Shield wrote:
I realize this is so Sigma EF mount lenses will act as if native Sony glass.
My next question - does this work as well as the Metabones IV for Canon glass? If so, why do I need the Metabones IV again?
The short answer, is yes it appears to be at least as good as the Metabones (but doesn't offer eye focus etc. with Canon lenses), head back to the start of the thread for details!
Did some testing of the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary + MC-11 + A6000 today. AF-S works very well. AF-C and Lock-On AF works, if you give them easy subjects and easy challenges to work on. A busy background will quickly become problematic. Lock-On AF can be used to aid composition, since you don't need to move any focus point yourself.
At 600mm at f/6.3 with the A6000 the optical performance drops a little, so stopping down to f/7.1 or f/8 may be a good idea for visibly improved performance. As I see it just now, it will be useful to keep an APS-C body in addition to a full frame body for use with this lens.
At 600mm atmospheric condition will take it's toll on image quality.
Fred Miranda wrote:
On the A7R, using the adapter tripod mount was a must but the A7RII mount is much beefier and you may not need to worry about it.
BTW: I think the MC-11 is indeed flocked. (At least it seems from this picture)
I highly recommend the Zoerk rear shift adapter for this purpose. It's a collar specifically designed for the TS'e 17 and 24 L2 with a mount on the nodal point which is a added bonus.
bjornthun wrote:
Did some testing of the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary + MC-11 + A6000 today. AF-S works very well. AF-C and Lock-On AF works, if you give them easy subjects and easy challenges to work on. A busy background will quickly become problematic. Lock-On AF can be used to aid composition, since you don't need to move any focus point yourself.
At 600mm at f/6.3 with the A6000 the optical performance drops a little, so stopping down to f/7.1 or f/8 may be a good idea for visibly improved performance. As I see it just now, it will be useful to keep an APS-C body in addition to a full frame body for use with this lens.
At 600mm atmospheric condition will take it's toll on image quality....Show more →
I mainly got this adapter to use with this lens. Thanks for the report. My MC-11 comes tomorrow.
Does the adapter light turns "green" when mounting the Sigma 150-600C ?
GMPhotography wrote:
Might want to check for updates with the USB dock
That's right, Fred, I updated the firmware on my Sigma 150-600 Contemporary.
My lens came with fw. v1.00, so the adapter blinked green for a couple of seconds when I switched on the camera, but everything worked. Then I used the USB dock and updated the lens to fw. v 1.02, and again mounted the lens on the MC-11. Now the adapter lighted up with one solid green light for about two seconds. So, the indicator light works as advertised. After updating the lens, AF seemed a bit more secure and maybe a bit faster. The AF algorithm was updated according to the lens fw changelog.
bjornthun wrote:
That's right, Fred, I updated the firmware on my Sigma 150-600 Contemporary.
My lens came with fw. v1.00, so the adapter blinked green for a couple of seconds when I switched on the camera, but everything worked. Then I used the USB dock and updated the lens to fw. v 1.02, and again mounted the lens on the MC-11. Now the adapter lighted up with one solid green light for about two seconds. So, the indicator light works as advertised. After updating the lens, AF seemed a bit more secure and maybe a bit faster. The AF algorithm was updated according to the lens fw changelog....Show more →
Tested the Play Memories Smart Remote app with the Sigma 150-600 C with the MC-11 on the A7 mk II, and that works fine. I can set the focus point where I wish, even in the corner of the frame, all modes and dials in the iOS app works.
MC-11 just arrived. The Sigma 20mm ƒ1.4 ART works well, and picks up focus magnify on manual focus and Eye AF, and more complete/accurate EXIF lens data. Nice.
As has already been reported, there is some basic functionality with Canon lenses. I only have a 135mm ƒ2 L, but that seems to work as expected. My initial impression is that it doesn't focus quite as sure-footedly as the Metabones, with this lens. Also I notice that the EXIF data isn't as good as when the same lens is used on the Metabones. The Metabones reports the Canon lens as: 135mm F2 G SSM, while the MC-11 shows: DT 135mm F0 SAM.
The Sigma 150-600 C needs to have the AF/MO/MF switch set to MO (=manual override) or MF to engage the focus magnifier with the focus ring. A distance scale is also shown in the viewfinder in the magnified view.
Just got done spending about an hour working with the A7RII + MC-11 + Sigma 150-600mm C and here's my thoughts on this combination.
TAKING IMAGES:
AF-S Works fine. Seems to focus quickly enough for my tastes.
AF-C Pretty much is not usable, struggles a lot. I tried all the focus point options and all produce inconsistent, mostly unusable results. One final note: at 150-400mm AF-C works better but not perfect. 400mm-600mm is pretty much useless.
AF-A Never had this option with the Metabones. It continuously focuses and works reasonably well.
DMF - It autofocuses with focus peeking turned on. I like this mode for verifying that what I'm shooting IS in focus.
THOUGHTS ON TAKING IMAGES: I'm really disappointed that AF-C is pretty much useless. I expected this to work and it just doesn't. Really Sigma?
SHOOTING VIDEO:
Holy crap! This is the best feature of this adapter. The metabones IV doesn't autofocus at all whereas the Sigma MC-11 does a really good job. I can swing the A7RII with the Sigma 150-600mm to different subjects and it pretty much locks on to focus at all distances. The only real negative is hearing the lens "chatter" as it constantly is checking focus.
Here's some sample footage. You can see how well it focuses and you can also hear the constant "chatter." The noise is not a huge deal for me considering I rarely record audio with the footage and when I do I usually use directional microphones away from the camera. Yes, I did have image stabilization turned on during this clip, but the chatter occurs w/o IS on as well:
Personally, I find this really useful using the A7RII and the Sigma 150-600.
FINAL COMMENT: Sigma needs to fix the issue with AF-C. If they can get that mode working, this will be a great adapter. But one must ponder why they released this adapter while it was half-baked. (At least using the adapter with the 150-600 C.)
AJay wrote:
But one must ponder why they released this adapter while it was half-baked. (At least using the adapter with the 150-600 C.)
Could be a limitation of the camera's AF system when using long focal lengths, the adapter can only work with the signals it gets, and there are no native 600mm lenses to compare it to.
Sigma actually states that AF-C doesn't work with the MC-11.
In its' present form it handles only very easy tasks, like using lock-on to recompose a static subject. This can be just as easy as moving the AF point around yourself.
I will try more tests today with other focus modes, but the bottom line is that if I can't use it to focus with BIF, that's a real bummer.
I also did some indoor testing with the Sigma 24-105 last night and it worked better than the 150-600 and eye detection works.
I think we need Sigma and Metabones to come out with a combined adapter, then we could have the best of both adapters. The capabilities are there. They just need to share each others algorithms.
BTW, I tried it with the Canon 600mm f/4 II and in AF-C mode, it locks up the camera.
Yep. That's a good way to put it. Half-baked. I did not realize when I ordered the MC-11 that AP-C was not supported. It is however mentioned in the manual. I looked on their website and could not find that mentioned either. I also checked B&H's website and in the Q & A, it misstates that it "should convert".
What is so frustrating is that the Metabones IV has acceptable autofocus in AP-C mode, so why hasn't Sigma been able to replicate it? Crazy.
All I have been looking for is an adapter that works well in AP-C mode and can also autofocus in video mode with the 150-600. Frankly, this is getting old. I love the Sony mirrorless cameras, but using them with long telephoto lenses has become a lesson in futility.
AJay wrote:
Yep. That's a good way to put it. Half-baked. I did not realize when I ordered the MC-11 that AP-C was not supported. It is however mentioned in the manual. I looked on their website and could not find that mentioned either. I also checked B&H's website and in the Q & A, it misstates that it "should convert".
What is so frustrating is that the Metabones IV has acceptable autofocus in AP-C mode, so why hasn't Sigma been able to replicate it? Crazy.
All I have been looking for is an adapter that works well in AP-C mode and can also autofocus in video mode with the 150-600. Frankly, this is getting old. I love the Sony mirrorless cameras, but using them with long telephoto lenses has become a lesson in futility.
A-mount Tamron 150-600 does not autofocus in video mode with the Sony adapters and although the Sigma MC-11 isn't suppose to autofocus in video mode with the 150-600, it does and quite well.
