Thanks to this thread and Joshua, I am very pleased with the A7rII and the 85L II with MB IV v44.
I have been patiently waiting for the Batis 85 but it still appears to be another 2 months away with no real date.
I have a wedding in a few weeks, so having the 85 L II on the A7rII gives me time to become familiar with its quirks.
I previously had the 85L with the 5D and 5DII, and I truly despised the AF non-repeat ability, accuracy and speed. I have no experience with the 5DIII and 85L II, so cannot comment on this combo.
Having the A7rII and ZA 85/1.4 with the LAE4 is really nice, but not in the same league for AF speed and accuracy as with the 85L II. The ZA 85/1.4 is lighter and smaller so it is still a great option.
Initial observations is that outer points with the PDAF do not work well with the 85L II (as has been already mentioned), but the central points are deadly accurate and really as fast as the 85L II is capable of responding. So for portraits and weddings, this lens is ideal.
Even though the 85L II is a beast, it is a very good match with the A7rII ergonomically IMO. Fast lenses are not light and it is always a compromise. The 50 Nocti was 700g, and the 75 Lux at 600g. As much as I loved the rendering with both the 50 Nocti f/1.0 and 75 Lux, MF with the A7rII even you can see better, it is harder to be 100% accurate with the lenses wide open, particularly if your portrait is slightly off center. Both these lenses have field curvature and almost impossible to have tack sharp eyes if they are off center. Of course you can move the focus square to suit, but for portraits on the run this does not work well unless the focal area is in the same zone.
With the 85L II and A7rII, will keep this lens even when the Batis 85 arrives. Hopefully with further FW updates to the MB IV adapter, the outer AF PDAF points will work better too.
Also, Metabones told me if I send my III to them they can update the firmware. According to them, the electronics should work exactly the same then. I'm not sure if it would be as good as a IV T. Some of you have noted the IV T seems to be better than the IV. I wonder if that's related to the amount of light.
Also, Metabones told me if I send my III to them they can update the firmware. According to them, the electronics should work exactly the same then. I'm not sure if it would be as good as a IV T. Some of you have noted the IV T seems to be better than the IV. I wonder if that's related to the amount of light.
Chris
I'm about to order a version IV, but what's a IV T?
johnvanr wrote:
I'm about to order a version IV, but what's a IV T?
The IV T is the latest version of the T. It has flocking inside and controls reflections better. There is the M version previous to that. I got my T version from B&H and they seem to know the difference because when I asked for the T version they said that is what they carry now. On Amazon it was the M version.
I tried my 100-400L II with he new FW. Not much improvement but very fast now with the 24-70L II.
Also, Metabones told me if I send my III to them they can update the firmware. According to them, the electronics should work exactly the same then. I'm not sure if it would be as good as a IV T. Some of you have noted the IV T seems to be better than the IV. I wonder if that's related to the amount of light.
Chris
I've just sent my version III to them as my version 4 now works very well (non T). They charge $35 for return shipping. I was using the V4 today with my 85/1.2 Mk 1, 70-200/4 IS with 1.4 TC II, and 24-70/2.8 Mk 1 with no real issuies. The 70-200 +1.4 would hunt a bit but I'm very pleased, especially with the 85mm.
p.25 #10 · A7RII and Canon lenses AF compatibility
jamato8 wrote:
The IV T is the latest version of the T. It has flocking inside and controls reflections better. There is the M version previous to that. I got my T version from B&H and they seem to know the difference because when I asked for the T version they said that is what they carry now. On Amazon it was the M version.
I tried my 100-400L II with he new FW. Not much improvement but very fast now with the 24-70L II.
I've had this - Metabones T Smart Adapter Mark IV - in my cart for the past few days at B&H while they end their holiday. I only waited because the one available on Amazon is more expensive.
Turns out I'm lucky twice: a better version for less money!
p.25 #11 · A7RII and Canon lenses AF compatibility
mcbroomf wrote:
I've just sent my version III to them as my version 4 now works very well (non T). They charge $35 for return shipping. I was using the V4 today with my 85/1.2 Mk 1, 70-200/4 IS with 1.4 TC II, and 24-70/2.8 Mk 1 with no real issuies. The 70-200 +1.4 would hunt a bit but I'm very pleased, especially with the 85mm.
Yea, the shipping is expensive. How are you shipping it to them? I will probably wait until the firmware stuff shakes out a bit and then send it in.
p.25 #12 · A7RII and Canon lenses AF compatibility
I'm having an issue with Metabones IV T, v0.45. PDAF is restricted to the centre AF points.
I've tested with both the 85L-II and 24-105L (A7R II). AF lock is restricted to the centre points inside the PDAF box.
As a rule of thumb: Enable the 3rds grid. The focus point should be in the area within the centre rectangle of the grid (illustrated here with the focus point just inside the bottom-right corner of the rectangle).
The further you move the focus point away (and outside that virtual rectangle), the more it will hunt and won't lock. Anyone else experiencing this?
I hope that Metabones fixes this issue with an update.
p.25 #13 · A7RII and Canon lenses AF compatibility
Yes, I experienced the same thing while playing around with focus modes this weekend. With my 40mm stm, AF is fine near the center, but doesn't work toward the outside of the frame.
p.25 #15 · A7RII and Canon lenses AF compatibility
Schlotkins wrote:
Yea, the shipping is expensive. How are you shipping it to them? I will probably wait until the firmware stuff shakes out a bit and then send it in.
Chris
I sent it over USPS 1st class which is the cheapest ($16) that I know of. Slow but I have the Mk 4 to keep me going.
p.25 #17 · A7RII and Canon lenses AF compatibility
djinn wrote:
I'm having an issue with Metabones IV T, v0.45. PDAF is restricted to the centre AF points.
I've tested with both the 85L-II and 24-105L (A7R II). AF lock is restricted to the centre points inside the PDAF box.
As a rule of thumb: Enable the 3rds grid. The focus point should be in the area within the centre rectangle of the grid (illustrated here with the focus point just inside the bottom-right corner of the rectangle).
The further you move the focus point away (and outside that virtual rectangle), the more it will hunt and won't lock. Anyone else experiencing this?
I hope that Metabones fixes this issue with an update.
With A7rII and 85L II I have the same experience with v45 MB IV. At least with v45 the outer points seem to be more responsive than with v44, so I feel there is an improvement. Normally I only use the central region points with AF so I really don't have any issue. Also with the A7rII and 85L II even at f/1.2 with focus and recompose I have no issues with field curvature for close and mid distances.
Kudos to Metabones for regular updates and continually improving the AF performance
p.25 #18 · A7RII and Canon lenses AF compatibility
I have found that the 100-400L II still isn't working so great and some focus issues like flickering, that I didn't have before. I reported this to Metabones. They have been pretty responsive.
Also, Metabones told me if I send my III to them they can update the firmware. According to them, the electronics should work exactly the same then. I'm not sure if it would be as good as a IV T. Some of you have noted the IV T seems to be better than the IV. I wonder if that's related to the amount of light.
Chris
I just saw on sonyalpharumors that Metabones have release 0.45 for the smart adapter and speed booster. I guess my mk III will get this version but I've asked them to hold off if they see another version imminent (Edit : I guess I wasn't paying attention to the version earlier!)
A7RII PDAF speed improvement for some wide angle, normal and medium telephoto lenses on A7RII
Fixed an intermittent overexposure issue on A7RII
Fixed an intermittent start-up issue on A7S
Stability improvement
p.25 #20 · A7RII and Canon lenses AF compatibility
djinn wrote:
I'm having an issue with Metabones IV T, v0.45. PDAF is restricted to the centre AF points.
i just updated to v0.45 and can now use my 85mm f1.2 mk1. with previous firmware versions, it just hunted and rarely found lock.
but i have also found the same as you - in the centre 'box' it works well, but if you go outside that, it hunts a lot more and often struggles to lock on focus.
that said, i'm still planning to get the batis 85mm, as i don't really feel like lugging around the canon 85 at more than double the weight and much slower focus.
