I'm not sure if this has been mentioned on here, but I've been fine tuning my A7III + TAP combo and I found these settings seem to work best, so far giving my A7III similar stability I had with the A7II camera I had previously. I noticed less hunting with the TAP after I made these changes.
(FYI - I'm on an A7III running FW 2.10 and the TAP is running FW 6.0)
- Priority Set in AF-C > Balanced Emphasis
- AF Track Sens > 1 (Lock On)
Both these settings can be placed either in your My Menu, Function Menu or as a custom button for fast access.
Hope this helps!
I've got an A7III and looking at possibly buying the Techart Pro (M to E adapter), but I only read reviews of it indicating that it will only focus in one third of the frame (the vertical central third of the frame), everywhere else it cannot focus. Is this correct? If so, does anyone know if this is something that will get fixed in future firmware? Does anyone know if Techart is in the process of designing a better adapter that will allow the focus point to be anywhere in the frame? If so I want to wait for that one.
coteesh wrote:
I've got an A7III and looking at possibly buying the Techart Pro (M to E adapter), but I only read reviews of it indicating that it will only focus in one third of the frame (the vertical central third of the frame), everywhere else it cannot focus. Is this correct? If so, does anyone know if this is something that will get fixed in future firmware? Does anyone know if Techart is in the process of designing a better adapter that will allow the focus point to be anywhere in the frame? If so I want to wait for that one....Show more →
I only have experience with the A7RIII but with that camera the focus accuracy definitely drops off as the focus point moves away from the central portion of the frame. Perhaps someone who has (or has used) both bodies can comment on any difference between them. Ironically, I ended up using it like a Leica: focusing with the central point then recomposing.
My guess is that it’s most unlikely that this will be fixed with firmware. Firstly, because Techart now offers two newer adapters (Canon EF to Fujifilm GFX and Canon EF to Hasselblad X1D) that do not suffer from the fundamental design flaw of the Techart Pro and they appear to be devoting their limited resources to those adapters. Secondly, any incentive they might have had to design and manufacture an improved version of the TAP has probably been destroyed by Fotodiox’s shameless and disgraceful “Pronto” ripoff.
Finally, since there don’t appear to have been any reports from A9 users about improved Techart Pro performance following the recent firmware update, there seems little chance that the promised firmware update to the A7III and A7RIII models will have any impact either.
My feeling is that most of us who were TAP enthusiasts have either given up on it or have adjusted their usage to its limitations. Some FM users disagree with me but I believe that the 700 gram weight limit for lens is wildly optimistic and using such heavy lenses hastens the occurrence of “the wobble”. My personal weight maximum is 350g. I would also strongly recommend against buying a secondhand TAP because you have no idea of how it has been used by its previous owner.
Same experience here with AF only in the center and vertical central third of the frame with my Voigtlaender 40 F1.4 VM so, as genji was mentioning, for me is back to ye olde focus and recompose when I use that lens (which apart for that it's perfect in terms of weight and dimensions for the TAP).
Curiously, a lot of other non-Leica M lenses that I've tried didn't suffer from the same issue and were focusing basically overly most of the frame, at least in good light, including the fast CY Zeiss 35 F1.4 (although it's definitely a bit on the heavy side to be used regularly with the TAP).
Checking out my 55/2.8 Micro-NIKKOR on TAP LM-EA7 under FW 5.0 on my A9 I found with appropriate pre-focusing it could AF-C successfully in the entire Focus Area with Flexible Spot M.
AF-C for Eye-AF also worked equally well, even for ISO 20,000 and OFF-Center with Flexible Spot M.
Great news, Karl-Heinz. Thanks for the heads up. Fingers crossed that the upcoming A7(R)III update will provide a similar improvement.
k-h.a.w wrote: Good News for TAP on A9 under FW 5.0.
Checking out my 55/2.8 Micro-NIKKOR on TAP LM-EA7 under FW 5.0 on my A9 I found with appropriate pre-focusing it could AF-C successfully in the entire Focus Area with Flexible Spot M.
AF-C for Eye-AF also worked equally well, even for ISO 20,000 and OFF-Center with Flexible Spot M.
genji wrote:
Great news, Karl-Heinz. Thanks for the heads up. Fingers crossed that the upcoming A7(R)III update will provide a similar improvement.
Wow! I hope Karl-Heinz discovery holds true for A7rIII. It might make me bring my TAP out of the back of the dry cabinet if I could select a focussing point! Does eye AF work on the A9 @k-h.a.w? EDIT: I checked your post, Karl-Heinz and it does! Happy days....
DavidBM wrote:
Wow! I hope Karl-Heinz discovery holds true for A7rIII. It might make me bring my TAP out of the back of the dry cabinet if I could select a focussing point! Does eye AF work on the A9 @k-h.a.w? EDIT: I checked your post, Karl-Heinz and it does! Happy days....
Thanks David. Under FW 5.0 Eye-AF on A9 and Tap seems instantaneous to me.
I highly recommend reading the appropriate sections in the manuals, not TAP specific but very relevant.
There are several new twists to that function. Very nice.
K-H.
Eye AF with the C-Sonnar or with the tiny cv2.8/40 heliar would be super appealing...
I’ll look up those manual entries. I just hope it’s as good on the Riii. It won’t go as far into corners as with A9 because the Pdaf coverage is a bit less, but that’s fine....
DavidBM wrote:
Eye AF with the C-Sonnar or with the tiny cv2.8/40 heliar would be super appealing...
I’ll look up those manual entries. I just hope it’s as good on the Riii. It won’t go as far into corners as with A9 because the Pdaf coverage is a bit less, but that’s fine....
My subjective impression is that firmware update 3.0 significantly improves AF generally with the TAP and that Eye AF is fast and reliable. As most will be aware, switching on the square grid divides the frame into six sections vertically and four sections horizontally. I found that the A7RIII+TAP had no trouble finding an eye within the central four vertical sections but lost the eye when it fell into either the leftmost or rightmost vertical section. To be honest, I've can't recall ever using Eye AF with the street portraits I normally shoot, relying on face recognition instead. But I'm now looking forward to giving it a try.
I used the C Sonnar for some casual portraits of a friend that I took today in a pub and -- using Eye AF exclusively -- got a very high percentage of properly focused pictures.
genji wrote:
My subjective impression is that firmware update 3.0 significantly improves AF generally with the TAP and that Eye AF is fast and reliable. As most will be aware, switching on the square grid divides the frame into six sections vertically and four sections horizontally. I found that the A7RIII+TAP had no trouble finding an eye within the central four vertical sections but lost the eye when it fell into either the leftmost or rightmost vertical section. To be honest, I've can't recall ever using Eye AF with the street portraits I normally shoot, relying on face recognition instead. But I'm now looking forward to giving it a try.
I used the C Sonnar for some casual portraits of a friend that I took today in a pub and -- using Eye AF exclusively -- got a very high percentage of properly focused pictures.
Back to TAP for me. But I never put it away for too long. As others have confirmed, TAP continuing to work with both my A9 v5.0 and now A7r3 v3.0. Even tried the buzzy Deo-Tech Golden Eagle adapter or the Techart TA-GA1B with A9 5.0 + Contax G lenses with success.
No updates for the Techart TA-GA1B firmware since A7r2 I think, so am pleasantly surprised this thing is still working. Ditto for the TAP but I'll take it !
LBJ2 wrote:
Back to TAP for me. But I never put it away for too long. As others have confirmed, TAP continuing to work with both my A9 v5.0 and now A7r3 v3.0. Even tried the buzzy Deo-Tech Golden Eagle adapter or the Techart TA-GA1B with A9 5.0 + Contax G lenses with success.
No updates for the Techart TA-GA1B firmware since A7r2 I think, so am pleasantly surprised this thing is still working. Ditto for the TAP but I'll take it !
Thanks for reminding me about the Contax G lenses! I also have the Techart TA-GA1B but found it frustrating to use compared to the TAP. FM member, sebboh, did a superb job converting a G45 to M-mount for me but the v6 TAP firmware update for the A7RIII proved disappointing so it’s been languishing in the dry cabinet. Given my success with the C Sonnar, I now have high hopes for the G45 with TAP on the A7RIII.
Sony should be thanking Techart for keeping me in the Sony fold! I like Sony, but I'm primarily a Nikon shooter both for FX DSLRs and even CX (I love the J5), but the TAP is the only way I can keep with a compact FF setup via my M-mount primes and Nikkor AIS lenses.
BTW - I have a 7Artisans 35mm f2 M-mount lens shipping today, I want to see how it performs on the TAP, so I'll chime in with that when I receive it!
genji wrote:
Thanks for reminding me about the Contax G lenses! I also have the Techart TA-GA1B but found it frustrating to use compared to the TAP. FM member, sebboh, did a superb job converting a G45 to M-mount for me but the v6 TAP firmware update for the A7RIII proved disappointing so it’s been languishing in the dry cabinet. Given my success with the C Sonnar, I now have high hopes for the G45 with TAP on the A7RIII.
Still, the buzzy-buzz its always been, but works. Just tried it on the A7r3 v 3.0. Seems like I see better AF hit if the camera is set to AF-S instead of my normal AF-C. AF-C just seems to ignite the little green boxes continuously or way too much.
Hi, is it recommended to update the TAP firmware from V5 to V6?
Maybe a stupid question but I remember reading somewhere that V6 is only recommendable for A7R3 and A9
I am using a A7iii and Leica lenses.
Thx for letting me know before making a mistake :-)
satijntje wrote:
Hi, is it recommended to update the TAP firmware from V5 to V6?
Maybe a stupid question but I remember reading somewhere that V6 is only recommendable for A7R3 and A9
I am using a A7iii and Leica lenses.
Thx for letting me know before making a mistake :-)
John
It’s unambiguously stated on the Techart website that the purpose of the v6 upgrade is to “Improve performance and compatibility of the adapter with A7R3 & A9. Do NOT recommend update for other cameras.” I have no experience with the A7III, perhaps someone else with that camera might offer an opinion.
