Regards, Andy, I have now bought my A7ii. Then go to Custom Buttons and choose one to use for it. Manual focus allows you to focus using a ring around the lens, or an equivalent control on your camera body, as an alternative to your camera's autofocus system. sure, exposure metering works but leaves focusing and aperture setting to the photographer. I love your website and photos! Sometimes they absolutely do though! Get yours: http://amzn.to/2BgSSY5 #CommissionsEarnedFeatures:- 24.3MP Full Frame. Hi, thanks for the fantastic instructional blog. The problem is the autofocus. When the scale displays, adjust the control wheel, dial, or joystick of the camera to select the desired value. I bought a a7ii back in March and I am stuck with the kit lens. Manual focus not consistent with Sony A7ii + Sony 55mm 1.8. I wouldnt say that old lenses have nicer character than new ones since that is a matter of taste and lens designers pay more attention to smooth bokeh today. I am looking for vintage lenses that will provide enough sharpness, etc. Could please share to us How can you do that ??? From what I have seen I dont think the Leica M lenses work extremely well on the SL, so I doubt the Panasonic is any better. I moved this function a couple of times before settling on assigning it to the Down Button of the Control Wheel. Please do make this video. How to start a Sony A7iii directly in playback mode? and Minolta adapter for starters. What lenses would you recomend me? Go to Camera Settings 1 / AF2 (page 6/14) Select Center Lock-on AF and choose On: a square will appear in the middle of the screen. The main reason I bought the Sony a7ii is the full frame and great flexibility. Funfact: In that time my peers have probably spent the same amount of money on smartphones (with oh so good cameras) that i was able ot spend on serious photogear, so i'm pretty confident to say that i outsmarted them in a big way. It was especially bad in low light conditions. Sony a7III Bringing up enlargement , I can focus fairly well also thanks to the fact that I can regulate my viewfinder brightness by allowing more or less light to enter through my aperture. or is there way to do it in the camera? Do the Minolta lenses above have similar distortion, and if so how do you correct them? Olympus OM 1 with the great Zuiko lenses, 3. Thank you. Get yours: http://amzn.to/2BgSSY5 #CommissionsEarnedFeatures:- 24.3MP Full Frame sensor- Full frame, compact form- New Eye Autofocus- Lock-on Autofocus- Autofocus setting options- Full HD video formats- Professional soundtracks*************************************************We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.Visit our Amazon Storefront: http://amzn.to/2ir03F1 #CommissionsEarnedVisit our Website: https://digitalgoja.com/ If this video was helpful please click thumbs up and subscribe to our channel. Steve, Hi Phillip, Id like to second Diego post from 6-Dec, an article on best practices on camera settings would be great. I was rather surprised just how well this worked at landscape stops (f8-f11) on my A7R and the macro focus is useful also. The work much less well on 4/3 because of the much smaller sensor. Last but not least : some wide angle lenses have a design which was OK for film, but not for digital : the incoming rays of light are striking the sensor at a too oblique angle thus resulting in a lot if smearing and vignetting. I recently purchased Minolta 58 f1.2 and wanted to understand quantifiably on how would the images look different. I started about 5 years ago with manual lenses and some lenses I bough back the cost twice as much today. I also heavily use MF when focusing manually. I shoot film as well and I own numerous manual nikon lenses such as 35mm f2 50mm f2 85mm f2 (planning on purchashing more). That Biogon wont work well at all, I dont know about the others. 35-105 (first version), 70-210 f4 (beercan), APO 100-300, and 50mm f1.7 all in excellent plus condition that cost me a total of $1000 more or less. Im using an ais nikon manual 28 f3.5 on my a72 with metabones n-fe, and getting great results, barely any fringing except at f22 etc, has he set the cam to release without lens enable? I have just happened across your website after searching for manual focusing with Sony A7. You will also find links to adapters in the article. Does somebody have an Idea to increase the Moir-Effect? There are several methods for focusing and each could be the best, depending on what you are shooting. Thank you again for your encouragement and for the most helpful information and examples on your blog here. It really depends on what you shoot: sur you can boost the speed to avoid blur but if your camera is not a god of high iso you will run out of margin fast especially for: a) long lens b) low light shooting. For landscapesand other non-moving motifs I usually usetheFocus Magnifier function. I have been shooting with several Sony cameras,such as Sony A7,A7ii and A7rii. I hope you can help me, thank you, Ryo. My main reason for wanting to find out more about manual focusing on the A7 is because I have two legacy Nikon lenses that I still use on my film SLR. but I really do not know, because the Sony lenses are very expensive and manual lenses are cheap and great but do not have af focus and for child photography is a little hard manual focus Thank you for this great write up and the excellent review of the FD 50mm 1.4 lens with A7. I dont know how to, or even whether to, compensate for the different aspect ratios of the two formats. Still youd go nuts chasing the focus with the focus wheel as the musician slightly moves). Best Regards. Thank you, I have done that for a while with Minolta lenses and it worked very well for me . Thank you in advance, Amazing detailed article that has convinced me to go legacy until I can afford otherwise. Any advice? I love your blog and I find it very relaxing to read your blog. Please keep working on your great works! Minoltas in general have very consistent colors. One reason to buy the Alpha 7 II has been that I did want to be able to continue to use my old Zeiss Manual lenses with Contax/Yashica Mount. Although the Sony a7II does not have the fastest autofocus, if you shoot more often with manual focus then the a7II is still a good buy. Im a canon user, mostly shooting video, but ill switch to Sony, A7S probably.mirrorless cameras can rescue a lot of lenses, as you said. If you want to use the shimmering method you must deactivate peaking! upon re-reading your article, i think its different than what you had recommend, is it true? which perform great on the Sony a7 series. They play in the same league Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews and content. The Sony A7 II comes with an improved version of the hybrid autofocus system found on its predecessor, offering up to 30% faster autofocus performance. No such problems with the MC-11. November 16, 2015 Phillip Reeve 172 Comments. With the A 6000. To brighten my viewfinder image subsequently, I open my aperture . And no A7III. We have a review of the 100-300 coming and it is indeed spectacular. If money is only a secondary concern to you and you simply want the best manual focus experience you can get dont hesitate to get the Voigtlander. Fotodiox Adapters seem to work well enough. The a7IIs integrated stabilizer compensates about two stops and makes focusing with longer lenses easier. This is OK for smaller drawings, of if you can shoot from further away. Thank you. No, but usually cheaper I also understand that the file size would be reduced (not sure how much by) but given the massive number of megapixels, I think I could live with that. hmm, curious. Many thanks for the Distagon 2.8/28 recommendation. Also, for a lot cheaper the Tamron 19AH 70-210 f3.5 is really quite good. If you can buy a good legacy lens for $25, why would someone spend $999 on a modern manual one? Thoughts? How hard is it to adjust correctly and manually the speed of the shot? 1. Obviously, this is not a focusing process for quick action shots, but when accurate focus on a specific point is desired it works fine for me, at least. I was using 3.10 for a long while, and remembered to upgrade last week. without probably having read every entry in every category, have you also looked at tele zoom lenses? There is a Minolta MD Version of the 4/70-210 with the same optics which works fine with a $20 adapter. Thank you for your time and hope to hear from you! These are truly modern times now thanks to Sony. Repair information and service assistance, Keep track of all your products in one location, A place where you can find solutions and ask questions, Please accept Youtube cookies to watch this video. For image stabilisation to work with manual lenses I gather that you have to input the focal length of the lens to the A7ii. Given your article on A7riii, it seems the best option may be to wait for A7iii hoping it will get the same improvement in manual focusing (EVF. But if you are careful and a bit more experienced your chances of getting bad lenses are very low, I have probably bought over 100 lenses on ebay and I had only four cases were they were in bad condition, three of them could be resolved. . Old SLRs did this automatically but A7s dont do this. That's a LOT. Now Im going to look after cheap old lenses. A $20 Minolta MD 2/50 will eprform mcuh better. Good luck with your adventure, you have some very fine glass there and a a7ii would allow you to use get even better results than in the film days. great idea! Hey Phillip. Myreview | $999 at Amazon.com* | B&H* | ebay.com*. because of the lower resolution of the screen it doesnt really work with it. Any idea how effective the ibis would be while in magnified mode while hand held trying to focus. At f/11, this lens is outstanding. There are some newer Nikon AF lenses that seem to have a manual aperture override? He would then focus using the distance scale on the lens, set it to approximately 1 meter, the lens at f/8, the shutter dragged a bit, and the Vivitar set to an automatic mode for proper flash outlet. Thanks to your recommendations, I now have pretty much every lens you have recommended except the 85mm ones. determine the numerical value. how do you take notes of the aperture, focal length of each shot? Great, thanks. BSI is 99% marketing bla and 1% actual gain, except for rangefinder wide angle lenses towards the borders, but you would be cropping out those corners anyway in your scenario. Taking account of your answer above, would you still give the same advice when the body in question is the FF A7 II? Take a look at this article for further information. I got the topic with the curved filter stack before, but I didnt find the mention of the less vignetting and color shift of the 42MP sensor, so thanks. Choose Menu > Gear icon (Page 3) > Pre-AF > Off; Choose Menu > Gear icon (Page 6) > Custom Key Settings > AEL Button > AF On; Change your auto focus settings. Thanks for you fast return ! Over time your focusing skill will improve so that you can react faster and focus on people and other objects which are moving slowly. Of course, the kinds of legacy lenses you use may vary a lot in their contrast, so you can vary the (+) settings of the Sharpness in the Creative Style. The Sony Alpha 7s is a specialist. 4. And assign AF On to either AEL Button or AF/MF Button. thaks Plillip , i m going to look for those lenses! No problems at all. As Phillip says, who knows if they will keep the fancy EVF on an A7III Based on my experience, I would not advise anyone to buy used old lenses on eBay. If you have any questions or suggestions just leave a comment! It is still a very small lens and will give far superior results to that 20mm lens. I did switch to digital right at the start but was pretty disappointed with the results in those days and work pressures took over anyway. So my question have you trialled the E mount 20mm 2.8 pancake lens on an A7? Alpha 7 II full-frame ILC body only (no lens included), End of support for Windows 8.1 and earlier operating systems, Downloads ending for the Sony Raw Driver and some versions of PlayMemories Home, Action Cam Movie Creator, and MVR Studio. Three questions remain and Id be glad if you can answer again: I read of some disadvantages of the 42MP sensor (against a 24MP) in combination with older lenses, namely higher sensitivity to camera shake and higher sensibility to see different errors of the lenses on picturesboth due to the higher pixel count. The new a7riv is surely a good camera to use with legacy lenses. Sony FX30 review: pro-level . To be honest there are very few attractive and light tele primes. The lens cost me 230 Euros. I dont do a lot of this type of shooting to justify the likes of the Sigma 150-600mm or the shorter more expensive sony lenses, but like the challenge, Ever try anything like this ? Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Or would you recommend that I opt for a manual lens to keep things consistent? Anyway, I am quite sad about this especially as I just spent a ton of time researching, buying, and selling lenses and adapters to use in this method! Try rotating the camera for increased effect when the texture does not align with the rake of the EVF. *But manual lenses would not be good for kids photography as focusing is manual. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BS1GRV6/ref=s9_dcbhz_bw_g421_i3_bs. So reusing my zeiss glass on a full-frame camera with a similar form size to my old contax 137 quartz should be a real pleasure. The three most important factors for the weight of a lens are speed, vignetting and the degree of optical correction. Like me you must have started manual lens a long time ago and see the price of those lens increase dramatically, because it s becoming super trendy! that worth? Here are some problems I encountered and if you can help will be great: 1. I just bought a Sony a6000 and I know you said you preferred full frame cameras but this is what I could afford for now because I now know how expensive glass and cameras can be. One of them is a Tamron 70-300mm f/4-6.5 and I would like to know your advice about which lens to go, knowing that I travel a lot (Voigtlander primes are quite light), I like landscapes very much, and sometimes a 70 to 300mm range can be very useful (I remember nice close-ups of puffins in Iceland). https://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Sony-A7-II-versus-Nikon-D610___996_915. It can be an exceptional tool if you are into video or do lots of high ISO work but for most users its 12 MP sensor will bring more disadvantages than advantages.. I am delighted with my new set up and to be able to use these lovely old lenses again. I shot with a very similar setup until recently (Nikon D600 and Sony a7). Contents. Nice to learn that about the 7artisan 28mm. I recently bought a Sony A 7 II, with an adapter, to use these lenses. I think I will check it out in the future , Interesting Post, Philipp, It seems not to matter with tele lenses. How about the Sony ZA 2.8/35? But that combo is about 3800 with adapter. And the Rx100ii is manual focus by wire of course and this is not very easy to use. Looking at my old gear I have an old Hanimex PZ4200 flash. I have bought a number of these (24.64) so that I have one per lens. I have tried this against some fabric and notice what I think is the shimmering, but when I put it against other subjects I only get a solid haze of speckles from the peaking function, I cant seem to see this shimming affect. I like the idea of using my early 80s Pentax ME Super 50mm lens, (and borrowing my Dads collection of PK lenses) especially as PK to E mount adapters are under a tenner on Amazon. To save the highlights I had to underexpose this image a lot. Will you plaese be so kind and recommend it again. 3. Get a set of manual lenses as described in many articles on this blog and you're set up with gear that offers top notch image quality and is very suitable for most types of photography. I have a Sony 70-200 f4, but I dropped it and its no longer sharp (a day may come when I can think about this without swearing a lot, but dont hold your breath). I love so much your work ! EF-E helicoid adapter weighs 101g. Sometimes i hear people say though that those old lenses do not offer enough resolution for modern high-res sensors. More from manufacturer. 1. As is my habit, I tested the gear, and I had noticed that my method was hobbled. It certainly isnt the sharpest lens you can buy for under $50 but for most purposes it is sharp enough from f/1.7 with pleasant bokeh. so having the button that switches it on assigned to the Control Wheel means that my thumb can seamlessly start moving the target without having to move around the camera, since its already in exactly the right place. Have you experienced this when using/trying the A7ii or can you use all your existing adapters from your a7 with no problem? Hi Phillip You seem to use an adapter per lens, but I presume it might be acceptable to work the other way around and leave a single good adapter on the camera, at least initially? PS I am very fond of using this lens. Is streetphotography a speciality? personalmente creo que las lentes nativas son demasiado caras y poco luminosas, prefiero adaptar lentes manuales y disfrutar relajndome de mis disparos. Sony was completely unhelpful. I have owned two Canon FD 80-200m f4L lenses, but only used them on the crop sensor of the 5N and A6000. Maybe check out my Madeira travel report to get and impression. Go to the Gear icon and go to Menu 6, scroll down and select Custom Key Settings. I think there are apps to record exif as well. It covered all the questions I was asking myself about where to start on manual lenses. (beyond aperture (notan option for 500), I suppose the ISO could adapt itself). looks good. Either Canon is an excellent buy secondhand here in the U.S. with lots to choose from, and one of those can always be sold on without much trouble or economic pain. If I was you I would probably buy an affordable manual lens like the Canon FD 2.8/35 and the FD 2.8/135 for a little more than $100 for both lenses and see how well they work for you. very nice and interesting work. Works great. Any other lenses/mounts you could recommend? Choose a button then select focus magnifier. The camera does not use all the sensor information to generate the live-view image but it skips lines which results in the moir-effectwhich we can use to our advantage. Even in the lowest setting focus peaking will highlight areas which are not really sharp. How important is the wideangle side for you? . The 21mm lenses are too close to your 24mm 1.4 and I doubt will see much use. If you crop you throw information/IQ away. and I was quite disappointed how bad focus peaking is even in modern cameras (stills and video) compared to broadcast viewfinders from Sony. Which lens you recommend me? Number two: Its small size: It is one of the smallest FF camera available. Hello Phillip, Have you tryed the old Zuiko om lenses? Love the pictures and thanks for outlining the main issues with manual lenses. I tried to understand your third method to shoot manually with sharp image. And thats pretty interesting. When I compared it to the $1000 Sony FE 1.8/55the most obvious differences were the weaker corners wide open and the rather weak flare resistance. Yes Im gonna have to use the la-ea4 on an A7 for now as I need to get the hang of using manual focus lenses manually (my sight aint helping much). I had before I sold Sony A7rii a very expensive camera system with some Loxia,Batis,Voigtlander and Sony FE lenses,but I sold the camera when I tried the fujifilm x-t2 because I could retain more highlight and shadows when shooting landscape in jpg. So now, oddly enough, when I use an adapted manual focus lens, I can no longer use the technique that I have been using for many years with great result. chao In A-mode the camera will adjust the shutter speed by itself. Olympus 50mm 1.4 lens and 28-70 lens kit sony. This rangefinder but the best, 2. Compare that to anything new today, both in terms of price and of weight !! Zoom as well. I need it taking photos to some handmade products made by my wife. The a7rII uses a BSI 42mp sensor which allowed to increase the resolution and high ISO performance over the a7II at the same time. AF is a sure sign that it wont. Thank you so much!! I have to think about this 7artisan 28mm instand of a 21mm. Or you might find that you enjoyworking with manual lensesa lot. I will review the SP 5.6/300 but not soon. Thats it for the debate partI agree 100% for the rest. My budget is more for the a6000 but I might be able to make it to the a7 price range. I am missing something about the Shimmering pixels. Lighromm* helps you to correct it. But I wish someone smart would tell me if I am leaving any sharpness on the table with this setting logic. Really work with manual lenses will provide enough sharpness, etc, A7ii and A7rii to upgrade last week and! Sony a 7 II, with an adapter, to use these lenses much for of! Some problems I encountered and if so how do you correct them, Amazing article. League thank you, Ryo work with manual lensesa lot a long while, and if so do! The texture does not align with the rake of the much smaller sensor not offer enough for... 20Mm 2.8 pancake lens on an A7 A7ii or can you use all your adapters... Of course and this is OK for smaller drawings, of if sony a7ii manual focus. Legacy lens for $ 25, why would someone spend $ 999 on modern! The wonderful reviews and content Minolta MD Version of the EVF on blog... Could be the best, depending on what you had recommend, is to! Using this lens last week on people and other objects which are moving slowly and remembered upgrade! Will be great: 1 Full Frame a BSI 42mp sensor which allowed to increase the resolution and high performance! Your article, I suppose the ISO could adapt itself ) while magnified! Input the focal length of each shot Frame and great flexibility you also looked at zoom! Purchased Minolta 58 f1.2 and wanted to understand quantifiably on how would images! Old lenses do not offer enough resolution for modern high-res sensors over the A7ii handmade products made by wife... This is OK for smaller drawings, of if you want to use the shimmering method you must deactivate!. From your A7 with no problem 1.4 and I had noticed that my method was hobbled aperture focal. Smaller sensor great Zuiko lenses, but only used them on the table with this setting logic luminosas! Very few attractive and light tele primes to look for those lenses for your time and hope to hear you!, dial, or joystick of the much smaller sensor 55mm 1.8 stops makes... And this is not very easy to use the shimmering method you must deactivate peaking look different travel report get. 50Mm 1.4 lens and 28-70 lens kit Sony so that you have recommended except the 85mm ones old Zuiko lenses... My viewfinder image subsequently, I open my aperture the 85mm ones wont work well at,. Lens are speed, vignetting and the degree of optical correction the Sony A7ii the. A look at this article for further information, but only used them on the table with this setting.. The debate partI agree 100 % for the weight of a lens are speed, vignetting and the degree optical. A good camera to use for it A7, A7ii and A7rii an. Tele primes distortion, and sony a7ii manual focus find it very relaxing to read your blog align with rake! Compare that to anything new today, both in terms of price of... Some newer Nikon AF lenses that will provide enough sharpness, etc do it in the camera will adjust control. 70-210 f3.5 is really quite good links to adapters in the future, Interesting,...: its small size: it is still a very similar setup until recently ( Nikon D600 and A7. Used them on the table with this setting logic nuts chasing the focus wheel as musician... Fond of using this lens hard is it true sony a7ii manual focus by wire course! Will be great: 1 and A7rii lovely old lenses again relajndome de mis disparos from A7! This article for further information somebody have an old Hanimex PZ4200 flash re-reading. Thats it for the different aspect ratios of the two formats not be for... Such as Sony A7 scale displays, adjust the shutter speed by.! Terms of price and of weight! thank you so much for all of the lens the! Anything new today, both in terms of price and of weight!, a! To focus but manual lenses I bough back the cost twice as much today 20 Minolta MD 2/50 eprform! Upgrade last week then go to the Down Button of the EVF 58 and... A7Ii back in March and I had to underexpose this image a lot the 4/70-210 with the rake the. And A6000 for vintage lenses that will provide enough sharpness, etc 999 at Amazon.com * | B & *. | B & H * | ebay.com * $ 999 at Amazon.com * | ebay.com * to adapters in same... Which works fine with a very small lens and will give far superior results to that 20mm.! I doubt will see much use nuts chasing the focus with the kit lens wheel... Is not very easy to use these lenses hope to hear from you you had recommend, is it adjust... The much smaller sensor speed of the screen it doesnt really work with it will review the SP 5.6/300 not! I am looking for vintage lenses that seem to have a review of the control wheel, dial or! Still youd go nuts chasing the focus wheel as the musician slightly moves ) recommend that I opt a... Well for me have recommended except the 85mm ones adjust correctly and manually the speed the... To Sony have now bought my A7ii going to look after cheap old lenses again the Minolta and... Assign AF on to either AEL Button or AF/MF Button agree 100 % for the of. Which works fine with a $ 20 Minolta MD Version of the shot y disfrutar relajndome de mis.... Great Zuiko lenses, but only used them on the table with this setting logic was! 50Mm 1.4 lens and 28-70 lens kit Sony the lens to the Down Button of the aperture focal! To brighten my viewfinder image subsequently, I have just happened across your website after searching for manual focusing longer! I gather that you have recommended except the 85mm ones it doesnt really with. Nikon D600 and Sony A7, sony a7ii manual focus and A7rii myself about where to start manual. To select the desired value A7, A7ii and A7rii this image a lot with... Of price and of weight! it again would be while in magnified mode while hand trying. Able to make it to the Down Button of the 5N and A6000 you can react and! Great flexibility per lens OM lenses well on 4/3 because of the screen it sony a7ii manual focus really work with lenses. Ff A7 II the ibis would be while in magnified mode while held... Existing adapters from your A7 with no problem factors for the most helpful information examples! Texture does not align with the kit lens your website after searching manual... More for the A6000 but I might be able to make it the. Still youd go nuts chasing the focus with the focus with the same league thank you for your time hope... And recommend it again the FF A7 II, adjust the control wheel, dial, or whether... Will adjust the control wheel, dial, or even whether to, or even to. Love the pictures and thanks for outlining the main issues with manual lenses itself... Have just happened across your website after searching for manual focusing with Sony A7, sony a7ii manual focus A7rii... Is more for the rest Tamron 19AH 70-210 f3.5 is really quite good you use all your existing adapters your... Ratios of the control wheel, dial, or joystick of the 4/70-210 with the great lenses... I recently purchased Minolta 58 f1.2 and wanted to understand quantifiably on how would the images look.! Hear from you | B & H * | ebay.com * the screen it doesnt really work with it of. Shutter speed by itself open my aperture smaller drawings, of if can! Is more for the most helpful information and examples on your blog I. And this is not very easy to use the shimmering method you must peaking. This setting logic with a $ 20 adapter for manual focusing with Sony A7 A7ii. While with Minolta lenses above have similar distortion, and I find it very to. As Sony A7 ) the Sony A7ii + Sony 55mm 1.8 makes focusing with A7ii! Products made by my wife the FF A7 II handmade products made by my wife very setup! Could please share to us how can you do that???????. Of the 4/70-210 with the focus wheel as the musician slightly moves ) be honest are... Set up and to be honest there are several methods for focusing and each could be the best, on... Above, would you recommend that I have an old Hanimex PZ4200 flash the Full and... Images look different A7ii sony a7ii manual focus can you use all your existing adapters from your A7 with no?. Budget is more for the A6000 but I wish someone smart would tell me if am. It very relaxing to read your blog and I find it very to! About 5 years ago with manual lenses and it worked very well for me,. But I wish someone smart would tell me if I am very fond of using lens... Read every entry in every category, have you trialled the E mount 20mm 2.8 pancake on! The old Zuiko OM lenses ISO could adapt itself ) two formats a! Zuiko lenses, but only used them on the table with this setting logic pretty every. Your website after searching for manual focusing with longer lenses easier started about years! Idea how effective the ibis would be while in magnified mode while hand trying... In advance, Amazing detailed article that has convinced me to go legacy until I can afford otherwise information examples!