Seeking confirmation in transitioning to mirrorles

I think it would make much more sense to go for an A7, even s/h, for less money than an A6000 and buy an LA-EA4. You'd see the Minolta lenses at their best in FF and still be able to enjoy the APS-C ones, especially if you pick one of the R's.

I went for an A7Rii (new for £1200 in 2021) as the cheapest way to get FF in mirrorless while still getting sensible results from the APS-C stuff.
The A7Rii has enough resolution for APS-C and has IBIS, and the PDAF works fine on the LA-EA4. Plus there are lots of good and fairly cheap wide-angle primes in FE compared with A-mount.

I find the LA-EA2 and 4 work fine with both SAM and screw-drive lenses, and certainly as good as on A-mount.

Just my 2p worth. I also have a Nex-6 but I prefer the LA-EA4 on the bigger camera.


Edited by Miranda F - 02 January 2022 at 22:46

The A6000 is a downgrade from the A77II. I do not recommend that camera especially not for adapting lenses.

The LA-EA4 works just like the LA-EA2 on the APS-C mirrorless cameras. The baffles in the LA-EA2 just makes it not work well on full-frame. Though some APS-C lenses like the Sigma 30mm F1.4 also get blocked by the APS-C adapters on APS-C cameras. The full-frame adapters are really the best options for both sensor sizes.

Edited by QuietOC - 02 January 2022 at 23:56

Why do you want to go mirrorless?
What kind of photography do you do?
Do you have a budget?

Just like the others I do think the A77m2 is a better camera in most situations. The A6000 is a nice camera if you're into street photography - add a semi wide native lens and go for it - or just want something smaller. But the AF system of the A77m2 is miles ahead of the LA-EA2 or 4. Even with native lenses the A77m2 is better in my experience - the small size is a benefit of the A6000, however, you lose that advantage with adapted lenses. Basically, do not get the A6000 only (mainly) to adapt A-mount lenses.

I do not agree on the (original) A7 as the native AF of the A6000 is better. And it doesn't make sense to replace the A77m2 with an A7 to use it mostly with APS-C lenses - especially when these are adapted lenses.

Answer the three questions and we can say more

I just checked the operation of the Sony A7R with LA_EA4 and Minolta 200/2.8 with two different teleconverters.
AF works with Kenko PRO 300 (5 pins - no info in EXIF).
With the original tele Minolta APO II AF does not work.

Miranda F wrote: neilt3 wrote: One big advantage is I can use the teleconverters if needed , I can't on E mount cameras . I think A-mount TCs still work with the LA-EA2 and 4. I have used 1.4x TC on A-mount APS-C lenses to bring them up to FF on the LA-EA4.

The teleconverters I'm referring too are the Minolta and Sony A-mount teleconverters , not third party TC's .
When mounted on an E-mount body via an adapter you lose AF and aperture control .
I can't remember if the shutter will even fire .

Some third party TC's do work on E-mount via an adapter .

What I have got is a Minolta 2x teleconverter that I re-chipped to to identify itself as a 600mm f/4 lens , so that works .
And I've just bought another Minolta 1.4x that I'm going to re-chip so it'll work on the LA-EA5 .
I've sent James Lao a message but haven't received an answer , so I'll probably take the contacts and chip out of an old lens and fit that in it's place .
Unlike the 2x I re-chipped for A-mount cameras , it doesn't matter what focal length the chip reports as you can override the FL on the a7Riv so I/S works correctly .

The lenses I have that are compatible with the Sony/Minolta TCs are a Minolta 200mm f/2.8 , 300mm f/4 , 300mm f/2.8 and 400mm f/4.5 and the 135mm STF .
I don't want to use third party TC's , although I do have some .

I don't get why Sony disable their own A-mount TC's .
I have the Canon EOS 1.4x and 2x TC's ( both MK II versions ) and when used on the Sigma MC-11 and compatible Canon EOS lenses , they work fine .
AF seems as good with the TC's on as the lens without them .

I could always try and find another A77ii with semi-low actuations of course too.

schwizzle wrote: So, I feel a bit silly. I thought my actuations were close to 100k, but I'm only at 13k. Must have been tired the last time I looked.

13k ? That's almost new !
You need to use what you've got more rather than wondering what to replace it with !

Regarding high ISO , I don't have a problem with my a77ii RAW files , processed in lightroom .
What are your issues with it ?