a6600 + LA-EA5 + Minolta lens

I've been reading and trying to really get some opinions and thoughts on this combination and while I've watched videos and read people's comments, I finally decided to bite the bullet (a little!) and try it myself.

This past weekend I rented the a6600 and the LA-EA5. I used it with my Minolta 135mm f/2.8 to see what I thought. I expected to be disappointed. Instead, I was actually THRILLED with how the combination worked.

Was it as good as the a6600 with a native lens (Tamron 70-180)? No. But it was awfully close.

Was it better than the Minolta 135mm on my older Sony a77ii? A LOT better.

I photograph dogs and so used my dogs to experiment with it. Here are some sample photos.

First day was pouring rain, so not the BEST time to experiment with a new lens/adapter. I also forgot to turn off IBIS. Yes, I turn it OFF when I shoot at high speeds. I don't think I've ever shot with it on. Or at least not in a very long time. I find it makes my images a little blurry.


f/2.8 ISO 800 1/1600



f/4 ISO 1600 1/1600


Second day was better. Dreary, but no rain! This is my Border Collie. She's fast!

f/3.5 ISO 500 1/1600


Both of my dogs running right to me. I will be honest and say this is a composite. But the photo of Lea (dog on the left) replaced a photo where she was in the same spot and also in focus...she just looked doofy because of where she was in her stride.

f/3.5 ISO 500 1/1600



f/5 ISO 640 1/1600



f/5 ISO 640 1/1600



f/2.8 ISO 250 1/1600


Day 3 I only used it for a short bit at the off leash area.

f/4 ISO 320 1/1600



f/4 ISO 500 1/1600



f/4 ISO 500 1/1600


So overall, for dog action? I'm very happy with the adapter. I've been contemplating getting a crop sensor camera as backup and if I decide to do it, I'll definitely be looking at getting this one.

addy landzaat wrote: By a "lot better" you mean AF? Really nice pictures by the way, esp. #1 and the ones where the dogs run towards you.

Yes, sorry! I was really most interested in testing out the AF on it.

I used to get sometimes only 1 or 2 photos out of a run of 10 when the dog was coming at me. Often I got nothing on the a77ii. I remember using microadjust to hack the focus and pull it toward me as quite frequently I'd get the shoulders/chest in focus and not their face.

The same lens with the adapter on the a6600 would get me a bunch of in focus photos. I was really happy with the performance.

addy landzaat wrote: Back, when new, the A77m2 reviews mentioned problems in this kind of situation. I remember. It is capable, but not as good ad the Canon 7D (mk.2) let alone the Nikon D500. Running towards the camera is difficult for AF systems.

Yup. It got better with the firmware update but still was iffy. I just think it wasn't fast enough to keep up. It always fell just a bit behind where the focus box was.

At one point I started hacking it by pulling the focus forward with the microadjust feature. So then I got shots like this:



But it was "artificial" and so something I could do ONLY if I knew I was going to shoot something like that. It sucked but...that was life. I was already invested into Sony (had an a230 and a580) with several lenses and no money to start all over at the time. So I used it for 5 years.

I didn't expect it to actually be so much better with an adapter on a new camera, but it is!

crysania wrote: So then I got shots like this:

Wow

Thanks OP

My A77ii has just died on me (aperture and focus gone when lens attached), and I use mainly Minolta lenses, 50/100mm macro, 80-200 (G) telephoto for flowers / birding - and the sony 16-50 for most other stuff. Really reluctant to switch to E-mount because of this, so have been trying to decide between A6600 and a secondhand A77ii that I'm comfortable with. I think your post has probably swayed me.

Just needs a flash!