Minolta Vectis V - Sony E "MONSTER Adapter" Review

Minolta Vectis V to Sony E "MONSTER Adapter " by Neil , on Flickr

I've had the Minolta Vectis APS film SLR system for a number of years , Both the S1 and S100 film and V-mount DiMage RD-3000 DSLR from 1999 .
The film cameras are a nice lightweight rain proof system , which is why I bought it . I have been using them for over ten years alongside my A-mount film and digital cameras .
The system was released in 1996 and was a bit like the Minolta film equivalent to Sony's E-mount digital alternative to A-mount .
I think David Kilpatrik on Photoclubalpha was the first to try and utilise these lenses on a digital camera with more than 3 megapixels (!) though it involved duck tape .
I've started dismantling some of my spare Vectis lenses to see about providing power to them to make use , but hadn't got very far when this thread popped up .
Intrigued , I contacted the maker and three months later it arrived .
The adapter cost's about US $250 delivered EMS , delivery took a few days to get to the U.K , then was stuck in customs for just less than a week .
In the U.K we also have to pay an extra 20% VAT (TAX ) and a £16 handling fee .
So in total it cost me nearly £200 .
Having the full set of lenses , I am very happy and feel it was money well spent . I had been considering buying the Sony 16-70mm E-mount lens , with the Vectis 22-80mm seeming to perform so well I don't think that will be being bought anymore .
So at a third of the price of the 16-70mm , I'm quids in !

   
First of all , this adapter powers up the lens so that lenses that allow manual focus can be focussed manually .
two of the Vectis lenses don't allow this so cannot be used .
**This adapter does not support auto focus .**
**This adapter is for still cameras only , not camcorders .**
**It is not compatible with the original NEX 3 or 5.**

The adapter enables aperture control the same as if a native E-mount lens is fitted , ie , via the cameras control wheel .
All exposure modes work as normal , P,A,S,M . Auto ISO works as intended .
The adapter reports the focal length to the camera , not 100% accurate as the 400mm reflex is reported as 405mm , The 50mm Macro reports 51mm and the 17mm is reported as 18mm .
Likewise the 22-80mm zoom is reported as 21mm .
Whether this is a quirk of the adapter or the true focal length of the lens , I don't know . This makes no difference in use , if your camera has image stabilisation , it will work automatically ,as normal . a mm or two out wont cause a problem.
Because the camera knows the focal length of the lens in use / set to in the case of a zoom , in A mode , with auto ISO , it will select a shutter speed and ISO to reduce camera shake as normal , the same as any A or E mount camera .


Like the Canon EOS lens to Sony E-mount adapter , there are a few minor issues to take into mind .For normal everyday use this adapter is perfect for my needs , doing everything I want it to do ( A/F would have been nice though !) .
Build quality is very good . This hasn't just been knocked up in someone's shed , it is very professionally made .
The maker had only had another six made , hopefully he will have more made as these will sell quickly .
A couple of people have contacted me via Dyxum and another via Flickr .
So , just a few things to be aware of ;

1;this adapter is not compatible with the original NEX 3 or 5 .
    All later cameras seem to be supported .

2;On some cameras , if it is set to continuous advance , or a rapid succession of single shots are taken , the camera / adapter can freeze . This might only be an issue on higher end cameras .
On my NEX 7 and John's a7 this happened after between 5 and 8 shots . On an a3000 and an NEX 3n , you could shoot without any problem until the cameras buffer was full .
This made no difference whether the camera was set to JPEG or RAW .
In normal use this does not effect me (YMMV).

3;on the NEX 7 , if the onboard flash is raised , when a shot is taken on about 3 out of 5 shots the camera would freeze .
When using the HVL-F20AM flash unit , it improved to only 1 out of 10 shots would result in the camera freezing .

With the a3000 , there was no issues with using either on board flash or a separate unit .

As John does not have a separate flash , he is unable to test on the a7 .

So between us , these are the only three issues found .
Non of these issues are a concern to me , as it enables me to use my lenses in a way that meets my needs .
Although the adapter was expensive , having the full range of lenses has made it worth while .

The Lenses ?

I'm very pleased with the Vectis lenses , almost all my A-mount lenses are Minolta , from a 16mm fisheye to a 300mm f/4 plus a load of zooms , plus Minolta SR lenses .
So I'm well aware of the quality of Minolta lenses .
I've used the Vectis lenses on the S1 and RD-3000 for years too , and have always been happy , though never enlarged too much . APS film had it's limitations due to size , but I used the cameras in the rain without a second thought .
Minolta put quite a bit of effort into making these lenses to resolve to quite high degree to make up for that .
So it stands to reason if the lenses for the larger 35mm film are good for APS-C , the APS-H lenses are quite at home .
I have to admit that I was a bit concerned that they might not be up to it , considering how much I paid for the adapter.
I have multiple examples of all the lenses so I will need to find which are the best ones , I've found out of my two 17mm ones , one could not reach infinity focus , but the other went beyond it , as per design .
I think the other needs a shim taking out , surprised I never picked up on this before though . That's what magnified live view , focus peaking , 24 megapixel , and pixel peeping on a big screen does though !
I need to compare my other lenses now though .
On my holiday where I used them as my main kit I tested them out in normal use , rather than test charts and brick walls , I will be interested to try them on a full frame E-mount with A/S .
I found the best camera to use the 400mm reflex on was the a3000 due to the ergonomics , despite the poor EVF , the majority of the shooting was with the NEX 7 .
After using the EVF on the a77ii for a while , I found the NEX 7 a bit more awkward , for focus peaking , if you are focusing from near to away , it was fairly reliable .
If focusing from infinity towards you , quite severe back focus occurred , still more testing is needed to work out how best to use it.

The following links are to the sample pictures on my Flickr site .
I will be putting reviews of the Vectis lenses on the adapted lenses forum when time allows .
In the meantime , all samples have been set up in separate albums for each lens . I have multiple copies of each lens , so still need to test them to use the best .
All shots are from normal use , no test charts or brick walls !
I might be more critical on the final selection .

Minolta Vectis V-Sony E MONSTER Adapter on Flickr
Minolta Vectis 17mm f/3.5 RD
Minolta Vectis 50mm f/3.5 Macro
Minolta Vectis 400mm f/8 Reflex
Minolta Vectis 22-80mm f/4-5.6
Minolta Vectis 56-170mm f/4.5-5.6
Minolta Vectis 80-240mm f/4.5-5.6 APO

More photos will be added as I process them and take more .


Edited 22/11/15 to include purchase details.
Anyone genuinely interested in buying one , P.M me and I will pass on Johns email address .
Please note , that I have no connection with John or the adapters , I am just a happy buyer of one .

EDIT ; THESE ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE , AND JOHN IS NOT RESPONDING TO EMAIL'S .


UPDATE RE-   E-Mount Camcorders
The adapter had been developed for still's photography , and had not been tested on any E-mount camcorder's .
However , petesidewalk has now tried one on the Nex-VG10 or Nex-VG20 and can confirm IT DOES NOT WORK .
It is quite likely that it will not work on any camcorder , so bear this in mind .

Thanks for the update Greg .


Edited by neilt3 - 29 December 2016 at 18:41

Thanks for doing all this work.

Even though it's really unlikely that I'll ever own any of this gear, I still find it fascinating.

thornburg wrote: Thanks for doing all this work. Even though it's really unlikely that I'll ever own any of this gear, I still find it fascinating.

+1
I remember having considered to buy into Vectis in the 90s, but lacked the budget

@ Thornburg ,
No problem , as there are always going to be so few of these adapters about anyone trying to find out anything were unlikely to find anything .
I've learnt a lot from Dyxum over the years , lurking long before I registered , so only right to give something back .

@ Howard ,
Thanks . Including mine , I have only heard of three (!) MC-V1's in existence over ten years - so very much more of a rarity .
As you can see I have a couple of Vectis lenses , so even though I was reluctant to spend so much money on an adapter , I knew I would regret it if I missed the chance to get one .
As things are , taking the chance and getting one has saved me a lot of money by no longer needed to buy some E-mount lenses that I had planned .The lenses seem to meet the needs on my E-mount set up .
A-mount still being my main system with the a900 and a77ii .

@ overeema
In retrospect , it's just as well you didn't buy into it !
If cheap digital point and shoot cameras hadn't come along , it might have had a future .
And if Minolta brought out the RD-3000 as an A-mount camera to follow on from the RD-175 ,they might have had a future with cameras still .
Nice as it is/was the Dynax 7d was ( still use mine sometimes) too little to late .
In the late 1990's when I decided to by an SLR I bought an old Minolta 7000AF , 35-70mm f/4 , 70-210mm f/4 and 50mm f/1.7 .
I couldn't afford anything from the same decade , let alone anything new !
And I still have and use those same lenses , though I have a good few more now .
It's only in the last ten years I have obtain so much film gear as the prices plummeted to almost zero value .

What did you settle on ?

@ Miranda F ,
The lenses behave the same as any other lens I have come across with condensation , regardless of if it's a weather sealed one or not .
The seals on the lenses and camera are designed to keep the rain out in normal use .
Precautions are to be taken when changing lenses in the rain , as you would expect .
The lenses themselves are not ait tight , they just have seals on the moving parts and the mount to keep rain out , note the camera was splash proof , not submersible .
When you zoom out , air is drawn into the lens from within the camera body and wherever else air can get in or out .
So if you have been out side in the cold all day , and the glass is cold , when brought inside into the warm humid air , condensation would form on the external surfaces , if you zoomed out , drawing the moist air into the lens , that would result in condensation forming inside the lens .
When I've been using the Vectis S1 outside in the winter , I bring it back into the house in either it's case of wrapped in a cloth or polythene bag and allow it to acclimatise before taking it out to avoid condensation .
The same as I do with my other film or digital cameras .

Needles to say , even if Sony do weather proof E-mount cameras , the lens adapter isn't .

petesidewalk wrote: It doesn't seem to work on the Nex-VG10 or Nex-VG20. It triggers the electronic de-coupling for the focus ring. Excellent review Neil, thanks for you work and great photos.

Thanks for the update .
I have edited the original post to include this information .
John was unable to test on camcorders and had made it for the still E-mount cameras , it's strange why it won't work , same as on the original NEX 3 or 5 , but good to know .
I will inform him later when I send him an email so he can state this in his ebay listing .

Hello Neil,

I have some Vectis lenses and I have a Sony A7.
Can I use my Vectis lensis on the A7 with this adapter?


Kind Regards,

Roel

I have several Vectis lenses and a Sony a6000. How do I contact the adapter maker? Thanks.