NikonGear'23

Gear Talk => Lens Talk => Topic started by: Jan Anne on June 18, 2015, 21:54:44

Title: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on June 18, 2015, 21:54:44
With the a7R MKII working so well with Canon EF and Sony A lenses I'm getting excited about the possibilities with an electronic Nikon F to Sony E adapter with lenses like the 300/4VR PF, etc but non is available at the moment.

But according to this news item on SAR hope is on the way  :)
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new-nikon-f-to-sony-e-mount-electronic-adapter-coming-soon/ (http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new-nikon-f-to-sony-e-mount-electronic-adapter-coming-soon/)

If so the Sony a7R MKII is not only a universal full frame camera with almost all manual focus lenses but soon also with most full frame AF lenses, one can literally cherry pick the best lenses from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leica, Contax, etc and use them on one camera, exiting times for sure.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on June 18, 2015, 22:10:53
You are understandably thrilled ...

Hopefully this new gadget isn't carrying too steep a price tag.

I might want to check whether Sony cameras can be converted to UV use.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Intrepid on June 18, 2015, 22:11:15
Good news!  Even if the AF is pi** poor as with the EF lenses one operate the aperture and take photos.

I still regret selling my 14-24/2.8, btw.  :'(
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on June 18, 2015, 22:13:41
I wouldn't dream of putting AF(S) lenses on such a camera. Manual focusing lenses for UV or IR, now that would be more interesting.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: armando_m on June 18, 2015, 22:15:31
Good news!  Even if the AF is pi** poor as with the EF lenses one operate the aperture and take photos.

I still regret selling my 14-24/2.8, btw.  :'(
AF on sony is still crappy ? that's the main reason I sold my Nex5n ... over 2 yrs ago
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Intrepid on June 18, 2015, 22:20:25
Armando, AF of EF (canon EOS) lenses via the current adapter on a Sony camera is bad.  There are claims that the new A7R II would make even those very fast. 

If I compare the A7s to the NEX-5n with the system lenses, the AF speed has jumped enormously. 

The A7R II is very different beast to the digital world.  I will buy one but at my own pace and for the price I have fixed for it.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Intrepid on June 18, 2015, 22:21:09
I wouldn't dream of putting AF(S) lenses on such a camera. Manual focusing lenses for UV or IR, now that would be more interesting.

I would but that is me.  :)
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on June 18, 2015, 22:23:45
Then you have different priorities, which is of course just fine with me.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Intrepid on June 18, 2015, 22:27:20
I know it is sacrilege to some (no offense intended at all). 
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Michael Erlewine on June 19, 2015, 00:15:30
I use large and heavy lenses. I had the A7s and the A&r and returned them. What I would like to see, of course, is a Nikon D900 with 54 mpx, a better-yet Live View (or very good EVF), and still have ISO 64.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Frank Fremerey on August 23, 2015, 17:36:29
As I read the AF on the A7R2 with Canon EF adapter challenges the speed of the Canon AF system (source: http://briansmith.com ).

So if someone makes an adapter I will surely test my Nikkors against the Sony / Zeiss / Sony-Zeiss offerings before deciding which stays and which goes.

I only have very faint hope left that the Nikon D5 will challenge the A7R2 in any important aspect, so the Sony might become my new F (and If I have to add dumb weight in the form of a 10.000 shot Battery-pack just for counterweight purposed, Michael).

IBI Stabilization on any lens?
Leica-Q-quality EVF?
Full frame read out and binning?
Backlit CMOS with huge effective Quantum Efficiency?

I do not see any of this coming in the D5
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on August 23, 2015, 17:40:31
Whats the point of comparing a D5 with an a7RII??

One is a low res high speed camera and the other is a high res low speed camera like the Nikon D810 and Canon 5DR.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Frank Fremerey on August 23, 2015, 18:22:14
The point for me is that I am not an action shooter, BUT I am a HighIso shooter and I like a robust camera and I like a HighRes camera with IBIS

So you are right: The A7R2 is not robust it seems, pity. I have to put her into protective housing like my Smartphone?

-- High Frame Rate is irrelevant to me.
-- IBIS & HighRes seems a perfect match to me.
-- High ISO seems to work well with the backlit sensor if the first examples are a good hint on what is to be expected.

I tend not to buy the D5 and the A7R2. When I do buy into Sony I am destined to deinvest from Nikon, so starting point might be replacing one box and a few lenses and/or E-to-F adapter
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on August 23, 2015, 22:35:42
Once again your logic escapes me....
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on August 23, 2015, 22:58:10
Nobody possibly except within the Nikon engineerin labs can know anything about a D5. Thus any speculations thereof are a massive waste of time. Comparing a purely hypothetical camera to alternatives is even more futile.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: tommiejeep on August 24, 2015, 03:16:24

"If so the Sony a7R MKII is not only a universal full frame camera with almost all manual focus lenses but soon also with most full frame AF lenses, one can literally cherry pick the best lenses from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leica, Contax, etc and use them on one camera, exiting times for sure."

Certainly the reason I am interested in a a7 series  :).  I am becoming more adept at MF and enjoying the older lenses more.  I shot an event yesterday with the Df, 75-150E and the D750,24-120vr (for action) and had more fun with the Df.  Having IBIS for the MF lenses sounds very good.  I may get a Nikon F to M43 adapter and give the EM1 a try  ;)

 My Df/D750 are not going anywhere or a selection of my Nikon gear but could do some house cleaning of some bodies and lenses.

I am thinking it may be still to early to put my money into Sony.   I will probably wait until the a7sII shows up.  I am very interested in a silent, high iso body for various events/functions.  I would not think of it as an 'action' set up.  I am wondering about what sensor will show up in an 7sII.  At the rate Sony is pumping out bodies (and the rapid price drop on the earlier editions) I will probably hang tight .  Let the dust settle on the 12 bit question.   Interesting, I have not found any place where Sony provides details and info on how the various functions are designed to work much less any tutorials  :( .  Certainly the size differential is becoming much less important consideration.

An a7xx without vid would really suit me.... fat chance  ;D  I'll order the AW1 for my wife (and FT-1 for me  :) ) today.  Let some air out of the GAS and take the Df out for a spin  :)
Tom
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on August 25, 2015, 22:02:09
Update on the Commlite Nikon F to Sony E autofocus adapter plus more images:
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/worlds-first-nikon-f-to-e-mount-autofocus-adapter-will-get-full-a7rii-phase-detection-af-support/ (http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/worlds-first-nikon-f-to-e-mount-autofocus-adapter-will-get-full-a7rii-phase-detection-af-support/)

It looks a lot like my Commlite Canon EF to Sony E adapter which I paid around €65 for.

Meanwhile Finger released a Contax N (and 645) to Sony E autofocus adapter for ten times that price:
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/amazing-first-contax-n-lens-to-e-mount-af-adapter-autofocus-with-all-n-and-645-contax-zeiss-lenses/ (http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/amazing-first-contax-n-lens-to-e-mount-af-adapter-autofocus-with-all-n-and-645-contax-zeiss-lenses/)
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Frank Fremerey on August 26, 2015, 06:57:28
Logic? I am lusting for a full frame high res high iso digiback
for all of my lenses. I feel that the A7R2 seems to be a very
good candidate.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Frank Fremerey on August 26, 2015, 07:50:46
Logic Part 2

The other heart in my breast wants a hi res replacement for my D3
very robust and uncluttered

but

As I experience with my X100T very good IQ can also be had silently
and this. Silent operation. Cannot be had with Nikon yet.

Unsure are both of my hearts when it comes to size and weight.

An A7xx with the 90mm Macro is a very front heavy unergonomic
combination. Same with the ZEISS Batis.

Very well balanced is the A7xx with the 1.8/55 Sony.

As the battery life of the A7 series is a pity I think about adding a huge
and heavy battery pack to the A7R2.

In the end the balance looks like that:

With good glass both are heavy. Nikon much more rugged
and less cluttered.
The ergonomic point goes to Nikon.

D5 will not be 42MP. It is a sports shooter cam.
Resolution goes to Sony.

HiISO? Too early to call. But if "shot sclean up to 8000" holds true it is irrelevant.

Noise (as in exposure KLACK or click or zisch) goes to Sony.

Price goes to Sony. I get 3 pieces of great glass plus the body instead of body only.

service? I love my Nikon Professional Service. Hard. To. Beat.

Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on August 26, 2015, 09:00:01
A hands-on video with a pre-production Commlite Nikon F to Sony E autofocus adapter:
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/first-nikon-g-to-sony-e-mount-autofocus-adapter-hands-on-video-by-matt-granger/ (http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/first-nikon-g-to-sony-e-mount-autofocus-adapter-hands-on-video-by-matt-granger/)

Apparently Commlite has some work to do, also Matt doesn't really understand how Ai-S lenses work :)
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Frank Fremerey on August 26, 2015, 11:22:25
@Jan Anne: Yes, a long way to go. Thank you for sharing.  Let's see what Metabones will offer.

PS: It seems the AF part does currently only work on a very small selection of glass-camera-combinations, also with Metabones, who seem to get their act together with some Canon glass.

If that should stay that way, Sony is just another system that has to offer much more to make me sell all Nikon stuff and become an all Sony guy.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Frank Fremerey on August 26, 2015, 12:03:31
Here is a HUGE Test on all E-Mount-Adapters for lots of different brand lenses (mostly MF): http://briansmith.com/gear/sony-lens-adapters/
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on August 26, 2015, 12:15:46
Please be aware that Brian is paid by Sony to tell you how great the a7 series is, so he is a little biased.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: tommiejeep on August 26, 2015, 13:47:29
J A, well aware of Brian  ;) .   Just have to accept he is part of Sony marketing    :( .  He shows images taken with adapters but can the adapters consistently perform  or  are the images the results of multiple attempts ???   I'm not sure how many of my concerns with the a7 series can be addressed by firmware.  Moving the Focus point is one of my concerns.  Dead easy with the multi selector on the Nikons.   Looking at the Sony alpha forums it seems that many concerns have been around since the a7/a7R.  Some have been addressed in the new models but not all.

As much as I like the concept of the A7 series I'm not sure the Sony designers and Techs really know how to use a camera ;) . I was initially unhappy with the EM5 ergonomics, controls and menus but now have the EM1 set up for very quick use.  Have you been able to set your a7s up so that it does not require a lot of menu diving?  The Olympus Super Control Panel is a great item but I rarely even need to use it.
Cheers,
Tom
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on September 15, 2015, 07:33:52
Good news, Commlite added phase detection support which improved the performance considerably :)
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new-commlite-nikon-f-to-sony-e-mount-tested-on-the-a7rii-first-video-shows-dramatically-improved-performance/ (http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new-commlite-nikon-f-to-sony-e-mount-tested-on-the-a7rii-first-video-shows-dramatically-improved-performance/)
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Frank Fremerey on September 15, 2015, 08:07:39
Very interesting. Esp. because the 1.4/50G is rather slow in its
AF performance even on strong Nikon Bodies. Thank You.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on December 22, 2015, 21:48:08
A second Nikon F to Sony FE autofocus adapter is on it's way, this one focusses pretty quick with the 70-300VR and 50/1.8G which are not the quickest focussing Nikon lenses around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JUIGmkC_Ys

Source:
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/nikon-f-to-sony-fe-autofocus-adapter-gets-another-improvement-boost-watch-video/
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Frank Fremerey on December 23, 2015, 07:17:41
Thank you, Jan. I wait for the D5 ansd see if I like it. If not I still have to decide if I go the Fuji or the Sony way.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: tommiejeep on December 23, 2015, 08:07:51
It is really good news that there may be some competition  :)  I was pretty surprised at the price of the pre-orders for the Commlite  >:(.  Not a very good Vid but we'll have to wait and see.
Tom
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on December 23, 2015, 10:24:06
Same here, I bought the Commlite Canon EF to Sony E adapter for roughly 80 euros (GBP55) so was a bit in shock to see the 300 euro price tag. Those prices is Metabones territory but without the option to update the firmware, a no go zone for knowing how much the performance has been improved with firmware updates.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: tommiejeep on December 23, 2015, 11:18:14
I certainly agree ,  I can get a very good MF lens for the price they are asking  ;) .  There are probably just a few of my AFS Nikons I would use with any regularity.  Probably spend more time playing with Focus Peaking and magnification on the 500vr in MF for some sitting birds :) .
Tom
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: bjornthun on December 23, 2015, 13:03:09
I guess that an adapter with the mehanics to actuate the aperture stop down lever in the Nikon lenses will have to cost more than the purely electronic EOS to NEX adapters.
Title: Re: New Nikon F to Sony E-mount electronic autofocus adapter coming soon!
Post by: Jan Anne on December 27, 2015, 20:10:50
Another video of the brand less Nikon AF adapter, now with the 70-200/2.8VR and again the 70-300VR
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new-video-demo-of-the-brand-new-nikon-f-to-sony-e-mount-autofocus-adapter-by-steel-chen/ (http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new-video-demo-of-the-brand-new-nikon-f-to-sony-e-mount-autofocus-adapter-by-steel-chen/)

AF performance seems to be good enough for my causal kind of shooting.