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A7(r) + Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/3.4 35-70mm and other lenses

Massimo

Member
At the moment I am leaning towards the A7 (may change my mind though and get an A7r instead) to bring along the D700 for use with my non-AF lenses: the Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/3.4 35-70mm Leitax adapted for my Nikon, the vintage Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-S and the Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2 SL II Aspherical. My PC-E 24mm cannot be used on the Sonys :mad:.

Has anyone tested any of the above on the A7(r), hopefully with the Novoflex adapter I plan to also get?

Moreover, do you think my other AF lenses, specifically a Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 D AF-S ED IF and the new Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/4G ED VR would be a good match for the A7(r)?

Thanks,
Massimo
 

benroy

Subscriber Member
Massimo: I have the A7 along with the Zeiss 35-70 and a bunch of Nikon MF lenses, including the remarkable 28/2.8...use with Fotodiox adapters...works well...great lenses, beautiful images.

Roy Benson
 

philip_pj

New member
I have a 35-70/3.4 CY and it's early days but I can report it is very nice to use, Sony shold have little trouble with lenses around this size and weight - lens is 475 grams and the LA-EA3 adapter I use (lens is on a Leitax A mount for a99) is 100 grams, so total is around 600 grams.

Rather than tell you more about one of my favourite lenses, to quote some folks here, a thread without images is worthless, or words to that effect. :)

It the image upload works right there will be a full frame scene on a7r at 50mm at f8, handheld and near infinity plus crops from near extremes - only post is sharpening, no CA removal or anything else. I actually got a FE55 to replace this lens for my travel work as it is less wonderful at 35mm and the FE55 can be cropped easily to 70mm, and that was a weight and AF decision as well. But this one is a lyrical lens, great for 'fine art' and landscapes, and will see plenty of service in time.
 

Massimo

Member
Philip,

Thank you for the images, if that is the performance on the A7r the 35-70 can't go wrong on the A7. The FE55 is probably even better, but it also comes with a steep price, one I cannot justify since I already have the Zeiss (I'm no pro) - maybe in time, when the full dedicated lens lineup will be disclosed, I will add one of those to my kit.

Roy,

I understand from what you write that the 28/2.8 AI-S works well on the A7 - thank you for the report.
Since I am also trying to decide among adapters, what are your thoughts about the Fotodiox? I dig the "Pro" version, but have found reports of it coming apart :( (maybe it was an early version). Moreover, it lacks a tripod collar: would you feel confident to mount a heftier lens like 17-35 and 70-200 on it?

In my initial post I forgot to mention my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC: will this extreme wide-angle work well on the A7(r)?

Thanks again,
Massimo
 

mark1958

Member
I have a Nikkor 28mm AIS coming on Monday. I read on another website that this lens is good for close and mid range shooting but much less stellar at infinity on the A7r. There seems to be a few folks who have made similar statements.
I was always fond of the contax zeiss 35-70/3.4 in the earlier days when i used it with my canon DSLRs. I liked the size and image quality with that lens. In fact I had two copies at one point. Wish I had one now to try on the Sony.

At the moment I am leaning towards the A7 (may change my mind though and get an A7r instead) to bring along the D700 for use with my non-AF lenses: the Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/3.4 35-70mm Leitax adapted for my Nikon, the vintage Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-S and the Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2 SL II Aspherical. My PC-E 24mm cannot be used on the Sonys :mad:.

Has anyone tested any of the above on the A7(r), hopefully with the Novoflex adapter I plan to also get?

Moreover, do you think my other AF lenses, specifically a Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 D AF-S ED IF and the new Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/4G ED VR would be a good match for the A7(r)?

Thanks,
Massimo
 

Massimo

Member
I have a Nikkor 28mm AIS coming on Monday. I read on another website that this lens is good for close and mid range shooting but much less stellar at infinity on the A7r. There seems to be a few folks who have made similar statements.
I was always fond of the contax zeiss 35-70/3.4 in the earlier days when i used it with my canon DSLRs. I liked the size and image quality with that lens. In fact I had two copies at one point. Wish I had one now to try on the Sony.
Are you going to use the 28mm on the A7r? Anyway, I'd appreciate if you let me know how it performs. The main reason why I am leaning towards the A7 is I'd like to experiment with vintage lenses on this IMHO ground-breaking, vendor-agnostic FF platform, and one cannot expect those to shine on the much more demanding A7r.
 

philip_pj

New member
Yes, that image was me thinking 'I wonder how the old zoom will go?' and stepping outside to find out, in the harshest of midday light. :) I always had a soft spot for it, it's been my go to general purpose lens for years. This one and Leica's 35-70/4 are both very good on the a7 AND a7r. It only stays behind now due to the low weight and fast aperture performance of the FE55 (indoors), and its small aperture performance (landscapes) - DPR have a review that basically backs up Guy's and others' comments:

Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* Lab Test Review: Digital Photography Review

Massimo, it depends on how wedded you are to the look and output of the Nikon lenses, I think, as well as the purpose and setting. The adapters add weight and hassle, but work fine with the smaller to medium size lenses. So the bigger and heavier the lens the more you have to like it on an a7/r, kind of. Some folks want two systems so that comes into it too, if you keep a Nikon DSLR.

See if you can find a shop to put one of the zooms on and see what you think of the handling? Or another idea - Sony Zeiss will have a wide zoom custom made for the a7/r in a few months, you might be able to swap some gear out? So far the native lenses are very good to special.
 

Massimo

Member
Massimo, it depends on how wedded you are to the look and output of the Nikon lenses, I think, as well as the purpose and setting. The adapters add weight and hassle, but work fine with the smaller to medium size lenses. So the bigger and heavier the lens the more you have to like it on an a7/r, kind of. Some folks want two systems so that comes into it too, if you keep a Nikon DSLR.

See if you can find a shop to put one of the zooms on and see what you think of the handling? Or another idea - Sony Zeiss will have a wide zoom custom made for the a7/r in a few months, you might be able to swap some gear out? So far the native lenses are very good to special.
Philip,

as a long time view camera user I've been wanting something better to focus my cherished manual lenses than the lacking live-view of the D700, and hope I found it in the focus peaking / magnification features of the A7(r).

For the time being I plan on using the Sony alongside the D700 to primarily shoot landscapes on a sturdy tripod, sharing the same lenses, but I will follow with interest any development of the A7(r) "system".

I'm quite interested in the forthcoming Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* 24-70mm F4 zoom as a compact, native, do-it-all lens and, while I do not currently need to print really big, nonetheless I hope the 36mp sensor gets soon an EFCS or other means to guarantee vibration-free shooting at every shutter speed, with any lens.

Since I bide my time when selecting new glass, I become very attached to what I end up buying and find it difficult to "swap" them - the new candidates must represent a significant upgrade, something that shows up in all frames and/or cannot be fixed in post.
 
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