Firstly i am so excited when i see the result. I have been a fan of old lenses due to their optical quality and affordable price, and the kind of vintage feel you seldom get in the newer lenses. However, the focus accuracy issues always bother me, I have tried split screen in my ealier Pentax K10D, and it works so so. Later i moved on to try Nikon (D300s) and Canon (EOS5 film), and neither of them really helps me to focus manually better although the Canon viewfinder is a lot brighter.

So i decided to try the Sony SLT, as it has the focus peaking and the EVF could tell me directly how my aperture is affecting the DOF, and which plane I am focusing. Plus, it has in viewfinder magnification! just like the NEX i own. i chose A57 because it is so far the best camera that can perform well in low light, and the CMOS performance is proven in Nikon D7k, Nex-5 and Pentax k5.

so i get an adapter (M42) with chip, and put on my old Tamron 135 2.8. You can find out more about the legendary lens here: http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic.php?t=24791 . It is a rare lens that only produced in small quantity in ealier years.





I did some tweaking accoding to the help post here: http://ccvic.zenfolio.com/blog/2013/1/tips...th-the-sony-a57

[1] I change the focus peaking value to high
[2] Peaking color changed to white
[3] Change the AEL button to magnification function
[4] Change the autofocus function button from AF to MF
[5] Switch the dial to either M or S or P is fine, just not A, because the lens aperture cannot be controlled by the camera body.
[6] Turn on the anti-shake function. (you can only do this if you have the converter ring with chip)

Next ready to shoot.

The main problem with manual focus is always about guessing, you need to guess whether the object is really in focus. This is particularly difficult for people like me who are wearing glasses. I have to squeeze my glasses and my face towards the viewfinder so to see clearly, and spend sometime to focus slowly, by the time i make the first shot, sweat!

Sony SLT helps me greatly, by the time i see white color highlight at the edges, I know it is in focus, and I can always double check with the magnification function. In this process, I realized my main weakness in manual focusing; previously i always miscalculate the DOF and caused the image to be blurred.

Now, i can happily say that , out of 10 shots, i can get about 7 perfectly in focus shot..

Result of the above Combo at wide open F2.8 & 100% crop

about 50 get from taobao

i think am now seriously considering A99 haha

new toy!!

Yashica ML 50 1.4

need adapter!!

as long as the adapter has no optical element, it won't affect the image much.

get some mount modification service la.. change the focal length by shifting internal mechanism, won't affect the optical quality.
I got all my manual lens to M42 mount (easier to use any adapter), then use M42 to MA mount adapter with IC chip.

Paid 1200 renminbi for it (mod to m42 mount) and extra 150 for the adapter

the result is superb.. just shoot this this afternoon

it is to fake the camera to recognize the lens and able to turn on the anti-shake function. This is important to me as i seldom use tripod.

----deleted----

This post has been edited by huangyong: Oct 28 2013, 10:50 AM