The Sony A7s review - Leica M lenses? No problem

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Nick De Marco

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I just picked up the Sony A7s last week. As a Sony A7r and Leica M (240) user, I have to say I am very impressed with this camera.

See why, if you are interested, in Part I of my pictoral review on my blog, here: http://rangefinderchronicles.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-sony-a7s-review-part-1-leica-m.html

Here are a few of the first photos:

DSC00384 by nickdemarco, on Flickr

DSC00407 by nickdemarco, on Flickr

Above two both with Leica 28mm Summicron f2, below with the 50mm Summicron

DSC00280 by nickdemarco, on Flickr

DSC00353 by nickdemarco, on Flickr

And one more, with the Leica 50mm Noctilux f1:

Sony A7s with Leica 50mm Noctilux f1 by nickdemarco, on Flickr

Nick
 
You got me intrigued! Looking forward to part ii....

I've got a Zeiss 21mm C-Biogon that I like and it'd be great to find a digital body that it can more or less work well with.

Regards,
Mark
 
WJJ3 said:
Great write up on your blog. This is an appealing camera for sure.
Have you shot the 21mm color-skopar with it?
Click to expand...

I haven't shot the 21mm, but I have a 25mm color-skopar and it is terrible at the borders with the a7s. Smeared even at f11. I would expect the 21mm Skopar is similar or worse.
My 28mm Contax G Biogon is only slightly better, but still really bad.

I am curious for larger size 28mm Summicron samples, also larger images from the ZM lenses? (at infinity, if possible)
 
Thanks for the comments
I have the 21mm (and 28mm) color-skopars - I use them both on my LTM cameras. Not tried them yet on the A7s - I did on the A7r and there was so much magenta I had to go in the other room. Will try the 21mm on the A7s and include it in Part 3 of my review.

cpc - I shall upload one of the wide riverscapes, which I expect were shot at near infinity, with the 28mm summicron at full size on flickr and link here for you.
 
cpc said:
I am curious for larger size 28mm Summicron samples, also larger images from the ZM lenses? (at infinity, if possible)
Click to expand...

The 28mm Summicron is useable at mid to small apertures, but if you want to use it wide open or less than mid-aperture then it's not a good option for the Sony (unless you don't care about cyan color shifts in the corners and/or smearing.) Also it may not appear so bad depending on subject matter, lighting, and your own level of expectations. It's unfortunate as the 28mm Summicron is a very good lens.
 
I have changed Part II of my review from high iso (now part III) to show some other lenses and things, because of some of the feedback. In particular, I wanted to check the 28mm summicron given the comments above that its OK at f5.6-f8, but wide open at f2 it would not work without magenta fringing. No examples have been given to show this, so I thought I would investigate myself. So this morning I shot a number of shots with the 28 wide open. I have just reviewed and edited them ready for my Part II of the review, and unless I am blind I cannot see any hint of magenta or anything lee wrong. They remind me of the warmth and sharpness, and good feel, I get from this lens with the M.

I have also found, in passing, the Zeiss 50mm Sonnar f1.5 works wonderfully on the A7s.

I shall publish part II by or on the weekend.

Nick
 
fwiw, it's not magenta but cyan in the corners (see my post.) There is some in the bottom right side corner of your second image. I'll try to post images of the phenomenon (that I experienced) later this weekend.

I guess I just had bad luck with it when I borrowed a demo A7s and tried out several M lenses. The 28mm Summicron had issues and at wide apertures I was getting visible cyan shifts in the corners. It started to go away a bit at smaller apertures.

btw, which adapter are you using?
 
chambrenoire said:
How's the 28mm f/2.8 M-Rokkor with the A7-series, anyone know?
Click to expand...

Each A7 is different, esp with a 28 M lens, but the M-rokkor was decent on the A7, so I would expect it's nice on the A7s.

good news above, except now we all have to dump our current versions :bang:
 
Stuart John said:
Looks good. I just bought an A7 a few weeks ago. I don't have anything wider than my 35mf2.5 skopar which seems to work OK.
Click to expand...

Skopar has major edge issues at infinity on A7, all apertures.

sry for double post--

Nick, would be nice to see some full size shots with 28 and wider on your flickr---at some point. Can't really evalutate from a 1000x702

TY for all your work
 
VertovSvilova - thanks for explaining. I have seen no cyan either, whether the lens is side open or stopped down Mind you, I can't see much on the bottom right of the photo of mine above where you see it, so maybe we have different sensitivity to cyan!

I use the Voigtlander close up adapter, both because it is a very good adapter but also because it means I can get real close with my M lenses which can be a good advantage of the A7 series generally with this adapter.

uhoh7 - I did upload one of them full size on flickr in response to a similar request - scroll up and see. It's a pain to do it with all shots though! When I do Part II I shall upload one on flickr wide open full size too.
 
Nick De Marco said:
VertovSvilova - thanks for explaining. I have seen no cyan either, whether the lens is side open or stopped down Mind you, I can't see much on the bottom right of the photo of mine above where you see it, so maybe we have different sensitivity to cyan!
Click to expand...

If you can't see it, then take it into Photoshop and measure it with your CYMK dropper. The bridge is neutral and that bottom corner is heavily cyan (which I can see right away with my eyes.) Unless a cyan Smurf was standing off frame in that corner and it's just a reflection off of him. 🙂 (btw, this sort of thing is readily fixable in PS and something that may not be an issue overall....)

Anyway, I'm not having the best of luck with the 28mm Summicron and am getting cyan shifts at various distances/apertures. Ashwin Rao who did a report on the Steve Huff site with his A7s also apparently had issues with the 28 Summicron. Here's his article: http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2014/07/15/the-sony-a7s-a-new-camera-for-leica-m-lenses-by-ashwin-rao/

He said: The lens that continues to “misbehave” on the A7s was the Leica 28 mm f/2 Summicron ASPH. This lens gives even Leica M bodies some trouble, and in the case of the Sony A7s, it has continued to produce moderate smearing at the edges. For real world street photography, in which edge sharpness may not be important, the smearing rarely matters, but if one were shooting landscapes, he or she would notice this, so it’s I lens I have considered avoiding for those moments when edge sharpness matters (For most other moments, the 28 ‘cron works great).

Interesting that he said "for most other moments, the 28 'cron works great." He's getting 'smearing' and I'm getting 'cyan shifts' and you're happy with it all. So, who knows... maybe it comes down to the adapter being used (fwiw, I used the store's Novoflex adapter.)

All the other lenses I tried out were okay, it was just the 28 Summicron that was off for me. Anyway, thanks for all the testing that you're doing.

p.s., I noticed in the article of Rao's that he also uses the Voigtlander adapter.....
 
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