Affordaple full frame for vintage lenses

[mollemolle]

I'm looking to upgrade my camera to a full-frame.

Originally I was interested in the Canon 5D Mark II but I found out Canon and Nikon aren't good for vintage lenses because of something with aperture/flange something (I'm not too well known in the technical terms).

I know the SMC 50 1.4 has this problem on Canon.

So now I'm looking at the Sony A7 II (or maybe the first version. I need to read up a bit more). But I'm not really sure of what else is on the marked

So my question is if there are any other full-frame cameras I should look at which won't interfere with my lenses?
My max price range is the same as a used Sony A7 II. And I don't really care about video quality or any other too "unnecessary" functions

Thanks!

 

[QuietOC]

Almost any vintage lens can be used with almost any mirrorless camera body. The filter stack on top of digital sensors does change focus plane curvature and sometimes smearing with vintage lenses. Most of the time it isn't a huge issue. Sony does use a fairly thick filter stack.

The A7II works well with most vintage lenses. Sony E-mount probably has the most adapters available. There's an AF adapter for Leica M-mount that can be used with additional adapters for other mounts. There are several EF adapters that allow AF.

There's an adapter that allows Nikon Z-series cameras to use Sony E-mount lenses. It doesn't work with E-mount AF adapters attached.

 

[rich_cx139]

I'm looking to upgrade my camera to a full-frame.

Originally I was interested in the Canon 5D Mark II but I found out Canon and Nikon aren't good for vintage lenses because of something with aperture/flange something (I'm not too well known in the technical terms).
I know the SMC 50 1.4 has this problem on Canon.

So now I'm looking at the Sony A7 II (or maybe the first version. I need to read up a bit more). But I'm not really sure of what else is on the marked
So my question is if there are any other full-frame cameras I should look at which won't interfere with my lenses?
My max price range is the same as a used Sony A7 II. And I don't really care about video quality or any other too "unnecessary" functions

Thanks!

A7ii is a pretty sound choice. It has IBIS which helps in some circumstances. Generally better in many respects than the original A7 - which I had for some time just for manual lenses.

You can adapt most things to the Sony A7 series with the caveat that some wide angle rangefinder lenses can suffer from corner blurr. This is probably true for all FF mirrorless bodies except when the sensor glass has been modified specially and expensively. The A7Rii is possibly better for RF lenses but costs more used. It seems to be the preferred body for adapted lenses AFAIK - have a look at the “adapted lens forum”

You can use aps-c like the sony a6xxx range but you either need a or several focal reducers or make do with a narrower field of view. I used a nex6 like this but much preferred using a full frame camera.

I use a nikon z6 now but I have a lot of nikon lenses.

 

[mollemolle]

Yeah the A7R II is 200 euro more than A7 II so used it's probably too much for my budget (but ill look for it and see if there's a good deal)

I thought about Nikon (or Canon) but there seems to some issue with some vintage lenses so right now I'm trying to look for something else. I had my mind set on a Canon 5D until I found out about the flange issue...

 

[mollemolle]

Are they any other mirrorless cameras besides the Sony A7 in that price area? It's a jungle for me out there so I don't know if I'm missing other models/brands to look for

 

[Mark S Abeln]

This article explains it:

Flange focal distance - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[DavidP03]

I'm looking to upgrade my camera to a full-frame.

Originally I was interested in the Canon 5D Mark II but I found out Canon and Nikon aren't good for vintage lenses because of something with aperture/flange something (I'm not too well known in the technical terms).
I know the SMC 50 1.4 has this problem on Canon.

So now I'm looking at the Sony A7 II (or maybe the first version. I need to read up a bit more). But I'm not really sure of what else is on the marked
So my question is if there are any other full-frame cameras I should look at which won't interfere with my lenses?
My max price range is the same as a used Sony A7 II. And I don't really care about video quality or any other too "unnecessary" functions

Thanks!

What mount are your vintage lenses?
David.

 

[rich_cx139]

Are they any other mirrorless cameras besides the Sony A7 in that price area? It's a jungle for me out there so I don't know if I'm missing other models/brands to look for

Not that I know of - for full frame. The Sony A7x series is what most people use and the new nikon or canon mirrorless are more expensive than used FF Sonys.

As I said ( and you said full frame ) there are smaller sensor sizes but to convert wide angle lenses to give the same field of view you would need focal reducers which will work out more than getting a full frame camera in the first place. Fujifilm, micro four thirds and the aps-c Sony NEX and A6xxx series take adapted lenses well.

The a7ii, if that is in your budget, is likely your best option by far. As I said, I used the original A7 also and that works well but no IBIS. Nice camera I thought and worked well with my lenses. Lots of adapters and advice from dpreview forums available.

The link by Mark Scott Abeln adobe explains the limitations of what lenses can possibly be adapted to what bodies IF adapters are actually available. So for a Nikon dslr there are very few lenses with flange distances greater than its 46.5mm. For a canon DSLR , which has a flange distance of 44mm there are just a few more eg contax/yashica.

Sony A7 mirrorless has a flange distance of 18mm so lots can be adapted

Philip Reeve’s site is a blog about the sony a7. lots of information there are here is his view on the a7 vs a7ii

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/sony-a7ii-vs-sony-a7/

They, like most enthusiast sites, have a definite bias and you will find little on some of the best mf:vintage lenses there. dpreview adapted lens forum has a far broader and deeper knowledge base if you dig around in it.

 

[Craig Gillette]

Sony is the most mentioned because they were making FF mirrorless cameras (of the sort being addressed here) several years before the competition entered the field. So just like 3rd party lenses or camera models, having been at it longer there are more adapters to adapt to Sony. Also a camera maker will be more likely to concentrate their efforts on getting adapters to their earlier lenses in place, so Sony makes adapters for Sony/Minolta Alpha/Maxxum lenses, Canon for Canon lenses, etc. Sigma, however, makes adapters the hope that you'll buy a Sigma lens and adapter.

 

[a_c_skinner]

For old lenses the rational choice is Sony full frame, limited only by your budget. Lots of adaptors. The bottom end Canon and Nikons will work too, just look at prices and check the adaptors are on the market or it may be a long time before you actually get to use the stuff.

--
Andrew Skinner

 

[mollemolle]

Thanks.

Do you know if non fullframe cameras from Nikon/Canon have a problem with the flange thing or is it only fullframe?

 

[mollemolle]

Thanks, Mark!

 

[mollemolle]

It's the M42 (besides one which I only use very limited).

 

[mollemolle]

Thanks! It seems like Sony is the way to go if I wont to go full-frame.

 

[mollemolle]

Are they any other mirrorless cameras besides the Sony A7 in that price area? It's a jungle for me out there so I don't know if I'm missing other models/brands to look for

As I said ( and you said full frame ) there are smaller sensor sizes but to convert wide angle lenses to give the same field of view you would need focal reducers which will work out more than getting a full frame camera in the first place. Fujifilm, micro four thirds and the aps-c Sony NEX and A6xxx series take adapted lenses well.

Thank you for the explanation.
Since English isn't my first language and talking about cameras only make it harder, are you suggesting I could also get a non-full-frame camera and buy a focal reducer? If so, what are the price range of a decent one?

 

[New Day Rising]

Thanks.
Do you know if non fullframe cameras from Nikon/Canon have a problem with the flange thing or is it only fullframe?

Nikon and Canon "crop sensor" (APS-C) DSLRs have the same flange distance as their full frame counterparts, so the same issue.

But Nikon and Canon APS-C mirrorless (and the now discontinued Nikon 1 inch mirrorless) have the same benefits in this regard as full frame mirrorless.

So basically, whatever applies to fullframe applies to non fullframe.

 

[mollemolle]

Thanks.
Do you know if non fullframe cameras from Nikon/Canon have a problem with the flange thing or is it only fullframe?

Nikon and Canon "crop sensor" (APS-C) DSLRs have the same flange distance as their full frame counterparts, so the same issue.

But Nikon and Canon APS-C mirrorless (and the now discontinued Nikon 1 inch mirrorless) have the same benefits in this regard as full frame mirrorless.

So basically, whatever applies to fullframe applies to non fullframe.

Thanks for explaining.

If I decide not to go for a FF (still debating with myself) I'll might check out their APSC mirrorless models

 

[rich_cx139]

Are they any other mirrorless cameras besides the Sony A7 in that price area? It's a jungle for me out there so I don't know if I'm missing other models/brands to look for

As I said ( and you said full frame ) there are smaller sensor sizes but to convert wide angle lenses to give the same field of view you would need focal reducers which will work out more than getting a full frame camera in the first place. Fujifilm, micro four thirds and the aps-c Sony NEX and A6xxx series take adapted lenses well.

Thank you for the explanation.
Since English isn't my first language and talking about cameras only make it harder, are you suggesting I could also get a non-full-frame camera and buy a focal reducer? If so, what are the price range of a decent one?

I was mentioning some more options and it’s up to you of course but if your main interest is in using vintage slr glass then I would go full frame - that is what I did eventually getting to an A7.

My advice is A7 then A7ii then A7Rii ( better ) though ANY of these should do what you want.

Using focal reducers is messy second rate imho to using a full frame sensor - you are adding more glass elements which compromise the performance to some extent although you can get nearly another stop.

Costs for focal reducers range from 140-150 for Zhongyi to 600 plus for metabones

 

[Craig Gillette]

Aps-c bodies are typically less expensive, sometimes because they offer fewer features, lower resolution, and mostly because the smaller sensor is less expensive to fabricate. If you put a full frame lens on an aps-c body, the smaller sensor crops the sides of the image off, much as would have happen if one trimmed the edges of a film frame. If you put an aps-c lens on a full frame body, perhaps the system reads it's an aps-c lens and crops the portion of the sensor read/recorded or by the design of the lens, the projected image doesn't fully cover the larger sensor.

But for the most part, the lens mount system, in the front of the body and on the lens, is the same regardless of the size of the sensor which is internal to the camera body, behind the lens mount system. Sony has more aps-c and ff mirrorless bodies because they've been doing mirrorless longer but Canon and Nikon also have ff and aps-c mirrorless bodies now. I don't use adapters but believe with few exceptions they are aps-c/ff compatible.

Using an FF body gives the most flexibility because with the larger sensor, it images the way film and ff dslr lenses were intended and can use as much of the aps-c image as possible from the larger sensor.

 

[threw the lens]

You need FF mirrorless.

DSLR are not fun to focus old lenses with manually. They are designed for superior AF, not MF.

Particularly avoid DSLRs without live view because then you can only focus through the viewfinder.

There's no point in APS-c because you don't get the field of view intended when they made the 35mm format lens. You're never seeing the lens as it really was.

If you just want the cheapest, rubbishiest solution to use a manual focus lens on, you could get a Canon 20D for $50 sometimes and put a series of adapters on it for $5+ . But in my opinion it's not really worth doing.