Fred - i've always thought that you should organize annual Web Chats or video interviews with manufacturers - let's start with Sony and then Zeiss - where the FM community submits questions (for a period of a month or two?) that they'd like answered and that list is curated to a reasonable and respectful size and then an interview conducted either live or pre-recorded and shared.
One would have to imagine that vendors do pay a small amount of attention to comments brought up, especially in places where the average user is a bit more thoughtful (myself excluded) and this would really take that to the next logical step.....just an idea....
If any of you were wondering why the weight limit on the TAP, maybe this will explain it.
I was impressed that the black front cover was made of aluminum. If you consider all the small gears as the center of a clock, then the motor is to the right at 3 o'clock and at 9 o'clock and before 3 o'clock are a larger axle and a smaller axle. These two axles have a bearing in the front cover that holds the axle shafts. Unlike a macro Leica M to Sony E adapter that has a helical, the TAP "moves" along these 2 axles in and out according to what the servo dictates. About 6:30 and just to the right of the larger axle, that larger gear controls the rack and pinion type movement of the M adapter ring moving in and out.
If there were a helical movement then there would be more support for heavy loads. However, with the axle movement on the bottom, there is no support on top. With heavy load, its not hard to see the two axles will bind with the torsion of a heavy lens.
A7rII with battery weighs 625g, less than TAP's designated weight limit and less than Mitakon, Noctilux, or telephoto. So with heavy lenses, one should hold the lens and let the body move?
thompsonkirk wrote:
A7rII with battery weighs 625g, less than TAP's designated weight limit and less than Mitakon, Noctilux, or telephoto. So with heavy lenses, one should hold the lens and let the body move?
Kirk
Yes, that's what I do and never had any problems with the TAP's mount. I use it with my CY 100-300 lens (1050g) while handholding the lens and letting TAP move the camera instead. (if moves in very small increments and it's almost imperceptible)
So, I picked up the Leicaist Nik(G)-LM adapter and can confirm that it indeed has a (blind) aperture adjustment ring and attaches to the lens and TAP as it should.
The aperture ring is awkward to grasp when attached to the TAP, and the throw is very short, but it's a workable solution for those with Nikon G glass.
I've googled but not found a good answer, so hoping you can help. Can anyone confirm which adapters work with the TAP to mount FE glass? For example some samyang glass is very nice, but MF only. As FE mount I could mount on Sony for MF or throw the TAP in for AF. Thanks in advance.
If there was an FE adapter, wouldn't it be like an extension tube with no infinity focus? The FE mount lens is made to sit flush to the Sony body. Other lenses can be adapted because they have a longer flange distance.
bluloo wrote:
So, I picked up the Leicaist Nik(G)-LM adapter and can confirm that it indeed has a (blind) aperture adjustment ring and attaches to the lens and TAP as it should.
The aperture ring is awkward to grasp when attached to the TAP, and the throw is very short, but it's a workable solution for those with Nikon G glass.
Thanks for this. I've added your feedback about this adapter to the FAQ.
joe256 wrote:
If there was an FE adapter, wouldn't it be like an extension tube with no infinity focus? The FE mount lens is made to sit flush to the Sony body. Other lenses can be adapted because they have a longer flange distance.
Exactly. This Brian Smith article on flange focal distance explains the issues involved.
dukegledhill wrote:
I've googled but not found a good answer, so hoping you can help. Can anyone confirm which adapters work with the TAP to mount FE glass? For example some samyang glass is very nice, but MF only. As FE mount I could mount on Sony for MF or throw the TAP in for AF. Thanks in advance.
As Genji says above, of course you can't mount FE glass on TAP even if you could make it physically fit, because it'd effectively be a close focus only lens, like using a 12mm extension tube, so you would not get mid distance or infinity focus.
But what you could do is buy you Samyang glass in Canon mount and get an EF to M adapter and use TAP, Samyang canon lenses mostly have aperture rings so his works fine. you could use Nikon too, but they focus and mount in reverse which some find annoying.
genji wrote:
No need to feel that way. We're all of us learning here, all the time.
That was a great suggestion by DavidBM. And the Canon (or Nikon) version might be easier to sell if it turns out that you don't like the lens.
Also I have an irrational fondness for Canon mount Samyang. I had the 14mm in Canon mount once and it was wonderful, both on Canon and adapted on my A7r. As good as the Zeiss 15 as far as I could tell. Better than my Canon 14 Mk ii that I sold and pocketed over a thousand dollar saving. I then ***stupidly** (not knowing about the Samyang lottery) sold it for an E mount version. That was terrible. I went through a couple more trying to get one remotely as good as my original. No luck. I now have no prime in the 14/15 range, and use the 4/16-35 when I need it (which is pretty good - better than my second third and forth 14s). I'm still in the market for a prime. Milvus 15 is super expensive, but I might be tempted if the 2/15 Laowa doesn't work out (which I'm tempted by because it is a design which takes full advantage of the E mount flange distance)
can someone recommend a non leicaist for EOS EF to M? Unfortunately, I have a leicaist that turned out to be a dud and hesitant to go that route again. My mount is noticeably crooked, and can see the problem via visual inspection. My other adapters are fine as well as the lens. No noticeable decentering from the lens when tested with other adapters.
Charlie N wrote:
can someone recommend a non leicaist for EOS EF to M? Unfortunately, I have a leicaist that turned out to be a dud and hesitant to go that route again. My mount is noticeably crooked, and can see the problem via visual inspection. My other adapters are fine as well as the lens. No noticeable decentering from the lens when tested with other adapters.
Out of curiosity, what packaging did your Leicaist EOS -> M adapter come in? Mine (which works properly) was in a round plastic container whereas my seven other Leicaist adapters came in black and gold cardboard boxes.
I gave in to GAS and got myself a used 35 zm and the TAP. One question, because I'm probably too stupid to figure this out: Do I have to park the adapter once to switch between AF/MF? Just pressing the designated button doesn't do anything for me, the adapter still AF's the lens. What am I missing?
Also, is 4 the newest version of the adapter?
I've read posts in this thread where TAP has trouble finding focus. However my problem with TAP operating my 35 ZM mounted on my A7Rii is that at least 50% of the time when I switch the camera on, the TAP is not even attempting to find focus while the camera is in AF mode. Other times at start up it will hunt (and usually find) focus, however at some point shortly afterwards it will stop trying to find focus - as though it's set to MF mode. Once that happens and I'm out and about shooting, I set the camera to MF as I need to use focus assist and magnification if the TAP is not even going to try to focus. On my trip to eastern Europe from which I just returned, this problem forced me to use the 35 ZM in MF mode, and I actually grew to enjoy the process - and of course I am over the moon with the rendering of the lens. However it's a real problem to walking the streets and taking candid street portraits of which I'm fond - at this point I'm not able to quickly enough focus manually to achieve accurate focus in those portraits.
So I'm wondering whether this is normal behavior for the TAP (whether as a function of the TAP itself or my erroneous use of it) or if instead I have a defective TAP. I'd appreciate any input you may have.
