The big A7r with manual lens test roundup: $11,000 Noctilux lens, Voigtlander, Minoltd MD/MC, Canon FD and Zeiss ZM tests.

October 28, 2013
reviews
167 Comments

One of the most interesting topics running on the web after the A7-A7r announcement is: How well (or bad) do third-party manual rangefinder lenses work on the Sony cameras? We have a couple of new image samples to share and as you will see only extreme wide angle lenses will suffer of vignetting or color shift effects and in very rare cases of corner smearing.

1) Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95:
SAR reader Albert had the chance to take a shot with the $11,000 Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux on the Sony A7r. You can find the full size picture on Flickr (Click here). If you own that lens you will have no problem at all with the A7-A7r. That said, if you had the money to buy that lens that you will also have the money to use it on a Leica M and not a Sony A7…I guess :)
A7R with Voigtlander 12mm, 15mm and 21mm rangefinder lenses mounted by Leo Roos on Flickr (found via Dyxum). As you can see there is vignetting and color shift issue. Easy to fix with Cornerfix. The important thing here is that there is no heavy smearing and detail loss issue!
[shoplink 22380 ebay]Leica Noctilux (Click here)[/shoplink].

2) Voigtlander 12mm, 15mm and 21mm rangefinder lenses:
Leo Roos on Flickr (found via Dyxum) posted a set of images taken with the A7r with wide angle Voigtlander lens. As you can see as wider as you go more vignetting and color shift issues you will see. But the good news us that there is no heavy smearing and detail loss issue (with the exception of the 15mm lens wide open). It means you can fix the corners by using software like Cornerfix (which by the way is free!). Lenses on eBay:
[shoplink 22372 ebay]Voigtlander 12mm (Click here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 22373 ebay]Voigtlander 15mm (Click here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 22374 ebay]Voigtlander 21mm (Click here)[/shoplink].

3) Contax G 28mm f/2.8:
There is an image taken with the A7r on Flickr (Click here). That lens shows significant more smearing on corners. This is something you cannot recover in Postproduction work. A discussion about that photo can be found at Fredmiranda.
[shoplink 22375 ebay]Contax G 28mm on eBay (Click here)[/shoplink].

4) Minolta MD/MC, Zeiss ZM and Canon FD lenses:
Phillip Reeve tested various old SLR lenses together with Zeiss 55F18 on A7R. Well controlled careful shots, I think.
All shots together:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96189377@N08/sets/72157637021609086/
Separate by lens type:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96189377@N08/sets/
Lenses on eBay:
[shoplink 22378 ebay]Minolta MD (Click here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 22377 ebay]Minolta MC (Click here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 22376 ebay]Zeiss ZM (Click here)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 22379 ebay]Canon FD (Click here)[/shoplink].

In Short:
– Lenses from 35mm towards will usually work fine.
– The wider you go the more issues you will have. But this also depends from the kind of lens design (telecentric lenses will have less issues). On some lenses you can fix them in postproduction and on some not.
– If you shoot Black and White Color shift is obviously a no-issues
– Vignetting and Color Shift can be corrected. Color smearing no (the detail is gone).

It will be one of our goals on SAR to review third party lenses on the A series cameras. If you have some review you want to share on SAR drop me a message at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Thanks!

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Support SonyAlphaRumors: After months of FF mirrorless rumor work I would be glad if you can support my work by making your A7-A7r purchase by using these links below. I will earn a small commission and you don’t pay one single penny more! Thanks!

Specs and Preorders in US and Canada (Click on store name to see direct preorder page):
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.

Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT

Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev
A7 at Digitalrev.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.