Long lenses and the 7r

[cjl]

Is there anyone here with experience shooting longer (400-600mm) lenses on the 7r? I assume at this point the only options would involve adapters. Would any such rig work well enough for wildlife (e.g. larger birds both resting and in flight at 30-100 yards)?

 

[JoelM]

I use mine with a Nikkor 300/2.8 AIS and an older Tamron 400/4 with excellent results.

Joel

 

[cjl]

Joel, Thanks for the feedback. I've been impressed by what I can do with the few Canon lenses I own and the Metabones adapter, especially the 24mm TS-E. However, I am wondering whether there might be issues as I moved up in length, especially into the nosebleed atmosphere of 400mm or 200-400. Nikon lenses in these ranges can be as good, of course, but to my knowledge there is no way directly to adjust aperture on modern Nikon lenses using e-mount adapters. However, perhaps I should start looking also at older Nikons with manual aperture capability. Thanks again, Chris

 

[k-hawinkler]

Joel, Thanks for the feedback. I've been impressed by what I can do with the few Canon lenses I own and the Metabones adapter, especially the 24mm TS-E. However, I am wondering whether there might be issues as I moved up in length, especially into the nosebleed atmosphere of 400mm or 200-400. Nikon lenses in these ranges can be as good, of course, but to my knowledge there is no way directly to adjust aperture on modern Nikon lenses using e-mount adapters. However, perhaps I should start looking also at older Nikons with manual aperture capability. Thanks again, Chris

Hi Chris,

• With regards to the A7R and longer lenses you may encounter shutter shock if your exposure time isn't extremely short. I have run into that with 280 mm Leica R lenses, especially in portrait orientation. Please see here for details.
Page 3 of http://www.getdpi.com/forum/sony/49470-a7r-why-im-keeping.html

• There are adapters, e.g. the Novoflex Nikon G - Sony E adapter, that have a mechanical pin that allows manual setting of the lens aperture from the adapter. However there are no markings on the adapter that would indicate the aperture chosen.

No big deal - unless you want to change the aperture on the fly. I use the camera light meter to set the lens aperture to the desired value like this: Point camera at a scene where the lighting doesn't change. Then start at either the closed or open aperture setting. While changing the aperture observe the light meter and count factors of two in exposure time for each f-stop change. Stop at the desired f-stop. Done. A piece of cake.

For wildlife shots I typically shoot wide open or 1 stop down. So setting the desired aperture and achieving manual focus is not a problem for static objects. Hummingbirds in flight are a challenge though!