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Leica M to Sony Full Frame?

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ECT

ECT

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I'm a lifelong Leica M shooter and therefore owning a more or less complete sett of good Leica M lenses.

Getting older and now using glasses gives me more and more difficulties in focusing makes me thing of changing system.

I know very little about the Sony Full Frame system but understand that it is possible to use my Leica lenses for manual focusing.

What adapter is necessary?

How good is the focus peeking system?

Have even heard of an adapter that could give auto focusing. How is this possible?

Anybody knowing of a good place to read about the system of using foreign lenses on the Sony system?

Which Sony camera would you recommend?
 
olstrup said:
blacksinner said:
olstrup said:
blacksinner said:
olstrup said:
i'm sorry what i mean by telephoto is 300-600mm for birding and sport. in my opinion, sony is not really good now even a7rii. better with DSLR like D500.

I use the Sony with the Leica 280/4 Apo, the Nikon 200/2, 400/2.8 and 500/4E. It works well with all, but I need to use a smart adapter with the E lens.
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yes i know you use those lenses. but how about autofocus.
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This thread was not about AF. The OP asked for advice on reusing his Leica M lenses on a mirrorless camera because his eyesight did't work so well with the rangefinder of his Leica M cameras anymore. Discussing AF and (like you did in another post) about sticking to the Leica M camera is of course always interesting but hardly relevant in the given context, and it doesn't adress the OPs questions.
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blacksinner said:
olstrup said:
blacksinner said:
olstrup said:
blacksinner said:
blacksinner said:
i'm sorry what i mean by telephoto is 300-600mm for birding and sport. in my opinion, sony is not really good now even a7rii. better with DSLR like D500.

I use the Sony with the Leica 280/4 Apo, the Nikon 200/2, 400/2.8 and 500/4E. It works well with all, but I need to use a smart adapter with the E lens.
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yes i know you use those lenses. but how about autofocus.
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This thread was not about AF. The OP asked for advice on reusing his Leica M lenses on a mirrorless camera because his eyesight did't work so well with the rangefinder of his Leica M cameras anymore. Discussing AF and (like you did in another post) about sticking to the Leica M camera is of course always interesting but hardly relevant in the given context, and it doesn't adress the OPs questions.
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blacksinner said:
olstrup said:
blacksinner said:
olstrup said:
blacksinner said:
blacksinner said:
i'm sorry what i mean by telephoto is 300-600mm for birding and sport. in my opinion, sony is not really good now even a7rii. better with DSLR like D500.

I use the Sony with the Leica 280/4 Apo, the Nikon 200/2, 400/2.8 and 500/4E. It works well with all, but I need to use a smart adapter with the E lens.
Click to expand...
yes i know you use those lenses. but how about autofocus.
Click to expand...
This thread was not about AF. The OP asked for advice on reusing his Leica M lenses on a mirrorless camera because his eyesight did't work so well with the rangefinder of his Leica M cameras anymore. Discussing AF and (like you did in another post) about sticking to the Leica M camera is of course always interesting but hardly relevant in the given context, and it doesn't adress the OPs questions.

--
"Good photos is not about fancy gear. It's about how you see as a photographer and about being ressourceful with whatever gear you have." (Alfred Eisenstadt, Life photographer)
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this is my opinion only, you don't have to take everything i said.

--
my flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/103080346@N05/
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Actually, I don't disagree that MF Leica lenses don't AF very well on a Sony A7X with a dumb adapter. ;-) But the OP asked how he could best use his Leica M lenses on a mirrorless camera. Given that, discussing the AF properties of the camera (and this or that AF lens) is only dispersing the focus the discussion. The fact is that the A7X cameras in MF mode will work well with Leica M lenses apart from those WA lenses which gives corner smear and/or color cast. It's true that some third party AF lenses don't work well with wired adapters, but that is another matter outside of the topic of the thread the OP initiated.

--
"Good photos is not about fancy gear. It's about how you see as a photographer and about being ressourceful with whatever gear you have." (Alfred Eisenstadt, Life photographer)
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Yup2. wow you are really strict ya? i can't add a little bit of my opinion?

--
my flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/103080346@N05/
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Sure you can. And I think I agree with you on many of your points - in another context than this.

It's just that the OP asked a question which you bypassed and you instead proceeded to answer some other questions which didn't reflect the OPs situation and which he hadn't asked. Like when you recommended that he stick with his Leica M even after he had said that his very problem was that his eyesight was giving him problems with the rangefinder in his Leica M cameras. Or like when you talked about AF problems with looooong FL (third party?) AF lenses when the OPs intention was using Leica M lenses which are neither AF nor particularly long FL. Also, suggesting the OP get a Leica SL and then in another post dimissing the use of adapers due to their cost is not very consistent.

That way, the OP might be led to believe that getting a Sony A7X for use with his Leica M lenses is a bad idea. That would be a shame because it's not. Leica M lenses work well with the MF aids of the A7X and many of us use our old Leica M glass with pleasure on our Sony cameras.

Enough of beating this dead horse. Over and out. :-)

--
"Good photos is not about fancy gear. It's about how you see as a photographer and about being ressourceful with whatever gear you have." (Alfred Eisenstadt, Life photographer)
 
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Thank you for all posts...... but I'm now more confused than before :-O

I'm thinking of buying a cheap A7 and an adapter and give it a try. When I know the outcome I can always sell it again and buy A7ii or what ever comes up on Photo Kina.

If I don't like the result I have to find another way buying a complete new system with AF. But I don't like this solution as I love my Leica glas!

Thanks to all for your contributions to my questions.
 
ECT said:
Thank you for all posts...... but I'm now more confused than before :-O
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That's what if often happens on a site like this with many different opinions.
ECT said:
I'm thinking of buying a cheap A7 and an adapter and give it a try. When I know the outcome I can always sell it again and buy A7ii or what ever comes up on Photo Kina.
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Great idea. It's no big deal. Get an A7 and a good "dumb" adapter and you are ready to go. If you stick to your Leica M lenses and manual focus, you may not want/need to go any further than that.
ECT said:
If I don't like the result I have to find another way buying a complete new system with AF. But I don't like this solution as I love my Leica glas!
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I feel the same way. The reason I got my Sony camera was to get my old beloved Leica M lenses back into active use again after 15 years with Nikon DSLR gear. It works very well for me. The one lens I can't use is the Elmarit 21mm which causes color shift in the corners (but no smear). Instead I have invested in a WATE which works fine.
ECT said:
Thanks to all for your contributions to my questions.
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You are wellcome. Good luck.
 
Now to the next question: Any hints where to buy a cheap (working) A7?
 
ECT said:
Thank you for all posts...... but I'm now more confused than before :-O

I'm thinking of buying a cheap A7 and an adapter and give it a try. When I know the outcome I can always sell it again and buy A7ii or what ever comes up on Photo Kina.

If I don't like the result I have to find another way buying a complete new system with AF. But I don't like this solution as I love my Leica glas!

Thanks to all for your contributions to my questions.
Click to expand...
 
I'm now looking for a second hand A7 to test it with my Leica lenses before putting too much money in it.

Another question before I have the possibility to try it out myself is how the sensor is compare to the one used in M9. Have anybody already compared this?
 
mtakeda said:
I too have a little difficulty in using focus peaking of A7r2. It does not give me sharp images even though the sign of peaking there. I guess I have to know the accurate point of peaking but do not know. Any advice?
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Remember that Low, Medium and High are tolerance, not accuracy. The Low setting is the most accurate, while the High setting can be useful as a rough indication of depth of field.

It's worth trying the different colours. Yellow works best for me.
 
olstrup said:
ECT said:
Thank you for all posts...... but I'm now more confused than before :-O
Click to expand...
That's what if often happens on a site like this with many different opinions.
olstrup said:
I'm thinking of buying a cheap A7 and an adapter and give it a try. When I know the outcome I can always sell it again and buy A7ii or what ever comes up on Photo Kina.
Click to expand...
Great idea. It's no big deal. Get an A7 and a good "dumb" adapter and you are ready to go. If you stick to your Leica M lenses and manual focus, you may not want/need to go any further than that.
Click to expand...
However, results with wide angle lenses may not be as good as with the more recent sensors.

The idea does make sense for testing whether the focus is practical and whether you feel comfortable with the camera.
olstrup said:
olstrup said:
If I don't like the result I have to find another way buying a complete new system with AF. But I don't like this solution as I love my Leica glass!
Click to expand...
I feel the same way. The reason I got my Sony camera was to get my old beloved Leica M lenses back into active use again after 15 years with Nikon DSLR gear. It works very well for me. The one lens I can't use is the Elmarit 21mm which causes color shift in the corners (but no smear). Instead I have invested in a WATE which works fine.
Click to expand...
 
That is exactly what I intend to do.

Also to compare the files from Sony, which I only know from my old RX 100 ii.

By the way, my wife uses the RX 100 ii now, taking pictures of our grand children and she is very happy with it.
 
ECT said:
I'm now looking for a second hand A7 to test it with my Leica lenses before putting too much money in it.

Another question before I have the possibility to try it out myself is how the sensor is compare to the one used in M9. Have anybody already compared this?
Click to expand...
 
D Cox said:
mtakeda said:
I too have a little difficulty in using focus peaking of A7r2. It does not give me sharp images even though the sign of peaking there. I guess I have to know the accurate point of peaking but do not know. Any advice?
Click to expand...
Remember that Low, Medium and High are tolerance, not accuracy. The Low setting is the most accurate, while the High setting can be useful as a rough indication of depth of field.

It's worth trying the different colours. Yellow works best for me.
Click to expand...
The amount of peaking also depends a lot on the lens used. Typically, very good lenses will have more peaking (more contrast?). In some cases the entire viewfinder is lit up, even with the low setting (which is what I always use). But all is not lost: while focusing you can identify a "band of focus", which is roughly your DOF, and move it so that it's centered on your subject.
 
blacksinner said:
ECT said:
I'm now looking for a second hand A7 to test it with my Leica lenses before putting too much money in it.

Another question before I have the possibility to try it out myself is how the sensor is compare to the one used in M9. Have anybody already compared this?

--
Erik
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first generation of A7 is not something you can compare if you use leica lens, corner smearing and purple color cast like in voigtlander 21mm f4 for example. M9 is absolute winner. but you can compare to A7RII which the sensor stack is thinner. the smearing and color cast is much improve. you can rent it nearby for the weekend and test it yourself. if you'd like to know just the general color or looking but not looking for sharpness, yes you can try the A7.
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I have both the A7 and the A7RII. The wides I have which work well (Summicron 35 IV and WATE 16-18-21), work equally well on both.

The lenses which don't work well will have less color cast on the A7RII, but the the gain in corner sharpness is marginal. There are also some programs or routines which will reduce color cast. Basically, I find it much easier and better to just use the "good" lenses on both...

Also, IIRC, the A7RII's sensor stack isn't thinner.
 
Rol Lei Nut said:
D Cox said:
mtakeda said:
I too have a little difficulty in using focus peaking of A7r2. It does not give me sharp images even though the sign of peaking there. I guess I have to know the accurate point of peaking but do not know. Any advice?
Click to expand...
Remember that Low, Medium and High are tolerance, not accuracy. The Low setting is the most accurate, while the High setting can be useful as a rough indication of depth of field.

It's worth trying the different colours. Yellow works best for me.
Click to expand...
The amount of peaking also depends a lot on the lens used. Typically, very good lenses will have more peaking (more contrast?). In some cases the entire viewfinder is lit up, even with the low setting (which is what I always use). But all is not lost: while focusing you can identify a "band of focus", which is roughly your DOF, and move it so that it's centered on your subject.
Click to expand...
Right. But there are more variables than that.

The peaking is derived from differentiating -- or something similar -- the viewfinder horizontal scan lines:

http://blog.kasson.com/?p=11118

Thus the amount of peaking depends on focusing, but also on subject contrast, image contrast as mediated by lens quality and magnification, subject orientation, and camera orientation, as well as which sensitivity you choose.

Jim

--
http://blog.kasson.com
 
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D Cox said:
mtakeda said:
I too have a little difficulty in using focus peaking of A7r2. It does not give me sharp images even though the sign of peaking there. I guess I have to know the accurate point of peaking but do not know. Any advice?
Click to expand...
Remember that Low, Medium and High are tolerance, not accuracy. The Low setting is the most accurate, while the High setting can be useful as a rough indication of depth of field.

It's worth trying the different colours. Yellow works best for me.
Click to expand...
I have found that the setting for peaking is not monotonically related to accuracy of focus achieved. The most accurate setting in my experience depends on finder magnification, the nature of the subject, the aperture of the lens, the orientation of the subject and the camera, and maybe a few more things.

Jim
 
ECT said:
I'm now looking for a second hand A7 to test it with my Leica lenses before putting too much money in it.

Another question before I have the possibility to try it out myself is how the sensor is compare to the one used in M9. Have anybody already compared this?
Click to expand...
I have both. The a7 sensor, while not state of the art even when the camera first shipped, is, IMHO, superior to that of the M9. It certainly has more dynamic range and better performance at high ISOs. With the M9, the performance actually gets worse once you turn the ISO dial past 640. The a7 sensor has less aliasing problems, and slightly higher resolution.

Loading…

blog.kasson.com

M9 pattern noise is good to average: http://blog.kasson.com/?p=7812

I haven't tested the a7 for pattern noise, but the a7II, which has a sensor that is extremely similar if not identical, does well there.

The M9 has a different optical frequency response, different capture metameric errors, and different color rendering. Some people like that look, and complained bitterly when the M240, which has different optical frequency characteristics, came out. The a7 is more like the M240.

Jim
 
blacksinner said:
ECT said:
I'm now looking for a second hand A7 to test it with my Leica lenses before putting too much money in it.

Another question before I have the possibility to try it out myself is how the sensor is compare to the one used in M9. Have anybody already compared this?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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