2nd Gen Magic: Techart LM-EA9 Autofocus Adaptor Review (Sony E)
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
- Purchase link: techartpro.com/?product=lmea9... (affiliated link)
Teahart has just released their second generation LM-EA9 Autofocus M to E adaptor, which is the successor to the Techart Pro LM-EA7 adaptor. In this video, we will have a look at what are the changes and how does this adaptor performs with different M-mount and non-mount lenses
Special Thanks Auckland Camera Centre: aucklandcamera.co.nz/
Camera gear used to film this video:
Panasonic Lumix GH6 | Leica 15mm f/1.7
Synco D2 Microphone: link.syncoaudio.com/Richard-D2
Zeapon Micro2Plus Slider + PONS Panhead: www.zeapon.com/products-detai...
Accsoon M1 HDMI recorder/webcam/monitor kit: amzn.to/3ibwxSl (affiliated link)
Instagram: / photo_by_richard
Facebook: / photobyrichard
0:00 Introduction
0:53 2nd generation improvements
4:06 Setup Guide
6:00 How to set the focus ring to get best performance
8:37 Firmware Update
10:03 Autofocus Test - Special Thanks
10:36 Autofocus Test with 7Artisans 28mm f/5.6
11:21 Autofocus Test with TTArtisan 35mm f/2 APO
12:05 Which Autofocus Point works
13:04 Video Mode
13:25 AFC Continuous Autofocus
13:54 Test with Voigtlander 55mm f/1.1
15:11 Eye AF
15:46 Old vs New - LM-EA7 vs LM-EA9
16:59 Autofocus Test with SLR lens - Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AIS
18:00 Final Thoughts 
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Has anyone got or tried the original Techart Pro LM-EA7 adaptor? What is your experience and would you be interested in this new version?
I have the LM-EA7 and have ordered the EA9. I use the EA7 with my Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux on my Sony A9 as well as my 35mm summilux- results are spectacular. It’s a no-brainer- no searching for focus on my manual Leica MP240. I can use my M lenses with modern autofocus capability of Sony camera body. Nailing focus with my 0.95 can be challenging with my MP240, and I found myself missing spontaneous shots when shooting wide open, Sony never fails, and getting feedback on focus lock-on is always reassuring of not missing a shot. Terrific comprehensive review, can’t wait to get mine. I find the adapter extremely ingenious and brings versatility to M lenses on sophisticated modern Sony cameras. Thanks so much!🥂🇨🇦🥂
Glad to hear you have good experience and results with your LM-EA7. I'm sure you will be even happier with the LM-EA9 :)
Dear Richard,
thanks for this great review.
Yes, I own the LM-EA7 and since a couple of days also the LMEA9. I use them with the A9 most of the time. The LM-EA7 has been extremly helpful, especially when shooting with ultrafast lenses, like Anu Garg wrote in the answer above. I only shoot the poor mans Noctilux, the TTArtisan 0.95/50mm, but I can confirm that the results are spectacular! It even allows you to shoot selfies at f:0.95! 🙂
As far as it comes to the new LM-EA9, I've to say that I don't really feel that it is focussing much faster than the predecessor. Sometimes it is even a little bit hesitating until the green AF-confirm marks appear. This is less the case with the LM-EA7. In terms of noise I would say it sound different but not necessarily much quieter. If the focusing path is short then it is almost silent, but if it is long than you hear a noise that is not much quieter than the LM-EA7. My conclusion right now: The biggest advantage is really the much nicer form factor compared to the LM-EA7. Performancewise I'm not yet sure. I hope further firmware updates will improve the AF perfromance.
One important note: The LM-AE9 is NOT compatible to some LTM or M-mount lenses that have the infinity lock button located at the lenses flange level. The LM-EA9's M mount is a bit recessed and the infinity lock button collides with the rim of the adapter if you try to mount it!
The list of NOT compatible lenses with the LM-EA9 includes (not sure if it is complete):
Leitz: Hektor 6.3/28mm, Summaron f:5.6/28mm, Elmar 3.5/35mm, Summar 2.0/50mm (rigid version only), Hektor 2.5/50mm, Elmar 3.5/50mm (LTM versions only, M works!)
TTArtisan 5.6/28mm, Voigtländer Heliar 2.8/40mm
This is really a shame...
I have 2 copies of the old one :) they suddenly died recently, I am waiting to see if the local service can bring them back to life and I am 100% getting one of the new ones because I love this product and I use it a lot.
LMFAO. taking a nikon logo photo with a Canon lens attached to a leica m adapter which then attached to a Sony via an auto focus adapter. Never ever thought i would see such day 😂👏
Thank you for this review. Great to see the actual performance and learn about the caveats. I feel like I can accept them so I ordered one!
Phil Thanks for watching! Enjoy :)
Very helpful review Richard, thank you!
Amazing how small these motors are. Nice review. Thanks
Thanks Barry!
Thank you for this excellent report and test. I've been following your reports for a while now and have to give you a big compliment. As a non-native English speaker, I admire your great progress in English. Thumbs up.
micha brainracer, thank you very much for your encouragement and support!
great review!
Nice review. Glad that you have stated the truth about the limitations. I was curious before but after your review, I think manual focus might be better for me.
Hi Kai, I don't want to mislead my viewer thinking it is perfect and end up disappointed. But to be fair, it is still much better and faster than manual focus. I know quite a few LM-EA7 users are really happy so this new version would be even better if you have the right expectation
This is the best review of the LM-EA9, and a wonderful comparison to the previous version. Thank you for this excellent review! I have the older LM-EA7 and just placed an order for the LM-EA9. Sounds like there is no tangible difference in AF speed with the new version which is a bummer. But I welcome the compact size and quiet operation of the new one. Will be using it with my new A7R V, so I hope AF performance improves at the edges with my genuine Leica M lenses (not sure if the body can help here, or it's the lens).
Thank you for watching! Yes i didn't notice any AF speed difference myself, so if there is difference it would be minimal
Great fair review. I have a Techart Pro and i love it but hate that extended motor part so I might upgrade to this new version!
Thanks Dan!
Thanks. Have the LM-EA7 adapter and was wondering if I should upgrade. I don’t mind the noise, so I think I’ll just keep using the LM-EA7. I don’t think either of them would ever be fast enough for moving subjects, anyway, and the LM-EA7 works good enough for stationary objects/people.
Thank you for the nice review. How is the autofocus tracking for moving subject? Does it work well as native Sony lens? Thanks.
it definitely is NOT the same as native lens. If you expect anywhere near that kind of performance you would be completely disappointed
Hi , for techart gen 2 , the autofocus is work for video as well or just photo only?
Thanks for sharing
I have a LM-EA7, but it seems it cannot be used on A7C2, do you know it is a firmware problem (i am using v5.0) or any setup issue on the A7C2 body?
wow, that was so much more thorough than any other review I've seen! lucid and concise, too. i really appreciate it! have they kept up with firmware updates? do you think they'll be releasing a 3rd generation anytime soon? It's just not the cheapest, and I don't even have any M-mount lenses yet, but I really fell in love with the Voigtlander 65mm apo on e-mount, and have been eyeing M mount lenses as such.
Hi there! thanks i don't think a 3rd gen is coming anytime soon since it took them a few years to crate this 2nd gen. They have released a few fw update. The last one i'm aware of is 1.6 at end of 2022 but there maybe more after that.
@@TheRealRichardWong thanks! i was just hoping they'd do something with video, since it doesn't make much sense to me, as it maybe appeared to you as well, that it supports AF-C, and even eye-AF in photo mode, but not in vid... just kinda kills it for me... i guess i should just go look this up, but they didn't happen to remedy that in a firmware update (yet?), did they? if not, i almost want to email them and ask if they have any plans to.
my guess is that, the difference between photo and video mode is that you can afford to have some fast, erratic adjustments in AFC photo mode but you can't do that in video mode or the video would look horrible.
To be fair, this is already a miracle it even works in photo mode (even just the AF-S) so maybe it's just impossible to have AFC in video mode
@@TheRealRichardWong absolutely... that makes sense! i have the RS3 Pro, and was going to try the LiDAR attachment, so maybe I'll give that a shot first, since it would work w all lenses, not just M mounts, and do video... but i still might have to try this... anyway, thx for the detailed response! take care
The LM-EA7 doesn't work well on my A7iv, autofocus is very slow. Does anyone have the same problem? I tried to update the firmware but the application is not available in my country as the last time I downloaded on my iphone
Thx for this explanation.
Sorry but I'm a bit lost… I' have to "program" the adapter, by setting f:5.6, taking a photo, going back to f/2, taking another photo… This is only for the focal length… right ?
But when Am I supposed to use those f/41 f/51 f/57 … ?
/
I'm using a "Leica Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH" with it… Considered as an "ultra-fast" lens :/ ?
/
If the camera is in "A" Aperture Priority… Then the shutter speed is automatic ? As the ISO ?
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THX for any help.
The Bluetooth connection was a nightmare. The only device that allowed me to connect properly was an iPhone 7.
good review
Thank you very much
Thank you so much for this review , but i have question is that adapter working with 7artisans e mount ?
hi there, no it doesn't. it only allows you to adapt other mount that has longer flange distance (e.g. Leica M) to Sony E
I own the ea9 and use it with the summilux preasph. The leica glow confuses the adapter and it always fromt focuses when there it is glowy and low contrast at f1.4. To address it, i take photos at exposure comp -1 and at f2, and once i lock focus i turn the aperture to f1.4. Its still faster than focus peaking which is inaccurate, again due to the glow
Also fat lenses don’t work with ea9. The canon 50mm f1.2 ltm works with ea7. This is due to the stupid placement of the lens ejection button which eats into the space where the lens mounts
Hi Richard, I have EA7 for my A7R4 which sometimes out of focus even u can see the lock focus green box on the camera. But when u zoom in it is not focus there, is this be improved on EA9? Thank you
I did notice a few of my photos are a bit misfocused but it was like less than 5 photos out of the 1000+ photos I took. So I'm not sure if it was the adaptor or the camera itself or user error
LM-EA7 plays poorly with Gen. 4 cameras. To be honest, it doesn't even work as well on the a9 (Gen. 3) compared to the a7RII (Gen. 2).
EA9 for my a7r4a is perfect！
yes i use ea7 on a7iii , which is more accurate than using it on a74
i wonder if ea9 have impove it or not
hello my friend how are you, thank you for your information. I have a question about the lens adapter. I switched the Nikon D850 full frem camera to a Sony A7iv. My question is, which lens adapter may i use for my new Sony a7iv with Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Nikon. do you have any information about the adapter?
Hello there, i have not tested any of Nikon F to Sony E AF adaptor myself so I can't suggest you anything
I don't understand why AF doesn't work off center. I mean, it's the camera that's "seeing" if something is in or out of focus right? And in turn it's sending a signal to the adapter to move the lens. So why wouldn't it be able to "see" this when you set your focus zone closer to the edge?
that's a good question, but i also do not know the answer. This appears to be the case for all the autofocus adaptor I've tried from Techart and Megadep so far.
I would like to use it on my sony a9 and a1, are there any problems using the electronic shutter?
I haven't test it, but i think it should work fine? Maybe other LM-EA7 or LM-EA9 users can comment
Any techniques you recommend if we hold the lens with our left hand due to heavy lens while our right hand hold the camera so that our hands won't bother the adapter movement. Thanks
I would say you hold it very loosely with the left hand. So your hand is more like a support from the bottom rather than grabbing the whole lens tightly. Hope that make sense
@@TheRealRichardWong I see. Thank you.
Did Techart address the battery drain problem even when the camera is at off position with the LM-EA7?
Yes they said it is one of the improvement. I didn't notice drain issue with the lmea9 myself
Hopefully techart will make similiar adapter for other mounts. Leica L for sigma fpL has PD AF for example
Yes i'm sure they will create for other mount. But not really expecting to see a Leica L mount version at this stage, but as someone who also has a L mount camera, I would be happy to see them prove me wrong :)
@@TheRealRichardWong please ask techart for adaptor for other mounts
17:38 you have to know some things about sony cameras :). The algorithm Sony bodies use to work with this adapter is the same they use for adapted sony A mount lenses, Canon EOS, ... it is a restricted protocol and works well in AF-C(not AF-S) and it has a burst mode restriction - only LO speed has AF which is 3fps. Exception to that last part is A9, A9II and A1 - they can shoot burst with AF at 10fps. So when you say even in AF-C - this is where it uses primarily the phase detect points on the sensor and the AF is better.
Good info! Thanks for sharing :)
@@TheRealRichardWong no problem :) you just need more time with Sony to understand their ways :D. As far as I know Nikon has no restrictions and everything works no matter the lens. Which is why Techart made the adapter for Z cameras to E lenses. Which reminds me that probably this adapter will work on Nikon bodies.
Is there something similar available for L mount cameras?
Not at the moment Danny. But if there is one, i'm sure i will try to do a review on this channel! :)
Ive owned & used 5 lm ea7, kept broken down within 8-12 months of use, last one only last 3 months. I currently use lm ea 9, but the 1st gen has better and faster focus speed n accuracy. Lm ea9 often froze up and need the camera to be restarted again n again if in use continuously for a day. I'd get lm ea7 again because it's better. I love the adapter that much. I used it on sony a7mkii & a9.
thanks for sharing your experience
Richard, Thank you for your informative video.
After seeing your video, I rushed out to eBay Chinese site and purchased a LM-EA9, and it arrived just today.
However, I cannot remove the USB dock/E-mount cap (although the other cap on the M-mount side is removable)
I thought it will be just depressing the metal knob to twist the cap anti-clockwise to remove the locked cap. But this cap is not removable.
I also assumed that the metal knob has a more springy press, but I can only press it about 2mm (and not too springy).
Unable to remove this cap will not let me mount this adaptor to my Sony E-mount camera.
Is there something that I did not do properly even with this simple start ? Or the Unit is defective.
Please share your experience for us in case others may also experience this challenging start.
Thanks in advance.
hey Charles, yes you are correct the metal knob on the rear cover is the key to remove it. What you need to do is push that knob down (not in), i..e. iif you have the adaptor sitting on your desk, and the cap resting on the desk, then you push the knob towards your desk. Then twist the cap anticlockwise and you should be able to remove it. If you feel it's stuck, maybe wiggle the knob and the cap slightly and try again, but you shouldn't need to apply a lot of force.
@@TheRealRichardWong Thank you soooo much for your quick response Richard. I now feel like a real dummy because I kept on pushing the metal knob inward in only one direction.
With your help, I managed to remove the USB dock/E-mount cap and successfully tested the Techart on my A7c and A7iii. Works beautifully, a lot more quiet than the LM-EA7, and just a little faster.in the focusing speed.
@@vaioyG Awesome! Great to hear that. It took me a while to figure out that too. Probably should have a user manual that teach us that.
Most modern lens focus by moving only a few of their many glass elements, but this adaptor move all the elements together, would you know if this different cause any deviation in optional result from the original design. P.S. Most Pre 1960s lens does move the whole lens in and out via a simple helicoid.
there would be some effect/compromises as usually lenses have a optimised focus distance that give you the best overall image quality.
Is the USB dock included with the adapter? or is that a separate purchase?
Included, it's also the rear cover
@@TheRealRichardWong - Thank you for replying. I have ordered the adapter!
Doest it use the camera battery as it's power source?
It does
@@TheRealRichardWong thanks.
Is this adapter creating more sensor dust than a native AF Lens ?
It is possible. But I haven't used it long enough to say that
Does it focus fast? Can it damage leica M lens
You can check my sample footage in this video and see if it is fast enough for you. Re damage Leica M lenses, as long as you use it correctly, i don't see how you can damage it.
how about the af noise，the first gen is very loud grinding as if using dentist equipment
This is addressed in the video. New version is a lot quieter.
hi yes, as @LesserBabkaX pointed out, i've talked about this in this video, with footage to show you the difference and the new version is much quieter :)
The LM-EA7 I own underwent 5 years of use, no wobble.
The original adapter could sustain 700g, but this one could only sustain 500g.
Too bad many of my lenses weigh between 500g~700g.
My understanding is that LM-EA7's 700g limit is with hand holding the lens, without holding the lens the rated limit is only 300g. And with LM-EA9, the limit is around 2kg with the hand holding the lens, and 500g without holding the lens
The Achilles heal of these type of adapters is changing f-stops. You may have autofocus but there is no auto aperture, you have to do that manually. The best SLR lenses for this are the old Olympus OM lenses which have a button you press to stop down to your selected aperture. M42 lenses on the other hand have a clunky lever.
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Hi, Richard, thank you so much for the review..
but, do you know how long is the life expectancy of this adapter?
I have used 5 techart lm-ea7 (all dead), 1 tzm01 (dead), 1 tze01 (still works), and the last one is LMea9, not even 1 year usage, but the motor already weak, it cannot retract back to infinity, can only reach 5m focus. I love techart adapters, I use them alot for my M mount lenses, but the life expectancy are too short, and never a response from their customer service when it comes to error and malfunctions, even when we already use the adapter as instructed. 🥲🥲🥲🥲
hi there, I only kept the sample for the review period (a few weeks) than i returned so I cannot answer your question. I heard the new generation is supposed to be better because the design share the load to multiple points. However, maybe see if any owners can share their experience with you?