LA-EA1, anyone?

[Vidgamer]

I just got mine. Works all except for AF, but I do have some observations.

I do have a question about the manual: it says not to do a couple of things including use it with a teleconverter. Is this just a general disclaimer or is there really something that could go wrong?

Last night, when doing AMB, it actually uses the lowest aperture -- 1.7 on my 50/1.7! Interesting to see what it does with more light. Needless to say, the focal plane is fairly narrow when that happens.

Manual focus is easier than with my A100. It might be harder with sun glaring out the display, but other than that, I can see why people are getting excited about adapting their old lenses.

Of course, the adapter adds some length to the lens. The 50/1.7 plus adapter is as long, if not a tad longer, than the kit lens! Sigh.

[Vidgamer]

OK, I think the kit lens does pretty well, but I just tried a couple of adapted lenses, and, wow. I think the sensor has a bit more to give than the kit lens will allow!

An evf would be really handy though, or at least an anti-glare cover. Sometimes the glare is a bit too much.

[Dave Bacon]

Are you finding you can adjust the aperture??? or does it just default to wide open?? How about when doing video - any aperture control??

Thanks
Dave

[Vidgamer]

Are you finding you can adjust the aperture??? or does it just default to wide open?? How about when doing video - any aperture control??

Thanks
Dave

Sure, in A mode, you can set it to whatever you want. In the auto modes, it decides.

I haven't tried video yet, but I assume that it decides what aperture.

[Vidgamer]

I attached a 300mm lens. HAHAHA, just try to use Manual Focus Assist with that! It's crazy. And impossible. AMB isn't a substitute for OSS, but it's better than not if you have a really slow shutter speed, I suppose.. but it's definitely not a cure-all. I'm not that thrilled with it.

Just to try to see how far I could push it, I used it at 300mm in dim room lighting with AMB. It used ISO 6400, of course, and 1/15 sec. Ok, I've actually used such low speeds before with the A100 and SSS, and got something fairly usable as long as you didn't pixel-peep. With this test, out of three shots, one wasn't too bad; it's blurry if you zoom in, but it might be salvageable for the web. Yeah, maybe next time, I should find more light and try to get it to at least 1/30 sec. I know I need to make use of such techniques as AMB to make up for lack of SSS/OSS, but I just don't have a feel yet for what to expect from it.

While I think AMB can work well for some things and reduces noise, sometimes it does not stitch things well, at least with the non-Nex lens. I wonder if there's some communication that it uses beyond what the A-mount lens offers?

[Mark K]

I have mine. Great adapter and I can easily change my lens aperture using the only dial at the back.
Focusing is a challenge to me and it becomes more difficult under direct sunlight. I have not tried out the Teleconverter yet but.......I hope it works

[Vidgamer]

The manual says not to use a tc. Of course, I tried it. In low light it had degraded quality so I don't have a positive view of it at the moment, but it did seem to function fine. I think it's only going to be useful in bright light. , and even then, its hard to see the advantage over cropping.

Oh with a prime lens, the digital zoom is available, but it seemed to me that it was buried in the menus I don't suppose there's a button or dial combination?