Sony E-mount A7R Conversion

[Andrea B.]

While debating between converting a Nikon D750 or D610 (which I still cannot decide), I indulged myself in a Sony A7R broadband conversion.

 

WOO-HOO!!! B) B) B)

Sony, Sony, No Baloney.

 

I had wanted some camera with a shorter FFD than Nikon's long 46.50mm and Pentax's equally long 45.46mm in order to make use of various older lenses such as the lovely CZJ 60/4 UV-Objektiv in Exakta mount and my handful of Ebay finds which have varying mounts and FFDs. I had the good old Lumix GH1 for these lenses for many years, but it was getting a little long in the tooth. And the GH1, which has nice IQ, does lack a bit compared to recent cams. (I'm getting somewhat long in the tooth myself, but still have good image quality I hope. :D )

 

Getting this new A7R broadband is a little scary. I hope it does not turn out to be Andrea's Follycam. This A7R was the Sony body written about extensively because of shutter shock. I'm not seeing it, but there is a rather sproingy shutter. So I will have to investigate thoroughly. The firmware is up to v3 now, so I think a lot of the little things have been corrected.

 

But - so far, so good. The A7R is a very tidy, solid, well-made cam. Handles nicely. I do not find the menus intimidating as they are straightforward to access and read. The overall configuration needs an afternoon to sit down with the book and to decide how I want the buttons to operate. But that is something I enjoy and am looking forward to.

 

Of course, one never purchases just a camera. Hot on the heels of the A7R came a $300 box full of extra batteries, a charger, a remote and a battery grip. And hot on the heels of that came another $100 box full of mount adapters, step-rings and Sony mount caps. In for a penny, in for a pound. What else can one do?

 

The conversion was excellently and speedily performed by MaxMax this time. I rotate through converters in order to stay current with their performance. (Definitely not yet using Ebay converters though.)

 

It is almost time to get out there and get some actual UV photographs made. I will try to get some up soon with from the A7R. Meanwhile, let's see what you all have got? GO SHOOT UV!!!

[Andy Perrin]

Tell me, what was it about the A7R that made you want it in particular? I went with the Sony partly because I was put off by the larger bodies that other brands seemed to have, and I liked the mirrorless idea -- it seemed to allow a wider range of old manual lenses to be attached, even though Sony's own lens selection was rather limited.

[OlDoinyo]

It was my impression that the A7R and its ilk were shutterless--otherwise, how could they have live view? I do not understand the reference to a shutter. In any case, it is one of the fastest cameras out there, with ISO settings up to 115,200 (or is it even higher?) UV starlit landscapes might actually be within reach with this one (drool.)

[Andrea B.]

Tell me, what was it about the A7R that made you want it in particular?

 

I choose cameras for UV work which have good dynamic range and good high ISO capability, i.e. cameras which have the best sensors. That's it. I don't care about camera size, bells & whistles, stabilization or lack thereof, electronic viewfinders or lack thereof. This is not to say that I won't make use of any such nice features if they are present. :D

 

For Nikon my choices are something from the D600/610/750/810 group.

(We cannot convert the Nikon excellently sensored D4/D5 line because of that IR shutter monitor.)

From Pentax the K5 is the choice. (I don't yet know about the new Pentax full-frame.)

In mirrorless, Sony heads up the list with the A7 line. I got a good price on the older A7R and I wanted to try 36MP for UV.

 

I do not wish to come across as some kind of a sensor snob here. It is just that UV is inherently "dark & noisy". So at this point in my UV photography adventure, I have been treating myself to the good sensors. I worked my way up to them over the years. I put in a lot of time learning the craft on my old D200-broadband before moving up.

 

BTW, it is not mirrorless-ness per se which makes Sony a good choice for old manual lenses. Rather it is the shorter flange focal distance of Sony at 18mm which is useful. The micro 4/3 cameras also have a short FFD and are also easy to adapt for old manual lenses.

 

It was my impression that the A7R and its ilk were shutterless--otherwise, how could they have live view?

 

My various Nikons, the Pentax K5 and the Sony A7 line all have mechanical shutters and all have Live View. Some of them have an electronic first curtain capability also, but I don't recall which ones.

EDIT: The following was not well said because I did not qualify which camera I was referring to. But srsly this would NOT refer to my mirrorless Sony, would it?? :D

When you turn on Live View, the mirror goes up. When you take a foto in Live View, the mirror comes down then goes back up. Rather inefficient, but that is how mirror and Live View currently work together. There may be some variations depending on whether Mirror Up is set or not.

 

The Nikon Df has an ISO settings range of 100 - 204800. It would probably also make an excellent broadband camera. Gotta be careful though because all those super high ISO settings from both Nikon and Sony are not always useable in practice.

[JCDowdy]

I am not surprised, you have been hinting at doing this for a little while now! B)

 

I too have a Sony on my wish list. What I am perhaps a little surprised by is why you chose the A7R over the A7S?

At only 12MP the 7S may seem a step backward but, due to larger sensels, it is purported to be superior in terms of dynamic range and high ISO capability.

 

Looking forward to seeing how you like this Sony!

[OlDoinyo]

"Mirror Up" on a mirrorless camera?!

 

I find what you say interesting. I have been assuming that my A99V, which I use for ordinary photography, is shutterless, as it does not even seem to emit a noise at both ends of a long exposure (some shutterless cameras have speakers that emit bogus shutter sounds--go figure.) Now, I am not so sure...

[Alex H]

There is no "mirror up" in mirror-less cameras. All you can set it electronic first curtain shutter ON or OFF. Some newer CMOS models may have completely electronic shutters, similar to CCD point-and-shoot cameras with completely electronic shutters.

[Andrea B.]

?? My "Mirror Up" comment does not refer to a Mirrorless camera. How could it ?? I was referring to Nikon & Pentax bodies. C'mon guys.

 

My Sony A7R has a shutter.

The Alpha99 has a translucent mirror and a shutter: http://www.amazon.co...a/dp/B0096W1P6G

 

****

 

John, for close botanical work I want more pixels. The A7R has a stop more dynamic range than the A7S. The A7S has better high-ISO capability. But for the botanical work, I use UV-flash for fill and do not always need the highest-ISO camera. Thus the "more pixels" requirement won out and I got the A7R. :D

[Alex H]

You're joking, right?

[JCDowdy]

Well more pixels wins in this case then!

 

The limiting factor for me is usually price. :(

 

BTW, AR7 shutter looks like this:

[Andrea B.]

John, price indeed was a consideration !! The older A7R was much less expensive than the newer models. I have rather a lot of $$ sunk into this little "hobby" with no return except the thrill of making UV photographs. :D I didn't want to replace my short FFD Lumix. This time I wanted a better camera with a short FFD.

 

Alex, I'm really not sure what we are referring to at this point. Is the joke that my Sony has a shutter? Or that Live View uses mirror-up on a Nikon? I always thought it did anyway. Maybe it doesn't? I'll go read up to be sure.

[JCDowdy]

You made me Google....How live view works

[Andrea B.]

I've decided to give up for today on how Live View works. It may not be the same on all bodies. Or didn't used to be the same or something. I'm sure I had/have one where the mirror clacked down, up, down, up.

Oh well.

[Andrea B.]

All my Sony A7R adapters and lens caps and remote stuff has arrived, been unpacked and tested.

 

I got a Vello wireless remote and liked it so well that I'm going to order vesions for the K5 and the D600.

 

Funny thing - because the A7R has that short 18mm FFD, the 5 lenses I've selected to test on it appear HUGE on this small Sony body because of the length of the required mount adapter.

 

Yes, I'm absolutely going to make a foto to show you. I'm going to do this right now.

[Andy Perrin]

Hee, I noticed that my camera looks absurdly tiny with the lenses on there. The only thing I don't like about it is that the center of gravity ends up way out over the lens somewhere and so the camera wants to tip.

[Andrea B.]

OK, let's just say that it is a good thing that I do not have to earn a living as a product photographer!! I'm truly terrible at these kinds of shots. :D

 

From left to right:

• E. Ludwig 50/2.9 Meritar on Fotodiox Pro M42-Nex Type-1 Adapter
  
• Isco-Gottingen 35/3.5 Westron on Fotodiox Pro M42-Nex Type-1 Adapter
  
• Carl Zeiss Jena 60/4.0 UV-Objektiv on Fotodiox Pro Exa-Nex Adapter
  
• Vivitar 35/3.5 Wide Angle on Novoflex Nex/T2 Adapter
  
• Sony Alpha 7R with Vello FreeWave Plus Wireless Remote Control
  

The Vivitar rests on the Vello Remote Transmitter. The Receiver in the hotshoe can be removed and also used to fire the shutter if desired. Somewhere in the parts box, I have a double hotshoe fitting so that my UV-flash sync cord and the Receiver can co-exist on top of the camera.

 

On the bottom of the camera is a tripod plate for my Manfrotto pistol grip ball head. (Man, I surely do love that thing. So easy & precise!)

 

[renaud]

Sorry if I missed this but did you convert the camera yourself? Do you have pictures of the process?

[Andrea B.]

Renaud, no I did not perform the conversion myself. This camera was purchased from and converted by MaxMax.com.