ChrisMak
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 p.8 #16 · Sony A1 and Zeiss Loxia Malfunctions | |
tsdevine wrote:
I know I've said this in the past, and many will disagree with me. But Zeiss sells these lenses with no guidance that there are any compatibility issues with certain Sony cameras. It seems as though now all new models having compatibility issues with Zeiss Loxia lenses (and CV, although I haven't really seen any issues with my most used CV lenses). To me, Zeiss should be working with Sony, assuming that's where the fix needs to occur, on behalf of their customers. And given that in Europe, it seems as Zeiss has a fix, it doesn't really make sense to me to pursue this with Sony. It makes me think that Zeiss has a fix.
The lenses aren't completely unusable. You just have to have patience and fiddle with them.....pick another aperture to use magnified focus. Sometimes turning the camera off and on will let it work briefly. Sometimes switching to another mode and back will allow it to work. It's just frustrating from a usability perspective.
I don't want to send my lenses in and get a replacement. I want my lenses fixed. If it comes down to sending in the lens and they send me a "fixed" copy, I probably won't send mine in. I have nearly perfect copies and for some of them, it took a lot of effort to get copies of that quality.
In my mind it's most likely fixable via firmware, and it's frustrating if that's the case and there is no self service capability to update firmware on the lenses. That is an option with Batis, but many suspect that the two lines are manufactured by different companies (often Cosina is thought to manufacture Loxia, and Tamron for Batis). That sort of makes sense as Voigtlander also doesn't appear to have a mechanism to allow customers to update firmware, but Tamron does.
I just think it's tough to go to Sony and say that Loxia lenses don't work right on their newer cameras. Historically OEMs haven't been too interested in fixing issues with 3rd party lenses. Zeiss has come out and said they are committed to supporting their lenses, they are not leaving the photography market, etc. And in my mind, if the fix truly needs to be made on the Sony side, Zeiss could apply some leverage with Sony to get it done. But again, it's seeming as though Zeiss has a fix.
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I have thought about this and tested my own Loxia's with the A1: the L25 shows the behavior, but not so much as to make it unusable: turning the aperture ring left/right, left/right a few times usually settles it for as long as I stay with the same aperture.
The Loxia 35 and 50 showed none of this issue. So I conclude that the fault does not origin from the A1, all lenses should show this behavior if this were the case. The fact that two of three Loxia lenses operate flawlessly rules the A1 out as the source.
My best guess, is that the newer processors that were introduced with the A7RIV and A1 are so much faster and more responsive, that they pick up a disturbance in the electronic signal sent from the Loxia lenses to the camera, where the slower processors prior to the A7RIV simply missed it. The lens starts operating frantically, bringing the camera into magnified view, and out and in and out while I turn the zoom ring. This should point to a stuttering electronic signal: off/on/off/on etc.
Therefore I think it is a hickup originating in the mechanical/electronic coupling of the aperture ring. My guess is that Zeiss replaces this part in service.
I am not sure what Sony could do: artificially lower the responsiveness of the camera so it does not enter stutter mode?
Disclaimer: I am technically trained and have a technical education, but of course there is a lot of speculation here, and Sony or Zeiss are both in durable clamp mode on this issue, which doesn't make it any easier. I wonder why they did not communicate to you what their servicing was exactly.
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(Please don't tell me I'm wrong!