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A7RII game plan

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
I wouldn't bank or base my decision of buying an A7RII on whether it performs with M mount wide. There are some great native lenses now.

Well, already the A7R works well with the Leica WATE 16-18-21/4 lens. It has problems though with Leica M-lenses primarily in the 21 to 35 even the 50 mm range. But, it works well with Leica R-lenses throughout. For me that covers my needs for manual focus only lenses.

In terms of additional lenses I am interested in native AF ones. That area seems to have improved somewhat and will improve further.

What I found most interesting since the A7R came to market was the discussion about the thickness of the sensor cover glass and its influence. Maybe that issue will get partially addressed with curved sensors down the road.
 

etrigan63

Active member
While I am planning to get an A7r II in the future, I have to save up my pennies for it. I also need to get a third Sony lens to qualify for Pro Service. Donations anyone? I accept Paypal!
 
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Vivek

Guest
I wish they offered an upgrade discount. I am willing to pay €1700 for the new A7R II plus my old A7r.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Well, already the A7R works well with the Leica WATE 16-18-21/4 lens. It has problems though with Leica M-lenses primarily in the 21 to 35 even the 50 mm range. But, it works well with Leica R-lenses throughout. For me that covers my needs for manual focus only lenses.

In terms of additional lenses I am interested in native AF ones. That area seems to have improved somewhat and will improve further.

What I found most interesting since the A7R came to market was the discussion about the thickness of the sensor cover glass and its influence. Maybe that issue will get partially addressed with curved sensors down the road.
I agree and I know that some Leica M lenses well (unintentionally.) I haven't found any SLR lenses that don't work well on any mirrorless platform no matter the format.

To expect that Sony to go out of the way to purposely improve the sensor solely for 3rd party lenses is something I wouldn't base my purchase on. If it gives an improvement to performance for FE lenses then great but if it possibly will compromise performance of FE lenses to make it a better platform for M-mount lenses then I can't see them doing that personally.

That's just my thinking though.
 

Pradeep

Member
Re: A7rIi game plan

I use a single Novoflex adapter and have not experienced the issues you describe.
I bought this rather expensive adapter from Novoflex that is very slim and allows the Nikon lenses to be mounted on Canon bodies. At the time (just over a year ago) there was no direct Nikon to A7R adapter (at least I couldn't find it). hence the dual adapters - Novoflex +Metabones.

Are you quite happy with the Novoflex? Is it this model?
 

pttdds

New member
Have been waiting patiently for several months having sold my A7R thinking it would soon be replaced. Would order/pay today if I could. I've sold off other gear like a Pentax 645 600mm f5.6 in anticipation of this camera, so quite literally "the money is in the bank". Have also acquired the FE 35 1.4 and ordered the FE 90 f2.8 macro in anticipation of this camera. If the specs are any where near accurate, this one far exceeds my wildest hopes. The waiting is painful but exciting.
 

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
Re: A7rIi game plan

I bought this rather expensive adapter from Novoflex that is very slim and allows the Nikon lenses to be mounted on Canon bodies. At the time (just over a year ago) there was no direct Nikon to A7R adapter (at least I couldn't find it). hence the dual adapters - Novoflex +Metabones.

Are you quite happy with the Novoflex? Is it this model?

Yes, it looks like that. I find it by searching the B&H site for NOANSNEX.
I bought it from B&H in November 2013.

I have many different adapters from a number of different makers, too many I would think. I find the Novoflex adapters very expensive but also extremely well made. Those are the ones I prefer to use.

IIRC, there is a little trick when attaching a Nikkor G lens to the adapter. As a G lens by itself is stopped down, make sure the adapter pin is also in the same stopped down position when attaching the lens to the adapter. Then the lens aperture can easily be adjusted by turning the blue ring on the adapter and counting factors of 2 of exposure time changes in the camera viewfinder while keeping the lens pointed at the same spot. Good luck!
 

Eoin

Member
I'm going to sit back and watch with interest how others are getting on with the new A7RII.
I'm particularly interested in seeing how this high resolution sensor with no low pass and back illumination works with the FE glass.

I'm also keen to see Zeiss's further developments in the Loxia and Batis lines but currently am a little underwhelmed by the sample images I've seen from the Batis 85.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what I'm getting from my A7II and more an exercise in self control with regard to technological advancement v's actual need.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I love my A7II and I shoot it a lot more than either my A7r or A7s (horses for course as they say). If the A7RII is only an A7II with better resolution then I'll be happy and probably retire the A7II as I move to the A7RII for everything.

On the lens front I have the full Sony Zeiss collection and supplement that for landscape work with my Canon TSE lenses. I may even get an Actus for it since the limitation today is simply the lenses, not the sensors.
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
The current plan is to place the order Wed morning to replace Sandy's A7r. For me I'll wait for 6-months and pick up a gently used one because the first thing I'd do is send it out to be converted to wide spectrum which is exactually what I did with the current 7r.
 

sbay

New member
This is my first post here, although I've lurked for some time. This forum has been a great source of info.

I've shot with Canon for some time now and I have an aging 5dII as my main body. My game plan for switching with lenses is as follows:

17-40L -> sell and get 16-35 FE
24-105L -> sell and get either 24-70FE or 55mm FE / 85mm Zeiss
70-300L -> keep for now but possibly later switch to 70-200FE
24 TS -> keep and use with adapter
45 TS -> keep and use with adapter
85 PC (nikon) -> I use this with a nikon-to-canon adapter. Pick up a nikon-to-FE adapter?

I may pick up a small, fast prime for travel/people shots (maybe 35mm f/2.8 FE).

If I didn't upgrade to the A7RII, I'd probably get the 5DSR. In this case I would replace the 17-40L with canon's 16-35 f/4 and likely the 24-105L with 24-70 f/4.

The filter sizes are all different with the new lenses. I'll have to pick up some new adapter rings for my Lee kit and possibly a screw-on circular polarizer.

I'll have to get a new L-bracket. Currently using a gitzo 3541LS tripod with bh-55. Would be nice if I could go 1-step down and use lighter models.

The main question I have is which adapter should I get? Metabones? Commlite? something else? I've seen some various reviews but it's bit hard to quantify the differences (e.g. reliability, build quality, precision, etc.). Also it's not clear what the AF performance will be with the a7rII.
 
The main question I have is which adapter should I get? Metabones? Commlite? something else?
I'd recommend the Metabones.

But, I'd probably wait a bit, to see if they come up with a newer version of their adapter that's optimized for the new capabilities of the A7Rii.
 

eleanorbrown

New member
Don I'm going to be ordering the A7rII also...already have the 2 Batis lenses on order and just ordered the new 35 zeiss 1.4 distagon. Will be selling A7r , my current 35 2.8 and possibly the 55 1.8 also. Sure wish Sony would offer a menu option for compressed lossless RAW tho!! Can't believe Sony adds all this incredible stuff to the A7rII and still offers only lossy RAW! Eleanor


The current plan is to place the order Wed morning to replace Sandy's A7r. For me I'll wait for 6-months and pick up a gently used one because the first thing I'd do is send it out to be converted to wide spectrum which is exactually what I did with the current 7r.
 
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Vivek

Guest
I am not buying any used cams (unless it is a 2nd body). As with the A7s, I will buy my cam at the price I set.
 

jfirneno

Member
This is my first post here, although I've lurked for some time. This forum has been a great source of info.

I've shot with Canon for some time now and I have an aging 5dII as my main body. My game plan for switching with lenses is as follows:

17-40L -> sell and get 16-35 FE
24-105L -> sell and get either 24-70FE or 55mm FE / 85mm Zeiss
70-300L -> keep for now but possibly later switch to 70-200FE
24 TS -> keep and use with adapter
45 TS -> keep and use with adapter
85 PC (nikon) -> I use this with a nikon-to-canon adapter. Pick up a nikon-to-FE adapter?

I may pick up a small, fast prime for travel/people shots (maybe 35mm f/2.8 FE).

If I didn't upgrade to the A7RII, I'd probably get the 5DSR. In this case I would replace the 17-40L with canon's 16-35 f/4 and likely the 24-105L with 24-70 f/4.

The filter sizes are all different with the new lenses. I'll have to pick up some new adapter rings for my Lee kit and possibly a screw-on circular polarizer.

I'll have to get a new L-bracket. Currently using a gitzo 3541LS tripod with bh-55. Would be nice if I could go 1-step down and use lighter models.

The main question I have is which adapter should I get? Metabones? Commlite? something else? I've seen some various reviews but it's bit hard to quantify the differences (e.g. reliability, build quality, precision, etc.). Also it's not clear what the AF performance will be with the a7rII.
Hello sbay:

Yes, this is a very good source of info. You have some very nice equipment. I was wondering if you've already tried out any Sony A7 line cameras. They definitely have some differences from dslr cameras. I think the place where they differ the most is autofocus. I notice you mentioned AF performance. That is the weakest aspect of these mirrorless cameras. Will you be doing work where fast and very accurate AF is crucial?
If so, I'd humbly recommend renting one before selling off the dslr kit.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Hah
Just read the details (slow on the uptake here). I'm dying to place a pre-order . . it looks great, but the grown up me knows it has nothing to offer that I really want/need:

1. I don't need 42mp
2. I know I prefer a rangefinder and manual focus for fast primes
3. after lots of comparison I know that µ43 is right for me for nature/wildlife/sport/macro
4. I've sold all my Sony lenses.

So I'll watch all you guys having fun with interest whilst I wait patiently for the OMD E-M1 mark II and the 7-14 Zuiko

all the best from China
 

Frederic

Member
Will get one asap to complement my tech cam - MFDB combo.
I've already ordered Stephan's Hcam MasterTS v2 to use some Canon and Nikon glass. Then, if the workflow is enjoyable and results are convincing, I'll probably add a Cambo Actus or Arca Universalis as well as some hassy lenses to the mix.
 
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sbay

New member
Hello sbay:

Yes, this is a very good source of info. You have some very nice equipment. I was wondering if you've already tried out any Sony A7 line cameras. They definitely have some differences from dslr cameras. I think the place where they differ the most is autofocus. I notice you mentioned AF performance. That is the weakest aspect of these mirrorless cameras. Will you be doing work where fast and very accurate AF is crucial?
If so, I'd humbly recommend renting one before selling off the dslr kit.
I've handled an A7 and A6000 briefly but not done are serious testing with them. I'll definitely wait until I'm comfortable with the sony before selling anything (I need it to shoot with and can't go without a full kit). I mention AF on the adapter because I think it will be nice to have but not a requirement.

My AF needs are very low -- mostly I'm shooting static scenes, travel, urban, and street photography. I use live view a lot and 1 frame/sec is fine. The most difficult would be dancers (in say a festival) and there my 5D II is not really up to the task either -- but this is a very small percentage of my photography.

Stephen
 
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