joe_blowwe

<p>Thanks!<br> Yes, the Sony/Zeiss wide primes which I've seen are very large. I didn't understand when I bought the camera that I wouldn't be able to use the gorgeous, tiny VC 21/4 or 28/3.5, which would make such a perfect match with this compact body. :(<br> I like the Planar look -- and I used Planars professionally, on Blad 500CM's. But I like the Leica look more, so I hope that the 40 and 50 'crons will work well with the A7. The very compact 40 should be a nice walking around lens.</p> <p>By the way, when using adapted lenses on the A7, I presume that I have to manually open and close the diaphragm for focussing, right? This just occurred to me. That will be a bit of a PITA, I'm thinking. A big advantage of the native lenses.<br> I guess if I don't like it, I can just start selling off the Leica glass.</p>

<p>Thanks for all of the responses.<br> I am starting to think about the 16-35 F4 Zeiss zoom. I'm in a bit of despair about the size of lenses which will work -- I had really wanted to rig to be pocketable like my Leica M's were, but this does not seem to be in the cards with wides. Maybe with the 40 Cron or 50 cron.<br> The 16-35 zoom does not seem to be optically much worse than the primes, and not much bigger, and F4 is OK with the wides, especially with OSS.<br> So I'm leaning towards this as a kit:<br> 24-70 F4 zoom<br> 16-35 F4 zoom<br> 90 'cron<br> 50 'cron<br> 50 Nokton<br> 40 'cron<br> and one nice wide prime -- either the 21 Loxia or the 28/2 Sony FE. Or perhaps the VC 21/1.8, which is hardly bulkier or heavier than the Loxia, and more than a stop faster. I guess the 50 'cron would get the most use; it's always been my favorite lens anyway.<br> I can easily fund this (and more) by selling the Noctilux and the 35 'cron ASPH.<br> I can play around with the Nikon lenses if the spirit moves me -- and I have a 35/2 AIS if I want a prime in that focal length for some reason. I guess the 135/2.8 AIS Nikkor will work excellently also if I need a tele.</p> <p>What do you guys think?</p> <p>I am loving the images coming out of the A7 so far. This is so much better than the scanned film from my M's I used to do, that it's not even funny. The tonal range is simply gorgeous. And this is with the cheap kit lens!</p>

<p>Oh, my VC 15 is probably v1. :( I've had it since forever.<br> I really wanted compact RF lenses so I can put the camera in my pocket the way I used to do with my Leica M's. It is sounding less and less likely that I will manage that. Maybe the 40mm 'cron; or even the 50, would give me some of that, but it sounds like almost nothing among the really compact wides is going to work. <br> I might just break down and acquire the 16-35 Zeiss zoom -- if I can't put the camera in my pocket, then the size of this is probably not going to be a big problem, and it will save me carrying a bunch of lenses. It's apparently pretty good optically and not expensive.<br> The wide Loxia primes look rather bulky, and don't seem to be all that much better optically than the zoom. </p>

<p>Another rather unrelated question, but I might as well pose it here I guess: My A7 came with the kit lens -- 28-70 3.5-5.6. It is surprisingly nice, with very good contrast and reasonably sharp. I want to do a film project with this camera, and this lens looks like it would be good for that, or at least some zoom lens. If it were only just a little wider on the wide end . . . so there is the Zeiss 24-70, which has gotten bad reviews, as being no better than the kit lens, at double the cost. But that might be worth it for me to have 24 rather than 28 on the wide end. 24mm is a really useful focal length which I used to use a lot in primes.<br> Anyone do this?</p>

<p>Thanks for all the responses! Very useful indeed. So what I take away from this is that the 50's and the 90 should work ok, as should the VC 15, but that the other wide lenses may have smeared corners and other problems. <br> I guess I'll try them all and sell the ones which don't work, and buy some Zeiss lenses to replace them.<br> In addition to the lenses listed above, it turns out I have a 35/2 aspherical Summicron. I don't really like that focal length all that much, and if on top of that it doesn't work well on the A7, so I think I'll sell it. It is a recent model and should bring enough to buy a couple of Zeiss lenses. Also a Leica 90/4 and a 40/2 Summicron off a Leica CL I used to have. The 40/2 is a gorgeous lens and super compact -- that will just be great if it works on the A7.<br> I also have a bag full of Nikon lenses which I had forgotten about. Old manual focus ones I used on an F3 a million years ago when I did it professionally for a while. I guess these should work excellently on the A7. As it turns out, the seller of my A7 threw in a Nikon adapter. None of this glass is anything like the Leica glass, but could be fun to play with.<br> One of them is an old 28mm PC Nikkor -- perspective correction -- which I used to use for architectural stuff, but which I always LOVED. I hope it will work on the A7. I had great fun with this lens back in the day (and earned some money with it, too).<br> If I can't get any of my wide lenses to work, then I will need something about 20 or 21 and a 28. I love my tiny VC 28, which would make the A7 truly pocketable, but based on what I have read, I guess there is little chance it will work well. Then I will have to choose between a bulky VC 28/2 or one of the Sony/Zeiss ones. </p>

<p>I sold my Leica M film bodies some years ago, but kept all the glass I had, with the idea that someday I would buy a Leica digital or some other kind of body I could use them on.<br> I never wanted to buy a Leica M digital body, because unlike the film cameras, you are not buying them forever -- technology marches on, and the sensors and electronics become obsolete.<br> But now I've bought a Sony A7. I have been shooting with it over the weekend using the kit zoom, and I am quite pleased with it. I'm travelling and don't have my bag of Leica/Voigtlander glass with me, but am looking forward to trying that soon.<br> What have others' experiences been with this glass? Reading suggests that there can be problems with the wide angle lenses, but that longer lenses may be good.<br> I have:<br> 90/2 Summicon<br> 50/2 Summicron (my baby -- one of the best lenses I have ever used)<br> 50/1 Noctilux<br> then a bunch of Voigtlander lenses including<br> 50/1.5 Nokton (another favorite)<br> 35/2.5 pancake<br> 28/3.5<br> 25/4<br> 15/4.5<br> some others I can't remember</p> <p>Has anyone used any of this glass with the A7?<br> Other Leica mount lenses which worked either well or badly with the A7?</p> <p> </p>