Smart AF Adapters for Sony E-Mount (NEX)

It has been about two years since the smart adapters for the Sony E-Mount came to the market. At the moment, there are two types of AF adapters for Sony E-Mount: Canon EF Lenses, and Contax G rangefinder lenses.  Since I don't have any Contax G lenses, I will concentrate on the EOS to E-Mount adapters.

What does a smart adapter do?  Basically, the smart adapter allows Canon (or Contax G) autofocus lenses to behave like native E-Mount lenses.  It can autofocus, supports Image Stabilization (IS), change of aperture through the camera, and records EXIF data.

Currently, there are quite a few smart AF adapters for Canon lenses to Sony E-Mount.  The most notable ones are from these companies: Metabones (now in the 4th generation), TechArt (also known as the KPLing adapter in China, name after its designer), Viltrox, Commlite, Fotga, and King.  There might be others but suspect they are just rebranded products from a single source.

NOTE: there are multiple versions of these adapters from some of the makers, including Metabones, TechArt and Viltrox.  Early versions do not support full frame.  Make sure you order the correct adapter if you intend to use it on full frame.  The full frame version has a larger opening at the back of the adapter.

Below are some of the adapters I have read about:

Metabones EOS to E-Mount Adapter -- This is probably the most well-known of all the smart adapters, as it had great news coverage when it came out.  It was co-developed by Metabones and the Canadian company Conurus.  Both companies make excellent products and Conurus is less known but well-regarded for their Contax N to EOS modifications.  Long before other smart adapters, Conurus already reverse-engineered the Canon lens protocol and made Contax N lenses auto focus on Canon EOS bodies.  So it's no surprise that the Metabones EOS to E-Mount adapter is the most stable of the smart adapters.  As much as I like the Metabones adapter, its $400US price is way out of my budget.

TechArt EOS to E-Mount Adapter -- I followed this adapter since its inception in 2012 on Xitek (Chinese only). This adapter was also known as the KPLing adapter.  It was designed by KPLing from scratch, not copied from others.  In fact, the first version of this adapter supported more lenses than the Metabones version.  Other useful features of this adapter includes the support of wireless firmware upgrade through Bluetooth.  The adapter has gone through a few revisions, but some users still reports occasional instability/compatibility issues, possibly due to adapter tolerance.  This is the second most expensive adapters on the market, selling between $250 to $300USD.

Viltrox EOS to E-Mount Adapter -- Quite well-known in China, this adapter is probably the second most popular after the TechArt version.  From what I have read, it works about the same way as the TechArt, in terms of performance and stability.  It also suffers from occasional lock-ups and compatibility issues.  Probably a mount/electronic contact tolerance issue. I know of no way of firmware update by the user for this adapter.  Price for this adapter is about $120-$150USD.

Commlite EOS to E-Mount Adapter -- This adapter is quite popular outside of China, and this is the one I ordered.  From what I have read, this adapter is actually quite stable and supports most of the lenses I have.  It's also one of the least expensive of the adapters; mine cost under $80USD.  I will do a write up on this once I have received and tested it.

Fotga & King EOS to E-Mount Adapters -- I actually can't find much information on these two adapters.  the Fotga costs about the same as the Commlite, and I wanted to buy this one initially, but lack of user feedback kind of steered me to the Commlite instead.  If anyone has user experience with these two adapters, please let me know and I will update the post.

National Gallery of Canada - Sony A7 & Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 HFT QBM

Shooting Around the Keating Channel

One of the best things about working downtown, is that I can be a few kilometers away around the lake or any direction (except south) in a just minutes on my bike. I have been taking advantage of this and biking to the Cherry Beach, all around Harborfront, and even back to the Spadina & Queen area occasionally, to visit my wife. Today I decided to do some shooting around the Keating Channel at Cherry St. & Lakeshore Blvd.

The Keating Channel connects Don River to Lake Ontario. It is approximately one kilometer long. Because the mouth of Don River flows into the channel, the water has always been very muddy and dirty. The channel took 8 years to build and was completed in 1922. The channel is not exactly a picturesque scenery, but I want to to takes some pictures anyway, perhaps as a form of documentary.

There are three or four boats like this that always seem to be docked at the channel on the south side - Sony NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Planar HFT 50mm f1.4. Click for larger.

The big attraction is the Keating Channel Pub & Grill on the south side - Sony NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Planar HFT 50mm f1.4. Click for larger.

Looking west from Lakeshore Blvd, and you can see the Essroc cement factory - Sony NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Planar HFT 50mm f1.4. Click for larger.

On the north side of the Channel is Lakeshore Blvd - Sony NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Planar HFT 50mm f1.4

I don't know what this crane-like thing is. It has always been there as far as I can tell - Sony NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Planar HFT 50mm f1.4. 

Looking westward and you can see downtown Toronto - Sony NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Planar HFT 50mm f1.4. 

Fire Station No. 17

This fire station is one of the many historic fire stations in Toronto.  Each of these have its own characters and is very different from the newly built ones which are plain and uninteresting.  Station #17 is located near the Beaches area on Woodbine & Queen streets.  It looks great both in the day and at night.

Fire Station #17 - Sony NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 HFT @ f2

Prelude to Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner.  Some houses/shops are decorated for the occasion.  There are some very creative individuals who spend considerable amount of time and money to show off their talents.  My older kids don't go treat or tricking any more, but the younger ones are eagerly waiting for the day to come.

Say Cheese - NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 HFT

Sunset on Queen Street

Sometimes you can get a glimpse of a sunset in the city; it can even be beautiful. The only trouble is capturing it faithfully.  With today's sensors, it's near impossible to record the shadow details in such a high contrast situation, without resorting to HDR of some kind.  Sensors today just do not have the dynamic range of the human eye yet, but I think they will be in a decade's time, or even less.

Sunset - NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 HFT QBM 

Sony RX100 Large Sensor Compact

The rumors have proven to be very accurate for the Sony RX100 large sensor compact camera.  For sure, this camera will give Canon a run for its money against the G1X.  Almost from every aspect, the Sony RX100 is better, except the swivel LCD screen, very high ISO, or, the awful optical viewfinder that probably nobody uses.  Sadly, the price is not very cheap at $650.  It's $150 less than the Canon, but I think it's still too high, though I understand that there aren't too many large sensor compacts on the market, and they can ask for higher price.  When the flood of larger sensor compacts from Panasonic, Sigma, Nikon and Canon come into the market, we should see price of around $400, like the current high end compacts.

I checked out some of the sample pictures from the Sony RX100 from dpreview, they look great to me, even at ISO 1600, it's quite acceptable.

Let the large sensor compact war begin.

Primary Colours -- NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 HFT QBM. Click for larger.