p.45 #1 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
freaklikeme wrote:
So true. I want to have my 7 done so I can use the Rodenstock Grandagon 35, the rear element of which will practically sit on the sensor.
Of course, since I'm going to do it for that anyway, it's a good excuse to consider picking up another Elmarit 24 ASPH.
I had the lens, you can't get infinity, the rear element touches the lens mount before.
p.45 #2 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
JaKo wrote:
Few months later I am still getting used to SEM 21 focussing-by-tab and less than Zeiss perfect throw, but it's undeniably a great lens...
On reflection, are you (and anyone else who made the same journey) happy with your decision to put aside the 21/2.8 Distagon ZE/ZF for an A7R Mod with the 21 SEM?
I'm on the precipice of either going ahead and getting my A7R Modded or investing that money towards a 21/2.8 Distagon.
The 21 SEM is the only lens I would do this for - I have great alternatives at other focal lengths (28-R v2, 50MP etc.) The intended use (with A7R Mod) is primarily stopped down landscape tripod use, for everyday use I prefer to use a RF body (love the 21SEM with M9.)
Reduced weight is nice but not such a big deal in this context, less (money spent buying) lenses is the driver, and the results of course.
The paucity of the Australian dollar pushes the cost of the Kolari Mod a fair way towards the cost of a 21/2.8 ZE and I wonder if I would get better results just going in that direction instead. Any advice? Thanks.
p.45 #3 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
Hi Coogee. My criteria has always been size and weight of gear that I carry with me, even at the expense of having opted for Leica M series of bodies and lenses about 5 years ago. The A7r is light and easy to go camera, and of course will be superseded by the A7rII when it eventuates
The Kolari modification will improve your other lenses in differing degrees. Since you already have the 21 SEM for the M9, having a 36MP body with the ability to use the same lens would make life easier IMO.
The other option is wait until the Batis 25 arrives and for a similar cost, you have a native mount 25mm which will work with any A7 body.
For landscape work and weight is of no concern, you may opt for new Canon body, and then of course the ZE 21 is a great option
p.45 #4 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
FYI, Ilija just informed me that the humidity resistant glass production is back to normal and the conversion should be ready by next week.
Coogee, I second Charles opinion regarding the mod and size. Getting the Zeiss 21 is a step backward to this whole deal, especially since you already have your SEM 21. I just hope Ilija has enough to time to look into converting the next A7 generation. I'm now fully an M-mount shooter. The size and weight saving, plus the convenience of Sony latest tech, is too sweet for me to consider an SLR system again.
p.45 #5 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
I've no intention of using an SLR body again but wanted to be sure I am not feeding one compromise (21 SEM problems on A7R) with another (sensor mod/investment in soon-to-be superseded camera) without having a 100% outcome.
Thank you both, just call it last minute nerves I'm 99% certain I'll go for it - a similar update from Ilija was what prompted the question.
I have TS-E24 and 28mm Elmarit-R v2 so it is just the 21 SEM that I would use and possibly the 90AA but that's already great.
For some reason, despite really loving the versatility and features of the A7R, I'm reluctant to buy native FE lenses and still err towards SLR mounts for landscape use despite having no intention of ever buying another SLR body - a strange hangover I guess.
p.45 #6 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
coogee wrote:
I've no intention of using an SLR body again but wanted to be sure I am not feeding one compromise (21 SEM problems on A7R) with another (sensor mod/investment in soon-to-be superseded camera) without having a 100% outcome.
Thank you both, just call it last minute nerves I'm 99% certain I'll go for it - a similar update from Ilija was what prompted the question.
I have TS-E24 and 28mm Elmarit-R v2 so it is just the 21 SEM that I would use and possibly the 90AA but that's already great.
For some reason, despite really loving the versatility and features of the A7R, I'm reluctant to buy native FE lenses and still err towards SLR mounts for landscape use despite having no intention of ever buying another SLR body - a strange hangover I guess....Show more →
I'm not sure how sharp the SEM 21 at WO on the modded camera is compared to the M9 (I know the Elmar 24 is extremely sharp at WO on my A7s.Mod). But for landscape and stopped down, I have no doubt that the SEM 21 would be sharp on the A7R.
The only thing that you need to be aware of is the color cast. It will be there on the A7R, and you have to take an extra step with Flat Field plug in to get rid of it. Definitely a bit of inconvenience. Also, to maximize sharpness across the frame, I believe you need to focus for the corners, instead of the center, like Jack mentioned several pages back. I only need to do this trick on my ZM 15. All of my other Leica lenses so far, 24 and up, don't need it. But hyperfocal is part of the game anyway, so it might not be such a hassle.
p.45 #7 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
Good news guys... Heard from Ilija today that he has glass coming in by early next week. Expectation is that the supply issues are resolved after the fire at Schott.
p.45 #8 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
coogee wrote:
On reflection, are you (and anyone else who made the same journey) happy with your decision to put aside the 21/2.8 Distagon ZE/ZF for an A7R Mod with the 21 SEM?
I'm on the precipice of either going ahead and getting my A7R Modded or investing that money towards a 21/2.8 Distagon.
The 21 SEM is the only lens I would do this for - I have great alternatives at other focal lengths (28-R v2, 50MP etc.) The intended use (with A7R Mod) is primarily stopped down landscape tripod use, for everyday use I prefer to use a RF body (love the 21SEM with M9.)
Reduced weight is nice but not such a big deal in this context, less (money spent buying) lenses is the driver, and the results of course.
The paucity of the Australian dollar pushes the cost of the Kolari Mod a fair way towards the cost of a 21/2.8 ZE and I wonder if I would get better results just going in that direction instead. Any advice? Thanks....Show more →
Coogee, I second what Charles and Hiep had said about SEM 21 and Kolari’s A7R modification.
I would also suggest to use SEM 21 with Hawk’s Factory M to E helicoid adapter. The latest v.5 version adapter can be easily adjusted and locked for hard stop infinity. It nicely visually matches SEM21 to boost. As an additional plus you can use Hawk’s helicoid for shorter MFD comparing to Leica RF bodies.
Modded A7R will additionally allow you to use EVF magnification focus point anywhere in the frame, which is a big plus for infinity/landscaping shots.
Is the above combo better than with Zeiss 2.8/21? Except for ‘inconvenience’ of couple additional steps to remove colour casting in PP, you will get a great, light hi-rez combo that won’t go out of alignment and will allow you to nail precise focus point and shoot at base ISO 100 with great DR.
p.45 #9 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
I heard from Ilija of Kolari last evening regarding the Schott corrosion resistant Thin Sensor stack covers.
This is a quote: "We just got news today that we will be getting more filters by the end of the week, so we will be ready to start modifying the cameras again next week!"
p.45 #10 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
naturephoto1 wrote:
I heard from Ilija of Kolari last evening regarding the Schott regarding the corrosion resistant Thin Sensor stack covers.
This is a quote: "We just got news today that we will be getting more filters by the end of the week, so we will be ready to start modifying the cameras again next week!"
p.45 #11 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
Tariq Gibran wrote:
Great news!
+1 excellent news. Also good that they are on target as I got an email from him on May 22nd saying they expect to have glass in 2 weeks.
p.45 #12 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
Has anybody by chance used a 28mm elmarit M ASPH on any of the modded A7's? I'm particularly interested in that lens on a modded A7s. From what I've seen, there is little to no colour shift in the edges on the regular A7s, but there is quite a lot of smearing.
p.45 #13 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
lucas lumiere wrote:
Has anybody by chance used a 28mm elmarit M ASPH on any of the modded A7's? I'm particularly interested in that lens on a modded A7s. From what I've seen, there is little to no colour shift in the edges on the regular A7s, but there is quite a lot of smearing.
Thanks!
Lloyd tested the lens on a modded A7R. The corners are sharp enough, only a tiny hint of fuzziness. The lens is completely sharp at f/8.
p.45 #14 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
hiepphotog wrote:
I'm not sure how sharp the SEM 21 at WO on the modded camera is compared to the M9 (I know the Elmar 24 is extremely sharp at WO on my A7s.Mod). But for landscape and stopped down, I have no doubt that the SEM 21 would be sharp on the A7R.
The only thing that you need to be aware of is the color cast. It will be there on the A7R, and you have to take an extra step with Flat Field plug in to get rid of it. Definitely a bit of inconvenience. Also, to maximize sharpness across the frame, I believe you need to focus for the corners, instead of the center, like Jack mentioned several pages back. I only need to do this trick on my ZM 15. All of my other Leica lenses so far, 24 and up, don't need it. But hyperfocal is part of the game anyway, so it might not be such a hassle....Show more →
Thanks. The focus is easy enough on the A7R and I'm not obsessive about every single pixel, just that it is useable for which I feel reassured. The Flat Field plugin is easy to apply on import. The 21 SEM wouldn't be for every day use but it will be a real treat, going ahead with it now.
I'll come back with a few real world examples when it's all complete for others making the same decision and my thanks again to yourself and others who've done likewise.
p.45 #16 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
Ilija got the filters last Friday and my 7 should be shipped back to me this week. What a great news. Besides he said that the working on A7 IBIS is on track. Whatever that's meant.
Jun 09, 2015 at 12:51 AM
davidmarinero Offline • • [X]
p.45 #17 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
Has anyone tried the new Zeiss Distagon T* 1,4/35 ZM on a modded A7R? In a normal A7, it seems to do well except in the corners, where the native FE 35mm f/2.8 is way sharper, as shown in this review here:
p.45 #18 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
davidmarinero wrote:
Has anyone tried the new Zeiss Distagon T* 1,4/35 ZM on a modded A7R? In a normal A7, it seems to do well except in the corners, where the native FE 35mm f/2.8 is way sharper, as shown in this review here:
p.45 #19 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
teeraash wrote:
...Besides he said that the working on A7 IBIS is on track. Whatever that's meant.
This is in preparation for the next generation A7 series with IBIS. Due to the floating mechanism, installation and re-positioning of the sensor are harder than the first gen. Ilija told me it's still a month or two away, together with the coated version. I'm pretty sure I'm going to mod my next Sony cam, be it the A7RII or the A9, so I welcome both.
Jun 09, 2015 at 09:04 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.45 #20 · A thinner sensor stack may be possible after all!
hiepphotog wrote:
This is in preparation for the next generation A7 series with IBIS. Due to the floating mechanism, installation and re-positioning of the sensor are harder than the first gen. Ilija told me it's still a month or two away, together with the coated version. I'm pretty sure I'm going to mod my next Sony cam, be it the A7RII or the A9, so I welcome both.
That is very good news. The camera that I really want would have 36mp, IBIS, EFC, and the thin sensor stack. If they make it in a body like the A7 II, even better. I would be reasonably happy with the A7 II and the thin sensor stack, but I would prefer to have 36mp with no-AA filter.
