[Leica] Using M (and R) glass on a Sony NEX-7 - my experience aftera few thousand images

[leica_r8 at hotmail.com (Aram Langhans)]

Question about exposure.  I assume you use the aperture priority mode.  Is 
the exposure liner or does the camera start to overexpose as you stop the 
Leica lens down like it does on a Canon or Nikon DLSR body?

Aram

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From: "Adam Bridge" <abridge at mac.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2012 5:25 PM
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org>
Subject: [Leica] Using M (and R) glass on a Sony NEX-7 - my experience 
aftera few thousand images

> Steve asked about using M-mount lenses on the NEX-7 so I thought I'd 
> discuss what I've learned from the trip to Alaska. I shot over 2,000 
> images with the NEX-7, almost all of them with Leica or CV glass. There's 
> a good reason for this: the kit lens that comes with the camera is a very 
> ordinary 18-55 zoom. There's also a 55-200mm zoom that is, as my kids 
> would say, an "epic fail." Don't buy it. It's okay for video, maybe.
>
> I learned on the trip that using M glass on the NEX-7 does work and does 
> produce darn nice images. BUT . . . and this is a major issue . . . 
> focusing becomes work.
>
> The NEX-7 has (I believe) contrast auto-focus and focus confirmation (with 
> non-autofocus lenses.) With an adaptor it can handle the upscale Sony 
> phase detection autofocus from the alpha cameras. I gather that some of 
> these lenses are quite good but I don't have any and the added adaptor 
> won't then handle M lenses which, for me, is the whole point of the 
> exercise.
>
> I initially thought that I'd simply be able to snap on the Novaflex 
> adaptor, add the lens, and use the focus confirmation built into the 
> NEX-7. It does work - you get a colored outline around areas that the 
> camera computes as being in focus. It's possible to change the outline 
> color to white or yellow or red. I use red. But it's not very accurate.
>
> But there's another workflow that works very well: It's possible to assign 
> the focus-assist function built into the camera to one of the camera's 
> many buttons. Pressing this will put a colored rectangle on the screen (or 
> the electronic viewfinder). Pressing another, user-definable, button will 
> then zoom in on the area of that rectangle to something over 1:1. If you 
> press that same button again you are zoomed in a little more. Pressing the 
> shutter button half-way then returns to the full view-finder mode. The 
> focus confirmation works inside the zoomed view.
>
> So the process works like this: press the focus assist button then the 
> zoom button, focus, press the shutter button at least half-way and then 
> all the way to capture the image.
>
> When working on a tripod, with the 100mm APO mounted, this works 
> splendidly. The focus rectangle can be moved around, then zoomed, focused, 
> and shot, without moving the camera. For still-life it's great.
>
> For hand-held work with a wide-open lens, this process is awkward. I've 
> gotten reasonably adept at it, but there are still missed shots because of 
> the time taken to get the focus right.
>
> With the kit lens the camera is a great travel camera within the 
> constraints of the lens. It does shoot really nice video. I'll have some 
> examples of that for you once it's all edited.
>
> The 1.5x effective focal-length multiplier makes a 50mm into a 75. A 28 or 
> 35 becomes a normal lens. I used the camera with the Leica 35mm summicron 
> on it most of the time, shifted to the CV 35mm f1.2 in really low light, 
> and used the 100 APO quite a bit as well.
>
> But I also worked with two cameras around my neck - the other being the 
> M8. I can look through my slides in Lightroom and instantly know which are 
> the M8 images. It's really rather amazing.
>
> But I can't mount a 280mm lens on the Leica. Or shoot video with it. So 
> these two cameras will probably live in tandem for some time. I don't see 
> an M9 or M10 in my future anytime soon: the house needs painting (M9) and 
> there is some dental work (replacing implants) to be done (a couple of 
> M9's or M10's).
>
> Still, the NEX-7 produces very nice results once the learning curve is 
> mounted. Now if they just give me a way to turn OFF the blankety-blank 
> video button so I don't shoot 5 minutes of the camera hanging down I'll be 
> happy.
>
> Adam Bridge
>
>
>