genji wrote: Kressouille wrote:
For me the main issue is reliability. Everybody is aware of these TAP limitations but i think that when we bought the TAP , we all decided to live with them.
I personnally have no issue with using this TAP with light-weight lenses (frankly spealing, below 300 g because I'm just afraid of damaging the TAP), or use AF centered mode (with AF memory) only. For me it is great when it works.
But what I cannot accept is the lack of reliability. The first issue I had was when travelling far away from home and when this TAP went damaged and stuck to my Sony body. You can waste your entire vacation because of this.
Techart should improve reliability (before trying to increase functionnalities) and should improve communication when things get wrong (no e-mail response from my damaged TAP). It's too bad considering the price I paid paid.
---------------------------------------------
brick33308 wrote:
I'm with you. I took it on a trip about a year and a half ago, and auto focus with my ZM 35 worked about 30% of the time. So from what I'm reading, it's still pretty much junk and not worth the price if you want it for auto focusing of lenses.
Although my own experience suggests that "pretty much junk and not worth the price" is an excessively harsh judgement, I agree that the TAP is a deeply flawed product. Even so, many of the best pictures I have taken over the past couple of years were made with a TAP mounted on an A7RII, bounded by a number of constraints:
* I follow Kressouille's recommendation and stick with lenses weighing no more than 300g (including the X->M adapter, if needed). I've achieved my best results with small light lenses such as the Minolta MD 45/2, Contax C/Y 45/2.8, Contax G 45/2, M-Hexanon 50/2, and C-Sonnar 50/1.5 -- all of which fall under the 300g limit.
* I also agree with Kressouille's advice to use center AF, which plays to the TAP's strengths since autofocus accuracy diminishes as the AF point moves away from the center (this, somewhat perversely, makes the A7RII work like a Leica).
* Although I have not yet have a TAP fail, I insure against what appears to be its inherent unreliability by a) having three copies of the TAP and b) always carrying a Voigtlander Close Focus M->E adapter as a backup in the small pouch that holds my spare batteries and memory cards.
Why do I tolerate the TAP's evident deficiencies when the A7RIII and Sonnar FE 55/1.8 provide me with almost flawless AF speed and accuracy? Because I love the way those vintage lenses render and also, as Jack White says in It Might Get Loud, sometimes you have to "pick a fight" with the guitar.
Thanks for the hexcellent points being made that I basically agree with, although I have used the TAP with heavier lenses like the Leica Summilux-R 80/1.4. Here the lens needs to be supported way more than the camera. Also manual pre-focusing is necessary. But I find the results worth the effort and risk.
One of my favorite lenses on the TAP is the Nikon Micro-NIKKOR 55mm f/2.8 Lens. It weighs 10.23 oz (290 g).
genji wrote: Kressouille wrote:
For me the main issue is reliability. Everybody is aware of these TAP limitations but i think that when we bought the TAP , we all decided to live with them.
I personnally have no issue with using this TAP with light-weight lenses (frankly spealing, below 300 g because I'm just afraid of damaging the TAP), or use AF centered mode (with AF memory) only. For me it is great when it works.
But what I cannot accept is the lack of reliability. The first issue I had was when travelling far away from home and when this TAP went damaged and stuck to my Sony body. You can waste your entire vacation because of this.
Techart should improve reliability (before trying to increase functionnalities) and should improve communication when things get wrong (no e-mail response from my damaged TAP). It's too bad considering the price I paid paid.
---------------------------------------------
brick33308 wrote:
I'm with you. I took it on a trip about a year and a half ago, and auto focus with my ZM 35 worked about 30% of the time. So from what I'm reading, it's still pretty much junk and not worth the price if you want it for auto focusing of lenses.
Although my own experience suggests that "pretty much junk and not worth the price" is an excessively harsh judgement, I agree that the TAP is a deeply flawed product. Even so, many of the best pictures I have taken over the past couple of years were made with a TAP mounted on an A7RII, bounded by a number of constraints:
* I follow Kressouille's recommendation and stick with lenses weighing no more than 300g (including the X->M adapter, if needed). I've achieved my best results with small light lenses such as the Minolta MD 45/2, Contax C/Y 45/2.8, Contax G 45/2, M-Hexanon 50/2, and C-Sonnar 50/1.5 -- all of which fall under the 300g limit.
* I also agree with Kressouille's advice to use center AF, which plays to the TAP's strengths since autofocus accuracy diminishes as the AF point moves away from the center (this, somewhat perversely, makes the A7RII work like a Leica).
* Although I have not yet have a TAP fail, I insure against what appears to be its inherent unreliability by a) having three copies of the TAP and b) always carrying a Voigtlander Close Focus M->E adapter as a backup in the small pouch that holds my spare batteries and memory cards.
Why do I tolerate the TAP's evident deficiencies when the A7RIII and Sonnar FE 55/1.8 provide me with almost flawless AF speed and accuracy? Because I love the way those vintage lenses render and also, as Jack White says in It Might Get Loud, sometimes you have to "pick a fight" with the guitar.
Thanks for the hexcellent points being made that I basically agree with, although I have used the TAP with heavier lenses like the Leica Summilux-R 80/1.4. Here the lens needs to be supported way more than the camera. Also manual pre-focusing is necessary. But I find the results worth the effort and risk.
K-H.
Apr 01, 2018 at 09:56 AM
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