Lens compatibility for Sony A7s or full-frame in general

[miketurner]

I'm new here (despite being a long term lurker - one year and counting) and overall I'm new to filmmaking.  I have been doing this for a year, partially for fun and partially for creating corporate videos, for the company I work with.  Thus far (and partially due to this blog) I have acquired a GH3, BMPCC and have a GH4 on the way.  Because these are obviously all m43 mount cameras and since my first was the GH3, I made a decision to focus on collecting a mixture of m43 glass and vintage glass (to use with adapters/speedbooster etc.)  Now with that said, I have been rather captivated by the idea of adding an A7s to the collection (mainly for it's low-light capabilities).  But, before doing so, I wanted to know what glass which I currently own I could use on it.  I have never owned or used full frame before (despite reading about the pros/cons of operation online - i.e. focus distancing etc.) and therefore, still haven't fully grasped the differences between lenses for sensor sizes.  (Yes, I have some reading up to do - I haven't really studied too much the past six months, but just focused on experimenting without the technical know-how clouding my focus!).  

 

At this time, I only have a small modest collection that I've been building over the last year, but this is what I have (I've put in brackets my guesses as to whether they will work on FF (A7s)):-

 

Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 [Yes?]
Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 [Yes?]
Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 [Yes?]

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 [Yes?]

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 [Yes?]

 

Contax Yashica 25mm f/2.8 [No?]
Helios 44M 58mm f/2.0 [No?]
Vivitar 28-90mm f/2.8 [No?]

 

Panasonic 14-42mm f/3.5 MFT [NO]

Nokton 25mm f/0.95 MFT [NO]

SLR Magic 12mm f/1.6 MFT [NO]

SLR Magic 50mm f/0.95 MFT [NO]

 

Any way, any help in correctly identifying FF suitable glass would be greatly appreciated. I assume the top five listed above would work? But this is based on guesstimation from some minor browsing over the past week. Finally, do you think metabones could possibly come up with an adapter to utilize MFT glass on full-frame, or is that a technical impossibility? Physics et cetera is far from my forte...

 

Thanks for reading and thanks for any pointers!

 

Cheers!

 

Mike

[jgharding]

The A7s may have an APS-C mode too. Some corrections/confirmations in bold here:

 

***

 

Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 [Yes?]  -  YES
Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 [Yes?]  -  YES
Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 [Yes?]  -  YES

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 [Yes?]   -  FF NO (APSC YES)

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 [Yes?]   -  FF NO (APSC YES)

 

Contax Yashica 25mm f/2.8 [No?]   -  YES
Helios 44M 58mm f/2.0 [No?]  -   YES
Vivitar 28-90mm f/2.8 [No?]  -   YES 

 

(three above are all full-frame film lenses)

 

Panasonic 14-42mm f/3.5 MFT [NO] 

Nokton 25mm f/0.95 MFT [NO]

SLR Magic 12mm f/1.6 MFT [NO]

SLR Magic 50mm f/0.95 MFT [NO]

 

None of the above will work, all MFT lenses.

 

***

 

MFT on Full Frame won't happen, use full-frame glass for full frame. A speed booster from Medium format to full frame may happen, you never know...

[Andrew Reid]

Anything for a film camera / SLR or full frame DSLR will fit.

 

Anything for an APS-C camera will not cover, though the Sigma 18-35mm at the 35mm end and the Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 at 16mm do actually cover, but the corners go mental!

 

Seems like you would benefit from a copy of this Mike. http://www.eoshd.com/eoshd-shooters-guide-sony-a7-a7r-lenses

 

Welcome to the forum :)

[Bob Wall]

With the caveat that the Tokina is "half" usuable in FF - it's fine from 14mm-16mm. 

[miketurner]

Wow!!  I am very grateful for this confirmation!  This is very useful to me to know! :-) Looks like I have a bit more glass than I originally assumed to use on full-frame.  I'm going to wait for Andrew to do a thorough review on here and also check out upcoming reviews on other sites, before pulling the trigger.  Side note:  does anyone know the ETA for the ninja shogun?  

 

 

The A7s may have an APS-C mode too. Some corrections/confirmations in bold here:

 

***

 

Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 [Yes?]  -  YES
Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 [Yes?]  -  YES
Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 [Yes?]  -  YES

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 [Yes?]   -  FF NO (APSC YES)

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 [Yes?]   -  FF NO (APSC YES)

 

Contax Yashica 25mm f/2.8 [No?]   -  YES
Helios 44M 58mm f/2.0 [No?]  -   YES
Vivitar 28-90mm f/2.8 [No?]  -   YES 

 

(three above are all full-frame film lenses)

 

Panasonic 14-42mm f/3.5 MFT [NO] 

Nokton 25mm f/0.95 MFT [NO]

SLR Magic 12mm f/1.6 MFT [NO]

SLR Magic 50mm f/0.95 MFT [NO]

 

None of the above will work, all MFT lenses.

 

***

 

MFT on Full Frame won't happen, use full-frame glass for full frame. A speed booster from Medium format to full frame may happen, you never know...

 

[miketurner]

Thanks for the welcome Andrew!  :)

 

I have bookmarked your ebook for the A7s and will certainly purchase it ensuring I get the A7s. :-)  Currently based on the few videos I've seen, I'm certainly leaning towards adding a full-frame camera to the arsenal.  I was planning the 5D mk3 for this purpose a few months ago, but then put the idea on the back burner.  Now with the A7s, my interest is perked up again.  I'm just waiting for your review of it really, as you do some of the most thorough reviews of cameras with a balanced focus between the positives and negatives.  I'm not in a major rush, but, some of the full frame footage (5D mk3) I've seen is really nice with the Canon 50mm f/1.2L.  I may pick one of those up one of these days too... 

 

Thanks again!!

Anything for a film camera / SLR or full frame DSLR will fit.

 

Anything for an APS-C camera will not cover, though the Sigma 18-35mm at the 35mm end and the Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 at 16mm do actually cover, but the corners go mental!

 

Seems like you would benefit from a copy of this Mike. http://www.eoshd.com/eoshd-shooters-guide-sony-a7-a7r-lenses

 

Welcome to the forum :)

[miketurner]

Thanks for this Bob! :-)  

 

Mike

 

With the caveat that the Tokina is "half" usuable in FF - it's fine from 14mm-16mm. 

[noone]

 

The A7s may have an APS-C mode too. Some corrections/confirmations in bold here:

 

 

 

Panasonic 14-42mm f/3.5 MFT [NO] 

Nokton 25mm f/0.95 MFT [NO]

SLR Magic 12mm f/1.6 MFT [NO]

SLR Magic 50mm f/0.95 MFT [NO]

 

None of the above will work, all MFT lenses.

 

***

 

MFT on Full Frame won't happen, use full-frame glass for full frame. A speed booster from Medium format to full frame may happen, you never know...

 

Actually, MFT lenses will fit on the A7 cameras.

The registration distance is 2mm longer than E mount and there are adapters available on EBAY.

 

Most M43 lenses will be useless (or next to) though because there is no control over anything.   Whatever aperture and distance you have  when mounted is all you get.    The zooms you also get focal range of course.

 

If those lenses have a aperture ring and mechanical focus (not by wire), then they WOULD be useable.    In FF mode I would think they would all have vignetting but in APSC crop mode would likely be good.     The 14-42 zoom would be ok for video on an A7 variant camera I think at the short end in APSC mode as the depth of field would be deep enough for a lot of uses.    Still, I would only think of using it if it was the only lens you had available and the camera was the only one as well.    

 

I think it would be worth someone's time to experiment with an A7s for video (doubt it would be worth it for stills), A7 and it could be of some limited use for both and the A7R might even be good for stills and limited ok for video.

[noone]

I just went out and took this with the A7 in APSC mode with the Olympus 14-42 II kit lens at about 17mm.    There is still heavy vignetting at 14mm even in APSC and it comes back a bit towards 42mm but the depth of field is too shallow at longer focal lengths.

 

[icarrere]

I am wondering if It would worth it to buy a Tokina 11-16 to use it in APSC mode and if I buy a Tokina Sony mount if I could use the autofocus (face recognition mode) ...

 

Anybody knows??

 

(excuse my english...)

[leeys]

It's easy to figure out - as long as it's for a 35mm film camera it'll work. If it's for an APS DSLR you'll need to look around as some lenses have ranges that might work. If it's for mirrorless digital cameras then it's a no.