The fact these cameras have plastic mount flanges has always bothered me. With bigger lenses there is play in the mount, and I've had small plastic shaving come out off the flanges from time to time. I'm considering this for my a6000, though it's certainly not pressing.
This plastic has also bothered me and I knew someone would come up with a solution such as this. I do wonder if the plastic might somehow serve to dampen vibration though (but then the A7s uses all metal so?).
I ordered one to try. My NEX-7 now has more rotational play with lenses and adapters than it used it. If it resolves that problem on the NEX, I'll get another for the a7.
I also ordered one for my A7r even though I have yet to experience any issue. I figure at some point, the plastic will compress/ wear and this will eventually be needed.
I can just see the sratched sensors already A little slip while loosening/tightening the screws, or dropping a screw on top of the sensor. Fotodiox needs to supply a body cap with this that has holes in it for access to the screws holes with the body cap on.
I hope Fotodiox does a better job in QA concerning tolerances on this than they do on some of thier adapter products I have bought over the years. Every lens I mount on my A7r would be dependent on it.
I notice this mount is made out of chromed brass whereas the A7s uses a mount made out of stainless steel. I don't know if one is preferable to the other, brass would be softer I suppose but classic camera mounts also were made out of brass I believe.
It looks a little riskier than doing a Leitax mount but not too bad, I think I would fabricate some kind of safety-net over the sensor first just for the heck of it. I think in principle the tough-mount is a nice concept but I'm almost certain it would void your warranty. . .if a Sony warranty is worth anything to begin with.
Well, if I get one I'll do the screws while the camera is tilted slightly down mounted to a tripod. Then there's no chance of dropping a screw on the sensor.
The plastic is there to give some flex with larger/heavier lenses. If there is no plastic to give some bend, you'll be permanently bending structural frames.
I would just replace the plastic once every year or two if you notice your mount has more give than you're used to.
Wouldn't heavier lenses use a tripod mount directly attached to the lens and not the camera? I never mount my 100-400 EF lens to the camera and use the camera's tripod mount...I also never leave such heavy lens attached to the camera and have the camera plus lens swinging on a camera belt! And if you use a tele lens/A7 combination handheld, one hand is always supporting the lens.
So far I have not seen any lens wobbling or even particles scratched off from the plastic lens mount part.
The plastic is there to give some flex with larger/heavier lenses. If there is no plastic to give some bend, you'll be permanently bending structural frames.
I would just replace the plastic once every year or two if you notice your mount has more give than you're used to.
Why then do you suppose there is no plastic used on the A7s mount where the solid stainless mount Sony used was stated as being for large/ heavier lenses?
Tariq Gibran wrote:
Why then do you suppose there is no plastic used on the A7s mount where the solid stainless mount Sony used was stated as being for large/ heavier lenses?
Have we ever seen the structure of the A7s to know if it has the same extra parts that went into the body structure of the A7r versus the A7? Originally Sony indicated that the difference in the body frame structure was in part to support the extra weight of the heavier lenses.
naturephoto1 wrote:
Have we ever seen the structure of the A7s to know if it has the same extra parts that went into the body structure of the A7r versus the A7? Originally Sony indicated that the difference in the body frame structure was in part to support the extra weight of the heavier lenses.
Rich
Yes, originally Sony stated that the structure of the A7r was metal versus more plastic in the A7 in order to support heavier lenses. That said, you can see in Roger's Lensrentals teardown of the A7r that the actual structure between the sensor and the lens mount is extremely simple consisting of what appears to be a die cast part with the sensor on one side and the mount on the other. You can also see the plastic gasket in question. The rest of the body structure attaches to this. It's likely the A7s uses the exact same die cast part shown below. The use of plastic vs stainless by Sony is probably more about marketing/ product differentiation and model position in the lineup. If that's the case - and given the way the cameras are constructed - hard to see any risk in replacing the mount imo.
"The sensor is mounted and shimmed on one side of the metal chassis, as indicated by the red arrow. The lens mount is attached directly to the other side, marked with a yellow arrow. There’s nothing else that needs to be calibrated or aligned."
That is for the A7r as we knew. But, what about for the A7s? But do we really know at this point know if the A7s have extra structure in the construction the same or similar to the A7r? Also, it will be interesting to see if issues arise with the A7r cameras that Sony would perform repairs of the camera as has been implemented in the mount for the A7s.
That is for the A7r as we knew. But, what about for the A7s? But do we really know at this point know if the A7s have extra structure in the construction the same or similar to the A7r? Also, it will be interesting to see if issues arise with the A7r cameras that Sony would perform repairs of the camera as has been implemented in the mount for the A7s.
Rich
I don't know 100% but I would highly suspect that exact same structure for the die cast sandwich with the sensor on one side and the mount on the other in all A7x models. As far as the rest of the structure - front plate particularly- I have no idea, though there is no reason to suspect the A7s would not use the same, robust metal used in the A7r. The front plate of the A7 I believe is what has some plastic in it vs the A7r. From the Lensrental image below, there is not really a lot they could change beyond that front plate. It seems a fairly elegant structural design.
miguel_13 wrote:
It looks a little riskier than doing a Leitax mount but not too bad, I think I would fabricate some kind of safety-net over the sensor first just for the heck of it. I think in principle the tough-mount is a nice concept but I'm almost certain it would void your warranty. . .if a Sony warranty is worth anything to begin with.
Wrap it up in a sheet of plastic wrap and cut small holes over the screws. Screwdriver in one hand, tweezers in the other, you're good to go.
A little slip while loosening/tightening the screws, or dropping a screw on top of the sensor. Fotodiox needs to supply a body cap with this that has holes in it for access to the screws holes with the body cap on.