The Sony a7s Nikon, Sigma, Canon and Konica Lens Experience.
Recently my department purchased the Sony A7s as our in house film production camera. On the heels of hype, tech spec, sample videos and chatter I jumped on this opportunity to grab it asap. Whereas my focus is primarily on video production I couldn't help my fascination with the full frame sensor and small form factor. This may or may not be as accurate/thorough of a technical breakdown as I would prefer, but I'm a busy dad and just don't have time to get into all of that. These images will just stand for themselves. Excuse the lack of variation as they are all of my daughter Sunflower, this is just an at home quick shot experience. Enjoy.
This first image is with the Sony A7s with the Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG lens, Metabones Ef-E Mount adapter. Soy ARW raw file edited in Lightroom. ISO 200 1/400 sec at f1.4. Naturally daylight through large window, morning beach cloud cover.
In regards to the AF control on the Metabones adapter, it definitely lags. Aperture control is great. $399.00 on www.bhphoto.com. Compared to my 60D I can fire off shots significantly faster with far more focus speed and accuracy. If I am trying to rip out a lot of photos using AF, forget about it with this setup. When you get the sot you want, it's gorgeous. But a bit more work to get there. Below is the Canon 60D shot with the Sigma Lens for reference.
Moving on...
Above shot is Sony A7s, Nikon 50mm f1.8 E-Series MF Lens Circa 1979-1981. ISO 640 1/200, f1.8. Metabones Nikon to NEX adapter. Read more about the lens here.
50mm back to back new school vs old school. This is my go to 50mm lens for all my video. It's a bit of a pancake lens, really short. A bit problematic when place on a 15mm rig setup for follow focus etc. But, I've loved it ever since landing it at a local thrift store for $15. Buttery pull on the focus ring. Perfect for video. Since this is a MF shot I didn't have the same qualms about it's speed to get the shot. However, since it shows me the image by default in the eye viewer every time, that makes it slow. But I'm sure I can change that I haven't explored that yet.
Let's jump to a wide shot with the Sony A7s, Canon 10-22mm EFS f3.5 Metabones Ef-E Mount Adapter. Shot at about 22mm ISO 640 f4.5 at 1/250.
Again, the issue is with the AF on shooting speed. In addition the barreling/vignetting is extremely prevalent. I would image at 22mm on a native Sony E-Mount lens this might look a lithe better. It does concern me a little with thinking of breaking out this lens for video. The APS-C Crop feature not his camera may be a big solution to this as it will step is up about 1.9x. Don't hold me to that number, that's a guess for sure. Still love the image though regardless.
These last two shots are pretty fun. I recently came into a trove of vintage gear. More on that later. This is the Sony A7s, Konica 80-200mm Hexanon Zoom AR f3.5 continuous MF Circa 1960-87 (This is the later model, the first has a silver focus ring I believe.) Neewer Fotga AR Mount -E Mount adapter. ISO 640 1/250.
I was very pleased with how easily I found the focus using this lens. The crazy thing is that it weighs (by feel) only a little heavier than the Sigma 50mm above. Meaning the 50mm is crazy heavy, this lens is expected to be heavy. For video I am very excited about this lens. I have the 85-200mm Canon EF lens which is considerably good for an upgraded kit lens. But this just feels so right for a variable zoom with MF.
I also have a 40mm Konica I have yet to shoot with. That will come later, hopefully with some video as well as that is the bread and butter for this camera. Please also consider that yes, there are edited and not intended to be a Raw image comparison. I wanted to observe the photos from an end of workflow POV. I edited these typically how I edit all of my photos.
In conclusion, I am wrestling with the form factor and button control on this. I love the look and weight and If I were pulling it out for a lot of street photography with a lightweight 50mm, this would be a no brainer. Or, if I was in a studio setup situation where I am not dependent on fast AF (with adapter. With a Sony native lens it's probably a different story). Even then though only at 12MP I might digress from that statement. For variable photography, outdoor lifestyle, run and gun I would have a hard time getting away from my EOS Canon 60D. No it's not full frame, but my point in that is the controls ergonomically just feel better. The Sony A7r might be inconsideration though as its full frame and why, 36MP or something? Crushing. In regards to video though I will take the time to get dirty with it. I'm not concerned about handling factor as it will be rigged and on handle or mount of some sort. It's small size becomes very attractive.
Thanks for reading, I've had a handful of friends asking a lot about this camera. I do really think Sony made a winner here in light of my criticisms on the photo side. I think the images are truly beautiful and I look forward to a lot more to come!
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