This is purely a personal journey here. A little retrospective look back at the last couple months to see what I’ve been getting out of the new Sony a7II (Sony Alpha a7II Mirrorless Digital Camera -Body Only- at B&H HERE). I tend to spend a lot of time looking at specific things in regard to a lens or camera for the blog here, and I figured I’d compile a few shots from the combination of lenses I’ve been using. I have mostly used my Canon EF mount lenses via the Metabones adapter (review on that HERE), but have recently acquired the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 because I felt the camera deserved to also be shot with a high quality native mount lens, plus I was curious to see how it handled this new, crazy feature all the kids talk about in auto focus. Click any image below to see a larger version, and let me know your thoughts in the comments. Less talk, more rock as it were. Without further ado… You can see any of the lenses reviewed in this article via my B&H affiliate links noted below each image of that lens on the camera. You can see more about the camera straps that I make, on the TRP Camera Straps Page HERE. Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC – EF mount (click to see at B&H)

ISO 800 – f/8 – 1/4000

ISO 100 – f/2.8 – 1/100

ISO 400 – f/5.6 – 1/1000

The Rokinon 14mm lens is a wonderful bang for the buck. Aside from some mustache distortion which is admittedly tricky to correct for without the benefit of in camera, or in software profile correction, this lens compares very favorably to the much pricier Canon 14mm f/2.8 L lens while on a Canon body. On the Sony a7II though, the corners seem to struggle a little bit. No worrisome color shift that I’ve yet seen, but they do soften up a little, most noticeable at apertures wider than about f/5.6, and especially when elements in the corners encroach the close focus distances within the acceptable COC or near edge of the depth of field. An easy fix for that is to keep important elements out of the corners, make sure these elements are well within your DOF, or simply compose with the intention of cropping into the image a little bit which will eliminate the edges and corners. This may not be a great situation if you need a 14mm field of view, but if you can live with the field of view from say a 17-18mm lens, then it should be entirely serviceable, and a great value buy. Otherwise, this lens is a really good performer on the a7II. Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC – EF mount (click to see at B&H)

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM (click to see at B&H)

ISO 400 – f/8 – 1/1600

ISO 400 – f/5.6 – 1/8

ISO 200 – f/8 – 1/1000

The EF 17-40L has long been a workhorse lens for me. While an older lens design in digital years, it’s still provided a great return on investment for me and has paid for itself many times over. Adapting it to the a7II has started to show its age just a little bit with slightly softer corners. Not as noticeable as the Rokinon above, it handles itself pretty well all things considered. The color and contrast out of this lens still impresses me, and plays well with the 24mp Sony sensor. With as many of these around used as there are, it might be a good option and alternative to the Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 FE lens which comes in at about twice the price as this 17-40mm zoom. While the Metabones adapter doesn’t boast the same level of environmental sealing as the a7II body, or this lens does, a couple well placed rubber bands and some gaffer tape will suffice if and when I take this combo waterfall hunting or out on a misty morning. While a bit long in physical measurement, this lens is very manageable, weight wise and doesn’t feel awkward on the a7II body. For an all purpose walk around street, landscape and general travel lens, the 17-40 will do me just wonderfully coupled to the a7II I feel. Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM (click to see at B&H)

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM (click to see at B&H)

ISO 800 – f/1.4 – 1/50

ISO 100 – f/1.4 – 1/1000

ISO 100 – f/1.4 – 1/320

The Canon 35L is one of my all time, favorite lenses. Shooting it on the a7II has both shown me why I have enjoyed it so much over the years (as the quality is very good and I love the rendering) as well as convinced me that I don’t need, nor want to buy the new Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 lens. Not because I think the Sony Zeiss 35/1.4 isn’t a great lens, it’s just very large and heavy, much like my 35L. It is somewhat imbalanced on the small body, which is to be expected with a lens this size, but that is the price you pay for a fast, f/1.4 full frame prime lens. Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM (click to see at B&H) I don’t foresee me using the 35L on the a7II very much, mostly because of the size/weight, but also because of the next lens in my quiver…

Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SL Ultron – EF Mount (click to see at B&H)

ISO 400 – f/5.6 – 1/50

ISO 800 – f/2 – 1/320

ISO 800 – f/2 – 1/25

ISO 400 – f/2.8 – 1/25

Boasting a just wide of standard focal length on a full frame camera in a pancake design, this little lens is a near perfect mate to a camera like the a7II, even when adapted to the Metabones adapter. A 40mm field of view is great for just about all types of documentary, every day shooting. I’ve been a fan of Voigtländer for quite some time. They make incredible, beautifully built lenses at reasonable prices. Everything I’ve used from Voigtländer feels like I could throw it at a brick wall, and the wall would come out the worse for it. This particular gem is very compact, even with the adapter, it’s just wide of standard which I prefer to a more “traditional” 50mm lens, and for the price, offers a wonderful value. It’s manual focus, but again, with focus peaking and magnified focus assist, that isn’t a problem. Having a large maximum f/2 aperture, it proves to be a very versatile optic. Seeing as the manual focus Zeiss Loxia 35/2 goes for $1300, I’d buy this Voigtländer lens, the Metabones adapter and save myself $400 any day of the week. ***(*UPDATE – For a cheaper alternative to the Metabones adapter, there is another that promises AF and aperture control, although I’ve not personally used it at all, so read the reviews and decide if saving the money would be worth it, which I feel it would for a lens like the Voigtländer which doesn’t AF anyway, but does require electronic aperture control via the body: Dot Line EF>Sony E AF/Aperture control Adapter ).***

I feel this lens stands up to any lens I use, optically and build quality wise. The size and weight are a great balance on the Sony bodies. It’s truly a great, little optic and one that will probably be used more on the a7II than any other of my adaptable lenses, and again has helped convince me I do not need to look to another 35 or 40mm option for this system. Sorry Sony. Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SL Ultron – EF Mount (click to see at B&H)

Sony Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 (click to see at B&H)

ISO 200 – f/2.2 – 1/500

ISO 200 – f/4 – 1/4000

ISO 100 – f/2.2 – 1/640

What can I say about a lens that tests as well or better than any other auto focus lens for any system? Can we debate that it seems over priced for a rather pedestrian f/1.8, near standard prime lens? Yes, we certainly can. What we need to realize though is that if we’re to take the price of the lens out of it, the balance of size and speed is just about perfect on the a7 series bodies. If this were an f/1.4 optic, it’d be larger, heavier (see the 35/1.4) and inevitably more expensive. As is, the size and weight feel just about perfect on these smaller bodies. While I do feel that Sony should be a bit more honest with the pricing (I see this lens as a premium, $800 lens in optical and build quality) when we can get other f/1.8 standard primes for a mere fraction of the cost that compare well optically, it doesn’t change the fact that this lens is great, and is the only proprietary, auto focus standard lens for the system so far. Sony knows that it hit it out of the park with this lens, and I can’t really complain about what they’re charging if I’m being honest with myself. I will review this lens in more detail later down the road, but for now I can easily say that it is a great lens, and I don’t feel I was ripped off in any way. If you can come to grips with the asking price, I’d argue that it is the one “must have” lens for the system at this point, which is why I chose to buy it, and act as my only Sony FE mount lens when I feel I really need the auto focus. It’s great. Sony Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 (click to see at B&H)

Canon FD 55mm f/1.2 SSC (find them on ebay here) FD>EF Mount adapter via Ed Mica HERE

ISO 400 – f/1.6 – 1/200

ISO 100 – f/1.2 – 1/1250

ISO 50 – f/2.8 – 1/2500

This lens has seen a few lifetimes, and served me well on different bodies, for different systems. Optically it is soft and dreamy wide open (and an absolute light vacuum, sucking up any available photon around), but stopped down to f/2.8 and beyond, it is capable of being very, very sharp. A testament to the optical engineers and manufacturers of yesteryear. This lens is older than I am, and it’s still going strong. Having converted this lens from its original FD breech lock mount to the more modern Canon EF mount, it has allowed me to use this on my Canon bodies without the need for an adapter using sub par optical elements to allow distant focus. On the 5DII, the mirror interferes with the rear element when focused beyond about 30′, so it became a close, portrait lens essentially. Now that I’ve eliminated the mirror, it has given it a new lease on life. Only problem with this lens is that I’ve since purchased the FE Zeiss 55/1.8, so unless I absolutely need that extra stop, it probably won’t get much use on this camera from here on out…

EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM (click to see at B&H)

ISO 800 – f/3.2 – 1/1000

ISO 400 – f/5.6 – 1/800

ISO 200 – f/2.8 – 1/2000

ISO 200 – f/2.8 – 1/2500

Hey, I’m not going to pretend that this huge lens is a good mate to the tiny a7 bodies, but if you can get around the horrible imbalance, it’s still a top performing lens. I’ve used this lens mostly for portrait and studio setups over the years, where I won’t need to carry it around for long periods of time, and that won’t change just because the body on the back has lost a little weight. I’d actually prefer to use this lens on a larger, heavier body because it benefits from the security in the hand that the larger cameras provide. I’m sure I will shoot this lens on the Sony a little bit here and there, but I would never suggest going out and buying one to use on the a7 series bodies if you were’t prepared to support 3 lbs of awkward lens weight. As seems to have been the trend, at least initially for the full frame alpha series zoom lenses, they do offer the smaller, lighter and slower Sony FE 70-200 f/4 lens which will make it a bit easier on the wrist, but at the cost of a stop. How important is that? Well, as we’re seeing Sony releasing some faster lenses, I think they’re seeing the need for that speed by pros and serious amateurs calling for faster optics, answering by releasing the newer, faster series of lenses like the 35/1.4 and 90/2.8 macro, but we’ve yet to see any native FE f/2.8 zooms. Speed might not be quite as important as it once was, considering how well most modern cameras perform at higher and higher ISOs, but if there’s a demand for it, then it would be silly not to offer it. To me, speed in this case comes at the expense of comfortable shooting by way of some pretty gnarly physical imbalance, and has shown me my limit to what I’m willing to carry around hanging off the front of this tiny camera body, but I may still employ it in situations where I need the stop…I think I’ll just do so while camped on a tripod. EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM (click to see at B&H)

EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro L IS USM (click to see at B&H)

ISO 800 – f/3.5 – 1/80

ISO 100 – f/2.8 – 1.6sec

ISO 800 – f/3.2 – 1/800

ISO 800 – f/4 – 1/1000

The Canon 100mm L macro lens is the best macro lens I’ve personally shot with. It is so good in fact, that I sold off my beloved 135mm f/2 L lens which I feel is one of the best lenses for the Canon system. It was a hard decision, but seeing as I’m shooting less and less with the Canons and more and more with the micro 4/3 and now Sony cameras, the 100mm macro lens doubles as my mid tele macro, and a killer portrait lens too. This lens physically, is pretty long for a body the size of the a7II, but it is surprisingly light while still feeling solid. It mates better to this camera than I’d have anticipated, and I think it will probably get plenty of use for my short/mid tele and macro needs. On the a7II, this 100mm lens does superbly. While it may seem like losing quick auto focus by shooting it adapted to the Sony would be a big deal, I’ve found it to be just fine. I don’t really use the AF on this lens much even on the Canon bodies, and the features like live view and focus peaking on the Sony compliment what and how I shoot with a macro lens better anyway. If I were a rich man, I’d buy the newly announced Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 lens to compare it to. My gut is that optically, the Canon will hold its own if not best the Sony, but would be hindered by the slower AF operation, if and when AF was needed. If I were going to go all in on the alpha series, I’d opt for the native FE lens, but as is, again, already having this 100mm macro, I’m absolutely thrilled with it on the a7II. EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro L IS USM (click to see at B&H)

We live in a time where we’re not entirely shackled to one system or another if we’ve heavily invested in one particular system or mount. With newer mirrorless systems seeming to be taking up the torch, those of us invested in a DSLR system are not without hope if we feel we want to explore our world with a newer, smaller, lighter mirrorless camera system. With smart adapters, we can begin to see new cameras as interchangeable, digital backs to an extent. Because camera and sensor technology has a much shorter shelf life than optical tools, the seeming permanence of investment in a system can now employ the latest, greatest sensor technology without the marriage to it entirely. While we realistically will need to temper our situational performance expectations for auto focus or the like, the ability to use our already owned, high end lenses on newer, non-proprietary mounts is pretty amazing, and can help with any sticker shock attached to the prospect of buying into a new system. After shooting with the Metabones EF>FE adapter, I’m really looking at investing in the newly announced Kipon EF>m4/3 smart adapter when it is released, which also enables full exif, IS and auto focus support for my Canon lenses to my micro 4/3 bodies. Exciting times. Before being swayed by the marketing from one company or another for a new camera, I try to ask myself what I’m really gaining by making any new camera or lens purchase. I won’t upgrade just because I think it’s what I need to do, but rather look to find tools that will provide me with a unique set of benefits in a variety of scenarios. The a7II offers a compelling option in that it is the first full frame camera that offers in body, sensor based image stabilization along with all the bells and whistles that come with these new, feature rich mirrorless cameras. That I’m able to explore this system by way of the Metabones adapter while using my EF lenses with very little risk in the event that I’m not sold on it, is a pretty cool thing. If I find that I’d rather stick to what Canon is offering, I’m not worried about holding onto this camera to throw in a pocket while out and about from time to time, or I can sell it off with the stellar Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 lens. That I can fit a full frame camera and lens in my coat pocket is also a very cool thing. I’m not entirely sold on the Sony Alpha system quite yet myself for all the needs I have photographically, but I will say that I both enjoy shooting with it, and see a huge upside to Sony’s full frame, mirrorless system. It offers a lot that Canikon do not in current models, but I still feel that Sony has a ways to go with their processing and RAW file output. That will hopefully come as time goes on. The interface, while worlds better than the original NEX UI, can still stand to be refined, but all in all, it is a great little machine with many tricks up its sleeve. It has jumped ahead of Canikon in various aspects, but still lags behind in others. The cool part? They are now a very valid piece of the conversation moving forward, and along with the Fuji system, the Micro 4/3 system, and even the Samsung system have helped push the argument for mirrorless even further, and given us a good glimpse at the future of digital imaging. You can see the Sony a7II at B&H Sony Alpha a7II Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only) Body Only HERE, and with the Sony Alpha a7II Mirrorless Digital Camera with FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens HERE. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again. Competition is crucial for every photo gear customer as it will keep innovation churning. If you can get to a point where you can ignore the name printed on your gear, and look at it objectively while allowing all camera companies the chance to earn your hard earned money, especially when we have more and more ability to adapt our current lenses to new bodies, then we all win. Choice is good. Thanks for the read. Stay tuned to the blog for specials, reviews and tutorials by adding your email to the top right of the page. You’ll receive articles and posts as they’re released. I’d love to connect, so hit me up on the socials via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr or Instagram as well. Happy shooting, Tyson