Sony A7 with only Nikon F-mount Lenses?

[theShutterGuy]

I've been considering picking up a Sony A7. I think it will fill a niche for me, and I'd like to get feedback from this forum about whether my idea for how I'd use the A7 makes sense. If I should have posted this in another forum on the website, sorry.

 

A bit about where I'm coming from:

I own a full frame Nikon DSLR as well as 10 manual focus (AI, AI-S) and 4 autofocus (D and G) Nikon lenses. I've been using Nikon SLRs/DSLRs for almost 15 years. I enjoy using my current DSLR, and I have no immediate plans to get rid of my current equipment.

 

What I think the A7 will do for me:

The A7 looks like a solid platform I can throw an adapter on and use all my old manual focus nikon F mount lenses or even my autofocus ones in manual mode. The focus peaking and viewfinder on the A7 look to make manual focusing much easier on the A7 than it would be on my Nikon camera, especially with my 55mm f1.2 AI lens. The A7 also looks to be much lighter and less conspicuous from the information on camerasize.com. All around it looks to be a well suited light travel camera that can work with my existing lenses. I would consider picking up native lenses for the A7, but I wouldn't be doing that right away. 

 

I'm not in a particular rush to pick up an A7. I am willing to wait until Sony releases another "AX" camera further driving down the price of the A7. I'm looking at it as a smaller camera that can use most of my existing lenses.

 

 

Things I don't care about:

Shooting in shutter priority mode

Shooting video

Take lots of pictures quickly as I already use mostly manual focus lenses

 

Questions for the forum:

How well does aperture priority work on the A7 with a lens adapter? I picture myself mostly relying on aperture priority as I do with my current camera and adjusting the aperture on the lens/adapter or the ISO on the A7.

 

How easy is to change the ISO on the A7? On my current camera I can do it without taking my eye away from the viewfinder by pressing a button and turning a dial. Same thing for the exposure compensation, how easy is that to change without taking your eye off the viewfinder?

 

I notice on the videos of people changing out lenses on the A7 that have adapters on them that they are frequently taking off the lens and adapter off of the camera at the same time. Is it practical to keep an adapter on the A7 and remove the lens from the adapter and put a new lens on that adapter?

 

I've jumped to the A7 as my choice as its lighter than the A7II and less expensive than the A7r, A7s, and A7II. Would any of the other A7 series make more sense for me?

 

Feel free to respond with any other thoughts you may have on my post. If I'm completely off base on what I'm looking to do, let me know that as well. 

 

Thanks

 

 

[Austerror]

First question: How does A priority work on the A7 with a manual lens?  

 

Short answer: It does not work in A mode.

 

If you are using an adapter to mount old manual lenses, where manual = manual aperture control, then you will be using the 'M' mode on the camera.

 

If some of these lenses have electronic or camera controlled apertures, then the operation of such would depend on the adapter being used.

 

Also, if you want something small, look at the A6000. That size is great for older manual lenses.

[JimmyD]

I have used the Novoflex Nikon to Sony E mount adapter with three different Nikon AIS lenses (20mm f/2,8, 28mm f/2.8, and the 105mm f/2.5, and many other classic manual focus lenses) on both the A7R and the A7II bodies.  Focus peaking works like a dream, particularly when you use the zoom in feature (quick single button push).  Obviously it takes a couple seconds longer than with autofocus, but the manual focus is definitely more accurate if you aren't shooting moving subjects.

 

And my apologies in advance, but Austerror is incorrect about aperture priority (A mode) not working with manual focus lenses, at least on both the A7R and the A7II.  You simply use the aperture ring on your Nikon AIS lens (or any classic manual focus lens) to select your desired aperture and if you are in A mode the camera will select the correct shutter speed.  And the metering system is excellent.  If you want to go fully manual (M mode) and select both the aperture and the shutter speed, simply do so after you have set ISO to Auto ISO and the camera will select the correct ISO to achieve the correct exposure based on the aperture and the shutter speed you selected (unless you have selected an aperture /shutter speed combination that would force an out of range ISO (i.e., if you select f/1.4 and 1/30 sec. in broad daylight the image will be over exposed).

 

I do like that the A7 is lighter than the A7II and that it costs less, but there is one big reason: the in-body optical image stabilization in the A7II.  This feature is particularly important if you are going to be shooting legacy glass like Nikon AIS manual focus lenses, as obviously these older lenses do not have the image stabilization.  With the A7II's image stabilization, most shooters gain 3-4 stops allowing them, for example, to shoot hand held in low light at 1/8 or 1/15 sec. with a wide angel or normal lens.

 

Good luck!

[Guest all8]

Aperture priority works fine.

 

ISO can be assigned to any button and can be adjusted in the view finder with one of the dials (after pressing the button to activate). The overlay used to select ISO does partly obscure the viewfinder but its only the left most side.

[iul]

With the uncoupled manual lens, the two following modes on the a7 work perfectly for me:

 

A: If ISO not on auto, shutter speed is automatic in the full range,

    if ISO on auto, shutter speed is automatic while ISO tries to minimize to 100.

    As shutter time would fall below 1/60, ISO starts to increase. Automatic shutter speed

    does not go below 1/60 as long as maximum 25600 is not yet reached.

 

S: If ISO not on auto, shutter speed is fixed, same as M,

    if ISO on auto, shutter speed is fixed and ISO automatic.

[iul]

Question addressed to the A7-specialists: Is there a way to change these limits of 1/60 and 25600 to more specific values ?

[Austerror]

Ahh I see.

 

That is a neat feature.  Something they improved from the Nex-7!

[theShutterGuy]

Thanks JimmyD for the info regarding aperture mode. It works about how I would have hoped it would.

 

In regards to your comments on the A7II, the ability of IBIS to allow me to good stills at even an extra stop slower nevermind 3 stops slower shutter speed is certainly appealing. Saving some money and size/weight with the A7 is also appealing. Either option would be noticeably smaller than my current camera though.

 

I'm not in a terrible rush to pick up an A7 or whatever I decide on. I can wait until Sony releases another model further driving down prices of the current models or there's a deal that's just too good to turn down. 

[yeer31]

As a fellow Nikkor glass shooter, I'd add a few points myself on the matter being discussed.

 

1) The threshold for automatic ISO can be limited in 'A' mode. By default, it's limited to only go up to ISO 6400 i.e. once it reaches this threshold, it will start to drop your shutter speed. Be warned, however, it can to drop your shutter speed below 1/60. You can over ride this in the menu to go all the way to ISO 25600 but the trade off is that you're likely to get noisy images, which is why it's limited to ISO 6400 by default

 

2) The comments above regarding using manual lenses are correct assuming that you are only using pre-AI/AI/AI-S lenses with a 'dumb' adapter. That is to say, an adapter with just a tube an mounts on either side. There is a second adapter option availble in themarket in the form of Nikkor 'G' lens adapters. Manufacturers like Metabones, Novaflex etc. make them and the difference is that in those adapters, there is a ring which manually actuates the aperture. It's a great option as it allows you to use G lenses (focusing them manually) on the A7 series. When using this type of adapter, you'll have to be careful as the mechanism which actuates the aperture on the G lens can prevent the pre-AI/AI/AI-S lenses from stopping down manually and you end up shooting everything wide open. Just a note of caution.

 

As a Nikon switcher, I'm very happy with my experience with the A7 series so far and love the fact that I can still use my old Nikon glass. You seem to have a good hand on the focusing capabilities but I'd also encourage you to experiment with adapter options. I've got a F mount tilt shift adapter for the A7 which totally transforms my collection of Nikon wide angle lenses. Another usefull one is the F mount close focus adapter, which again transforms many of my F mount lenses into macro shooters.

 

Hope this helps! Cheers

 

Ray

[theShutterGuy]

Yeer31,

 

Let me see if I got what you're saying. If I were to use an adapter meant for Nikon G series lenses that would have it's own ring for adjusting the aperture, that same adapter may not allow the aperture ring to work for stopping down the aperture on my manual focus AI/AI-S lenses. I would need two different adapters, one for Nikon lenses with aperture rings, and one without rings, is that correct?

 

I only own two G lenses, the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art, and the Nikon 85mm f1.8G. They are both absolutely beautiful in terms of IQ and it wasn't for how wonderful these work on my current full frame Nikon and the occasional wedding I shoot, I would seriously consider switching over to Sony.

 

For moment I will be biding my time until the right sort of deal passes my way for an A7/A7ii.

[RobertSpar]

Hi, 

 

having a very similar background I just signed up to reply. You don't need different adapters for G and non-G lenses. If the lens has an aperture ring you set the adapters ring to closed and use the lens' ring to set aperture. If you forget to close the adapter's ring the lens stays open no matter how you set its ring. That's what Ray was referring to. 

 

I bought a A7 last year and kept my Nikon FX lenses. Even after I sold all my Nikon bodies I bought two f-mount lenses: Samyang 24mm F/1.4 and Helios 40-2. Samyang offers FE lenses but they basically come with a fixed adapter, so there is no advantage in going native and I suspect the resale value will be lower for the FE version. The Helios comes in Nikon, Canon and M42 flavours and since I already have a Nikon adapter from Novoflex it was a natural choice.

 

In general I'm very happy with my switch from Nikon to Sony A7. I love mirrorless especially because I can judge exposure before I take the shot and the reduction in size is also a big plus. Every lens I've used with the Novoflex adapter worked quite well. The only downside with G lenses is that you only know the exact aperture value when you fully open or close it. Everything between min and max is a rough guess. Personally I don't care.

 

Last year I made the decision to spend less of my (limited) budget on bodies so I could afford better lenses (or more interesting ones like the Helios). I was very tempted by the A7s back then and I can perfectly understand why the A7II is appealing now. But the A7IIs image sensor is the same as the A7 and I don't know if IBIS is really worth the price difference between the two. But that's just my opinion...

[fabs]

Hi,

im new from the forum and english is not my native language so, sorry for eventual mistake

Im looking for buy a Zeiss Milvus for my sony a7sII and i have decided of buying the nikon version (for video) because im so interested in the aperture ring (can be "de-clicked")...

So i have read yours post and "Yeer31" had write:

The comments above regarding using manual lenses are correct assuming that you are only using pre-AI/AI/AI-S lenses with a 'dumb' adapter. That is to say, an adapter with just a tube an mounts on either side. There is a second adapter option availble in themarket in the form of Nikkor 'G' lens adapters. Manufacturers like Metabones, Novaflex etc. make them and the difference is that in those adapters, there is a ring which manually actuates the aperture. It's a great option as it allows you to use G lenses (focusing them manually) on the A7 series. When using this type of adapter, you'll have to be careful as the mechanism which actuates the aperture on the G lens can prevent the pre-AI/AI/AI-S lenses from stopping down manually and you end up shooting everything wide open. Just a note of caution.
So my question is: if i buy a Novaflex adapter (NEX/NIK) i can change the aperture clicked in camera, but if i de-click the aperture ring? i control the aperture from adapter or from lenses?

(Im new from nikon lenses world...)

THANKYOU SO MUCH