I seriously can not thank you enough, no one seemed to be able to answer these questions. I had a bunch of old camera gear, that was incredibly expensive back in the day. That I inherited. And no one had the info on what to use to adapt.and use the lenses. Thank you for the information.
I was not an a-mount body owner, but I ended up buying a ton of relatively inexpensive a-mount lenses when I started out with my a6000 and i still use them on my a6500 and a7R5. Lens prices on ebay are great. The lenses are generally a lot heavier than native lenses but are superb values overall. The LA-EA4 is only needed to screw drive AF and the mirror makes it more delicate and clunkier. Also the LA-EA4 doesn't use the bodies native AF and have limited AF points and so for all these reasons I am not a fan (but I don't do video and am happy enough to manually focus my screw drive lenses). A few on my favorites would be the 24-70 f2.8 Sony-Zeiss sonar with incredible rendition (but very heavy). The beercan 70-210 f4 is also a classic built like a tank with legacy rendition. I am also a fan to the Minolta (or Sony) 24-105 f3.5.-4.5) which is not supper sharp, but does have a dreamy soft rendition. Finally, some on the newer amount lenses particularly sigma and tamron (circa 2010 or after) have IQ and rendition very close to modern native E-mount lenses and can be purchased on eBay typically at a fraction of the cost of a native emount lens.
This is a nice concise video on the capabilities of the new A-E mount adaptor - whats more you are the only reviewer i can find who confirms that there is no video autofocus on the EA5 version. After watching your video I’ve now bought the EA5 adaptor and at long last I am able to use my beautiful A mount lenses on my new A7. The autofocus system works as well as the native e mount lenses (except video of course!)
That´s so good to read. This adapter has indeed been kept too much in the shadows eventhough thanks to it I'm enjoying shooting with my A-mount lenses so much. I wish you just as much fun with them and if you have a Flickr, don't hesitate to send a link to some of your results with the LA-EA5.
My man, lifesaver with the guide, thank you. I purchased an LA-EA5 and a Minolta AF 500mm Reflex, my camera is A7R3, the AF did not work of course. I had no idea of all these limitations / consideration.
Glad to have been of help. Sony has been pretty vague about it's adapters. All focus is evidently on selling new E-mount glass.. yet some of us enjoy the vintage Minolta look. They have made such exellent lenses!
@@pekomsmink indeed the 1st FF generation was not mentioned in the video, only in the written article. For your A7R i´d advise the LA-EA4.. however: i´ve never tested such combo.
@@RedCathedral thank you for the reply, I was leaning to the laea4 being the best option, it it’s rather pricy for an adapted, did you know of any other adapters for e mount that allow for autofocus to translate from Minolta mounts in this video ? Cheers
Thanks for the video and informative blog post! In your blog article you say "LA-EA3 and LA-EA5 should give AF and eye AF to some Sony SSM-lenses. But I wasn't able to make this work with any of the tested lenses." for "A9II, A7III, A7C, A7RIV, A7RIII, A9, ZV-E10, A6100, A6400, A6600" cameras. I owned both LA-EA3 and LA-EA4 adapters and the following SSM lenses: SAL1635Z, SAL2470Z, SAL70200G, SAL70400G (all of them first versions). All they were working perfectly on Sony A7RIII and A7RIV with LA-EA3, providing fast AF including Eye-AF and tracking. And on the website it clearly says LA-EA3 is compatibly with the all SSM/SAM lenses. Not sure why your adapter didn't work, probably you got a malfunctioned adapter. I believe you are giving a wrong recommendation: "Summary: Use the LA-EA4 on this generation of camera bodies.". LA-EA4 should be recommended ONLY for screw-drive lenses, and LA-EA3 is an obvious choice for SSM lenses.
Thx for the clarification and I'm glad they work for you. Both colleagues and myself had varying + inconsistent results with the LA-EA3 which is why I'm so hesitant to recommend it. We had crosstested bodies/lenses/adapters and it might be -as you indicate- that there are diffences between some LA-EA3's (malfunctions even). On mine nearly none worked on another some work sometimes. There might also be a possibility that firmware versions, settings,.. play a role. However, none of the cameras I currently use still supports the LA-EA3/4 -adapters so I stopped testing.
No, there is no adapter able to do this at this time. (The reason i've gotten is the distance between lens and sensor. You can increase that distance with an adapter, but not decrease it.)
Very helpful. The Sony Compatibility page doesn't really provide much clarity. I had to switch to LA-EA5 with my new A7RV. Thanks for the detailed report.
Great video! I've found a good deal on a Minolta 135mm f2.8 AF but now wondering the best way to adapt it to my Sony A7Cii. If I buy a 'dumb' adapter I won't have aperture control.
That's a superb & fun lens. I love it. I haven't seen an adapter with an aperture control ring yet, wold be a fun concept though. On your A7CII I recommend the LA-EA5 for this lens.
Hi, thanks. With the A6400 (and A6100/A6600) you can only use the LA-EA4. Small sidenote: with the A6700 started a new generation of APS-C cameras.. and this generation is ONLY compatible with LA-EA5.
Sadly enough, 1 year later, nothing has changed for video AF and no new adapter seems to be in the pipeline. My work-arounds are: 1. use MF, 2. Switch to an E-mount lens, 3. for nearly immobile subjects: use AF in stills mode, once the subject is perfectly in focus, switch into video mode and start filming. (Ps. Since i haven´t had the opportunity to test the 3rd party "Monsteradapter" , I don´t know if that one works for video.)
thank you for the feedback truly helpful info since im in the process of deciding if i want la ea 4 or 5 since i got old minolta af lenses and a sony a6400. i want to focus on video but still need photo for the kinda work i do. do u think the 15 point af on laea4 was limiting in its capabilitys or should i not be too woried for it since it has video af enabled or is there an 3rd party adapter like artiseans that has in camera af for video? @@RedCathedral
@Eckpitec If you have an A6400 only the LA-EA4 will give you AF.. and that one supports video AF (albeit often laggy, depending on the lens). So you're in luck 👍
What fantastic video, a new subscriber here! Today 20241010 I received a gorgeous SAL2470Z SSM, and it worked brilliantly both on my Dynax 7 film as well as Konica-Minolta 7D digital cameras, both native A-mount. But when I mounted on my LA-EA4 it seemed to work totally fine for about a minute, then the adapter changed to MF. Whenever I remounted my SSM lens it started with AF completely fine, but then after a minute or so it jumped to MF only. The adapter works flawlessly with all my screw-driven lenses, and this SAL2470Z is my first lens with in-lens focusing (SSM) motors. Have you experienced something similar? Would you be so kind to test if your LA-EA4 works great with an SSM lens? That would be awesome.
Thx for subscribing! That 24-70 Z is a nice one to use. But SSM-lenses are indeed sometimes a bit peculiar. Some tend to work with the LA-EA3 adapter. Since you're using the LA-EA4, I guess you're using the lens on a A7(R)III with the latest firmware? So if you have a friendly local retailer, ask if you can test a LA-EA3 adapter (or even loan/rent). Don't go buying it immediately because succes is not 100% guaranteed! (If however you're shooting on an A7IV or even more recent camera, then switch to the LA-EA5 and that should resolve the issue)
Thanks very much for the video, I greatly enjoyed it. Though I'm not sure why you say an old Minolta lens wouldn't be any good on a huge mega pixel camera. They were used to shoot slide film which was projected onto big screens - I never heard any complaints about too much grain or not enough resolution back then. One negative with using the LA-EA4 adapter with A-mount lenses, is that the little red light in Auto Focus Illuminator does not work with the adapter (at least in the earlier A7 models). So while that adapter is great for those lenses in daylight and in lowish light, it is useless in very low light as the camera won't focus. The Illuminator only works with E-mount lenses. Does the AF illuminator work with A-Mount lenses and the LA-EA5 please? Regards..
Great questions! 1. About the resolution * The resolution of regular 35mm film was usually somewhere between 12MP and 21MP. * Eventhough the Minolta engineers were often geniuses and made awesome gear, the glass from the film era was cut for to be sharp enough to resolve the resolution of film. Hence if you use it on 50-61MP cameras you will notice a loss of detail. * Glass from the time Konica-Minolta finally created the digital 7D was made for a slightly higher resolution of their 6MP sensor. Put that on a 33-42-50-61MP camera and the loss of detail sadly becomes obvious. (BUT even that has a certain charm!) * For last glass from the Sony A-mount age (around the time of the 42MP A99II) there will be less problems.. except with the 61MP cameras who put out so much detail that even the eldest E-mount lenses sometimes have trouble keeping up. * Personally I enjoy the fact that those lenses yield less details. It's less perfect.. less "clinically perfect", some might even say. Hence it gives shots a certain charm, look and feel. 2. About the AF help light * The orange AF assist light does not work with ANY kind of adapter, but then again, neither does it work in AF-C.
@@RedCathedral Thanks for getting back to me. No doubt there will be a loss of detail if one zooms in on a 60Mpixel picture taken with an old lens - but other than in certain circumstances, like when one wants extreme cropping - does it really matter? A 4K TV screen only displays 8 Mpixels. I did read many years ago on a photographer's website (Ken Rockwell I think), where he was highly critical of claims back then that 12Mpixels was the equivalent to what 35mm film could resolve. He pointed out that people were determining this by scanning slides and comparing detail between film and digital. He said the big flaw was that they were using $100 to $200 scanners, but had they used $5000 Konica Minolta commercial scanners, the equivalence between fine grain slide film and digital was more like 80 Mpixels. With respect to old lenses, I follow the Simon's Utak and Mr Baz Reviews channels where they review old lenses. They point out that while modern lenses are superb and super sharp, they often do have one flaw that old lenses don't have. Photos from the old lenses transition very smoothly from out-of-focus to in-focus to out-of-focus. Whereas many new lenses lack that smoothness and transition very harshly - they give examples, and for certain shots, like along fence posts or a subject in the middle of long grass, the old lenses are clearly superior.. I'm still annoyed that the LA-EA4 adapter stops the Auto Illuminator from working. It was a three or $400 adapter when it came out, not a $15 cheap Ebay adapter. I'd have expected more. Thanks again for getting back to me. Regards.
A joy to watch video for a Sony A7 photographer having a couple of A-mount lenses. Let me share my experience with LA-EA4 (discontinued in 2024). I've been using that adapter since 2021 on my A7 and A7R and A7III. It provides very similar autofocus experience as photographing with a Minolta film camera, I have Minolta Dynax 7 and 7xi. Absolutely reliable (but forget about low light), LA-EA4 has better AF than A7 and much better than A7R, so LA-EA4 is a must for A7R owners. LA-EA4 doesn't work with Minolta xi lenses at all, so avoid buying xi lenses. I used my LA-EA4 only with screw-driven Minolta, Konica-Minolta and Sony A-mount lenses. Sony SAL 50f1.4 works awesome with this adapter, even for (occasional) video. So, I am a big fan of LA-EA4, because I use the same lenses both on my film and LA-EA4-adapted A7(R)(III) cameras.
Hi! Do you know if I can use AF Minolta lenses with the new LA-EA5 adapter? I own a ton of them from being a sony ILCA enthusiast but I'm about to step up to full frame with a Sony A7IV. Thank you
Absolutely true and some very good reasons to continue using it (for as long as you can find them). The video feature of the LA-EA4 is something I really miss in the LA-EA5.
Hello thanks a lot for this great video. I just bought a brand new demo model of the Sony 28-75mm 2.8 SAM A lens. The issue is that it heavily back focuses on both my Sony alpha DSLR cameras (which is not the case of my other Sony lenses) : will this lens work better on a Sony mirrorless camera using one of these 2 adapters ? When I use manual focus the portraits at 75mm are beautiful and I just paid 280€ for the lens so I hesitate to bring it back to the store…
Honestly, since the LA-EA5 uses the focussing system of the camera itself, and many backfocussing issues have been seriously reduced in mirrorless cameras (due to hybrid use of PDAF+ CDAF), it should help your lens. However, it is possible that your lens is not reactive enough to follow every adaption/change of focus while working in AF-C/tracking so some shots might still be off. I haven't used that lens (it sounds like a great find for such a price), so I can't be 100% sure.
Very nice video! Good information over here. I have minolta 50 mm 1.7 and minolta zoom 80-200 . I own a sony a7siii and i will like to test this old minolta lenses on video and photography. Do you think the LA-EA4 it will work ? Sorry my english , im from Argentina!
Sadly enough on my A7SIII all of the A-to-E-adapters stopped working after the very 1st firmware update. Now I'm at firmware v3.02 and stopped hoping. So I fear it will only be manual focus. PS. English isn't my mother tongue either as you clearly hear in my many mistakes during literally every video ;-)
Greetings all. I'm searching for my question I have. I own the following Minolta's 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.7, 70-210 4 beercan, 100-200mm 4.5, 135mm 2.8. All screwdriver types. For upgrade What camera and which LA-EA adapter match must I go for. e.g. Nex + LA-EA? 6000 + LA-EA? A7 + LA-EA? I currently have the Sony A58 and want to upgrade without having to give up my lenses. I, in my ignorance, bought the LA-EA1 and learn it does not support my screw driver lenses, Please help
If you're using older Sony E-mount bodies (everything older than A7IV) the LA-EA4 is the adapter to get. On newer models: LA-EA5. The beercans & 135 f2.8 work just fine for me, so they can do the same for you. Enjoy them!
Never had the opportunity to test one of those oldtimers, (didn´t even know those were still being used) but in theory they might work with the la-ea4.. in theory..
As I wasn't sure about the answer to your question, I''ve just put my LA-EA4 adpater and lens onto a NEX-3 (i.e. the first NEX model), and it works fine. Regards.
@@The157ra Excellent! 😃 This is the positive power of the internet where people scientifically work together with the means they have and so the results from different tests can be put together to get the answers needed. Do you mind if I add the Nex-3 to the article + quote you as the contributor for the test?
@@RedCathedral No problem at all. NEX cameras were dirt cheap down here a few years ago, but RUclips videos saying their picture quality is pretty good seems to have increased their prices recently. On another matter, your website says the LA-EA3 is pretty useless. I have one which I use with the Sony A-mount 2.8/16-50 SSM lens. It has much slower autofocusing than with the LA-EA4 adapter, but it does work. However, I'm happy I got it dirt cheap on Ebay, else I'd have been annoyed.
Hi, nice video! I have bunch of great A-mount lenses and some of them require micro focus adjustment on SLR/SLT bodies. Do you have any experience with such lenses with the LA-EA5 adapter? Adapting these lenses to A7IV or A7RV, does it eliminate the need for micro focus adjustment? Thanks.
Thx, alas I have no lenses that require micro adjustments. In theory the camera should be able to handle those with the LA-EA5 adapter once calibrated in the way described in this article: www.sony.com.ph/electronics/support/lenses-mount-adaptors/la-ea5/articles/00018531
The LA-EA2 has exactely the same performance as the LA-EA4 (but it's made only for APS-C sensors), so on the A6000 it's certainly a good choice. Personally I never used EA1/2 because I always switched between full frame/APS-C and hence the EA4 would work for both.
Good video! I sold my Sony A77 and is now using a Sony A7iii. I wonder if you know if the Sony LA-EA5 Adapter is compatible with my Tamron sp 70-200 mm f2.8 lens and Sony a7iii? I have asked multiple camera shops but no one can help me. I don’t want to sell the lens since I like it a lot and would love to be able to use it with an adapter. Hope you or someone here can help ❤
It took me some to ask around if any of my connections owned this lens so I could test it for you.. but alas no such luck. If I were you i'd rather bet on the LA-EA4 to adapt this lens to an A7III.
I want to try a little macro photography and there is a used Sony 100 mm 2.8 A mount lens that I am looking at. I would be interested on mounting it on my Sony A7V. What adapter would you recommend? I want optimal auto focus features. Video compatibility would be nice but not essential.
I have a lens of Sony DSLR a350k 75-300 and I need a lens adopter for Sony ZV-E10 camera now I am confused about how to find the correct adopter if I am going to order what should I write A to E mount or something else ? Please guide
hi sir, right now i am using a6000 with laea2 adapter for minolta 70-210 and sony 70-300 g ssm and satisfying with the performance. since zv-e10 is apsc camera same with my a6000, i think it should be no issue to use laea2 or maybe you can go to lae4 if you want to switch for ff body in future
Adam is completey correct: For ZV-E10 either LAE-A2 or LAE-A4 will work. They actually do the same exept LAE-A2 will only work for APS-C and LAE-A4 works for both APS-C and full frame. Personally I never bought the LAE-A2 due to this restriction.
Thank you for such great video... so if I have Sony A7II... should I stick with LA-EA4?.. ChatGPT says: "For the Sony A7II, the LA-EA4 might be the safer choice if you want consistent autofocus performance across all your A-mount lenses. The LA-EA5 could work but may not provide the same level of AF performance as it does with newer E-mount bodies." Is that correct? Thanks!
Honestly: I have been able to get the LA-EA5 working with 1 lens on an older body (the A7III): the Sigma 50-500mm and the focussing was hardly useable. So yes, ChatGPT is right, but I wouldn't advise using it for situations where AF is crucial. (PS. my article on the subject: tiny.one/SonyA2E and I guess all Blogger.com entries have been used for the machine learning)
You should have mentioned Monsteradapter EA4r. That is a modified version of EA4, its mirror removed and the camera body taking care of focusing. Like EA5, but compatible with older bodies.
You are correct. Same goes for the Metabones A to E Speedbooster. However, since I haven't tested those personally, I cannot make an evidence-based statement about them and recommend them for certain applications or users. Nor help with troubleshooting if somebody were to follow my recommendations. Nor will questions I myself might have for the product be answered. Why didn't I test them? This is a tiny micro-channel, so it doesn't make any money, nor does it warrant investing my money into it just for the sake of "testing & making a video". If I need something I'll buy it and then be able to report about it. If the producer or a distributer lends or gives me something, I'll use it, test it.. but again: why would Monsteradapter care about a tiny channel? So yes, on paper the idea to disassemble and reassemble an LA-EA4 sounds great, but until I've managed to test the results myself; I cannot add it and stand behind anything I say about it.
Difficult question and depends on your use & expectations. A7CII is smaller/lighter if you like that and travel alot. Better AF. However less buttons to program/use. Tiny EVF. The on/off switch activated on several occasions when carrying the camera on a 100-400mm with the CarrySpeed sling (sling = attached to the lens evidently) Personally I prefer the A7IV for jobs on events. It works easier for me, fits better in my hands & workflow, has a higher SS with the mechanical shutter. I prefer the central EVF but this depends on which of your eyes is the dominant one.
With the FZ-100 batteries you hardly notice any difference with the LA-EA5. Using a LA-EA4 with the small FW-50 battery will noticeably shorten the time. (10-20%) Also: using a big, heavy lens with heavy motors will eat more battery power. And some of the older lenses are "rather" heavy.
For the A7RII (and up until the 3rd generation) only the LA-EA4 will work. But think very carefully about what you want to shoot when deciding to get an A7RII.. the difference between 2nd generation and the following generations is huge. Honestly, except for static subjects like architecture or landscapes I would not recommend a 2nd gen camera, especially when coming from a fast powerbeast like the A77II
I have a Sony a7riii, and piles of old a mount lenses that I use on my a77ii. Would the laea4 be a good match on the a7riii? I’d love the laea5, but it seems autofocus will not work.
I have a A7RIII as well and a bunch of Minolta and old Sony A mount lenses. I use the LA EA3 myself, it'll have working auto focus for all SSM or SAM lenses + the HSM lenses from Sigma for example. The scewdrive based lenses I just manually focus (apature changing and exif data will still function on those lenses), which isn't an issue for me since I've always been into vintage glass and focusing manually.
Hello Ashish, Your camera is a category 2-camera so for a complete answer I would advise to read point 6 in tiny.one/SonyA2E In most cases I would recommend an LA-EA4 adapter for your camera.
Looked at your article but I think there must be something wrong with your LA-EA3. I use it on my A6400 with the SAL85 f/2.8 (SAM) and that works fine with AF. What a weird choice of Sony to decide that the LA-EA4 no longer works on the newer models.
Hope you can help, I have EA5 adapter, Sony A7IV and Minolta 50mm autofocus 1.7 and 28mm. Both lenses don't work properly. If I am outside with the 50 mm 1.7 aperture, 100 iso it takes a shutter time of 1/8...with the iso on automatic it goes to 32000. What am I doing wrong.. I have this with both lenses.. Please can you help?
My 1st reaction would be: "There's something wrong with the adapter and some cross tests should be performed to determine what's happening." But before jumping to that conclusion: 1. What's the upper limit for auto ISO you programmed into the camera? 2. Do you have the minimum shutter speed-option activated whith the Auto ISO? If yes on what shutterspeed is it set? (PS. If you're from the Benelux, doing the crosstests at a dealer, or during an Alpha day is an option)
@@RedCathedral thanks for answering.. it is 50-80.000, have not changed anything here...and the minimum is 1/250 with auto iso...it is really strange, I take a picture..it reacts very slow when I take it...and then most of the time it loses the autofocus and the aperture...I can see that in my viewfinder, (the blue contrast shows for manual focusing and no numbers at F) and then it comes back again (or not, and I have to unscrew the adapter from my camera body and attach it again, then it works again)... I live in Greece, just updated the software of my camera in the hope that would help..but even outside in the midday bright Greek sun, in A, 1.7 aperture...the camera chooses 1/250 and 2500 ISO when on ISO automatic.
My suggestion would still be to do some cross tests in your store with another camera and another LAE-A5 Other than that: save your settings on a card or on your phone and do a complete reset of the camera + check if there's a new firmware available. If afterwards it still does not work, you can copy the original setting back to your camera and have only the crosscheck option left before sending the adapter back.
Nice video, thank you. By the way I have a question - I have Sony A68 + Sigma 150-600 HSM. I have also bought Sony A6300. Will Sigma 150-600 (for A mount) work fine on Sony A6300 with Sony adapter ? And which one would be better for this combination - EA4 or EA5 ? Would it be possible for you to verify it ?
When I tested the ZV-E10 mark I it was with the very first firmware and A-mount lenses only worked with the LA-EA4 adapter. You can always check: tiny.one/SonyA2E for more details
I honestly did not know the difference between LA-EA4 (the one I own) and the LA-EA5 which I don't own but I kinda do want now because of the AF capabilities
Great video thank you. A query I have a Sony A7 S mark 3 in an underwater housing and wish to set it up with an autofocus Rectilinear fisheye lens. Can I use the old Sony 16mm F2.8 A mount fisheye lens with an LA-EA5 mount and retain autofocus in video mode? Or would I have to use a Sony fisheye ) 0.75X Ultra Wide Converter adaptor on an E mount lens to retain autofocus in video mode?
Hi, that's a great A-mount lens. I own the old Minolta 16mm f2.8 Fisheye. Alas in short: no, you can't use it. Only the combination of Sony 28mm f2 + fisheye converter will give you the desired effect WITH AF. 1. The LA-EA5 does not support video AF. 2. Sadly enough the A7SIII (v2.0 and higher) no longer supports the LA-EA5, nor LA-EA4. We'll have to see if the next firmware update rectifies this, but I doubt it. The written article with updates: tiny.one/SonyA2E
Hello......thanks for the video, very well edited. I bought a Sony A7r3 and I went to the Blog to see which adapter works best with my Minolta A lenses. If I buy the Sony LA-EA4 adapter I will send you a message to tell you how my Minolta 100mm f2 lenses, the 200mm f2.8 Apo, the Tamron 90mm macro, (maybe it is a different model than yours), the Sigma 35mm 1.4 art and the Tamron 15-30mm..... I hope I don't have to sell all of them, especially the 100mm and 200mm, very sharp and light. Thanks again . Greetings from A Coruña , Spain
That would be very kind of you. Once you've tested them thoroughly I'll update the article. The more lenses that have been tested, the better for all of us. (Hopefully your 90mm macro does a better job than mine!) PS. Those 100mm AF f2 & 200mm f2.8 High Speed APO are lenses I'd love to get my hands on, so I cross my fingers that they do a good job with your LA-EA4. Are those easy to find in Spain?
Two questions Which lens is better for the Sony A 7r3 LA-EA4 or LA-EA5?? And on top of that what lens would be a good travel lens overall to keep on the body when traveling to like Mexico or someplace like that
On the A7RIII only the LA-EA4 will work. Sorry. I'm eying the 35-150mm f2-2.8 atm, but those are heavy & huge for travel and "the bigger, the more interesting for thieves". For riskier regions I often change the 24-70 f2.8 GM for the f4 Zeiss version. A 24-105mm f4 or 20-70mm f4 would also work be perfect depending on your style. If you want an even smaller "less expensive looking" package: one of those tiny 24/40/50 mm f2.5/2.8 G lenses would make the camera look smaller yet still give excellent image quality. If I had to propose just 1 lens: 24-105mm, and if you switch the A7RIII into APS-C mode it even becomes 157mm
Here’s a different take on using A mount glass. Rather than spending hundreds on adapters, I bought some alpha mount Sony cameras. The latest is the A900 which looks intriguing compared to my Sony A7 ii. Since I picked up several a mount lenses, at garage sale prices, it seemed to make more sense to use them with their intended bodies. I’ll probably end up with an A99 also since the whole SLT thing looks, again, intriguing. Being a collector means never having to explain yourself rationally.
Using vintage glass is never something you should try to explain rationally to other people.. A Dynax 500i, Dynax 9, 7D, A850, A99, A77II and A58 are all still sitting on the shelves here and indeed using those with the A-mount glass would be more reasonable. But then again.. why be reasonable? It's simply pure fun to use those old lenses on the newest bodies..with all the new features. Yesterday I paired the A6700 with an old Tamron 10-24mm for some shots.. and seeing it work with the AI AF system was crazy. It made me smile. As long as we enjoy ourselves, any take on using old gear is a right one 👍
@@RedCathedral yes I’m sure we could swap some vintage glass stories 😄. To my shock my recent splurge on A mount included a SAM lens, so the LE-A3 actually worked on my A7ii! Now I’m eyeing the KEH list of sam and ssm lenses, again at very reasonable prices. The screw drive lenses appears to be a mixed bag from your excellent web page review, and thank you for that. I’m not ready to buy an A7 iv, just to use the LE-A5, spending 2400 on that Sony to ‘save’ on using affordable a mount lenses-even I have a limit 😄. As a last comment you may be aware at the upcoming Kickstarter for the fellow making a ‘film cartridge to 4/3 sensor’ to use in vintage 35 mm bodies. The guy has been working on it for some time, and it’s been my dream to actually use my Nikons and canons and yes Minoltas of decades past.
Hi guys! Is La-EA5 compatibile with Sigma A mount lenses on Sony a9 ??a9 ? I a, changing from Sony a99 to Sony a9 and just would like to know if I will be manage to use all my Sigma lenses with this adapter. It would be much more less expensive to do it.
Hi, * The LA-EA5 worked with the selection of Sigma A-mount lenses i've tested on the A7IV, so it should work on most lenses. * However, when i tested the A9II it worked well with the LA-EA4. With the LA-EA5 only the Sigma 50-500mm seemed to deliver AF on that generation of cameras (A9/A9II/A7III)/... So it might work on some Sigma A-mount lenses, but isn't a reliable adapter option. (Read: tiny.one/SonyA2E ) * The A9III worked with the LA-EA5 while it was on pre-production firmware. (Haven't re-tested it with post-release firmware). But do note that with a lens adapter your framerate will drop to 5-10fps depending on the lens, which defeats the purpose of the A9-series, and its 60/120 re-calculations of focus can't be executed by A-mount lenses.
@RedCathedral Thank you for your answer. I work mostly in a theatre photography, so I don't need hyper frames per second. More looking for reliable and quiet work, as it is essential during this events. Not to disturb audience and actors with clicks from shutter and work better in a low light where my Sony a99 sometimes have a problem. Plus my old Sigmas would save me few k pounds to buy 3 new e mount lenses at this moment.
Thanks for the video but you are wrong about some of your assumptions. I have both systems and a few lenses for both and did extensive testing and shared a couple videos. First off my Minolta 80-200 2.8 HS is the fastest focusing lens and it is also extremely sharp (need to turn IBIS off) on my A99ii which still shoots 42mp at 12fps with full time af tracking. My A7R2 with adapters and the 80-200 or the Minolta 70-200 SSM are not as fast. Tested with different combos and settings in many situations. My 80-200 HS was built in the late 1980s and it is still fantastic for sports even compared to the newest cameras.
1. I believe you. An A99II was in every aspect, including focussing speed, the better of the A7II/RII. So yes, when testing between those cameras the 99 will most definately win. However between that 2nd generation model and the current 5th generation cameras there has much changed. I did my tests on A7III, A7SIII, A7IV, A1, A7RV, .. hence the difference in results. Gen III is good, but with gen IV and V you really get into a different gear. 2. On top of that with the gen II camera you're using the focusing system of the LA-EA4 adapter itself. With the gen IV/V cameras the LA-EA5 adapter the AF-system of the camera itself does all the work. And trust me: there lies the difference. I think you might be surprised with .. everything, once you upgrade from the A7RII to an A7RV .. it's like changing from a Nissan Micra to a Porsche 911 GT3.
Hi I have Sony A99 II with a lot Minolta lenses :) but I have also 70-400SSMG2 lens I`m Srugguling take a sharp picures with the telephoto lens . I looking upgrade mirrorless Sony camera for wildlife photogphay . My A99 II and telephoto lens made me regret to buy A99II and telephoto lens :( It was so expensive
Sad to read that you have a lens/camera combination that doesn't focus right. (because those are a great lens and a magnificent camera) First of all: do check the firmware on your A99II ( www.sony.be/nl/electronics/support/a-mount-body-ilca-90-series/ilca-99m2/downloads) and update if needed. Who knows, it might help. Secondly: when you upgrade to a mirrorless Alpha, make sure to get one of the camera models who work with the LA-EA5 adapter (List: tiny.one/SonyA2E ) AND take your lens with you to test it when you do an in-store touch & try of the new camera.
@Krisztian Nagy Szeder For the camera v1.01 is already the updated version. However the lens should be at least v1.00 (because v0.xx usually means preproduction firmware) alas v1 firmware is never posted on the Sony download pages and the lens has no later updates. Maybe try contacting your local Sony support number to doublecheck.
I have A7II and will buy a A7RIII. The price for a 7IV is more than 1000 euro more and than 250 for the adapter.The problem whits the LEA4 i have no more eye focus and also which the LEA3. I shot runners and the camera focus on the sign nummer and not on the face. The LEA 5 is not working for action. The best bay a other lenz. I have no other soluion.
That's completely correct. On the A7III neither the LA-EA3 nor-5 will do much and the focussing system of LA-EA4 does not have Eye AF. So especially for sports I would indeed recommend an e-mount lens for your A7III.
@@RedCathedral Bit late to the party haha, but the LA-EA3 will definitely work as long as you're not using screwdrive based Minolta or Sony A mount glass. I've been using the EA3 myself with a bunch of A mount lenses and it's working flawlessly, sure it's not as snappy as native lenses but for the insane price difference it's well worth a shot.
It is very probable that several combinations won't work. That's why in the article is a complete list of tested lenses and if other people test lenses they are welcome to help completing the list for all vintage lenses. I have never tested the Minolta 50 f1.7. However a collegue of mine uses it without issues on his A7III with an LA-EA4. So evidently it's very important to know which camera + adapter were used for your findings. (and with the latest generations, even what firmware version)
I seriously can not thank you enough, no one seemed to be able to answer these questions. I had a bunch of old camera gear, that was incredibly expensive back in the day. That I inherited. And no one had the info on what to use to adapt.and use the lenses. Thank you for the information.
Inheriting vintage top glass is a dream come true for some of us. I wish you loads of magnificent images!
Great video. As a A7IV owner, you answered all of my questions. I love your quirky style. You should have way more subscribers!
Hahaha, my quickyness is mostly because I can't memorize any lines & and I'm very shy in front of a camera.. I prefer being on the other side 😂
I was not an a-mount body owner, but I ended up buying a ton of relatively inexpensive a-mount lenses when I started out with my a6000 and i still use them on my a6500 and a7R5. Lens prices on ebay are great. The lenses are generally a lot heavier than native lenses but are superb values overall. The LA-EA4 is only needed to screw drive AF and the mirror makes it more delicate and clunkier. Also the LA-EA4 doesn't use the bodies native AF and have limited AF points and so for all these reasons I am not a fan (but I don't do video and am happy enough to manually focus my screw drive lenses). A few on my favorites would be the 24-70 f2.8 Sony-Zeiss sonar with incredible rendition (but very heavy). The beercan 70-210 f4 is also a classic built like a tank with legacy rendition. I am also a fan to the Minolta (or Sony) 24-105 f3.5.-4.5) which is not supper sharp, but does have a dreamy soft rendition. Finally, some on the newer amount lenses particularly sigma and tamron (circa 2010 or after) have IQ and rendition very close to modern native E-mount lenses and can be purchased on eBay typically at a fraction of the cost of a native emount lens.
One of my all-time Minolta favorites is the 28-135mm f4-4.5 beercan. But as you said: so heavy & clunky!
@meta4101 hello there can you give list of a mount lenses that you use with your a6500
The best explanation on a to e mount adaptors. Thankyou
Thank you ^_^
This is a nice concise video on the capabilities of the new A-E mount adaptor - whats more you are the only reviewer i can find who confirms that there is no video autofocus on the EA5 version. After watching your video I’ve now bought the EA5 adaptor and at long last I am able to use my beautiful A mount lenses on my new A7. The autofocus system works as well as the native e mount lenses (except video of course!)
That´s so good to read.
This adapter has indeed been kept too much in the shadows eventhough thanks to it I'm enjoying shooting with my A-mount lenses so much.
I wish you just as much fun with them and if you have a Flickr, don't hesitate to send a link to some of your results with the LA-EA5.
which lenses do you use
My man, lifesaver with the guide, thank you. I purchased an LA-EA5 and a Minolta AF 500mm Reflex, my camera is A7R3, the AF did not work of course. I had no idea of all these limitations / consideration.
Glad to have been of help.
Sony has been pretty vague about it's adapters. All focus is evidently on selling new E-mount glass.. yet some of us enjoy the vintage Minolta look. They have made such exellent lenses!
Thank you! I own a few A Mount lenses and my old A99ii it's slowly dying. I'm planning on buying the A7R iv Thanks for the video.
Which one would reccomend for the original A7R? I don’t think it was mentioned in the video
@@pekomsmink indeed the 1st FF generation was not mentioned in the video, only in the written article. For your A7R i´d advise the LA-EA4.. however: i´ve never tested such combo.
@@RedCathedral thank you for the reply, I was leaning to the laea4 being the best option, it it’s rather pricy for an adapted, did you know of any other adapters for e mount that allow for autofocus to translate from Minolta mounts in this video ? Cheers
@@pekomsmink Monster has one but I doubt it´ll be much cheaper. Otherwise; manual focus adapters are cheap. No AF, but at least you can use the glass.
Thanks for the video and informative blog post!
In your blog article you say "LA-EA3 and LA-EA5 should give AF and eye AF to some Sony SSM-lenses. But I wasn't able to make this work with any of the tested lenses." for "A9II, A7III, A7C, A7RIV, A7RIII, A9, ZV-E10, A6100, A6400, A6600" cameras.
I owned both LA-EA3 and LA-EA4 adapters and the following SSM lenses: SAL1635Z, SAL2470Z, SAL70200G, SAL70400G (all of them first versions). All they were working perfectly on Sony A7RIII and A7RIV with LA-EA3, providing fast AF including Eye-AF and tracking. And on the website it clearly says LA-EA3 is compatibly with the all SSM/SAM lenses. Not sure why your adapter didn't work, probably you got a malfunctioned adapter.
I believe you are giving a wrong recommendation: "Summary: Use the LA-EA4 on this generation of camera bodies.".
LA-EA4 should be recommended ONLY for screw-drive lenses, and LA-EA3 is an obvious choice for SSM lenses.
Thx for the clarification and I'm glad they work for you.
Both colleagues and myself had varying + inconsistent results with the LA-EA3 which is why I'm so hesitant to recommend it. We had crosstested bodies/lenses/adapters and it might be -as you indicate- that there are diffences between some LA-EA3's (malfunctions even). On mine nearly none worked on another some work sometimes. There might also be a possibility that firmware versions, settings,.. play a role.
However, none of the cameras I currently use still supports the LA-EA3/4 -adapters so I stopped testing.
can you please do the reverse too? using e mount lenses on a mount cameras?
No, there is no adapter able to do this at this time.
(The reason i've gotten is the distance between lens and sensor. You can increase that distance with an adapter, but not decrease it.)
@RedCathedral thank you for confirming ❤️
Very helpful. The Sony Compatibility page doesn't really provide much clarity. I had to switch to LA-EA5 with my new A7RV. Thanks for the detailed report.
I'm glad to have been of service and enjoy your A7RV (it's a wonderful machine)
What adapter works with the Sony A7II?
LA-EA4
Great video! I've found a good deal on a Minolta 135mm f2.8 AF but now wondering the best way to adapt it to my Sony A7Cii. If I buy a 'dumb' adapter I won't have aperture control.
That's a superb & fun lens. I love it.
I haven't seen an adapter with an aperture control ring yet, wold be a fun concept though.
On your A7CII I recommend the LA-EA5 for this lens.
Hi, good video, but I have a question I have a sony alpha 6400 which adapter should I use LA-EA4 or LA-EA5? Thank you
Hi, thanks. With the A6400 (and A6100/A6600) you can only use the LA-EA4.
Small sidenote: with the A6700 started a new generation of APS-C cameras.. and this generation is ONLY compatible with LA-EA5.
which a mount lens can you use full frame and aps-c?
GracIas por la información. Muy instructivo.
Estoy feliz de leerlo / I'm happy to read it ^_^
great video! but do u know if autofocus on video is fixed or is there a workoround or alternitive?
Sadly enough, 1 year later, nothing has changed for video AF and no new adapter seems to be in the pipeline.
My work-arounds are:
1. use MF,
2. Switch to an E-mount lens,
3. for nearly immobile subjects: use AF in stills mode, once the subject is perfectly in focus, switch into video mode and start filming.
(Ps. Since i haven´t had the opportunity to test the 3rd party "Monsteradapter" , I don´t know if that one works for video.)
thank you for the feedback truly helpful info since im in the process of deciding if i want la ea 4 or 5 since i got old minolta af lenses and a sony a6400. i want to focus on video but still need photo for the kinda work i do. do u think the 15 point af on laea4 was limiting in its capabilitys or should i not be too woried for it since it has video af enabled or is there an 3rd party adapter like artiseans that has in camera af for video?
@@RedCathedral
@Eckpitec If you have an A6400 only the LA-EA4 will give you AF.. and that one supports video AF (albeit often laggy, depending on the lens). So you're in luck 👍
allright think that settles it then thank you for your input@@RedCathedral
What fantastic video, a new subscriber here! Today 20241010 I received a gorgeous SAL2470Z SSM, and it worked brilliantly both on my Dynax 7 film as well as Konica-Minolta 7D digital cameras, both native A-mount. But when I mounted on my LA-EA4 it seemed to work totally fine for about a minute, then the adapter changed to MF. Whenever I remounted my SSM lens it started with AF completely fine, but then after a minute or so it jumped to MF only. The adapter works flawlessly with all my screw-driven lenses, and this SAL2470Z is my first lens with in-lens focusing (SSM) motors. Have you experienced something similar? Would you be so kind to test if your LA-EA4 works great with an SSM lens? That would be awesome.
Thx for subscribing! That 24-70 Z is a nice one to use. But SSM-lenses are indeed sometimes a bit peculiar. Some tend to work with the LA-EA3 adapter. Since you're using the LA-EA4, I guess you're using the lens on a A7(R)III with the latest firmware? So if you have a friendly local retailer, ask if you can test a LA-EA3 adapter (or even loan/rent). Don't go buying it immediately because succes is not 100% guaranteed!
(If however you're shooting on an A7IV or even more recent camera, then switch to the LA-EA5 and that should resolve the issue)
Thanks very much for the video, I greatly enjoyed it.
Though I'm not sure why you say an old Minolta lens wouldn't be any good on a huge mega pixel camera. They were used to shoot slide film which was projected onto big screens - I never heard any complaints about too much grain or not enough resolution back then.
One negative with using the LA-EA4 adapter with A-mount lenses, is that the little red light in Auto Focus Illuminator does not work with the adapter (at least in the earlier A7 models). So while that adapter is great for those lenses in daylight and in lowish light, it is useless in very low light as the camera won't focus. The Illuminator only works with E-mount lenses.
Does the AF illuminator work with A-Mount lenses and the LA-EA5 please?
Regards..
Great questions!
1. About the resolution
* The resolution of regular 35mm film was usually somewhere between 12MP and 21MP.
* Eventhough the Minolta engineers were often geniuses and made awesome gear, the glass from the film era was cut for to be sharp enough to resolve the resolution of film. Hence if you use it on 50-61MP cameras you will notice a loss of detail.
* Glass from the time Konica-Minolta finally created the digital 7D was made for a slightly higher resolution of their 6MP sensor. Put that on a 33-42-50-61MP camera and the loss of detail sadly becomes obvious. (BUT even that has a certain charm!)
* For last glass from the Sony A-mount age (around the time of the 42MP A99II) there will be less problems.. except with the 61MP cameras who put out so much detail that even the eldest E-mount lenses sometimes have trouble keeping up.
* Personally I enjoy the fact that those lenses yield less details. It's less perfect.. less "clinically perfect", some might even say. Hence it gives shots a certain charm, look and feel.
2. About the AF help light
* The orange AF assist light does not work with ANY kind of adapter, but then again, neither does it work in AF-C.
@@RedCathedral Thanks for getting back to me. No doubt there will be a loss of detail if one zooms in on a 60Mpixel picture taken with an old lens - but other than in certain circumstances, like when one wants extreme cropping - does it really matter? A 4K TV screen only displays 8 Mpixels.
I did read many years ago on a photographer's website (Ken Rockwell I think), where he was highly critical of claims back then that 12Mpixels was the equivalent to what 35mm film could resolve. He pointed out that people were determining this by scanning slides and comparing detail between film and digital. He said the big flaw was that they were using $100 to $200 scanners, but had they used $5000 Konica Minolta commercial scanners, the equivalence between fine grain slide film and digital was more like 80 Mpixels.
With respect to old lenses, I follow the Simon's Utak and Mr Baz Reviews channels where they review old lenses. They point out that while modern lenses are superb and super sharp, they often do have one flaw that old lenses don't have. Photos from the old lenses transition very smoothly from out-of-focus to in-focus to out-of-focus. Whereas many new lenses lack that smoothness and transition very harshly - they give examples, and for certain shots, like along fence posts or a subject in the middle of long grass, the old lenses are clearly superior..
I'm still annoyed that the LA-EA4 adapter stops the Auto Illuminator from working. It was a three or $400 adapter when it came out, not a $15 cheap Ebay adapter. I'd have expected more.
Thanks again for getting back to me.
Regards.
A joy to watch video for a Sony A7 photographer having a couple of A-mount lenses. Let me share my experience with LA-EA4 (discontinued in 2024). I've been using that adapter since 2021 on my A7 and A7R and A7III. It provides very similar autofocus experience as photographing with a Minolta film camera, I have Minolta Dynax 7 and 7xi. Absolutely reliable (but forget about low light), LA-EA4 has better AF than A7 and much better than A7R, so LA-EA4 is a must for A7R owners. LA-EA4 doesn't work with Minolta xi lenses at all, so avoid buying xi lenses. I used my LA-EA4 only with screw-driven Minolta, Konica-Minolta and Sony A-mount lenses. Sony SAL 50f1.4 works awesome with this adapter, even for (occasional) video. So, I am a big fan of LA-EA4, because I use the same lenses both on my film and LA-EA4-adapted A7(R)(III) cameras.
Hi! Do you know if I can use AF Minolta lenses with the new LA-EA5 adapter? I own a ton of them from being a sony ILCA enthusiast but I'm about to step up to full frame with a Sony A7IV. Thank you
@@MoisésRealLópez Yes, exactly this is the Red Cathedral video about that A7IV supports these screw-driven lenses on LA-EA5.
Absolutely true and some very good reasons to continue using it (for as long as you can find them).
The video feature of the LA-EA4 is something I really miss in the LA-EA5.
A community of enthousiasts helping eachother is such a wonderful thing. Thx!
Hello thanks a lot for this great video.
I just bought a brand new demo model of the Sony 28-75mm 2.8 SAM A lens. The issue is that it heavily back focuses on both my Sony alpha DSLR cameras (which is not the case of my other Sony lenses) : will this lens work better on a Sony mirrorless camera using one of these 2 adapters ?
When I use manual focus the portraits at 75mm are beautiful and I just paid 280€ for the lens so I hesitate to bring it back to the store…
Honestly, since the LA-EA5 uses the focussing system of the camera itself, and many backfocussing issues have been seriously reduced in mirrorless cameras (due to hybrid use of PDAF+ CDAF), it should help your lens.
However, it is possible that your lens is not reactive enough to follow every adaption/change of focus while working in AF-C/tracking so some shots might still be off. I haven't used that lens (it sounds like a great find for such a price), so I can't be 100% sure.
I am using sony a6400. Im looking to buy the minolta 80-200mm f2.8. What adapter should i use to get the autofocus when using this lens?
For this camera I would advise the LA-EA4
Very nice video! Good information over here.
I have minolta 50 mm 1.7 and minolta zoom 80-200 . I own a sony a7siii and i will like to test this old minolta lenses on video and photography. Do you think the LA-EA4 it will work ? Sorry my english , im from Argentina!
Sadly enough on my A7SIII all of the A-to-E-adapters stopped working after the very 1st firmware update. Now I'm at firmware v3.02 and stopped hoping. So I fear it will only be manual focus.
PS. English isn't my mother tongue either as you clearly hear in my many mistakes during literally every video ;-)
I have a LA EA 5 and I am not able to identify the bodies that this would work with. I tried the older A7 bodies, but it did not autofocus.
The LA-EA5 only works with all the new cameras from "Category 1" listed in point 5 of this article: tiny.one/SonyA2E
For older bodies: use LA-EA4
Greetings all. I'm searching for my question I have. I own the following Minolta's 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.7, 70-210 4 beercan, 100-200mm 4.5, 135mm 2.8. All screwdriver types. For upgrade What camera and which LA-EA adapter match must I go for. e.g. Nex + LA-EA? 6000 + LA-EA? A7 + LA-EA? I currently have the Sony A58 and want to upgrade without having to give up my lenses. I, in my ignorance, bought the LA-EA1 and learn it does not support my screw driver lenses,
Please help
If you're using older Sony E-mount bodies (everything older than A7IV) the LA-EA4 is the adapter to get. On newer models: LA-EA5.
The beercans & 135 f2.8 work just fine for me, so they can do the same for you. Enjoy them!
how about the sony nex series? does it also work? i have sony nex c3 rn
Never had the opportunity to test one of those oldtimers, (didn´t even know those were still being used) but in theory they might work with the la-ea4.. in theory..
As I wasn't sure about the answer to your question, I''ve just put my LA-EA4 adpater and lens onto a NEX-3 (i.e. the first NEX model), and it works fine.
Regards.
@@The157ra Excellent! 😃
This is the positive power of the internet where people scientifically work together with the means they have and so the results from different tests can be put together to get the answers needed.
Do you mind if I add the Nex-3 to the article + quote you as the contributor for the test?
@@RedCathedral No problem at all. NEX cameras were dirt cheap down here a few years ago, but RUclips videos saying their picture quality is pretty good seems to have increased their prices recently.
On another matter, your website says the LA-EA3 is pretty useless. I have one which I use with the Sony A-mount 2.8/16-50 SSM lens. It has much slower autofocusing than with the LA-EA4 adapter, but it does work. However, I'm happy I got it dirt cheap on Ebay, else I'd have been annoyed.
Want the lp ea5 on the Sony a7iii
That would have been nice indeed.. bu-ut.. the LA-EA4 still has 1 advantage over the LA-EA5 😉 ( ruclips.net/video/-VLe6eBQpME/видео.html )
Hi, nice video! I have bunch of great A-mount lenses and some of them require micro focus adjustment on SLR/SLT bodies. Do you have any experience with such lenses with the LA-EA5 adapter? Adapting these lenses to A7IV or A7RV, does it eliminate the need for micro focus adjustment? Thanks.
Thx, alas I have no lenses that require micro adjustments. In theory the camera should be able to handle those with the LA-EA5 adapter once calibrated in the way described in this article: www.sony.com.ph/electronics/support/lenses-mount-adaptors/la-ea5/articles/00018531
Hello, I have a Sony A6000, will the LA-EA4 allow me to use the a-mount lenses? Thanks
Simple answer: yes.
I've used the LA-EA2 adapter with old minolta lenses, tamron and sigma on a sony a6000 for video. If your patient and slow you can make good videos.
The LA-EA2 has exactely the same performance as the LA-EA4 (but it's made only for APS-C sensors), so on the A6000 it's certainly a good choice.
Personally I never used EA1/2 because I always switched between full frame/APS-C and hence the EA4 would work for both.
Good video! I sold my Sony A77 and is now using a Sony A7iii.
I wonder if you know if the Sony LA-EA5 Adapter is compatible with my Tamron sp 70-200 mm f2.8 lens and Sony a7iii?
I have asked multiple camera shops but no one can help me. I don’t want to sell the lens since I like it a lot and would love to be able to use it with an adapter. Hope you or someone here can help ❤
It took me some to ask around if any of my connections owned this lens so I could test it for you.. but alas no such luck.
If I were you i'd rather bet on the LA-EA4 to adapt this lens to an A7III.
@@RedCathedralHi! Thank you for taking the time. I’ll see if I can find the EA4 🙏🏼
I want to try a little macro photography and there is a used Sony 100 mm 2.8 A mount lens that I am looking at. I would be interested on mounting it on my Sony A7V. What adapter would you recommend? I want optimal auto focus features. Video compatibility would be nice but not essential.
On the A7IV/A7RV I would recommend the LA-EA5 since neither is backwards compatible with LA-EA4.
@@RedCathedral thanks. I ended up buying the emount.
I have a lens of Sony DSLR a350k 75-300 and I need a lens adopter for Sony ZV-E10 camera now I am confused about how to find the correct adopter if I am going to order what should I write A to E mount or something else ? Please guide
hi sir, right now i am using a6000 with laea2 adapter for minolta 70-210 and sony 70-300 g ssm and satisfying with the performance. since zv-e10 is apsc camera same with my a6000, i think it should be no issue to use laea2 or maybe you can go to lae4 if you want to switch for ff body in future
Adam is completey correct: For ZV-E10 either LAE-A2 or LAE-A4 will work. They actually do the same exept LAE-A2 will only work for APS-C and LAE-A4 works for both APS-C and full frame. Personally I never bought the LAE-A2 due to this restriction.
Thank you for such great video...
so if I have Sony A7II... should I stick with LA-EA4?..
ChatGPT says:
"For the Sony A7II, the LA-EA4 might be the safer choice if you want consistent autofocus performance across all your A-mount lenses. The LA-EA5 could work but may not provide the same level of AF performance as it does with newer E-mount bodies."
Is that correct?
Thanks!
Honestly: I have been able to get the LA-EA5 working with 1 lens on an older body (the A7III): the Sigma 50-500mm and the focussing was hardly useable.
So yes, ChatGPT is right, but I wouldn't advise using it for situations where AF is crucial.
(PS. my article on the subject: tiny.one/SonyA2E and I guess all Blogger.com entries have been used for the machine learning)
You should have mentioned Monsteradapter EA4r. That is a modified version of EA4, its mirror removed and the camera body taking care of focusing. Like EA5, but compatible with older bodies.
You are correct. Same goes for the Metabones A to E Speedbooster.
However, since I haven't tested those personally, I cannot make an evidence-based statement about them and recommend them for certain applications or users. Nor help with troubleshooting if somebody were to follow my recommendations. Nor will questions I myself might have for the product be answered.
Why didn't I test them?
This is a tiny micro-channel, so it doesn't make any money, nor does it warrant investing my money into it just for the sake of "testing & making a video". If I need something I'll buy it and then be able to report about it. If the producer or a distributer lends or gives me something, I'll use it, test it.. but again: why would Monsteradapter care about a tiny channel?
So yes, on paper the idea to disassemble and reassemble an LA-EA4 sounds great, but until I've managed to test the results myself; I cannot add it and stand behind anything I say about it.
how TO CHOOSE CAMERA BETWEEN ARM4 AND A7C2?
Difficult question and depends on your use & expectations.
A7CII is smaller/lighter if you like that and travel alot. Better AF. However less buttons to program/use. Tiny EVF. The on/off switch activated on several occasions when carrying the camera on a 100-400mm with the CarrySpeed sling (sling = attached to the lens evidently)
Personally I prefer the A7IV for jobs on events. It works easier for me, fits better in my hands & workflow, has a higher SS with the mechanical shutter. I prefer the central EVF but this depends on which of your eyes is the dominant one.
Great video
Thx ;-)
Hi! I have a question:
How long battery lasts with ea4 and ea5? Is there any difference?
With the FZ-100 batteries you hardly notice any difference with the LA-EA5.
Using a LA-EA4 with the small FW-50 battery will noticeably shorten the time. (10-20%)
Also: using a big, heavy lens with heavy motors will eat more battery power. And some of the older lenses are "rather" heavy.
My A77II is dying and hope to replace it with the A7RII. Which adapter should I get?
For the A7RII (and up until the 3rd generation) only the LA-EA4 will work.
But think very carefully about what you want to shoot when deciding to get an A7RII.. the difference between 2nd generation and the following generations is huge. Honestly, except for static subjects like architecture or landscapes I would not recommend a 2nd gen camera, especially when coming from a fast powerbeast like the A77II
@@RedCathedral my A77II is dying and the A7RII is currently the replacement that I can afford. I mostly shoot portraits and real estate
@I_am_BlinkStar Understandable. And for such static subjects the A7RII will get the job surely done👍
Can la-ea5 on Sony a6100?? Does eye af work?
A few years back I tested that combo and it didn't work.
There is another option: tiny.one/SonyA2E (point nr 6 might help you)
I have a Sony a7riii, and piles of old a mount lenses that I use on my a77ii. Would the laea4 be a good match on the a7riii? I’d love the laea5, but it seems autofocus will not work.
That's correct, on the A7RIII you can only use the LA-EA4..
(and yes, except for the video part, the LA-EA5 has so many advantages)
I have a A7RIII as well and a bunch of Minolta and old Sony A mount lenses. I use the LA EA3 myself, it'll have working auto focus for all SSM or SAM lenses + the HSM lenses from Sigma for example. The scewdrive based lenses I just manually focus (apature changing and exif data will still function on those lenses), which isn't an issue for me since I've always been into vintage glass and focusing manually.
Which adapter works best on an A7iii with a A mount 2.8 300 prime Sony Lens
Alas on the A7III only LA-EA4 will work.
Hiii sir i am from India and i own Sony a9 then what kind of adaptor i will use ? Plz suggest which one will be better?
Hello Ashish, Your camera is a category 2-camera so for a complete answer I would advise to read point 6 in tiny.one/SonyA2E
In most cases I would recommend an LA-EA4 adapter for your camera.
What works for A7III?
@@N.A.M.P. LA-EA4..
Super Thanks.
Glad it helped you ;-)
Looked at your article but I think there must be something wrong with your LA-EA3. I use it on my A6400 with the SAL85 f/2.8 (SAM) and that works fine with AF.
What a weird choice of Sony to decide that the LA-EA4 no longer works on the newer models.
That's always possible. I'm glad the EA3' AF works for you.. mine is now fixed on a MF-lens.. simply as a bridge between mounts.
Would I be able to use the sigma 24-70 f/2.8 dg ex af for A mount on my Sony a7iv, if I get the la-ea5 adapter?
The easiest might be to reply with a photo: flic.kr/p/2pfjgBu ;-)
(So yes, for stills it's possible)
@@RedCathedral thank you! :)
Hope you can help, I have EA5 adapter, Sony A7IV and Minolta 50mm autofocus 1.7 and 28mm. Both lenses don't work properly. If I am outside with the 50 mm 1.7 aperture, 100 iso it takes a shutter time of 1/8...with the iso on automatic it goes to 32000. What am I doing wrong.. I have this with both lenses.. Please can you help?
My 1st reaction would be: "There's something wrong with the adapter and some cross tests should be performed to determine what's happening."
But before jumping to that conclusion:
1. What's the upper limit for auto ISO you programmed into the camera?
2. Do you have the minimum shutter speed-option activated whith the Auto ISO? If yes on what shutterspeed is it set?
(PS. If you're from the Benelux, doing the crosstests at a dealer, or during an Alpha day is an option)
@@RedCathedral thanks for answering.. it is 50-80.000, have not changed anything here...and the minimum is 1/250 with auto iso...it is really strange, I take a picture..it reacts very slow when I take it...and then most of the time it loses the autofocus and the aperture...I can see that in my viewfinder, (the blue contrast shows for manual focusing and no numbers at F) and then it comes back again (or not, and I have to unscrew the adapter from my camera body and attach it again, then it works again)... I live in Greece, just updated the software of my camera in the hope that would help..but even outside in the midday bright Greek sun, in A, 1.7 aperture...the camera chooses 1/250 and 2500 ISO when on ISO automatic.
@@RedCathedral Also no eye tracking...I just found out
My suggestion would still be to do some cross tests in your store with another camera and another LAE-A5
Other than that: save your settings on a card or on your phone and do a complete reset of the camera + check if there's a new firmware available. If afterwards it still does not work, you can copy the original setting back to your camera and have only the crosscheck option left before sending the adapter back.
Nice video, thank you. By the way I have a question - I have Sony A68 + Sigma 150-600 HSM. I have also bought Sony A6300. Will Sigma 150-600 (for A mount) work fine on Sony A6300 with Sony adapter ? And which one would be better for this combination - EA4 or EA5 ? Would it be possible for you to verify it ?
Most of the Sigma A-mount lenses adapt rather well.Since the A6300 is a cat.3-camera (check tiny.one/SonyA2E ) only the LA-EA4 should work.
Will this work for a Sony zv-e10?
When I tested the ZV-E10 mark I it was with the very first firmware and A-mount lenses only worked with the LA-EA4 adapter. You can always check: tiny.one/SonyA2E for more details
Great information!
Thank you 🙏
sony A7 II e-mount 4 or 5 ?
Only the 4
I honestly did not know the difference between LA-EA4 (the one I own) and the LA-EA5 which I don't own but I kinda do want now because of the AF capabilities
Once you upgrade your camera body, chances are you'll have to upgrade the adapter to EA5 as well.
Thank you so much for this!
You're most welcome
Great video thank you. A query I have a Sony A7 S mark 3 in an underwater housing and wish to set it up with an autofocus Rectilinear fisheye lens. Can I use the old Sony 16mm F2.8 A mount fisheye lens with an LA-EA5 mount and retain autofocus in video mode? Or would I have to use a Sony fisheye ) 0.75X Ultra Wide Converter adaptor on an E mount lens to retain autofocus in video mode?
Hi, that's a great A-mount lens. I own the old Minolta 16mm f2.8 Fisheye.
Alas in short: no, you can't use it. Only the combination of Sony 28mm f2 + fisheye converter will give you the desired effect WITH AF.
1. The LA-EA5 does not support video AF.
2. Sadly enough the A7SIII (v2.0 and higher) no longer supports the LA-EA5, nor LA-EA4. We'll have to see if the next firmware update rectifies this, but I doubt it.
The written article with updates: tiny.one/SonyA2E
Hello......thanks for the video, very well edited. I bought a Sony A7r3 and I went to the Blog to see which adapter works best with my Minolta A lenses. If I buy the Sony LA-EA4 adapter I will send you a message to tell you how my Minolta 100mm f2 lenses, the 200mm f2.8 Apo, the Tamron 90mm macro, (maybe it is a different model than yours), the Sigma 35mm 1.4 art and the Tamron 15-30mm..... I hope I don't have to sell all of them, especially the 100mm and 200mm, very sharp and light. Thanks again . Greetings from A Coruña , Spain
That would be very kind of you. Once you've tested them thoroughly I'll update the article. The more lenses that have been tested, the better for all of us. (Hopefully your 90mm macro does a better job than mine!)
PS. Those 100mm AF f2 & 200mm f2.8 High Speed APO are lenses I'd love to get my hands on, so I cross my fingers that they do a good job with your LA-EA4. Are those easy to find in Spain?
Two questions Which lens is better for the Sony A 7r3 LA-EA4 or LA-EA5?? And on top of that what lens would be a good travel lens overall to keep on the body when traveling to like Mexico or someplace like that
On the A7RIII only the LA-EA4 will work. Sorry.
I'm eying the 35-150mm f2-2.8 atm, but those are heavy & huge for travel and "the bigger, the more interesting for thieves". For riskier regions I often change the 24-70 f2.8 GM for the f4 Zeiss version. A 24-105mm f4 or 20-70mm f4 would also work be perfect depending on your style. If you want an even smaller "less expensive looking" package: one of those tiny 24/40/50 mm f2.5/2.8 G lenses would make the camera look smaller yet still give excellent image quality. If I had to propose just 1 lens: 24-105mm, and if you switch the A7RIII into APS-C mode it even becomes 157mm
Here’s a different take on using A mount glass. Rather than spending hundreds on adapters, I bought some alpha mount Sony cameras. The latest is the A900 which looks intriguing compared to my Sony A7 ii. Since I picked up several a mount lenses, at garage sale prices, it seemed to make more sense to use them with their intended bodies. I’ll probably end up with an A99 also since the whole SLT thing looks, again, intriguing. Being a collector means never having to explain yourself rationally.
Using vintage glass is never something you should try to explain rationally to other people..
A Dynax 500i, Dynax 9, 7D, A850, A99, A77II and A58 are all still sitting on the shelves here and indeed using those with the A-mount glass would be more reasonable. But then again.. why be reasonable? It's simply pure fun to use those old lenses on the newest bodies..with all the new features. Yesterday I paired the A6700 with an old Tamron 10-24mm for some shots.. and seeing it work with the AI AF system was crazy. It made me smile.
As long as we enjoy ourselves, any take on using old gear is a right one 👍
@@RedCathedral yes I’m sure we could swap some vintage glass stories 😄. To my shock my recent splurge on A mount included a SAM lens, so the LE-A3 actually worked on my A7ii! Now I’m eyeing the KEH list of sam and ssm lenses, again at very reasonable prices. The screw drive lenses appears to be a mixed bag from your excellent web page review, and thank you for that. I’m not ready to buy an A7 iv, just to use the LE-A5, spending 2400 on that Sony to ‘save’ on using affordable a mount lenses-even I have a limit 😄. As a last comment you may be aware at the upcoming Kickstarter for the fellow making a ‘film cartridge to 4/3 sensor’ to use in vintage 35 mm bodies. The guy has been working on it for some time, and it’s been my dream to actually use my Nikons and canons and yes Minoltas of decades past.
Hi guys! Is La-EA5 compatibile with Sigma A mount lenses on Sony a9 ??a9 ? I a, changing from Sony a99 to Sony a9 and just would like to know if I will be manage to use all my Sigma lenses with this adapter. It would be much more less expensive to do it.
Hi,
* The LA-EA5 worked with the selection of Sigma A-mount lenses i've tested on the A7IV, so it should work on most lenses.
* However, when i tested the A9II it worked well with the LA-EA4. With the LA-EA5 only the Sigma 50-500mm seemed to deliver AF on that generation of cameras (A9/A9II/A7III)/... So it might work on some Sigma A-mount lenses, but isn't a reliable adapter option. (Read: tiny.one/SonyA2E )
* The A9III worked with the LA-EA5 while it was on pre-production firmware. (Haven't re-tested it with post-release firmware). But do note that with a lens adapter your framerate will drop to 5-10fps depending on the lens, which defeats the purpose of the A9-series, and its 60/120 re-calculations of focus can't be executed by A-mount lenses.
@RedCathedral Thank you for your answer. I work mostly in a theatre photography, so I don't need hyper frames per second. More looking for reliable and quiet work, as it is essential during this events. Not to disturb audience and actors with clicks from shutter and work better in a low light where my Sony a99 sometimes have a problem. Plus my old Sigmas would save me few k pounds to buy 3 new e mount lenses at this moment.
Thanks for the video but you are wrong about some of your assumptions. I have both systems and a few lenses for both and did extensive testing and shared a couple videos. First off my Minolta 80-200 2.8 HS is the fastest focusing lens and it is also extremely sharp (need to turn IBIS off) on my A99ii which still shoots 42mp at 12fps with full time af tracking. My A7R2 with adapters and the 80-200 or the Minolta 70-200 SSM are not as fast. Tested with different combos and settings in many situations. My 80-200 HS was built in the late 1980s and it is still fantastic for sports even compared to the newest cameras.
1. I believe you. An A99II was in every aspect, including focussing speed, the better of the A7II/RII. So yes, when testing between those cameras the 99 will most definately win.
However between that 2nd generation model and the current 5th generation cameras there has much changed. I did my tests on A7III, A7SIII, A7IV, A1, A7RV, .. hence the difference in results. Gen III is good, but with gen IV and V you really get into a different gear.
2. On top of that with the gen II camera you're using the focusing system of the LA-EA4 adapter itself. With the gen IV/V cameras the LA-EA5 adapter the AF-system of the camera itself does all the work. And trust me: there lies the difference.
I think you might be surprised with .. everything, once you upgrade from the A7RII to an A7RV .. it's like changing from a Nissan Micra to a Porsche 911 GT3.
I learnt that I will stick with my A-mount cameras.
That last generation of A´s with the A77ii, A99ii and A68 most definaty rocked.
Hi I have Sony A99 II with a lot Minolta lenses :) but I have also 70-400SSMG2 lens I`m Srugguling take a sharp picures with the telephoto lens . I looking upgrade mirrorless Sony camera for wildlife photogphay . My A99 II and telephoto lens made me regret to buy A99II and telephoto lens :( It was so expensive
Sad to read that you have a lens/camera combination that doesn't focus right. (because those are a great lens and a magnificent camera)
First of all: do check the firmware on your A99II ( www.sony.be/nl/electronics/support/a-mount-body-ilca-90-series/ilca-99m2/downloads) and update if needed. Who knows, it might help.
Secondly: when you upgrade to a mirrorless Alpha, make sure to get one of the camera models who work with the LA-EA5 adapter (List: tiny.one/SonyA2E ) AND take your lens with you to test it when you do an in-store touch & try of the new camera.
@@RedCathedral thanks
@@RedCathedral Hi Du I need to update my lens ? 70-400SSMG2 ? the camera version is 1.01 the lens is 0.1 version
@Krisztian Nagy Szeder For the camera v1.01 is already the updated version.
However the lens should be at least v1.00 (because v0.xx usually means preproduction firmware) alas v1 firmware is never posted on the Sony download pages and the lens has no later updates. Maybe try contacting your local Sony support number to doublecheck.
I have A7II and will buy a A7RIII. The price for a 7IV is more than 1000 euro more and than 250 for the adapter.The problem whits the LEA4 i have no more eye focus and also which the LEA3. I shot runners and the camera focus on the sign nummer and not on the face. The LEA 5 is not working for action. The best bay a other lenz. I have no other soluion.
That's completely correct. On the A7III neither the LA-EA3 nor-5 will do much and the focussing system of LA-EA4 does not have Eye AF. So especially for sports I would indeed recommend an e-mount lens for your A7III.
@@RedCathedral Bit late to the party haha, but the LA-EA3 will definitely work as long as you're not using screwdrive based Minolta or Sony A mount glass. I've been using the EA3 myself with a bunch of A mount lenses and it's working flawlessly, sure it's not as snappy as native lenses but for the insane price difference it's well worth a shot.
If not shooting professionally A6700 hands down best money for the buck with an A mount to e mount Adapter
If you´re only making stills: absolutely! Great value there.
minolta 50 mm 1.7 doesn't work and many others!!!
It is very probable that several combinations won't work. That's why in the article is a complete list of tested lenses and if other people test lenses they are welcome to help completing the list for all vintage lenses. I have never tested the Minolta 50 f1.7. However a collegue of mine uses it without issues on his A7III with an LA-EA4.
So evidently it's very important to know which camera + adapter were used for your findings. (and with the latest generations, even what firmware version)
The LA-EA5 has AF in video on older E-mount cameras. Sony dropped that capability.
Yup, the loss of video via the adapter is an evil move from Sony.