Fred Miranda wrote:
Aside from the annoying AF noise, that's my main issue with it. Whenever placing the subject for a rule of thirds comp, PDAF will start hunting, especially in low light.
I also grew reluctant to use TAP so often as there are some sporadic AF problems with it. I tend to get false positives for AF confirmation in AF-S mode and in AF-C mode it can sometimes hunt quite aggressively especially on A9. Also in portrait orientation it starts hunting more often, then I need to reacquire focus in landscape orientation and try to turn back to portrait while it can still keep focus. And there are some spontaneous restarts where camera goes suddenly to MF mode and TAP seems to "reboot"... So it can be a bit frustrating to shoot with and I started to go back to using fully manual adapters more often.
Techart’s TAP has the potential of being a great product but the current version needs a substantial redesign to make it much more sturdy and reliable. Even if used only with smallish M mount lenses, the internals are quite flimsy and not up to the task of intensive use.
Another weak spot of the TAP is the fact that the difference in registry distance from Sony-E to Leica-M is less than 10mm. Therefore, the internal helicoids can’t extend more than 4 or 5mm. This is enough for lenses up to 40-50mm. but longer than that we need to prefocus manually because it won’t cover all the range from infinity to the normal MFD of the lens.
For people willing to use their MF SLR lenses with the TAP via an intermediate adapter, I think that a direct adapter from Sony-E to SLR mounts would be more useful. With a registry difference of 25-30mm. the helicoids can extend up to 20-25mm. instead of 4.5 like the current TAP. 20mm of extension are enough for providing full AF range for lenses up to 200mm.
I reckon though that making a different version of the adapter for each SLR mount in all likelihood wouldn’t be profitable for Techart and possibly is out of their manufacturing capacity, being a very small company.
Thanks for the reviews and example photos everyone! The 40/1.2 looks wonderful. I haven't had lens cravings in years, but do now... Since I share much of the same taste in lens rendering as sebboh and prefer it if my lenses can share one adapter (the VM-E) I'm considering waiting for the M version. I do like sunstars sometimes though and the rounded blades are somewhat unfortunate.
What worries me with the E version is the electrical issues/bugs that some people seem to have with their Loxias and Voigtländers. What if it gets worse, to the point that the lens no longer works properly. Any thoughts?
If I do get the 40mm I may sell both 35/1.7 and 50/1.5 and get the 28/2 instead, which I have had my eye on for a long time but thought wasn't any good on Sony. I wish the CV 21/4 were better on A7 because 21/4 + 40/1.2 would be a perfect kit for my use, but I think I can make do with 28 + 40mm too then add my very sharp 15mm to the bag the few times such a wide lens may be needed.
HelenaN wrote:
Thanks for the reviews and example photos everyone! The 40/1.2 looks wonderful. I haven't had lens cravings in years, but do now... Since I share much of the same taste in lens rendering as sebboh and prefer it if my lenses can share one adapter (the VM-E) I'm considering waiting for the M version. I do like sunstars sometimes though and the rounded blades are somewhat unfortunate.
What worries me with the E version is the electrical issues/bugs that some people seem to have with their Loxias and Voigtländers. What if it gets worse, to the point that the lens no longer works properly. Any thoughts?
If I do get the 40mm I may sell both 35/1.7 and 50/1.5 and get the 28/2 instead, which I have had my eye on for a long time but thought wasn't any good on Sony. I wish the CV 21/4 were better on A7 because 21/4 + 40/1.2 would be a perfect kit for my use, but I think I can make do with 28 + 40mm too then add my very sharp 15mm to the bag the few times such a wide lens may be needed....Show more →
HelenaN wrote:
What worries me with the E version is the electrical issues/bugs that some people seem to have with their Loxias and Voigtländers. What if it gets worse, to the point that the lens no longer works properly. Any thoughts?
If that happens, just disconnect the CPU from the lens mount. I did that on my CV 40/2 Ultron when it metered completely wrong on my D700.
Loxia 21 looks great, but very expensive and like I said I want my lenses to share one adapter. I currently own the CV 21/1.8 which is very good, but since I rarely use wide angles I feel it's too heavy. A 21/4 would be perfect.
Makten wrote:
If that happens, just disconnect the CPU from the lens mount. I did that on my CV 40/2 Ultron when it metered completely wrong on my D700.
It's just that in my experience things often go wrong with items with lots of electronics. You're right though, probably nothing to worry about in this case.
Anyway, enough about me. Looking forward to see more photos.
HelenaN wrote:
What worries me with the E version is the electrical issues/bugs that some people seem to have with their Loxias and Voigtländers. What if it gets worse, to the point that the lens no longer works properly. Any thoughts?
What is this bug exactly? I never recognized any issues with the voigtländer 12/5.6, loxia 21/2.8 and now voigtländer 40/1.2.
HelenaN wrote:
If I do get the 40mm I may sell both 35/1.7 and 50/1.5 and get the 28/2 instead, which I have had my eye on for a long time but thought wasn't any good on Sony. I wish the CV 21/4 were better on A7 because 21/4 + 40/1.2 would be a perfect kit for my use, but I think I can make do with 28 + 40mm too then add my very sharp 15mm to the bag the few times such a wide lens may be needed.
Currently I'm dreaming about a manual lens set of voigt 12/5.6 + loxia 21/2.8 + voigt 40/1.2 + loxia 85/2.4. The last one I don't own yet...
HelenaN wrote:
Loxia 21 looks great, but very expensive and like I said I want my lenses to share one adapter. I currently own the CV 21/1.8 which is very good, but since I rarely use wide angles I feel it's too heavy. A 21/4 would be perfect.
I feel the same way about the CV 40/1.2 Nokton. Very excited for the first time in a good while. Mine is en route to me now. It will live between the Sony 28/2 and 55/1.8. I also want my wide option(s) to be reasonably small and light and I own the Olympus OM 21/3.5 for that. I've sadly not had a chance to use it yet, so I can't judge its image quality just yet. Don't know much about it, tbh. Small and light though, for sure.
It depends but more of a operation speed issue but obviously depends on what your shooting. It would be a interesting thread to talk about. Anyway lens in hand and going to go play today
HelenaN wrote:
Thanks for the reviews and example photos everyone! The 40/1.2 looks wonderful. I haven't had lens cravings in years, but do now... Since I share much of the same taste in lens rendering as sebboh and prefer it if my lenses can share one adapter (the VM-E) I'm considering waiting for the M version. I do like sunstars sometimes though and the rounded blades are somewhat unfortunate.
What worries me with the E version is the electrical issues/bugs that some people seem to have with their Loxias and Voigtländers. What if it gets worse, to the point that the lens no longer works properly. Any thoughts?
If I do get the 40mm I may sell both 35/1.7 and 50/1.5 and get the 28/2 instead, which I have had my eye on for a long time but thought wasn't any good on Sony. I wish the CV 21/4 were better on A7 because 21/4 + 40/1.2 would be a perfect kit for my use, but I think I can make do with 28 + 40mm too then add my very sharp 15mm to the bag the few times such a wide lens may be needed....Show more →
Helena that’s my plan 28 Ultron and the 40. The 28 is really nice. I’ll post this weekend a bunch of them . The other day I spent a lot of time on it with the PCX 5000 but I did buy a little stronger correction for it a 4000 coming next week. I think you would like the 28 for your style
I think the Loxias (35 & 50) will soon have to go. The Voigtländer is totally kicking butt at f/1.2 and it's good enough stopped down, even if it doesn't give the same "brilliance" as the Loxias (very few lenses do).
I was concerned about distortion, but the minor pincushion doesn't bother me at all compared to the same degree of barrel distortion.
I'm pretty sure people would have paid $3000 for this lens if the label said Leica.
HelenaN wrote:
Loxia 21 looks great, but very expensive and like I said I want my lenses to share one adapter. I currently own the CV 21/1.8 which is very good, but since I rarely use wide angles I feel it's too heavy. A 21/4 would be perfect.
have you thought about getting a sensor mod? i think kolari is offering this to europeans now? selling the 21/1.8 would probably pay for the mod and the 21/4 (unless prices are very different by you). it would make the cv 21/4 perform pretty well, drastically improve your cv 35/1.7, and somewhat improve your cv 50/1.5 (presumably it would help the cv 28/2 and m-mount version of the 40/1.2 as well).
hsiunghsiung wrote:
If you guys can only choose one lens, would you choose this or Nokton 50mm 1.5?
Personally I hate the 50 mm focal length. Always too long or too short.
I've always wanted a good 40 mm lens, and I've owned a bunch of them. With 35 mm I tend to crop a little bit, so 40 is perfect.
Which is why I like medium format standard lenses. They are often equal to ~40 mm on 24x36 once you crop to 4:3 or so.
sebboh wrote:
have you thought about getting a sensor mod? i think kolari is offering this to europeans now? selling the 21/1.8 would probably pay for the mod and the 21/4 (unless prices are very different by you). it would make the cv 21/4 perform pretty well, drastically improve your cv 35/1.7, and somewhat improve your cv 50/1.5 (presumably it would help the cv 28/2 and m-mount version of the 40/1.2 as well).
Thanks for the suggestion! I have both A7 and A7II and perhaps it would be worth it to send in the A7. Something to consider!
hsiunghsiung, I really like my 50/1.5 and the 35/1.7 too, but have often wished for something in between and the 40/1.2 seems to be a great fit both in focal length and rendering. However, only you can decide if you should go for 40mm or 50mm since it depends on personal preferences.
sebboh wrote:
have you thought about getting a sensor mod? i think kolari is offering this to europeans now? selling the 21/1.8 would probably pay for the mod and the 21/4 (unless prices are very different by you). it would make the cv 21/4 perform pretty well, drastically improve your cv 35/1.7, and somewhat improve your cv 50/1.5 (presumably it would help the cv 28/2 and m-mount version of the 40/1.2 as well).
Sebboh you use the Contax G 28/2.8 a lot right? I've been thinking about buying one after reading all of the praise. Do you use it naked on your kolari mod or with 1.5m pcx filter on unmodded? How do these compare?
I think my favorite is 35mm, but im really curious about the rendering with the 40/1.2 and 50/1.5. I have a zony 35mm/2.8 which is my allrounder since its mad sharp and compact. Hard for me to find another lens thats much faster, but not that much bigger. The 35mm 1.7 looked a little bit too long with the pcx5000 and adapters even though it looks so sharp
Since I share much of the same taste in lens rendering as sebboh and prefer it if my lenses can share one adapter (the VM-E) I'm considering waiting for the M version. I do like sunstars sometimes though and the rounded blades are somewhat unfortunate. 
I did that on my CV 40/2 Ultron when it metered completely wrong on my D700.