(E-Mount To EF) Sony A7S ii with Cannon EF 24-105mm f/4

[David Clement]

Hello, I'm a Film Student.

And I'm going to buy a Sony A7S ii with a Cannon EF24-105mm f/4 as it was recommend for shooting film especially with low light.

But I was also told I would need an E-Mount Sony To Cannon, yet due to my reduced knowledge I have little idea of which one is the cheapest/right one.

If anyone knows I would greatly appreciate any answer.

Btw this are the websites I’m planning to buy from if anyone knows a better one please let me know.

Sony Alpha ILCE7SM2/B / a7S II Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only): DronesForLess
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equi...es/canon-ef-24-105mm-f-4-l-is-usm/sku-646512/

Thank you so much.!

 

[dasmith232]

I have a couple of the Metabones adapters, which adapt a Canon EF mount lens to a Sony E-mount body. I've used these adapters on an a6000 (which I own) and an a7RII, which I have access to through a friend.

One that I have is the (more common) Mark IV adapter. It works with EF (full-frame) or EF-S (crop-sensor) lenses. There are no optics in the adapter, but definitely some embedded electronics to engage the focus mechanism of the attached lens.

I have about 15 or 20 different auto-focus lenses and at some point, I've attached nearly all of them to the Sony just to try it out. Many of my Canon lenses do "okay" with this adapter. A few lenses do "well". Some do not work at all. There are only a few that I think perform well enough to consider using in a practical situation.

The (Canon) 70-200/2.8 is one that performs fairly well. The 24-105/4 is ... well, not that great. It works, but there's a lot of hunting involved. I have the Mark I version of that 24-105 lens. It's possible that the Mark II is different/better, but I can't speak to that one.

And just to make sure, I mounted that lens/adapter/body combination even as I write this response to check things.

Also, regardless of the body (or adapters), I don't think of the 24-105 as a great lens for low light because it's f/4. On a full-frame body (with better and larger pixels), it's certainly adequate, but this is not a lens that I think of when considering low-light conditions.

The other adapter I have is the "Speed Booster". That adapter includes an optic (actually, 4 elements) that Metabones says will "reduce the effective focal length". It does this by focusing the light circle into a smaller circle that's still big enough to cover a crop-sensor (like on the a6K), but no longer big enough for a full-frame sensor (like on the a7). Therefore, I don't think you're interested in this adapter.

For what it's worth, many of my lenses will work with the Speed Booster, but not all. And it's not the same set that doesn't work with the Mark IV adapter. At one point I made a list of which lenses worked with which adapters, but got tired and bored with trying to keep track of that. Basically, some lenses work, some don't. There are multiple sites and reports on the internet that detail this out.

The Metabones adapters are not cheap. Definitely not cheap. There are alternatives including Fotodiox and Novoflex, and several other (even cheaper) knock-off brands. I borrowed a Fotodiox once and the Metabones was definitely better (meaning faster on a few lenses) and more compatible (meaning that the Fotodiox didn't work on at least one of my lenses that the Metabones did).

It doesn't strike me that the A7SII body and 24-105/4 lens is a great combination, and by the time you add an adapter, it isn't cheap. As a student, you might have a constrained budget. I'm not sure how this combination would be recommended when viewed objectively.

Ultimately, I got tired of adapting Canon lenses to the Sony body and got the (Canon) M5 body. Every single AF lens I have works quite well when using the EF to EF-M adapter. I haven't decided to get rid of my Sony yet, but definitely considering it.

 

[David Clement]

Thank you so much for all the help and trouble you went through!

I'm now looking through the adapters and lenses you mentioned and trying to figure out what would be the best combination.

Either way I'll reflect on it all again as my main objective is to buy a camera for around 3000 pounds that would allow me to get enough quality to get started on some personal projects and enter some competitions film wise.

Again my kindest thanks for all the help

 

[dasmith232]

The A7S is definitely a good choice for low-light photography. Also, as technology continues to improve, Sony is doing great things. The bodies are very capable and feature rich.

The a7S can be purchased as body-only or when paired with the 28-70, then that lens is only about US$400, or around 321 pounds? The combined pair (a7SII and 28-70) as a brand new purchase is about 2500 pounds, if my conversions are right.

The only thing that causes me to pause from your description is pairing that body with the Canon 24-105. That lens is kind of "generic". Plus you'd still need to purchase the adapter.

Perhaps a better way to go through this is to start with the type of photography and what lens(es) best fit that. I'm happy to offer my thoughts on anything you might run into going forward.

 

[greybeard]

In my opinion, you would be much better off getting the Sony 28-70. It is made specifically for the A7 and you will not be at the mercy of a 3rd party adaptor with a lens made for a totally different camera.

Amazon.com: Sony 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 FE OSS Interchangeable Standard Zoom Lens: SONY: Camera & Photo

 

[David Clement]

The A7S is definitely a good choice for low-light photography. Also, as technology continues to improve, Sony is doing great things. The bodies are very capable and feature rich.

The a7S can be purchased as body-only or when paired with the 28-70, then that lens is only about US$400, or around 321 pounds? The combined pair (a7SII and 28-70) as a brand new purchase is about 2500 pounds, if my conversions are right.

The only thing that causes me to pause from your description is pairing that body with the Canon 24-105. That lens is kind of "generic". Plus you'd still need to purchase the adapter.

Perhaps a better way to go through this is to start with the type of photography and what lens(es) best fit that. I'm happy to offer my thoughts on anything you might run into going forward.

Hey, thank you so much!
I'm now consedering perhaps going for other lenses one that would fit the sony A7S ii better. Would you reckon that the Sony 28-70 reccomended by "fgreybeard" is a good choice or isthere something you would find better for filming as i can manage around 3000 pounds for the whole setup? thank you so much again!

 

[dasmith232]

I always start with the "matching" vendor for lenses. Every manufacturer knows "the secrets" for getting the best auto-focus performance from that lens. It's definitely the starting point, but not the end of consideration. The other manufacturers should still be considered. Sigma is doing awesome things these days. Tamron and others are really stepping up the game as well.

And for the first lens, I'd lean even more in favor of the matched lens.