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New Sony A7ii, need help with lenses please


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Hi

I have a new Sony A7ii with the 24-240mm Sony lens, my first full frame camera after shooting with a Canon 60d.    I'm looking to add more lenses to the collection, probably starting with a 50mm. The Sony 55mm F1.8 Sonnar T is the one I want, but can't afford at this time!   My budget is low, around $500 or less is better, so I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a lens to start.  I'm ok with the third party manual lenses, realizing I will need an adapter, but finding it somewhat confusing as to what will work on the Sony A7ii.   Also interested in a legacy lens, but I can't figure out which lenses will work with which adapters.  Any other suggestions for a newbie?  Thanks for your help!

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With the A7II (I use it myself) you have a very good FF-camera and with the zoom a huge range of focal lengths. The FE 1.8 / 55 mm ZA would be the very best supplement, in fact.

 

As alternatives you can use a 50 mm - lens with adapter from another manufacturer. Powerful lenses I can recommend from Minolta, Olympus or Contax. Very good adapters are build by NOVOFLEX. They have also an adapter-finder page.

(https://www.novoflex.com/de/produkte/objektiv-adapter/adapterfinder/).

 

If  the light intensity is not so important for you I can recommend the Minolta MD 3.5 / 50mm Macro. It is very, very sharp! The two sample images (http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/746-a6000-minolta-md-3550-macro-with-novoflex-adapter/) have been shot with an A6000 out of the hand (75 mm focal length). At a A7II you would have the advantage of image stabilization too!

 

Good luck!

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With the A7II (I use it myself) you have a very good FF-camera and with the zoom a huge range of focal lengths. The FE 1.8 / 55 mm ZA would be the very best supplement, in fact.

 

As alternatives you can use a 50 mm - lens with adapter from another manufacturer. Powerful lenses I can recommend from Minolta, Olympus or Contax. Very good adapters are build by NOVOFLEX. They have also an adapter-finder page.

(https://www.novoflex.com/de/produkte/objektiv-adapter/adapterfinder/).

 

If  the light intensity is not so important for you I can recommend the Minolta MD 3.5 / 50mm Macro. It is very, very sharp! The two sample images (http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/746-a6000-minolta-md-3550-macro-with-novoflex-adapter/) have been shot with an A6000 out of the hand (75 mm focal length). At a A7II you would have the advantage of image stabilization too!

 

Good luck!

 

I agree with Reinhold.  If you saved any of your Canon lenses, using an adapter will give you a low cost alternative to expand your lens collection for the new A7 II. I have the Metabone IV smart adapter.  The auto focus is not as fast as native Sony/Zeiss lenses, but it does work.  Be sure to do the Sony A7II firmware 2.0 update.  

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Hi

 

The "old" 50/1.4 SAL and the 50/2.8 Macro Amount were fairly good performers on my aged A900. Either lens would be available used at 200€ and an LA-EA4 adapter for approximately the same price.

A friend is using a Canon 50STM with a metabones adapter on an A7 and he is quite happy with it.

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Hi

I have a new Sony A7ii with the 24-240mm Sony lens, my first full frame camera after shooting with a Canon 60d.    I'm looking to add more lenses to the collection, probably starting with a 50mm. The Sony 55mm F1.8 Sonnar T is the one I want, but can't afford at this time!   My budget is low, around $500 or less is better, so I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a lens to start.  I'm ok with the third party manual lenses, realizing I will need an adapter, but finding it somewhat confusing as to what will work on the Sony A7ii.   Also interested in a legacy lens, but I can't figure out which lenses will work with which adapters.  Any other suggestions for a newbie?  Thanks for your help!

Hi,

being a recent convert to the A7II, I fully appreciate your dilemma. I don't share it though because I primarily swithed to Sony because of the possibility to adapt CY Zeiss glass to it. I would recommend you look at the Zeiss Planar 50/1.7 which is on EBAy around € 150. Alternatively you coul also look at the Vario-Sonnar 24-85, which I just acquired for around €280 on Ebay (offerings between €300 and €700)

I enclose 2 pics I just took a few days ago with the Vario-Sonnar, because I believe it's a testament to its capabilities

Have fun deciding!

 

Don't ocerlook the fact that these are MF lenses!

 

12339277_642825579193803_28307906952877912322814_641831972626497_104575259928366

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Marc Contaxtonikon, those are some really nice images!  Great work.

 

Even though all my lenses are auto focus, I shoot a lot of manual focus.  On native Sony lenses, you can use autofocus and as soon as you turn the lens barrel, it goes into focus magnification.  I love that feature.

 

On non Sony lenses there is an extra step.  I have assigned the trash button to manual focus.  After you select the trash button, there is a box in the center of the image that can be moved then locked.  Then you can get very accurate focus in the area of the image you want the clearest and sharpest.  Focus peaking helps, but magnification really gives you a lot of power to get exactly what you want.

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The Minolta 50mm f/1.4 MD Rokkor X is fantastic and can be found in mint / near mint condition for less than $100.  Need to stop it down a bit (perhaps to f/5.60 to get corners as sharp as Zeiss 50mm f/1.8, but otherwise IQ is of comparably high quality.  

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Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.   Marc Contaxtonikon - beautiful images!   Thanks for posting.  What adapter did you use for that lens?

 

 

steve of stonehenge - My Canon lenses are all for a crop sensor, so I understand I won't be able to use them on the Sony A7ii, even with an adapter?  

 

Hi Janette - thank you for the kind feedback. I used the Fotodiox adapter for these. In the meantime, I have also purchased the Novoflex adapter, which - very subjectively - feels better. In all honesty, the Fotodiox probably works just as well, but the Novoflex somehow inspires more confidence in me

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Hi

 

The "old" 50/1.4 SAL and the 50/2.8 Macro Amount were fairly good performers

on my aged A900. Either lens would be available used at 200€ and an LA-EA4

adapter for approximately the same price.

.....................  

   

I've lately been enjoying the "old A-mount" 50/2.8 Macro on both the

APSC/16x24 and FF/24x36 Sonys.

 

On the APSC format it is outstanding all across the frame. The FF

coverage, illumination and sharpness, is excellent from f/3.5 and by

f/4.5 it's even better .... except for the absolute very furthest corners. 

  

Not that the corners are bad. But I've never seen them. I'm using the  

old LA-E2 so there's little 3mm triangles blacked out in the corners.

  

Other lenses do suffer greater image black outs with the LA-E2, but

the projection angles for the 50/2.8 work very well. If you crop off the

little black triangles [while maintaining a 2:3 aspect] you still have 19

MP remaining from the original 24MP. Anywho, if you use an LA-E3

or LA-E4 you would have a terrific set up. The great image I get thru

the SLT mirror would probably improve somewhat using the LA-E3,

having no SLT mirror .... plus you'd stop down 1/3 stop more for any

given exposure [or use a 1/3 EV lower ISO]. 

   

BTW, this lens appears to be free of CA, even with bright contrasty 

lines near the margins of the frame. This is probably related to the

same thing that nearly eliminates blacked out corners despite using  

an LA-E2, very favorable image projection angles which do not send

the outer portions of the image thru the filter pack at extreme angles.  

   

Cool to see that the 50/2.8 is worth 200 BPS .... cuz I got 2 of them :-)

   

`  

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I use the A7II and A7r and my first lens was the FE 2.8/35mm and even though I own now three mor FE's in higher prizerange, I will never give up this little 35mm "superperformer". It is razorsharp and you can get it used betweenn $450-550 in eBay.

By the way, If you use metabonesIV with Canon EF lenses you Need for the A7II (like already mentioned) fw2.0 AND metabones FW 0.47. With this combination the Canon EF-lenses are almost as fast as  Sony FE-lenses.

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One of my reasons to get an A7 II was to try out various fast but inexpensive lenses.

So far I haven´t been disappointed with tthe camera. Some legacy lenses work great, others not so much. So it can be a challenge to find that fantastic, dirt cheap old lens in perfect condition that has all the great qualities you´re looking for.

The problem also being that you´re not the only one looking for that unicorn lens on ebay, driving up prices.

 

Which brings me to my point. If manual focus is okay, consider the Rokinon (and its twin) lenses. I have the 35mm and 85mm T1.5 (f/1.4) and they are both very sharp. And buying one can be less hassle than getting that legacy lens as it´s a simple matter of going to the store. :)

 

One annoying issue though is size and weight. Being f/1.4 and originally made for DSLR that´s just how it is.

 

On the plus side, they´re cheap enough to buy so you can decide if you actually need a fast prime at "xx"mm before shelling out $1000 or more for the Sony stuff.

 

/A

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello Janette,

I had a few 50mm legacy lenses: Nikon AI 50/1.4, Yashica ML 50/1.7, Minolta MD 50/1.4, Helios 44-2 (58/2)

I also had the Minolta 50/2.8 Macro

And last but best of them all - Voigtlander 58/1.4

 

the minolta macro is nice, cheap and has quick AF if you work with LA-AE4 adapter, which costs quite a lot, but is a good thing to have for other lenses.

but this lens has no character, and it is "only" F2.8.

I sold it.

 

My recommendation is the Voigt.

It is not sharp at F1.4, but this is my onlt complaint.

From F2.8 is is VERY sharp. It has wonderful live colors, the bokeh is very nice too.

It is also very well built and the handeling is great.

 

If you prefer a cheaper lens then I recommend the Yashica ML 50/1.7

Well built, sharp and contrasty.

Just as good as the Nikon AiS 50/1.4 but cheaper.

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Many, many thanks to all who have chimed in on this thread.  I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.  I am now the proud owner of the Minolta Rokkor 1.4 50mm lens, which along with the FotodioX adapter, has provided me with lots of fun and challenges.  I also have a Minolta wide angle prime coming any day now.  I'm still experimenting, but having the peaking colours for focusing is wonderful and the low light performance is impressive.  I'm still in the market for more legacy lenses, but these two will keep me busy for now.  Time to list and sell my Canon EOS crop sensor lenses, to raise a bit more cash!

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