What has your experience with this mod been? Any IQ change with adapted reflex lenses?
Any lens made for film is improved, but the difference may be slight at 50mm. This 400USD mod allows the A7 to shoot the ZM18, SEM21, 28 cron, and even the ZM 35/2 biogon quite well. Even the 35/2.5 skopar was judged acceptable by many who saw my tests.
AF seems unaffected. There is no extra dust, despite the absence post mod of the shaker. I did have to learn to edit all over again, to get the look I really like, but now there are times when I honestly have to look to see if the M9 or A7 took the shot
As to reflex glass: here is a case in point, the nFD 24/2, a legendary Canon wide, considered the best of all the pre-EF mount wide angles by some. The A7r and the A7 hated it. Totally unusable.
Here it is on the A7.mod:
Bridge in to Blue by
unoh7, nFD 24/2
Here is the 28 cron:
Red Curves by
unoh7, on Flickr
and while the nFD 21/2.8 was decent on the A7, it has markedly improved:
DSC02453 by
unoh7, on Flickr
I like the A7 again
The one thing which still punches my BP, is the shutter noise. The camera cannot be used at discreet events in any mode, without drawing looks. I still cannot believe an 1800USD camera had a shutter which sounds like a 19th century industrial sewing machine. At least r2 has a silent mode, though it does rob the RAWs of detail in the shadows. Or so the chowderheads cry noisily. And demonstrate.
Even my long glass seems cleaner, but my really detailed testing was with the RF wides.
Finally there is the 25/2 Batis, but the footprint is pretty big. An A7 with that lens is as big and obvious as a D810 with a wide nikon prime. Weight not so bad at 335 grams.
The long and the short of it is Sony has left a huge hole open for a future FF EVIL with a compact footprint to appear. Why does the batis need to be so big? The coverglass will not handle short register well. That was only a choice, and another maker may see that the lenses do not have to be so big....any of them, if the sensor is optimized for a short register.
Of course rare is the camera which could not be better, and I very much enjoy what the Sony shooters have been doing, whatever their personal relationship with the equipment may be
What is really ironic is that while Sony totally ignores Leica, recent tests with the A7r2 show the WATE as the best UWA option available, with performance actually superior to the M246. The WATE beats the new CV 15 v3, which really surprised me:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1378777/12#13146713
Think about that:
A7r2 3k
Used WATE 3.8k
Batis 1300
FE 35/2.8 650
FE 55/1.8 650
then some good long glass.
For this kind of money one can put together a very good M kit, today, which is going to hold value better. Now many are not interested, I understand, but that's what makes a 700USD A7 and Kolari mod very attractive. 1100 USD and you are not far off the M240, with a body that loves, really loves, SLR glass, which is alot cheaper too.