p.1 #1 · Jumpin from Sony to Nikon because... Voigtlander!
Hello everyone, I’d like some information from those of you with more experience than me on this topic. I own a Sony A7R III and a Leica M10-R, and for some time I’ve been thinking about switching to a blackout-free camera like the A1. This has raised a big question for me.
Why not instead jump over to Nikon, which would allow me to use my M lenses with better performance on the Z8, while also having no blackout?
Of course, I would have to give up my entire Sony kit: the Batis 18, the 28–200, the 150–500, the 85 1.4, and the 35 1.2, and I would probably replace them with the Nikon 24–120 (and something longer in the future).
This is exactly the point: does Nikon correct the edge performance of M lenses?
I own the 90 Elmarit, the CV 50 APO, the CV 40 1.2, the CV 28 f2 II, the CV 21 1.4, and the Laowa 9mm, and it hurts to see how the 21, which is stellar on the M, becomes messy in the bokeh on Sony, with focus returning towards the edges.
How much better would the performance be when moving from Sony to Nikon for the 9, 21 and 28? Enough to justify switching systems? (using techart of course)
Dec 03, 2025 at 07:18 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #2 · Jumpin from Sony to Nikon because... Voigtlander!
Ulysseita wrote:
Hello everyone, I’d like some information from those of you with more experience than me on this topic. I own a Sony A7R III and a Leica M10-R, and for some time I’ve been thinking about switching to a blackout-free camera like the A1. This has raised a big question for me.
Why not instead jump over to Nikon, which would allow me to use my M lenses with better performance on the Z8, while also having no blackout?
Of course, I would have to give up my entire Sony kit: the Batis 18, the 28–200, the 150–500, the 85 1.4, and the 35 1.2, and I would probably replace them with the Nikon 24–120 (and something longer in the future).
This is exactly the point: does Nikon correct the edge performance of M lenses?
I own the 90 Elmarit, the CV 50 APO, the CV 40 1.2, the CV 28 f2 II, the CV 21 1.4, and the Laowa 9mm, and it hurts to see how the 21, which is stellar on the M, becomes messy in the bokeh on Sony, with focus returning towards the edges.
How much better would the performance be when moving from Sony to Nikon for the 9, 21 and 28? Enough to justify switching systems? (using techart of course)...Show more →
Why not use CV lenses made for the Sony E mount? The E mount version of the 21 f/1.4 is adjusted for the thicker sensor stack on Sony and performs flawlessly. Unfortunately, this lens is not available for Nikon Z mount and the Leica M version still has some problems on Nikon Z mount. Nikon Z mount is somewhat better on edge performance, but there is still degraded performance on the edges, whereas Voigtlander Sony E mount versions on E mount and Z mount versions on Z mount do not have these issues. I am a big fan of the Voigtlander lenses for Sony E mount.
Also you might wait a couple of months to see how the Sony A7 V performs and whether it is blackout free enough for your purposes. It likely will have a decent viewfinder experience and might be an interesting replacement for your A7R III. It will have a similar viewfinder, but with the partially stacked sensor should be at least close to no blackout.
p.1 #3 · Jumpin from Sony to Nikon because... Voigtlander!
Steve Spencer wrote:
Why not use CV lenses made for the Sony E mount? The E mount version of the 21 f/1.4 is adjusted for the thicker sensor stack on Sony and performs flawlessly. Unfortunately, this lens is not available for Nikon Z mount and the Leica M version still has some problems on Nikon Z mount. Nikon Z mount is somewhat better on edge performance, but there is still degraded performance on the edges, whereas Voigtlander Sony E mount versions on E mount and Z mount versions on Z mount do not have these issues. I am a big fan of the Voigtlander lenses for Sony E mount.
Also you might wait a couple of months to see how the Sony A7 V performs and whether it is blackout free enough for your purposes. It likely will have a decent viewfinder experience and might be an interesting replacement for your A7R III. It will have a similar viewfinder, but with the partially stacked sensor should be at least close to no blackout....Show more →
I don’t think I could go back to 24 or 33 megapixels with an AA filter, which is why the cameras I’m considering are the A1 II, A1, Z8 and R5 II… and the Z8 would be the only one that actually lets me enjoy an improvement with all my CV lenses: 21, 28, 40 and 50.
Regarding the Sony version… the beauty of a 21 1.4, away from the rangefinder, is having AF.
The main question is: on the Z system I know I lose something at the edges, and that’s fine, I can just stop down to f8 if needed. But wide open, does field curvature behave like it does on Sony, pulling the focus closer towards the edges?
p.1 #4 · Jumpin from Sony to Nikon because... Voigtlander!
No an expert on this, but isn't this the use-case for SL3?
Dec 03, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #5 · Jumpin from Sony to Nikon because... Voigtlander!
Ulysseita wrote:
I don’t think I could go back to 24 or 33 megapixels with an AA filter, which is why the cameras I’m considering are the A1 II, A1, Z8 and R5 II… and the Z8 would be the only one that actually lets me enjoy an improvement with all my CV lenses: 21, 28, 40 and 50.
Regarding the Sony version… the beauty of a 21 1.4, away from the rangefinder, is having AF.
The main question is: on the Z system I know I lose something at the edges, and that’s fine, I can just stop down to f8 if needed. But wide open, does field curvature behave like it does on Sony, pulling the focus closer towards the edges?...Show more →
Well the difference between 45 MP and 33 MP is actually pretty small, but if that matters to you then by all means get the more expensive camera.
As I said in another thread, you can get Voigtlander lenses without field curvature, with AF through an adapter, and without modifying your camera, but you can't get all three of those things. You can pick any two, however, and you will need to figure out which two matter the most to you.
p.1 #6 · Jumpin from Sony to Nikon because... Voigtlander!
Steve Spencer wrote:
Well the difference between 45 MP and 33 MP is actually pretty small, but if that matters to you then by all means get the more expensive camera.
As I said in another thread, you can get Voigtlander lenses without field curvature, with AF through an adapter, and without modifying your camera, but you can't get all three of those things. You can pick any two, however, and you will need to figure out which two matter the most to you.
If the field curvature only affects edge sharpness at wide open or near wide open, that’s fine for me, because I shoot wide open to blur the subject. But if the curvature behaves like on Sony, where the edges come back into focus, then that’s a different story. On Phillipreeve it seems that only the sharpness wide open is affected, not the deformation of the out-of-focus areas. Does anyone have real-world experience?
I’m not expecting performance equal to my M10-R, but I do expect to shoot wide open with proper blur, and to have full-frame sharpness from f/8 onward. Some people say it works that way, but I’d like more confirmation because this would mean changing my entire system.
Also, I keep reading that my 50 APO performs almost like on the M when mounted on Nikon, while on Sony the flat plane of focus turns into a roller coaster.
p.1 #7 · Jumpin from Sony to Nikon because... Voigtlander!
Ulysseita wrote:
If the field curvature only affects edge sharpness at wide open or near wide open, that’s fine for me, because I shoot wide open to blur the subject. But if the curvature behaves like on Sony, where the edges come back into focus, then that’s a different story. On Phillipreeve it seems that only the sharpness wide open is affected, not the deformation of the out-of-focus areas. Does anyone have real-world experience?
I’m not expecting performance equal to my M10-R, but I do expect to shoot wide open with proper blur, and to have full-frame sharpness from f/8 onward. Some people say it works that way, but I’d like more confirmation because this would mean changing my entire system.
Also, I keep reading that my 50 APO performs almost like on the M when mounted on Nikon, while on Sony the flat plane of focus turns into a roller coaster....Show more →
Sharpness at the focus point will be roughly the same. The change happens in the field curvature, which can make areas that should be out of focus look sharper than they should. In other words, the rendering takes a hit. And if you shoot a flat subject that fills the frame using a large aperture, you will see uneven resolution and contrast because the lens design was meant for a different sensor stack, which introduces this "induced/amplified" FC effect.
Of course, this is a general observation and the effect depends on FL, aperture and the optical design. If you shoot wide open a lot, I would suggest either modifying the sensor to match Leica's thinner stack or, as Steve mentioned, switching to Voigtlander lenses that are optically tuned for your camera's sensor stack thickness.
