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Best Adapter for Tamron SP 150-600?


starmite
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Prior to the firmware update for the A7ii, the only real option was to use the Sony LA-EA4 mount adapter with the Tamron to take full advantage of phase detection autofocus  on the Tamron super zoom (with A mount).  With the firmware update, though, the camera gains the ability to use  all of its phase detection points, suggesting that using the LA-EA3 mount adapter may actually yield better autofocus results.  I'm aware some pros (e.g. Brian Smith) recommend the LA-EA3 when the big Tamron is used on the A7Rii, but I wonder if the same would be true for the A7ii after its firmware upgrade?

 

Has anyone made the switch from the "4" to the "3" while using the big Tamron on the A7ii?  Or have any other thoughts about the relative merits of these adapters when using the Tamron on the A7ii?  TIA.

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I tried the adapto rLA-AE3 on my Tamron with A7s and to be honest wasnt impressed maybe I wasnt setting it up right but I found it sluggish and struggling to focus I returned it to Amazon .i use this lens on A77ii and it is ace but like I say I might not have set it up right but did try recommended setttings and googled a bit to resolve but to no avail

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I'm interested to! (For the A7Rii)

 

From what I've read it depends on the focus mechanism you prefer as well. The LA-EA4 allows for lock-on, but without native performance as it can only use some central points.

Zone / wide with the LA-EA3 should use all the phase detection points, so *might* work better?

 

For windsurfing I'd like the central (or movable) small point focus to work well (quickly), and for birds in flight the zone focus. Any info on that would be appreciated...

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I've tried both the Sigma C - EF; Tamron EF + metabone IV and Tamron A with LA-EA3, at 600mm end, only the Tamron A with LA-EA3 delivered usable AF, at the cost of stabilization, which in my opinion is not worth it. At 600mm, MF is the way to go as keeping the subject in the frame is hard enough even on a tripod, let along wait for it to AF, and you need ALL the light you want - you lose 1/3 stops with the EA4 adapter, and it doesn't perform better on an a7R2.

 

Btw wide focus faster than central for me (birds).

 

I have to say, I have 3 native FE lens, 2 adapted lens. Tamron is the first lens I feel regret getting - too hard to use, and it doesn't fit in my bag.

 

I have played the 70-400 Amount Sony and I liked it, lighter, smaller, better IQ, and faster AF - it probably delivers better IQ at 400mm then crop than the Tamron @600mm - if you could afford it, get the sony.

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@lenoindex...thanks for your reference to the Sony 70-400 and la-ea3. Don't see that many writeup on that particular lens as most long lens reference the Tamron. Right now I am doing massive crops (A7RII files) on the 70-200 and debating between the 70-400 and 150-600, leaning to the Sony. I used a borrowed Tamron on a Nikon before I switched to Sony and it was OK but very unwieldy. Prefer the 70-400 for the reasons you mentioned, just wasn't certain how the focusing was with the la-ea3 as the A7RII can easily handle the cropping to the 600 and beyond.

 

Only thing holding me back is Sony's pending lens announcement is freezing me, if an FE version of the 70-400 will be announced (please).

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I think I didn't make it very clear in the first post and I should point this out, 

 

To be fair, the Tamron sells at half of the price of the sony, for its price it is an awesome lens.

 

The reason why I think Sony 70-400 is a better choice if price is not a concern, is really I can fit it in my bag along with other lens, and you will be able to interchange lenses 'in action', plus with probably the best in class 400mm performance, it is much easier to catch a scene compare to a 600mm (bigger frame), and image quality/detail of the cropped photo might even be better (only a guess but they won't be far off), plus it focus much faster.

 

If reach is the only concern, I would get the EF version, it is stabilized, cheaper, AF working until 400mm, and easier to resell if you have to.

 

This comes from an amateur wildlife shooter, working on this 600mm is just hard for me, even on a tripod and I have missed many shot because of it, and I often take shots from afar first, and try to approach to the subject really close and then use a wide angle lens to take dramatic closeup shots..with the Tamron, changing lens is really an nightmare even if you don't consider how impractical it is to bring this lens with all other gears at the first place...

 

I have had the lens for 2 month now and still felt the same way. I didn't return the lens because I don't feel like invest in an additional 1000 bucks for the sony.

 

I will attach some photos shot with this lens later when I get home..

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I have the Tamron 150-600 and use it with LA-EA3 on the A7Rii. In very good light it works well and can give some great shots. Image quality seems to be better at ~500mm than it is at 600mm. As the available light reduces the autofocus starts to struggle and can sometimes hunt for a while which can be frustrating as you will miss some shots when shooting wildlife. Overall I have been happy to have a way to get significantly more reach than you can get with the native FE lenses and the lens feels like good value (I got a €100 rebate... which helped).

 

Three examples at 600mm, f6.3, LA-EA3, A7Rii:

 

https://500px.com/photo/130107737/a-leisurely-cruise-by-andy-fowlie

 

https://flic.kr/p/BrRqsw

 

https://flic.kr/p/Bu8nr6

 

- in good light, you can get nice results.

 

For birds in flight, I would say that the auto-focus just will not be fast enough, at least for my skill level it is almost impossible.

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I have the Tamron 150-600 and use it with LA-EA3 on the A7Rii. In very good light it works well and can give some great shots. Image quality seems to be better at ~500mm than it is at 600mm. As the available light reduces the autofocus starts to struggle and can sometimes hunt for a while which can be frustrating as you will miss some shots when shooting wildlife. Overall I have been happy to have a way to get significantly more reach than you can get with the native FE lenses and the lens feels like good value (I got a €100 rebate... which helped).

 

Three examples at 600mm, f6.3, LA-EA3, A7Rii:

 

https://500px.com/photo/130107737/a-leisurely-cruise-by-andy-fowlie

 

https://flic.kr/p/BrRqsw

 

https://flic.kr/p/Bu8nr6

 

- in good light, you can get nice results.

 

For birds in flight, I would say that the auto-focus just will not be fast enough, at least for my skill level it is almost impossible.

 

Awesome pics!!

 

Agree to all you said, it is a very nice lens, especially when you look at its price tag. 

xlIb4EW.jpg

H4vUKy6.jpg

6yM9VMB.jpg

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Yes agree the LA-EA3 on the A7Rii gives the best result for me. I mainly use it for street photography and when the lights good it's terrific but in lower light I revert to manual. This was indoors, hand held, 1/160, F5 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm using the LA-EA4 with the Tamron 1500-600 and so far I'm pretty happy with the results. As I will take some more shots during the next weeks, I will post my experiences here.

Sven! show us your tamron 150-600 pictures!!! i want to buy that lense!! i think does magic!

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The LEA3 does not work well on the a7s or the a7sii for any of my A-mount lenses. With these two cameras only the LEA4 has worked for me. I have use the LEA3 for all of my sony lenses on the a7ii and the a7rii with great success except for the 135 F1.8, 85 F1.4 and the 16 f2.8 fisheye. These three lenses require the LEA4 for autofocus. The 70-400 works very well for me with the LEA4 on both the a7ii and the a7rii, quick focus and great color.   

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Does anybody know how this combination (tamron with the LA EA3) works with the A7ii in terms of descent autofocus and tracking. Would love to see some full resolution photos. In serious doubt whether to further invest in this system as I want a long tele for wildlife. Fuji seems interesting, but love the images from the A7ii sensor.

 

Cheers.

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  • 1 year later...

I know this thread is more than a year old, but hoping there are some of you with experience with the LA-EA3 adapter. I've been using it for some time with my a7Rii and Tamron 150-600 for sports and birding. I've had few problems with sports, but I certainly lose a few shots in wildlife due to 'relatively' slow focusing. Slow, but acceptable given the price difference with other lenses.

 

But my biggest problem right now is that the lens and adapter lose contact with each other every few minutes. I have to rotate the lens to reestablish the connection. While the lens 'seems' firmly seated on the adapter at all times, something is causing the two to lose electrical contact. 

 

Anyone else with this problem? Solutions?

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  • 3 years later...
On 5/20/2017 at 8:03 AM, hofendis said:

I know this thread is more than a year old, but hoping there are some of you with experience with the LA-EA3 adapter. I've been using it for some time with my a7Rii and Tamron 150-600 for sports and birding. I've had few problems with sports, but I certainly lose a few shots in wildlife due to 'relatively' slow focusing. Slow, but acceptable given the price difference with other lenses.

 

But my biggest problem right now is that the lens and adapter lose contact with each other every few minutes. I have to rotate the lens to reestablish the connection. While the lens 'seems' firmly seated on the adapter at all times, something is causing the two to lose electrical contact. 

 

Anyone else with this problem? Solutions?

I have this problem as well. Glad to see I'm not the only one but it appears like this is a common issue. Sorry to respond 4 years later but I'm hoping to resurrect this now to see if there's been a solution since 4 years ago!

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  • 1 month later...

I currently own the Tamron 150-600 and am considering a body upgrade to the a7Riii. It appears that the adapter that I want is the LA-EA5. I'm trying to determine if I should purchase the Sony E-mount 200-600 or if using the Tamron will get me by for a while. I'd like to get better IQ than this (although image has been degraded due to file size limitation)... 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm using the LA-EA5 adapter with my Tamron 150-600 G02 on my A7iii and the autofocus and image quality is spot on.

I've even tried it with my legacy A-mount 2x teleconverter: the autofocus still works fine and the results are acceptably good, although you do need the rig mounted on a very steady tripod as high shutter speeds can be problematic with wide open at f10 at 600mm.

Edited by alasdairmac
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As you state, a tripod is basically a necessity in that situation.  In addition, even with great prime lenses, and a great 2X converter, image quality improves dramatically as you stop down with a tele-converter -- which unfortunateky means a slower shutter speed and/or higher ISO -- but it's better than cropping!

Edited by XKAES
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2 hours ago, XKAES said:

even with great prime lenses, and a great 2X converter, image quality improves dramatically as you stop down with a tele-converter

Nonsense: good quality primes and G/GM class zoom lenses are diffraction limited starting from F/4 or so. At F/13, which is the widest aperture you get with an F/6.3 lens and 2× teleconverter, diffraction is seriously hampering image quality. These combinations are pretty much always used wide open because stopping down will only cause image degradation due to increased diffraction, not to mention ISO-noise.

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