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A7M

Thank you for sharing. Have you noticed it behaving any differently with your FE lenses? I can see the sharpness, etc., just wondering if AF is affected.

Hmmmmmm… and still can't help wondering if anybody has done this mod on the A7S.
My cousin is borrowing my A7s for a video project, but it will be sent to Kolari tomorrow. Currently, we have only the touit 12 and the Zeiss 24/1.8 as native lenses. I can ask him to stop by B&H to do a few test shots with teh FE in a couple of weeks. But I guess by then there will be some A7sM users popping up around here.
 

cam

Active member
My cousin is borrowing my A7s for a video project, but it will be sent to Kolari tomorrow. Currently, we have only the touit 12 and the Zeiss 24/1.8 as native lenses. I can ask him to stop by B&H to do a few test shots with teh FE in a couple of weeks. But I guess by then there will be some A7sM users popping up around here.
Thank you very much for the offer. I really appreciate it.

I'm only in the States for a couple of weeks and have to shoot something which coincides with the Sony announcements, so I'll hold off. In the meanwhile, I plan to drop them a line.
 

uhoh7

New member
@vivek. I have some of those lenses but don't really use them anymore. My 16 is out on loan and my daughter has the 1018, which I should really sell.

Here is the SEM21 wide open at f/3.4

DSC00375 by unoh7, on Flickr

This lens was sold even by A7s owners prior to A7m. It is now better WO on A7M than at f/11 on A7s

here "real" shots with it today:

DSC00534 by unoh7, on Flickr


DSC00590 by unoh7, on Flickr

For me, so far, the thin sensor is well worth the money. :)

My next most improved lens is the 28 cron. The ZM35/2 is also alot better but maybe a step down from the other two.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Barring the 28/2 shots, I do not find anything else striking. The 18/4 images are very bluish and the 21/3.4 seem quite dull and grey.

Can we see some moire? I saw you have a Tokina 90/2.5 in one of the fora. ;)
 

uhoh7

New member
So, I had a short weather break and managed to get some shots with two lenses I consider "worst case", the tiny CV 21 and 35 Skopars. I had no expectations, but I thought I might as well see what they would do.

Since there is big copy variation and many of these lenses are decentered, not to mention the variable of adapters, these should not be seen as definitive, but these lenses can at least do this well.


a7M_CV21_11 by unoh7, on Flickr


a7M_CV21_8 by unoh7, on Flickr


a7M_CV35_56 by unoh7, on Flickr


a7M_CV35_8 by unoh7, on Flickr

For me, these lenses were totally unusable with heavy smearing at all apertures with infinity shots like this on the A7 and A7r. Here a close look will reveal considerable strangeness, but I'd say they are way better. I would not use them, I don't even use them on the M9, although they are much better than this with that camera.
 
Thanks Charlie. I was thinking about getting the Skopar 28 for the small form factor and hoping the mod would be enough. I guess not.
 

mmbma

Active member
thank you for putting together this thread! this sounds like something I'd be totally into: i have the A7s and probably will get a7r but only leica lenses
 
Thanks so much, but may I ask for wider apertures? I tried a range of 28s, 35s, and 50s on A7&r and found that all improved at middle apertures. But the problem was whether or not they could be used at all, at wider apertures – from widest to f4. Only a few (35 1.2 Nokton, 40 Cron) could handle the corners acceptably in this range.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Can Kolarivision combine a thin sensor cover with full spectrum modification for an A7R?
K-H, If you remove the dust shaker (which is also an UV-IR cut filter), and the UV-IR cut filter then you are left with a thin clear filter epoxied on the sensor. No need to put an additional filter on top of that. That clear filter is very tough and scratch resistant than most glass. Any company can do it.

[If you are very brave, a hammer and an appropriate nail/peg can be pressed into service to crack the outer filters and pry them out, leaving you with a clear thin filter!]
 
K-H, If you remove the dust shaker (which is also an UV-IR cut filter), and the UV-IR cut filter then you are left with a thin clear filter epoxied on the sensor. No need to put an additional filter on top of that. That clear filter is very tough and scratch resistant than most glass. Any company can do it.

[If you are very brave, a hammer and an appropriate nail/peg can be pressed into service to crack the outer filters and pry them out, leaving you with a clear thin filter!]
Vivek, not all companies would offer to re-seat the sensor to get infinity focus with the native lenses. This mod has been offered by Maxmax since early last year, but they would not do the re-seating themselves.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Vivek, not all companies would offer to re-seat the sensor to get infinity focus with the native lenses. This mod has been offered by Maxmax since early last year, but they would not do the re-seating themselves.
The Q from K-H was about "full spectrum". Once you have that, the infinity focus is not where infinity was, regardless of whether you use an UV-IR cut filter, IR filter or UV (pass only) filter. This (infinity focus matching what the lens says) is also pointless when it comes to live-view cameras.
 

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
The Q from K-H was about "full spectrum". Once you have that, the infinity focus is not where infinity was, regardless of whether you use an UV-IR cut filter, IR filter or UV (pass only) filter. This (infinity focus matching what the lens says) is also pointless when it comes to live-view cameras.
Thanks Vivek. Can the modified camera still reach infinity? TIA.
 
The Q from K-H was about "full spectrum". Once you have that, the infinity focus is not where infinity was, regardless of whether you use an UV-IR cut filter, IR filter or UV (pass only) filter. This (infinity focus matching what the lens says) is also pointless when it comes to live-view cameras.
I believe most companies that offer Full Spectrum conversion would re-adjust the infinity focus via AF adjustment. They also replace the sensor filter stack with a clear glass with an equivalent optical thickness (i.e. refractive index). However, this mod is to actually change that optical thickness (not just the physical one); thus, this would shift the focal point away from the sensor, closer to the lens side. There is a few online RF WA comparisons between a full spectrum A7 and regular A7, and the results show no change or worse. That is because they didn't change the optical thickness.

Added: This is the comparison: http://genotypewritings.blogspot.com/2013/12/sony-a7r-full-spectrum-conversion.html
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Thanks Vivek. Can the modified camera still reach infinity? TIA.
There shouldn't be any changes with a FS camera because the thickness remains the same. The hot mirror filter is replaced with clear glass of the same thickness. As for the AF it should still work with visible light but IR and UV have different focal points for some lenses.
 

Rich M

Member
I think you have definitively proved that the ZM 18/4 has better behaviour on the modified A7 than the original A7 un-modified body.

As an A7r owner, I was very UN-happy with the 18/4 on any other camera body (except maybe the GXR) other than the Zeiss Ikon.

After briefly shooting my recently arrived and converted A7r, I must say that the ZM18/4 and the ZM 25/2.8 are much, much better than before.

That being said, :worthless:

....and I won't have the time over the next few weeks to take photos with the Kolari converted camera body.

So....word of advice....hang on to these RF lenses a bit longer before you ditch them.
 
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