Life after the Sony A99...

Hi Boyan,

Very sorry to hear about your A99 breaking down! Naturely, if you have been happy with your A99 kit, the easiest and most economical solution is to have your A99 repaired. It's a great camera, and still has the advantage of the best articulating screen for still photography. Also you won't find built in GPS on newer cameras, if that is important to you. It is for me.

As for the FE mount system, since everyone has different needs and budgets, it may be right for some and not for others. One thing for sure, if one is looking for the latest technology and highest camera and lens performance, Sony FE might be the way to go. Also there is an amazing selection of Sony, Zeiss and third party lenses

As for size and weight, that depends of what kit you buy. The kit that I use with my A7III is much smaller and lighter than my A99 kit. But as for lenses like the the 70-200 f2.8, there typically is no advantage with the FE mount over A mount. However, the new 70-200 GM II is said to be much lighter than the previous version. The prices of the the GM lenses are going to be higher than what the equivalent A mount lenses cost back in the day.

Something that might be a negative for still photographer with new FE mount cameras, is that, more and more, video is the emphasis of the design and performance. I guess many new or younger users envision themselves as content creators, YouTubers, cinematographers etc, so you will find a lot of emphasis on 4k, 8K and flip screens, all things a lot of us will seldom use but have to pay for nevertheless in the cost of these cameras. If you shoot mostly stills, in landscape mode with a neck strap and want to shoot at waist level, you won't want a flippy screen!

Though I love my A99, my A7III is, for my photography, the best camera I have ever used. But that is just me, and I've spent a lot of money buying new lenses for the system -- mainly Zeiss Batis, Sony/Zeiss, and a couple GM lenses.

Regards,

Kelly

According the Gary Friedman, the LA-EA5 seems to only work with screw drive lenses on the A-1, A7RIV and A6600. He did a video with an alternative "monster" LA-EA4 with a replacement card that allows other A7 cameras to work with the screw drive lenses without the mirror. You buy the card, do some surgery on the LA-EA4 following the instructions and his video and then end up with a converted adapter.

It looks like it is similar to the LA-EA5 on the three cameras above but AF is much slower than either with native E-Mount lenses or with the LA-EA3 on non
-screw drive lenses. The seller seems to be providing regular firmware updates so it could get more useful over time.

I have the LA-EA4 and use it with various screw drive lenses on an A7 II. It is fine for my use. I thought about the adapter and decided to hold back for now. I'm just a low level enthusiast somewhat in awe of the quality of pictures posted here. My satisfaction with the LA-EA4 may just reflect my more limited expectations for it than some other forum members seem to have.

Notwithstanding the loss of light, the AF speed is fine and you just need to focus/recompose. Still, 80% of my shorts are with the Tamron 28-75 native E-mount lens so I'm not sure I'd want to rely 100% on adapted lenses whether A-Mount or non-A-Mount adapted lenses.

Miranda F wrote: QuietOC wrote: The Sony LA-EA4 adapter acts pretty much the same on any E-mount body, though the recent ones like the A7IV don't support any AF with it. I hadn't heard that. It seems very odd. Does that mean with the latest A7 models you *have* to use the LA-EA5 to get AF with A-mount lenses?

Yes. Or put the Monster PCB in the LA-EA4.

There is no AF support for a unmodified LA-EA2 or LA-EA4 in the A1, A7SIII, or A7IV.

QuietOC: SOURCE?
According to Sony the LA-EA4 is supported by the A7iv.

So, what is your source. As it stands it is all FUD.

addy landzaat wrote: QuietOC: SOURCE? According to Sony the LA-EA4 is supported by the A7iv. So, what is your source. As it stands it is all FUD.

But indeed, when looking at the compatibility page:
https://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/www/cscs/lens_body/?mdl=ILCE-7M4&area=gwt&lang=en_CA#notes_adp_3
Select any A-mount lens, and for LA-EA4 and LA-EA2 it will say "Autofocus cannot be used" ...

Hello Phil

I did not know that the L4 adapter do not work for the A7M4, I had not tested it, only on my A7 M2 and M3.
I have the LA5 there was no need to use the old adapter on the A4.
I tested it today and the LA4 do definitely not work with the A7 M4.
What stays the LA 4 is chunky, and deliver only a few focus points if it would work with the Sony A7M4
I still not recommend the combination off the La Ea4 and Sony A7M3 coming from the A99
If it comes to the loss of light you right it is ⅓ stop not 30% of light. I should have checked that before

A Sony Nex 6 have been my main camera for quite some time, it worked fine for me.
I have a Sony A 6500 for trips I do not want to carry to much weight, that works even better.
If it comes to a walk around Kamera the APSC cameras save a lot of weight and still deliver excellent image quality.

Regards

Wolfgang

Well, I guess that makes the LA-EAx compatibility easier to explain. On the latest models (A7M4, etc) only use the odd-numbered adapters, on earlier models, LA-EA1-4 only.