Sony A mount adapter

[Randy Johnson]

I am ready to buy a new lens, Does anyone know IF I buy this
http://store.sony.com/28-75mm-f2.8-s...pfm%3Dcategory

and this
A-Mount to E-Mount FF Lens Adapter w/ TMT - Alpha DSLR Accessories Sony Store - Sony US

If I will get auto focus at the very least servo zoom?

[Steve Bobilin]

I was looking up your links and somehow happened upon an article of note about crop factors and full frame vs APS-C sensors.
"Full Frame Equivalence" and Why It Doesn't Matter - Admiring Light
I thought it may be of interest to those of us EA 50 owners looking to buy a new lens—particularly those of us who don't have an existing collection of lenses.
Randy, I noticed on the B&H site for this lens there are comments/reviews pertaining to AF

[Chris Harding]

Yeesh!! That's an awful lot of money just to have a 28-75 F2.8 lens ... That will cost you nearly $1300 in all which seems a waste when you can get other options for a fraction of that price. The specs on the adapter do say that it is for a full frame camera body so be careful.

Apart from weddings what are you shooting that is so critical that it needs autofocus and a fast lens?

[Randy Johnson]

Well I NEED at least one feature, I dont care about auto iris I would like auto focus but I need at least servo zoom.

[Chris Harding]

Hey Randy

Fair enough .. if you need it you need it. I do the occasional soccer game here and for that it would be tough doing that without auto focus ...often I shoot the video to evaluate a particular player so the power zoom is also useful as when the player runs I can track them on the tripod with one finger on the zoom lever so I keep the shot framed correctly.

The EA-50 will do auto iris on a manual lens so that's no worry ..you could zoom manually too but doing a combo zoom and focus on moving objects I think needs a servo lens .... Why won't the stock lens work for these shoots?? You already have it on the camera and the AF works well in good light. During the day at weddings my B-Cam has the stock lens on all the time!

Chris

[Randy Johnson]

Stock lens simply isnt fast enough. I am going to TRY the lens you have and see if I can get used to all manual. The 18-35 if not I may get the 18-105 @ f.4. or maybe go prime

[Chris Harding]

Hi Randy

I have put one of my stock lenses on eBay and with the proceeds I'm actually getting a Nikon mount Sigma 24-70 F2.8 which is much better for a main camera and if you have more money than me (I'm sure you have!) Put that through a Metabones Speed Booster and you have a 24-70 (the lens is FF) and constant aperture of F2.0 which is almost as good as the Sigma 18-35 F1.8

The Sigma 18-35 F1.8 is absolute magic at receptions!! I rarely need to use a video light as it's so fast. I still run my B-Cam EA-50 in full auto so the camera sets exposure and gain and then just use focus. I find that the Sigma shots are actually better focussed than using the stock lens in auto as in low light the 18-200 is quite slow to focus!! You have more DOF than you realise with the Sigma so I usually "zone focus" and only adjust if I need to ...Most of my shots at reception are around 10' away so you are in focus from 2.4' in front of the subject and 4.63' behind it so I "zone set" the lens to 10' on the ring and use peaking and 90% of the time my subject is full of yellow peaks so I know they are in focus and the background is nice a blurry. You just need to mentally figure that you need to stand 10' away so I try to make sure that I'm 3 steps back from the subject and voila, it works so you rarely have to touch focus and can move around the room and almost shoot like a "point 'n shoot" camera.

Whatever you decide on for ceremonies, get a Sigma 18-35 for receptions !! I use nothing else now.. it goes on the B camera when I arrive at the reception and stays on all night ...even bridal entry works well as long as you watch your distance from each member of the bridal party

Chris

[Randy Johnson]

the 24-70 is only $100 cheaper BUT I think its a better choice the stock lens is too slow for most shooting mainly because I lose so much when I zoom in. 2.8 is fine and I can always throw on the speed booster in really small dark venues.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Randy

The 24-70 Nikon mount also has a aperture ring so you can get away with a really simple and cheaper adapter which doesn't need aperture control. If you get the 24-70 make sure you get the FF one not the slightly cheaper DX Nikon one which doesn't have a aperture ring ..we have them here used for around $350 and they work well on Nikon cameras too so dual function!! Yeah at 70mm you are still at F2.8 while the stock lens will be around F5 at best ..huge difference!!

Chris

[Randy Johnson]

Chris,
I think I will get this one
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/284402-REG/Tamron_AF09NII_700_28_75mm_f_2_8_XR_Di.html
Any thoughts before I push the button. I know its not quite as wide but its a few hundred cheaper

[Chris Harding]

Hi Randy

Great minds think alike!! I have just bought one an hour ago!! However I also bought a Tamron 17-50 F2.8 so if I'm in a really cramped Church I can go back to less than 28mm .. right down to 17mm if I need to depending on the layout of the Church or venue and both are F2.8 constant!!

I would say rather look for a used 28-75 ... mine I got tonight for $210 in good condition and my buddy Chip in Green Bay says they are readily available for under $250 and hardly used too. Better than paying $500!! I bought the 28-75 and the 17-50 for less than B&H want for a new 28-75 so look on eBay ..plenty on there ...!
Just for interest the 28-75 is a FF lens so it has an aperture ring so you can use a dumb adapter with no aperture adjustment and on a Speed Booster you will have an F2 lens!!

I think both are a great investment and range for weddings ..dunno about you but mine are Nikon mount so I can use them on my D90's bodies too!! I used a really cheap NIK-NEX adapter than cost me $15.00 too!!

Chris

[Randy Johnson]

at the last minute I went for the 17-50 I know it doesnt work with my speed booster but it does let me get wider. I can always send it back if it does work out. I also ordered a FMU 128

[Chris Harding]

Hi Randy

Yep, that's my goto lens for Churches too. If you are at full zoom and really need a tiny bit more you can always use a bit of digital zoom ..the image is softer definitely but you just sharpen it in post. I would rather use that and get correct framing and lose a little sharpness than have a noisy image from a slower lens which will tend to look soft anyway due to lack of contrast in the low light.

Let us know how you find it works?

Chris

[Randy Johnson]

Actually I use the digital zoom a lot, I see the artifacts but they only really come up at 1.5 or more and look better than boosting the gain. I mainly use it to get a little online zooming play ex I use the manual zoom to frame the bride and groom head to toe on their first dance then I use the DZ to smoothly go in and out when I want to.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Randy

Despite the artifacts or slight softness the other advantage is that will a manual lens your DOF and focus doesn't change so you can happily zoom without worrying about your focus. If you do a manual zoom most lenses are not going to be parfocal so it means you also need a bit of focus adjustment.

Get yourself a Sigma 18-35 F1.8 for receptions ...you will never want to use anything else it's awesome for dim receptions at F1.8 and for stuff like guest tables and such at 18mm you still have lots of DOF to play with. When I arrive at the reception my 18-35 goes on the camera and stays there...For speeches on the 2nd cam the Tamron 17-50 works great too.

Chris