35mm RF lenses on A7r?

[Deleted member 7792]

Agreed..... I have the 90 Apo Summicron Asph M and find it to be outstanding on the A7r. I am also very fussy and know a good lens when I see one.....

Victor

+1 for the 90mm Apo-Summicron-M ASPH. I've found mine to be sharp corner-to-corner with the A7R:

Regarding lenses for the A7R, I find it somewhat masochistic to use a big honkin' DSLR lens on the compact A7/A7R cameras. Especially when there's a decent 36MP 35mm full-frame DSLR camera alternative - the D800E - or decent small lightweight lens alternatives at the desired focal length(s). The incredibly small Sony A7/A7R, IMHO, demands lenses that complement its size and weight. My recommendation of the Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA native lens is consistent with that philosophy and reinforced by Lloyd Chambers' findings in his recent article comparing the Leica 35mm Summilux-M, Zeiss ZM 35mm f/2 and the Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 native lens on the A7R. Bottom line: the Sony/Zeiss 35mm native lens more than held its own against its pricier breathren.

And to be completely honest, I'll be trying some DSLR lens alternatives for the longer focal lengths (>135mm) until Sony introduces native lens alternatives in the new mount.

Joe

 

[nikonf]

I agree with Joe: I purchased the A7R to compliment the D800E. I wanted it for the small profile and amazing image quality and I intend to use it with the small FE ZA lenses and perhaps some other old jewels such as the Olympus OM lenses. Check out the size of the diminutive 35mm 2.8 and 24mm f2.8 OM lenses!
Just a thought from an old Canon FD, Olympus OM and Contax RTS II user.
Mike

+1 for the 90mm Apo-Summicron-M ASPH. I've found mine to be sharp corner-to-corner with the A7R:

Regarding lenses for the A7R, I find it somewhat masochistic to use a big honkin' DSLR lens on the compact A7/A7R cameras. Especially when there's a decent 36MP 35mm full-frame DSLR camera alternative - the D800E - or decent small lightweight lens alternatives at the desired focal length(s). The incredibly small Sony A7/A7R, IMHO, demands lenses that complement its size and weight. My recommendation of the Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA native lens is consistent with that philosophy and reinforced by Lloyd Chambers' findings in his recent article comparing the Leica 35mm Summilux-M, Zeiss ZM 35mm f/2 and the Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 native lens on the A7R. Bottom line: the Sony/Zeiss 35mm native lens more than held its own against its pricier breathren.

And to be completely honest, I'll be trying some DSLR lens alternatives for the longer focal lengths (>135mm) until Sony introduces native lens alternatives in the new mount.

Joe

 

[GDI]

Sorry, I have only tried the 35FE and ZM 35/2. The 35FE is actually pretty good but the corners smear a bit and I am sensitive to that. You might not be. I shoot longer almost all the time so it doesn't matter enough for me to get in adapters and try out SLR lenses.

I am quite sensitive to it - that is why I am basically going with SLR lenses.

 

[GDI]

+1 for the 90mm Apo-Summicron-M ASPH. I've found mine to be sharp corner-to-corner with the A7R:



Regarding lenses for the A7R, I find it somewhat masochistic to use a big honkin' DSLR lens on the compact A7/A7R cameras. Especially when there's a decent 36MP 35mm full-frame DSLR camera alternative - the D800E - or decent small lightweight lens alternatives at the desired focal length(s). The incredibly small Sony A7/A7R, IMHO, demands lenses that complement its size and weight. My recommendation of the Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA native lens is consistent with that philosophy and reinforced by Lloyd Chambers' findings in his recent article comparing the Leica 35mm Summilux-M, Zeiss ZM 35mm f/2 and the Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 native lens on the A7R. Bottom line: the Sony/Zeiss 35mm native lens more than held its own against its pricier breathren.

And to be completely honest, I'll be trying some DSLR lens alternatives for the longer focal lengths (>135mm) until Sony introduces native lens alternatives in the new mount.

Joe

I hear you - different things irritate different people.

I find it masochistic to use most of my M lenses on the A7r - the bad edges and corners are torturous. One that does work just fine is the Noctilux F1 - the sensor weaknesses are overcome by the lens flaws so all is good! I find that a C/Y 35 2.8 is a pleasure to use on the A7R, and the Elmarit-R 35 is bigger and heavier, but really no more unwieldy than my Summicron-M, it is shorter though squatter (that's with the thin M-Nex and Honking R-Nex adapters). And of course OM lenses are very tiny and even with adapters I have not used one that seems big or heavy with the A7r.

I never considered a Nikon digital, don't think I will now, and it definitely won't work with a Noctilux (unless DigiLloyd knows a way to do it. )

 

[Deleted member 7792]

I hear you - different things irritate different people...

I never considered a Nikon digital, don't think I will now...

Understood. No argument here.

Having come from the Nikon digital world, and having owned a D800E and just about every Nikon lens from 14mm to 600mm, I've given up weight and volume for convenience, ease of use, and less back pain. My reason for mentioning the D800E is that it has, for all practical purposes, the same 36MP Sony sensor as the A7R. While some would argue that the ISO performance of the Sony A7R sensor is one to two stops better than that of the D800E, I haven't seen any empirical results that prove that. I'd bet (and have) that it's more a difference in the marketing approaches of Sony and Nikon.

Having chosen the compact mirrorless kit to lighten my load, my quest is for lenses that complement the size and weight of the camera body, like the native 35mm and 55mm. And fortunately, I have a kit of Leica M lenses that I can play with, while I wait for the E-mount lineup to be filled in by Sony/Zeiss and other manufacturers. Fun times.

Joe

 

[retow]

+1 for the 90mm Apo-Summicron-M ASPH. I've found mine to be sharp corner-to-corner with the A7R:


Regarding lenses for the A7R, I find it somewhat masochistic to use a big honkin' DSLR lens on the compact A7/A7R cameras. Especially when there's a decent 36MP 35mm full-frame DSLR camera alternative - the D800E - or decent small lightweight lens alternatives at the desired focal length(s). The incredibly small Sony A7/A7R, IMHO, demands lenses that complement its size and weight. My recommendation of the Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA native lens is consistent with that philosophy and reinforced by Lloyd Chambers' findings in his recent article comparing the Leica 35mm Summilux-M, Zeiss ZM 35mm f/2 and the Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 native lens on the A7R. Bottom line: the Sony/Zeiss 35mm native lens more than held its own against its pricier breathren.

And to be completely honest, I'll be trying some DSLR lens alternatives for the longer focal lengths (>135mm) until Sony introduces native lens alternatives in the new mount.

Joe

Big honkin` 310 gram SLR lens Nikkor 2.0/85mm versus the compact 500 gram m-mount 2.0/90 apo Summicron. Just sayin`

 

[Ron Pfister]

A very enjoyable discussion! For me, it boils down to this: the A7/R are an excellent platform that suits many people's needs and wishes. If you have SLR or RF lenses that work really well, there's little reason to invest in something new. If you don't, then Sony's FE offerings look like a terrific choice. Personally, I'm happy to stick with my SLR lenses while I wait for Zeiss to show their hand with native FE glass. The FE 4/24-70 is the only AF lens I'm interested in (if turns out to be a winner)...

 

[Deleted member 7792]

Big honkin` 310 gram SLR lens Nikkor 2.0/85mm versus the compact 500 gram m-mount 2.0/90 apo Summicron. Just sayin`

:ROTFL:

 

[thompsonkirk]

Back to OP's question about 35mm:

I did some pixel-peeping and found that 40mm Summicron and 35 pre-aspherical Summilux were best at larger apertures (from widest to f4). Neither discolors nor smears in the corners. I'm using the 40 Cron as my basic A7 lens.

35mm Summilux FLE flunked out, with corner discoloration and smearing still prominent at f4.

35mm Summicron v. 4 fared poorly at f2 and f2.8, though better than Lux FLE. It looked tolerable at f4.

I can't join the bandwagon for 35 Nokton 1.2 on A7/r. As above: "The incredibly small Sony A7/A7R, IMHO, demands lenses that complement its size and weight." The bulk of the 1.2 Nokton defeats the purpose of a small and light camera. And with higher ISOs available on A7/r, one shouldn't need f1.2, where it's hard to pin down focus. Finally, CA is prominent at its large apertures.

I haven't seen any tests of 1.4 Nokton, which is supposed to be a pretty close approximation of the pre-asph Lux. If it works as well as the Lux it would be both light and a bargain. Its focus shift problems would vanish when focusing manually at shooting aperture.

 

[turtle]

Absolutely, the 35 Nokton is not an everyday lens, but it is a handy second 35mm. I believe mine to be the best value (by a country mile) Leica M mount lens I have and it produces quite exquisite portraits and low light images. I am about to buy the 35 FE Sonnar as the 'main lens' for all the reasons I mentioned earlier: sharp, light, great all rounder.

Back to OP's question about 35mm:

I did some pixel-peeping and found that 40mm Summicron and 35 pre-aspherical Summilux were best at larger apertures (from widest to f4). Neither discolors nor smears in the corners. I'm using the 40 Cron as my basic A7 lens.

35mm Summilux FLE flunked out, with corner discoloration and smearing still prominent at f4.

35mm Summicron v. 4 fared poorly at f2 and f2.8, though better than Lux FLE. It looked tolerable at f4.

I can't join the bandwagon for 35 Nokton 1.2 on A7/r. As above: "The incredibly small Sony A7/A7R, IMHO, demands lenses that complement its size and weight." The bulk of the 1.2 Nokton defeats the purpose of a small and light camera. And with higher ISOs available on A7/r, one shouldn't need f1.2, where it's hard to pin down focus. Finally, CA is prominent at its large apertures.

I haven't seen any tests of 1.4 Nokton, which is supposed to be a pretty close approximation of the pre-asph Lux. If it works as well as the Lux it would be both light and a bargain. Its focus shift problems would vanish when focusing manually at shooting aperture.

 

[douglasf13]

Agreed, and I may end up there--but my thought is to at least try to find a viable alternative-- with the intent to build a lens array that is NOT tethered to any particular camera brand/mount-- assuming that in the future, developments may allow switching or adding bodies, without the upheaval and expense of switching systems...

Unlike with film, where you can use the same film stock with any camera brand, the size and design differences of the sensors in various digital cameras practically dictates that you'll want to reevaluate your lens lineup whenever you switch cameras, so I wouldn't worry too much about finding a lens that will last you forever, especially at the price of the FE 35.

 

[kuau]

Mr. Joe Colson probably one of the nicest guys whom I have never met in person is absolutely 100% correct on his spot on analysis.
Choose your poison, A7, or A7r, both fantastic cameras IMHO, though again IMHO, attaching a DSLR lens with an adaptor and all of the sudden the Sony losses it's main appeal size, form and function. Also for those going through the exercise trying to diminish the shutter vibrating issues, using complicated RRS rails, and foots and whatever else it take to get a sharp image, I give you guys a lot of credit, but for me to go through all this again really defeats the whole purpose of the A7r.

I wanted my A7 kit to be as small and light as possible so I ended up with the FE35, I already owned a Zeiss 50/2ZM, which works great on my A7 at F5.6 which is all I need and a Zeiss 85/4ZM ok not a very fast lens but very small and light and at F5.6-8 also performs great.
The only DSLR lens I am testing is my converted Contax Zeiss 135mm F2.8 Sonar lens with a Leitax Sony A mount and using Sony's LAEA3 adaptor. Initial results are very promising.

Now if I can only find something worth shooting here in Park City, Utah I would be really happy :ROTFL:

 

[algrove]

Anyone tried or had success with a Summaron 35/2.8 or Summaron 35/3.5 on the a7R?:clap:

 

[kuau]

From what I have seen most if not all 35mm RF lenses have some kind of issue though depending on subject matter these issues maybe non issues to some. Only you can decide if you can live with these issues. I still lime the FE35, I think its a very good lens

 

[thompsonkirk]

Sorry but can't agree – see my post above re: 35/40 M lenses that function quite well even at largest apertures.

 

[kuau]

My comment was more in line with current RF lenses. I am sure there are some older retro design that work like the WATE. Yet at the end of the day, native FE lenses will always work best. I would sell my 50/2 ZM and my 85ZM yet for what I shoot they work great and don't interfere with form and function of the A7

 

[douglasf13]

My comment was more in line with current RF lenses. I am sure there are some older retro design that work like the WATE. Yet at the end of the day, native FE lenses will always work best. I would sell my 50/2 ZM and my 85ZM yet for what I shoot they work great and don't interfere with form and function of the A7

Yeah, from what I've seen, some of the older lenses and designs like the Leica 35/1.4 pre asph, 35/2 IV, 40/2, Contax G35 and Nokton 35/1.4 don't have much in the way of issues attributed to the A7/R's sensor. However, these lenses aren't particularly high performance across the frame on any camera in the first place, compared to more modern designs like the Leica ASPHs and FE 35, so it just depends on what one wants.

The Nokton 35/1.4 seems to have a pretty intense Zone B dip, but it would be a great people or "vibe" lens, outside of the excessive purple fringing that seems to plague a lot of the fast Voigtlander lenses.

 

[thompsonkirk]

Oh, those poor old low-performance, resolution-challenged lenses (that some of us prefer):
At high magnification you can read the label on his peanut butter jar and see how much of it he's eaten.

40 Summicron (1975) on A7

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MinnaStMan by thompsonkirk, on Flickr[/IMG]