act a little different from what you might expect.

P mode works like A mode, since the Aperture is fixed by the manual setting of the lens and the camera cannot change it. But it will adjust shutter and ISO to compensate.

S mode is kind of neat. With a fixed aperture from the manual lens, and a preferred shutter speed, the camera will adjust the only setting it can - ISO - to try and set the correct exposure. If it can't be set, you can dial in a shutter speed that will work.

 

[semordnilap]

This statement is incorrect. Manual lenses can be used in S and P modes - They just act a little different from what you might expect.

P mode works like A mode, since the Aperture is fixed by the manual setting of the lens and the camera cannot change it. But it will adjust shutter and ISO to compensate.

S mode is kind of neat. With a fixed aperture from the manual lens, and a preferred shutter speed, the camera will adjust the only setting it can - ISO - to try and set the correct exposure. If it can't be set, you can dial in a shutter speed that will work.

Neat... I'll have to try those!