F to E mount Adapters RE: Ai Aperture, also E to Z

[Tristin]

Considering swapping my D750 for an A7rII and curious, are there any adapters that will communicate aperture on Ai/Ai-s lenses?  Ideally I would be able to use the camera in Aperture Priority.  Possible?  Thanks.

Edit: Now looking into the possibility of adapting E to Z as well.

[richardHaw]

dont do it!

short answer: NO

the Z6 is a better buy but still...

what you want is a Df

[tommiejeep]

Richard's short answer is correct.

What are your reasons for going to an a7rii? 

 I still have the a7rii and had the D750.   The a7rii is a very frustrating camera.  Super slow in most ways.  Nikon lenses work with dumb adapters.    If you are using for static objects it is fine bot for many other types of shooting it is a very slow camera.    I have given it to my son for his photography course work/assignments but that is primarily  (at this moment)  Studio and static  .   I started with a7ii, then a7rii and now a7iii.   The a7iii is the first one that allows me to shoot pretty much everything I want to shoot.   The D750 was one of my all time favourite cameras.   I am using Z6 and a7iii combo most of the time these days for most shooting.   The Df still gets some use and the D500 for certain shooting (birds and outdoor action events) .
If you have not used an a7rii , try to use one for a week or two.   For what, and how, I shoot it is just about my all time bad buy .   The Olympus EP3 joins it but was much cheaper .   You might want to message Jan Anne to get his views if he doesn't see this post.
If you do want to go Sony, the a7riii would be a better choice if you want/need higher MP otherwise the a7iii if 24MP is good for you.
Cheers,
Tom

[Tristin]

Decided to add UWA to my arsenal because I will be spending November in Poland and want to shoot plenty of cathedrals.  Settled on the Laowa 12/2.8 and honestly just really like the idea of having an affordable tilt lens, as Laowa offers a converter which adds tilt.  12/2.8 + 17/4 Tilt for $1250 is pretty stellar.  IS/Peaking always looked nice too, being that my normal use lenses are 50/1.2 and 105/1.8.  Really not a fan of EVFs at all, or Sony, but also can not afford Nikon's TS options. A7rIII/A7III/Z6 are out of my budget in the months preceding my trip, was hoping to sell my D750 and drop a few hundred to swap.  D750's resolution/capabilities are enough for my needs and, aside from candids of friends/family, I only shoot still scenes and don't own any AF lenses.


P.S.  Tried the Irix 11/4 first.  Avoid!  Strong frame-wide CA along with poor edges made images look, as my wife put it, "barfy".   I did find out I enjoy UWA though.

[tommiejeep]

Hi again Tristin,
I have never used a tilt shift so no idea.
If budget is a concern then why not look at an a7ii?
The biggest plus for me of the a7rii vs a7ii was the Silent shooting (a requirement for some of mine and my wife's commitments) and adjustable min. Shutter speed.
Yes, IBIS is very nice but peaking, on its' own, doesn't work for me.  Magnification is great for MF.
I am not ultra-wide shooter.  The VM 15 f4.5 iii is my widest.
There have been some real deals on the Sony a7ii but Sony is weird  with their special offers. Cheap and then back to list price until the next time.
Tom

[Tristin]

My wife has informed me the A7III/A7rIII are within reach.  How do they compare in terms of EVF performance and general handling/responsiveness?  The idea of not having an optical VF kinda breaks my heart honestly, so EVF performance is my main concern. 

[tommiejeep]

Tristin
I have not used an a7riii but the EVF is, according to long term Sony users, supposedly better than the a7iii.
I have very occasionally noticed a 'shimmering' of the EVF image on my a7iii.  Z6 Has better EVF.
I have been using EVF since original  EM5.
For action I still prefer OVF.
One thing to be aware of is listening to those who rave about "What you see is what you get".   That really depends on what settings you are using.  There are many inter-dependencies of settings and some are not consistent to what you might be shooting.
I rarely use all the functions of any camera.   I do not shoot vids but I  am very interested in AF, viewfinder lags, auto ISO, auto WB, metering and Buffers.   Those may not be that important for your shooting.
The a7riii has dropped in price big time.
Both a7riii and a7iii are much more responsive , faster and good battery life.  Lags are not as bad.   For my shooting the a9 is best Sony (action) but I bought Z6 for my long Nikon lenses.   You will have a learning curve going from OVF to EVF And DSLR to MILC.  Sony menus are not great.
This is from my phone so hope it makes sense

[Akira]

Considering swapping my D750 for an A7rII and curious, are there any adapters that will communicate aperture on Ai/Ai-s lenses?  Ideally I would be able to use the camera in Aperture Priority.  Possible?  Thanks.

Welcome back, Tristin!

You should be just fine with a dumb adapter, if you can forget about the EXIF data.  I used Sony NEX-5N/R/T this way with non-Ai, Ai and Ais lenses with aperture priority mode.

[Tristin]

Hey Akira, thanks.  Long time!  Life has been an absolute whirlwind the last few years, it is incredible how rapidly life can change.

I have been out of the camera loop and did not know the Z6 was affordable . . . now if I can find an E to Z adapter . . . never thought I would be looking to mount an F to an E mount adapter and then onto another adapter onto Z.  This is amusing.

So . . . E to Z?

[Akira]

Hey Akira, thanks.  Long time!  Life has been an absolute whirlwind the last few years, it is incredible how rapidly life can change.

I have been out of the camera loop and did not know the Z6 was affordable . . . now if I can find an E to Z adapter . . . never thought I would be looking to mount an F to an E mount adapter and then onto another adapter onto Z.  This is amusing.

So . . . E to Z?

Tristin, hope your life has changed for the better.

Here I found an E to Z adapter from Shoten brand:

https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1205691.html

This has no electric contact, though.  So, it is only usable with full manual lenses like those of Voigtlander.

TechArt makes one called TZE-01with the electric contacts:

https://techartpro.com/product/techart-sony-e-nikon-z-autofocus-adapter-tze-01/

[Tristin]

Changes in my life has indeed been for the better, thanks Akira!  And thanks for digging up the Shoten,  I'm not interested in paying extra for electric contacts.

Only now looked into the FTZ adapter, quite sad they didn't include an aperture feeler for Ai/Ai-s lenses.     What a missed opportunity.

[Akira]

Changes in my life has indeed been for the better, thanks Akira!  And thanks for digging up the Shoten,  I'm not interested in paying extra for electric contacts.

Only now looked into the FTZ adapter, quite sad they didn't include an aperture feeler for Ai/Ai-s lenses.     What a missed opportunity.

I haven't use Z6/7, but I wonder why they cannot meter based on the working aperture?  There are bunch of exotic lenses to adapt like CRT Nikkor or XR/TV Heligon.

[Hugh_3170]

Well they can and they do. 

What they cannot do is record the actual aperture used and you must focus and set the shot up at the working aperture and not with the lens fully open (or in practice at least opened up to f/5.6).

I haven't use Z6/7, but I wonder why they cannot meter based on the working aperture?  There are bunch of exotic lenses to adapt like CRT Nikkor or XR/TV Heligon.

[Akira]

Well they can and they do. 

What they cannot do is record the actual aperture used and you must focus and set the shot up at the working aperture and not with the lens fully open (or in practice at least opened up to f/5.6).

Thank you, Hugh, for the follow up.  That is true for any mirrorless cameras of any brands.

[John Geerts]

Changes in my life has indeed been for the better, thanks Akira!  And thanks for digging up the Shoten,  I'm not interested in paying extra for electric contacts.

Only now looked into the FTZ adapter, quite sad they didn't include an aperture feeler for Ai/Ai-s lenses.     What a missed opportunity.

Good to be back, Tristin.  There are works around, for Ai/Ai-s lenses.  (playing with the 20 storage possibilities for ai-ai-s- and older  lenses.   And one can assign button to that Non-Cpu-lens selection...

Zooming in (in the viewfinder and backscreen) when focussing is a big big plus on the Z6. I am pretty enthusiastic about the Z6. Image quality is superb and noise so good controlled.