Now that the A7ii has ibis, adapting alpha lenses with the pretty competent Laea4 adapter looks pretty attractive. I have bought the Zeiss 135 1.8 and am very pleased with it. It has a focus hold button, which is handy with the centre based pdaf points and the adapter makes a good lens collar. I am interested in something with some decent reach and there are a bunch from Sony, Sigma and Tamron to choose from and I dont really know which to go for (I would like a TC option if possible) I am also interested in an alpha mount macro if people have suggestions. Anyway post your ideas for which alpha mount lenses to adapt (and any ones to avoid).
I don't know too much about alpha lenses, but dyxum has a good lens guide. You can check & sort it by ratings as they include the specs, user and web reviews: http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/
I just purchased a used 70-300G with the adapter myself for the A7II but it's too soon to give much input. The LA-EA4 tripod attachment will be helpful if I choose to mount it on the A7R instead.
The Sony 70-400GII is supposed to be superb and focus' fast. There is also the Sigma 150-600 if you need longer.
I just got LA-EA4 yesterday. Every A-mount lens I have focuses fast enough, camera handles well with it attached, but the only lens I have that is full-frame is the 50/1.4 (my list is below in my signature). I have most of the same lenses in E-mount, so I think I'd just use THEM on my A6000 and get the 24.3mp image over the cropped-down-to-10mp file in my A7ii. Not really impressed with it yet in terms of it making my kit more versatile, and not sure I'd sell off E-mount lenses to shoot converted A-mounts, but I don't really have the big fast glass the adapter is screaming for. Given my lenses, I might could have spent $349 better, but maybe I'll grow into it... I should add this... I also own an A77ii. It is noticeably faster than the A7ii with ANY lens I own, and damn-near as fast as the A6000 since the firmware upgrade. A lot of people look past the A77ii, and that's a mistake for its price point and capability. If I laid the A7ii, A77ii, and A6000 down side-by-side and had to choose ONE, the A6000 would go away first, then it would be REAL tough choosing between the A7ii and A77ii.
There is a fast Sony/Zeiss 85mm A-Mount, but it's way too expensive for someone waiting for a native E-Mount. If, however, you have an LA-EA4 adapter, then there's a not-so-fast (but downright cheap) alternative: Sony's "Easy Choice," 85mm f/2.8 SAM. The lens is plastic, with a plastic mount. By itself the lens is small and light; but with the adapter, the combination is about what you would expect for an 85mm. It's noisy in auto-focus mode, in part because the external ring actually turns. And, there's some extension of the lens during focus. But, for all that, it's surprisingly quick. Auto-focus is assisted, no doubt, by the phase-detection built into the adapter. When the lens is set to manual focus, there's a bit of play in the ring. It's sharp in the center at 2.8 and across the frame stopped down. Bokeh is good. It will do the job until a better and faster, native lens arrives.
Bill, quick question on the 85mm f/2.8 SAM: as a SAM (or SSM) A-mount lens, will it autofocus with the LAEA3 as well as the LAEA4? Since the lens has its own motor, it was my understanding that it would not need the full screw-drive capability of the LAEA4.
It has its own (noisy) motor. My understanding is that it's fully compatible with the LAEA3. But as I don't have one for testing, I don't want to make you any promises.
