Sony The only non Sony lenses that will be fully 'auto' are Canon?

Nathan

Regular
Sorry, one would have thought this was something documented in an easy to find newbie resource, but if it is, I haven't found it.

But after a lot of searching it looks like some legacy lens connectors for Canon glass are the only units capable of doing things like auto focus on the Sony with non Sony glass. That is, for example, there isn't an equivalent solution for Nikon glass. Etc.

Is that an accurate summary?
 
Yes, only af non-Sony e-mount adapters are for Canon EF lenses and contax g lenses. There is no Nikon af adapter. However most of these has slow af, so it is mostly to control aperture for Canon ef lenses. Only available fast af adapter is the Sony official adapter to use A mount lenses.
 
Yes, only af non-Sony e-mount adapters are for Canon EF lenses and contax g lenses. There is no Nikon af adapter. However most of these has slow af, so it is mostly to control aperture for Canon ef lenses. Only available fast af adapter is the Sony official adapter to use A mount lenses.

Thanks for the info.

How slow is slow af? Is it MFT slow? Which I still find usable. Or is it even slower?

The reason I ask is that I *don't* have a big investment in legacy glass (unless we cal MFT glass legacy already! -- and of course MFT glass wouldn't work on FF anyway) but would likely need to resort to buying some, if I go down the A7 path.... but Nikon glass would make more sense because I could ALSO make use of it with my Nikon V1 body, at times.

I'm not afraid of a little manual focus. I learned my habits on an original OM-1 I picked up used, in the 80s.

But I would hate to give up shutter & aperture priority modes, so that would likely be where I draw the line. Seems like all the Nikon adapters (especially those that can handle G lenses, if I were to pick up G glass) would make it possible to still have both S and A modes work?
 
I used older full manual AI lenses, not the g lenses. Armando uses/used Nikon g lenses. Maybe he can answer some of your questions.

Yes, AF is slow but it works with Canon glass, not with third party like Sigma lenses. Most importantly, electronic contact gives the image stabilization, esp with longer zoom lenses. I found it easier to switch mf when I was using Canon 70-300 ef lens during sunset hrs:

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I used older full manual AI lenses, not the g lenses. Armando uses/used Nikon g lenses. Maybe he can answer some of your questions.

Yes, AF is slow but it works with Canon glass, not with third party like Sigma lenses. Most importantly, electronic contact gives the image stabilization, esp with longer zoom lenses. I found it easier to switch mf when I was using Canon 70-300 ef lens during sunset hrs:

original.jpg
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Thanks. For the AI lenses you adjust the aperture using the ring on the lens and the shutter speed on the camera body? Essentially it's like 'M' mode?
 
I select the aperture on the lens and the camera selects the shutter speed like in A-Aperture mode. With Canon lenses + electronic adapter, camera adjusts the min shutter speed. However with manual lenses like AI lenses, min shutter speed is fixed at 1/60 sec so you need to watch your shutter speed in low light. In those instances, I set both aperture and shutter speed like in M mode.

Thanks. For the AI lenses you adjust the aperture using the ring on the lens and the shutter speed on the camera body? Essentially it's like 'M' mode?
 
If you count Minolta as different from Sony brand than the legacy Minolta AF lenses are able to focus with Sonys own adapter.
 
If you count Minolta as different from Sony brand than the legacy Minolta AF lenses are able to focus with Sonys own adapter.

That's interesting. So, not that one really needs auto focus on a fisheye, something like the "Minolta AF 16mm F2.8 FishEye" with Sony's pricier a-mount adapter would be fully automatic on the A7?
 
I could only give a proof for a Minolta AF 35-105mm and a 28-100mm with the adapter LA-EA4 on a A7. The latter was a kit lens for a Minolta Dynax 30. The Sony 135mm/2.8 STF is a unchanged conversion of the Minolta lens but was never been able to use autofocus (but change and show of aperture are possible).
 
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