repleo Loc: Boston

Sony appears to have dropped the price of the A7Rii by $500 with the announcement of the A9. I am tempted to skip my planned upgrade from A6000 to the A6500 and make the leap to the A7Rii. However I currently have only have one FE lens – the excellent 90mm Macro. I would be relying mostly on using my APS-C lenses in crop mode on the A7Rii for a while until I gradually acquire some decent FE lenses. I also have some legacy full frame Olympus OM lenses which I could use, but they are a bit long for my main interest which is landscape / travel.

My question is, will the IQ of the APS-C lenses in crop mode on the A7Rii be any better or at least as good as on my current A6000? I would be happy with ‘as good as’. I am thinking in terms of color depth, noise, high ISO and dynamic range. I understand that the APS-C lenses will not realize the full potential of the A7Rii. Please, no need to go into explanations of pixel count, crop factor, angle of view, equivalent focal length, depth of field etc – just interested in IQ. Large prints are not a concern either.

I asked the Sony ‘expert’ at my local Best Buy about APS-C lenses on the A7Rii and all he would say is ‘it is not recommended’. I don’t know why.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

You can use the APSC lenses on the A7Rii, but you will get that vignetting in the corners because of the smaller image cast by the lens onto the larger sensor. When you switch to the crop mode, you will lose about half or a little more of your MP's but the image will still be good, and you should get a narrower field of view due to the cropped image of the lens. The A7Rii has 42MP, so you should end up with around 16-18MP in crop mode. Everything else should function the same as with an FE lens.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

For the very best interest of the Sony a7R2. It would be best to use FE lenses.

pbcbob Loc: Delray Beach, FL

THey are designed for a 24 X 16 sensor and thus can not full the 36 X 24 sensor of the A7. However from what I understand the A7's software will crop your image and will thus avoid the circular effect you would get on other makes of cameras.
Summary: You will have a fine picture but the file dimensions will be a bit smaller.

JPL

It is not recommended because then he would sell fewer lenses. Otherwise it is no problem. You will get the same image quality as long as you are shooting in crop mode or cropping your pics in post processing.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

I had the same questions and concerns when I bought my a7R and planned to adapt my a-mount Sony lenses. Some of my lenses were very good but they were DT, or crop lenses. You can use crop lenses on an a7Rii, but you may get vignetting, even severe with some lenses. Some zooms will vignette at some focal lengths but not others. You can mitigate this either of two ways: accept the vignette, then crop in post; or shoot in crop mode and accept 18MP. The results are about the same.

18MP isn't bad. Is it as good as an 18MP image from a crop sensor? How about from a 24MP crop sensor? The a7Rii's sensor is better than the a6k's sensor in more ways than just megapixel count, but the pixels are smaller than those on the tightly-packed 24MP sensor. Pixel size matters, of course, but it matters less in the absence of an AA filter, as on the a7Rii. Check out this comparison of an a6k with an a7R (not the mark 2) in crop mode:
https://www.getdpi.com/forum/sony/50813-a7r-crop-mode-vs-a6000.html

I don't know why the a7R shoots only 15MP in crop and the a7Rii shoots only 18MP when logic says that with a 1.5x crop factor, they should shoot at 16MP and 28MP, respectively. One would think that shooting full frame, then cropping in post would offer a better image, but that may not be. For example, I love my walk-around Sigma 18-250 on my a77ii, but it's a crop lens. I've used it on my a7R in crop mode and I have no complaints, but my son inadvertently tested it in full-frame mode on my a7R and got severe vignette - a round image. If I were to crop it, there would be very poor res at the edges due to the refraction distortion inherent in such an image, so I would need to crop further, discarding much of the actual image. Though I haven't checked, I'm guessing that such cropping would result in a 15MP image. It appears Sony designed its crop mode for the most severe possible vignette to ensure the best overall image quality. I'll attach two images as examples. The first is a selfie my son took at 18mm while we enjoyed Yellowstone last June, and the other is a shot of a couple bears at 250mm the same day. Notice the different degree of vignette at different focal lengths. My subjective opinion is that in low light, the a7R in crop mode outperforms the a77ii, but in bright daylight there is little difference.

I hope this is helpful even though my experience is with different cameras (though the a6k sensor is the same, I believe, as the a77ii). And for what it's worth, I'll add a couple links about other legacy glass adapted to FE bodies. After my Sony G glass and Samyang/Rokinon, there are a few Minolta-era lenses I love. On the long end is the 75-300mm "New." Not the Beer Can, Not any other of the four or five available, but the "New" model (that is its official Minolta designation). You can see an image and get more info here:
http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-AF-75-300mm-F4.5-5.6-New_lens53.html

By the way, Dyxum is an excellent resource for info on Sony/Sony-mount lenses.

Quickly, two others I highly recommend are the Minolta 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 original (1985 release, so if interested check Dyxum for a picture) and my walk-around lens on my a7R: Tamron 35-135mm f3.5-4.5 Tele Macro. This lens never ceases to amaze me. It is a rare find, so prices vary wildly, but it can be had for a pittance. I got mine on eBay for around $60 shipped. The other two Minolta lenses I mentioned are fairly common for well under $100.

Finally, a couple more links about legacy glass I found useful. You might find a lens or two you can use until you build your arsenal of pricey FE lenses.

https://outfor30.com/2014/12/19/old-timers/

https://luminous-landscape.com/sony-a7r-wishful-thinking/

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Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Generally this is true, but not always. Some crop lenses vignette much more than others, and some zooms do not crop at all at certain focal lengths. So if you shoot in full frame mode and crop in post, you can get more of the image with some lenses.

chaman

Just get Sony native glass!!! Oh, wait....hmmmm.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

That's a tired old refrain used by jealous CaNikon shooters that's no longer true.

chaman

It is true, sorry. Want me to put into a post the whole Canon offering regarding its lenses? Compare it with the current Sony lineup. Have Sony improved? Yes. Do they offer the same variety and quality in lenses that Canon and Nikon has? NOPE. Why so many here always ask about the adapters and using them with Sony's bodies so much? In fact, is much more common to ask about those adapters than about the native Sony lenses available. Sad for you its still very MUCH true. Sony keeps putting out new bodies almost every year, yet their lens offerings continues to just CRAWL along.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

General Motors makes many different autos, but I need just my one Ford. Yes, Canon makes a many lenses, but the overwhelming majority of photographers need only a few -- and Sony, et al, make them. Perhaps the only area still lacking -- for now -- is long, fast primes, but I bet we'll see a couple 300 to 500mm G Masters this year to support the a9.

And the reason adapters are so popular -- especially with Canon shooters -- is because frustrated owners of other brands want to use a Sony a7 series body but not have to replace their lenses. The a7 series is extremely popular with Canon shooters. If I had Canon, I would stay with it but pick up an a7R or a7Rii for landscapes and some other scenes using my adapted glass -- just like I do now with my Sony a-mount lenses. The adaptability is an advantage.

But, this was recently true that there were many gaps in the native FE lineup. This simply is not true today, and I doubt Sony will ever come close to Canon's bragging rights of a lens or three for every conceivable purpose.

chaman

Its still true no matter how you want to rationalize it. Professionals and amateurs alike like to have VARIETY.....Sony does not bring that factor to the table. You can formulate the most convoluted explanation you want but the fact REMAINS. The Sony line of lenses is still a very constricted one TODAY.

repleo Loc: Boston

I agree, but it is a chicken and egg situation - body or lenses.

repleo Loc: Boston

Sony is bringing out super new lenses faster than I can pay for them so available variety is not what constricts me. However, I agree that Sony has neglected the APS-C line of lenses for a couple of years now which is part of why I am considering stepping up to FF.

repleo Loc: Boston

Many thanks to those who tried to answer my original question without turning it into a typical Sony vs Canikon dust up. I have a A7Rii on hold at the camera store and will make my decision when I actually get it in my hands.