Category Sony A6500

Aug 22 2017

Full Eclipse at Pawleys Island, SC


Never 2nd guess yourself on the worthiness of an image…

Full Eclipse, Pawleys Island, SC . 2017

 
Honestly, I was NOT inspired to photograph this event in the least…
 

Jordan, my 8 year old grandson

There were going to be MILLIONS of photographers out there shooting the same thing or at least trying. So I asked myself why bother to get the same shot everyone else would have?  But my 8 year old photographer grandson came over with viewing glasses so we sat out in chairs in the front of our house (100% eclipse) and watched it happen

The longer it went on the more excited I got, then when the light started fading I decided to fire off a few shots when it reached 100%.
 

Canon 70-300L

I had a Sony A6500 with a Canon 70-300L nearby so I got up and got the camera from my truck and shot handheld at ISO  4000, f/8 and 1/1000s to keep a sharp handheld shot. There was no time to setup a tripod!  I Put the camera in high speed mode and fired off about 30 images then put the camera down and forgot about it till last night. On viewing the images is was stunned by the sharpness of them all and while I had several of the diamond ring I decided upon this one for one reason:

 
Look closely on the right side of the sun/moon and you can see a solar flare jetting out to the right. It has an orange color…
So, there is a lesson to be learned here (or re-learned in my case…), do not take the desire/inspiration or lack there of for granted, take the time and get the shot and later on decide upon whether or not it was worth your time.  It is always best to have it in the can rather than not.
I am glad that I even took the minimal effort to do this.  Imagine what I could have done had I setup properly with a 600mm lens ahead of time?
How many of you have made this same mistake?  Take my example to heart and always have a camera nearby when you are viewing something that might be worth capturing whether or not you have a desire to do so… One day you might be grateful for doing so!
Jan 23 2017

Using M mount glass on the Sony A7rii camera


The AMAZING just got better….

Stormy Seas with the Voigtlander 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar M Mount Lens and the Techart Auto Focus Leica to Sony adapter

Stormy Seas with the Voigtlander 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar M Mount Lens and the Techart Auto Focus Leica to Sony adapter

Look closely at the image above.  It was taken with a Voigtlander M mount 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar lens and the Techart M to FE AUTOFOCUS adapter on a Sony A7rii camera. The cleat on the bottom right is about 6 inches from the front of the lens!  The color rendering is amazing and there is very little distortion that is normally found with an ultra wide lens!   I can hear you asking how I accomplished this!

I recently picked up the Techart M to FE Sony mount adapter for my Leica and Voigtlander lenses.  It has been my desire to use them on the Sony A7rii, A6300 and A6500 cameras.

The Techart auto focus adapter is amazing. I actually moves the lens in and out to get a sharp focus.  It has several rules that you must follow to use it and as long as you do it will provide great service.  It is quite fast!

  • Use a center focus point on the camera
  • Set your camera aperture to f/2 and leave. It there
  • Set the real aperture directly on the lens.  
  • Don’t try to focus with the lens set to f/22, keep it around f/8 or f/11
  • The Exif data will shot f/2 but the exposure meter will correctly meter the subject.
  • Don’t try to use a heavy lens on the adapter unless you support it.

12mm Voigtlander M lens with the Techart autofocus M to FE adapter

12mm Voigtlander M lens with the Techart autofocus M to FE adapter

Here is a link to a short video demonstration of the Techart M to FE adapter on my Sony A7rii:

 

B&W work with this lens as well as my other Voigtlander and Leica M mount lenses are just as sharp weather in color or monochrome!

Stormy Seas with the Voigtlander 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar M Mount Lens and the Techart Auto Focus Leica to Sony adapter

Stormy Seas with the Voigtlander 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar M Mount Lens and the Techart Auto Focus Leica to Sony adapter

I also have and use a Metabones M to FE adapter which gives the same results but with manual focus only.   Sometimes manual focus is necessary depending upon your subject but reguardless of focus type both adapters and all of my M lenses work wonderfully on the A7rii camera system!

Stormy Seas with the Voigtlander 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar M Mount Lens and the Techart Auto Focus Leica to Sony adapter

Stormy Seas with the Voigtlander 12mm Ultra Wide Heliar M Mount Lens and the Techart Auto Focus Leica to Sony adapter

If you have a selection of M lenses then the cost of a M to FE adapter is well worth the money.  But I am VERY impressed with the new autofocus adapter!

 

Please let me know what you think!