LA-Ea1 adapter problem

S

seattlegoods

Member
Before I tell you my problem, this is my set up:

Camera: Sony FS100
Lenses: Sony-Zeiss zooms and one Tokina 11-16
Adapter: Sony La-EA1

Problem: Iris Blades make loud clicking sound when stopping up or down. It also effects the image.

-Since I cant iris change on either the lens or the adapter, I have to use the iris wheel on the side of the FS100.

-When I change the iris I can hear the lens blades open and close. Also when I open them one stop, the blades open up all the way and then close back down to the stop I wanted it to be at. Both effecting the image and the sound, making this set up unusable.

Looking forward to you response!
 
Answer I got from rental company:

There is nothing wrong with the camcorder, either of the lenses or the adapter. Unfortunately that's how the internal iris mechanism in the Alpha lenses work. As the lenses were originally intended for photography, their function is a bit different than lenses specifically made for ENG style video shooting. A loud aperture, limited or non existant autofocus and in the case of the Alpha lenses; an iris that opens up all the way before closing down are some of the trade offs for shooters wanting to use affordable, large sensor video camcorders at this time.

To address each problem individually:

Loud Iris: As photographers aren't concerned with capturing sound, there lenses do not need to be silent.

Aperture that opens before it closes: Alpha lenses have this feature so photographers can focus through the viewfinder with the brightest possible image before the camera closes down to the desired exposure for the picture.

The DSLR video revolution took everyone by surprise and the camcorder manufacturers rushed in to get their piece of the pie. All their time and money went into development of camcorder bodies that could not only fulfill the desire for something more video friendly than the DSLRs (devices with timecode, exposure meters, peaking filters, record times beyond 12min. ect...), but use optics that were already on the market (people didn't seem to have a problem using them on the DSLRs...). The result is that we now have these great large sensor camcorder bodies and have to wait for the R and D on the video lenses. Currently there is no servo-zoom, silent aperture, auto-focus (ENG style) lens available on the market for these newly developed large sensor camcorders (FS100U, AF-100, F3...).

Ultimately, these camcorders are better than the DSLRs for video shooters, but haven't yet reached their full potential and become viable replacements for ENG style shooters.
 
Appart from ridiculous this is offensive, I am a photographer and everybody knows a lens iris is not "loud" not matter if its new or a 1945 model. Second open to focus and later close or step down the iris is optional. Third: tha last paragraph can be translated as: Keep quiet boy that crappy mechanism is even better than waht the DSLR world can offer to you.

Forget alpha lenses for a while, you have a wonderful world of SLR primes out there and adapters at excellent prices, search for the Zeiss - Contax on KEH Camera
http://www.keh.com/Camera/format-35...h-Lenses?s=1&bcode=CX&ccode=6&cc=55909&r=WG&f
 
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well, I never read anything like this when sony a33 or a55 users were making video with their a mount lenses ?
 
kurth said:
well, I never read anything like this when sony a33 or a55 users were making video with their a mount lenses ?
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You are correct about that. The problem comes to the adapter and how it works. I heard from sony that they are releasing a newer one that will operate much better than the current adapter.
 
I bought the LA-EA1 so that I could control the aperture of the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 (which is an awesome lens) and possibly a 17-50 f/2.8 allround-zoom (Sigma or Tamron, not sure yet.)

But yes, I think that's about it. You should get your other lenses with a manual aperture ring. Much better.
 
aargh, I wish I had read this before buying the adapter. This makes the camera pretty much unusable for run and gun and doc interviews.

Other solutions are the Kipon adapter with aperture control (though I've read about vignetting problems), or a lens with a smooth (de-clicked) aperture ring. Samyang is making one now apparently. Any other ideas ?
 
I have this same Alpha set up but use the Heliopan Variable ND fader with the adapter. It's silent. You just roll in the ND you want. I love it especially for run-and-gun because you can choose your f-stop / depth of field and use the fader to keep it there.
 
That firmware update doesn't have much to do with FS100. They've simply added auto-focus support for some Alpha lenses for NEX3 and NEX5 camera. You got me excited for a brief moment there! :grin:
 
jetswing said:
The only thing you will able to do is adjust the iris -- no auto functions.
Click to expand...

Should let you use iris and optical stabilization since it provides power, no? You sure no auto focusing works? not even slowly? Not that I ever use AF for any reason, but I suppose some people might use it for some reason or another.
 
Yea, it should power the IS. It's clearly stated in the manual that the auto focus and iris doesn't function using the a-mount adapter.
 
jetswing said:
Yea, it should power the IS. It's clearly stated in the manual that the auto focus and iris doesn't function using the a-mount adapter.
Click to expand...

So no auto focus and no auto iris, but manual iris control and image stabilization works?
 
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