LA-EA5 / A6600 compatibility tests

tpolakov wrote: Works OK, but needs manual SteadyShot focal length entry for SS to work properly: Sigma - 30 F1.4 EX DC

That is weird - maybe dirty contacts?

There's a chart or list somewhere on here with all the lens ID numbers of all Sony , Sigma and Tamron lenses , and possibly others .
You can see which numbers are shared between very different lenses .

I've got two Minolta teleconverters that I've changed the camera side contacts for replacement ones for lenses .
A 2x TC has a chip James Lao did that says it's a 600mm f/4 lens ( originally done for a 2x TC with a damaged ribbon cable , so I thought I'd do this so my 300mm f/4 would A/F on my camera ) ,and I've used the chip and contacts out of a Minolta 35-70mm lens in a Minolta 1.4x TC .
I've done this so my Minolta APO lenses work 100% with my LA-EA5 and LA-EA4.
Full auto focus and full aperture control .
Focal length has to be entered manually as 35mm worth of I/S isn't much use when it's a 400mm lens and 1.4x TC attached .


Edited by neilt3 - 21 September 2022 at 11:49

It shows as "Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC" and the focal length seems to be also reported correctly in the EXIF.
Also it appears the manual steadyshot setting is not lens specific (at least not for the lenses through the LA-AE5). It does not change when I change the A-mount lenses on the adapter.
Well, just have to remember it ;)

I don't have experience with those lenses...
The Tamron was not a speed demon on the native A-mount either and there were cases when it could not lock focus for several runs through the range. So I may just be wrong here and the focusing is about the same speed as on A-mount, even though I don't remember it stopping and hesitating half-way through the range back then.
It's a macro anyway, so mostly manual focus ;)

I've seen the focus distance encoding being completely off on Sigma A-mount lenses including this one, so translation stabilization is not going to work correctly. Entering a manual focal length disables the translation stabilization. You could try taping over the last three lens contacts, but I am not sure if the lens will work without those. Does the stabilization seem ok with the lens set to infinity?

Edited by QuietOC - 21 September 2022 at 13:12

Phil Wood wrote: neilt3 wrote: I've got two Minolta teleconverters that I've changed the camera side contacts for replacement ones for lenses . A 2x TC has a chip James Lao did that says it's a 600mm f/4 lens ( originally done for a 2x TC with a damaged ribbon cable , so I thought I'd do this so my 300mm f/4 would A/F on my camera ) l I assume worked, are these chips still available? I'd love to have AF with my 300/4 and 2x combo.

It sort of works , depending on camera body used on .
Just because you tell the camera that it's a 600mm f/4 , doesn't make it an f/4 lens .
With a 2x TC , you still loose two stops of light , so unless it's bright and contrasty it'll struggle to lock focus .
A/F is also slow .
I've tried it on my a77ii and a900 .
Generally speaking I don't like using the 2x TC's anyway but the 1.4x TC's give better results .

I also find using the 1.4x and cropping tends to give better results .
I haven't tried the combination on my a99ii .

I was going to try it out on my a7Riv with the LA-EA5 when I went away last year but messed up by taking my non-modified TC's out with me instead of the modified ones !

I've since got the 300mm f/2.8 and 400mm f/4.5 Minolta APO's , so for extra reach I'd likely go for them .

What camera would you be using it on ?
Your not in the North West of England by any chance are you ? If so you could try mine before you modify yours .

Phil Wood wrote: neilt3 wrote: What camera would you be using it on ? Your not in the North West of England by any chance are you ? If so you could try mine before you modify yours . My main camera is the A99ii, but it is always tempting to use APS-C for that little extra resolution v a cropped A99ii - in my case this means an A77. Sadly I am not in the NW - but thanks for the generous offer. Perhaps we'll meet an a Dyxum meet somewhen.

When I get chance I'll try the 300mm f/4 with the 2x TC on my a99ii and let you know how it gets on .
On the basis on how it works on the a77ii , I wouldn't bother modifying yours .
Mine was faulty , so I repaired it in a way that it would function with AF , but I wouldn't alter a fully functioning one . with the a99ii it might be different .

@ the O.P , I'll also try it on the a7Riv with the LA-EA5 and report back as it should behave the same as on the a6600 .