I have a similar issue with my Techart LM-EA9.....from 50mm - 90mm it works well for most lenses, but my 35 & 28mm Voigtlander will only focus reliably with it in the very center of the frame.
Generally with adapting m-mount lenses I try to keep the subject in the middle, the mid-zone and edges can get quite wonky...but since I shoot mostly portraits it is not really an issue, only when I want to do full body portraits I will switch to other lenses.
Thank you for the opinions and advice. I have been having some trouble due to aging with rangefinder focusing and it looks like a Sony 6xxx series camera with the adapter may be my answer to using my substantial store of Leica M mount lenses.
I'll keep my Leica M5 id for no other reason than sentimentality. Sony 6xxx and Techart here I come.
It just occurred to me that the Sony 6xxx series is APSC and since the M mount lenses are designed for full frame, the smaller sensor will not pickup the image from the outer circle of the FF lens. So mating the M mount lenses to an APSC Sony should produce a sharp image corner to corner.
You might want to consider an A7C series camera rather than 6700, so you can crop out problems rather than loosing a large amount of the image the classic lenses can render.
My LM-EA9 worked for about a week, but since then, it hasn’t functioned at all.
It’s mounted on a Sony A7IV with a Leica Summicron M 50mm f/2.
I’ve tried firmware versions 1.4 through 1.8, but the motor never engages. The contacts look clean, it’s seated correctly, and I’m using a fully charged camera battery.
The first issue is that I can’t control the aperture from the camera body. In both Manual and Aperture Priority modes, the display just flashes “F--.”
And even if aperture control were working, how would I actually change it to F/90 - as suggested in the help guide - when the camera only lets me go down to f/22? Am I missing something obvious here?
Is Viltrox soon releasing a competitor to the TechArt adapter?
At the IBC show (12-15 September) they will announce Nexus Focus it seems and this is what we know:
"Viltrox is also teasing a new adapter with AI autofocus support called Nexus Focus: “Where Al autofocus meets the art of cinema“. The new adapter will give manual-focus lenses autofocus capability and will support the native phase-detection AF, AI subject recognition, eye + face detection, and more."
lattesweden wrote:
Is Viltrox soon releasing a competitor to the TechArt adapter?
At the IBC show (12-15 September) they will announce Nexus Focus it seems and this is what we know:
"Viltrox is also teasing a new adapter with AI autofocus support called Nexus Focus: “Where Al autofocus meets the art of cinema“. The new adapter will give manual-focus lenses autofocus capability and will support the native phase-detection AF, AI subject recognition, eye + face detection, and more."
The teaser mentions "manual-focus lenses" but does not specify the mount. It never actually says M mount. The tagline "Where AI autofocus meets the art of cinema" also makes it sound more aimed at video shooters than still photographers. So, it may not be competition to the Techart adapter.
Fred Miranda wrote:
The teaser mentions "manual-focus lenses" but does not specify the mount. It never actually says M mount. The tagline "Where AI autofocus meets the art of cinema" also makes it sound more aimed at video shooters than still photographers. So, it may not be competition to the Techart adapter.
The word: "Vintage" is in the teaser add, but who knows what that really means. We shall soon see.
lattesweden wrote:
Is Viltrox soon releasing a competitor to the TechArt adapter?
Very interesting development! I love the idea of the TechArt adapter, but the reliability issues listed in this thread have made me a little bit spooked.
Alan Parker wrote:
Very interesting development! I love the idea of the TechArt adapter, but the reliability issues listed in this thread have made me a little bit spooked.
I feel the same way, which is why I'm also pretty excited to see what Viltrox brings.
perfectamundo wrote:
My LM-EA9 worked for about a week, but since then, it hasn’t functioned at all.
It’s mounted on a Sony A7IV with a Leica Summicron M 50mm f/2.
I’ve tried firmware versions 1.4 through 1.8, but the motor never engages. The contacts look clean, it’s seated correctly, and I’m using a fully charged camera battery.
The first issue is that I can’t control the aperture from the camera body. In both Manual and Aperture Priority modes, the display just flashes “F--.”
And even if aperture control were working, how would I actually change it to F/90 - as suggested in the help guide - when the camera only lets me go down to f/22? Am I missing something obvious here?...Show more →
grahamgibson wrote:
For what it's worth, my LM-EA9 is still working just fine. Got it nearly 3 years ago, use it regularly with my CV40.
I ran into some issues with mine a while back, but resetting it solved the problem. I’ve been shooting with it daily for about three years now and it has been very dependable.
I got back my modified A7CR from Kolari. Then tried out my lux 50 pre-asph with the techart. I found that it hunted for focus, and when it locked, it was out of focus. This was just a handful of shots. Then I walked outside and got slightly better results - no hunting and about 50% of the images were properly focused. I haven't had time to test with other lenses, both indoors and out, but this is my initial experience.
brick33308 wrote:
I got back my modified A7CR from Kolari. Then tried out my lux 50 pre-asph with the techart. I found that it hunted for focus, and when it locked, it was out of focus. This was just a handful of shots. Then I walked outside and got slightly better results - no hunting and about 50% of the images were properly focused. I haven't had time to test with other lenses, both indoors and out, but this is my initial experience.
With a 50mm or longer focal length, you can't leave the lens set at infinity when focusing close...you need to bring the focus down to around 2m or so. Wide-angle lenses are more forgiving and can often be left at infinity, but when shooting at minimum focus distance, even wide angles still require adjusting the lens focus closer.
It's surprising that TechArt still has no real competition after all these years. Fotodiox makes one, but it's basically just a copy of the TechArt...even down to the firmware.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I ran into some issues with mine a while back, but resetting it solved the problem. I’ve been shooting with it daily for about three years now and it has been very dependable.
Was your issue on your second copy? I think I recall you had a first copy with issues that was returned?
I too am surprised we have no other competition by this point.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
Was your issue on your second copy? I think I recall you had a first copy with issues that was returned?
I too am surprised we have no other competition by this point.
I had one with the issue I mentioned, but resetting it fixed the problem. I used that copy for about a year without any trouble before selling it. Later, I bought another used one here on FM, and it has been with me for about two years now. It has never given me a single problem. I use it all the time with my A7CR Kolari, and it's like getting images from an M11 with autofocus M lenses.
I do wish it were a bit lighter, but the build quality is excellent. Hopefully, Techart will come out with a smaller and lighter version in the future.
