Using Older "Vintage" Lenses on an A7iii

[TriitonPhotography]

Heyoooo photographers!

I like to go by Triiton. I'm a self taught photographer from around the Philadelphia area and love shooting anything and everything! If anyone wants to collab at any point on gigs, city walks for street stuff, or any events that pop up in person - feel free to dm me on instagram and we we can make something work! @TriitonPhotography


Recently, I’ve inherited my grandfathers camera gear from his photography years that he had brought to Vietnam with him. I’m a “new gen” photographer and use a Sony A7iii with a Sony 35mm f1.8 FE lens, so I know absolutely nothing about film cameras lol.

From what I can tell from reading labels, the list below includes what’s in the case.

-CAMERAS-

• Minolta srt 101 (x2) Silver and Black model
• Minolta srt 102 (x1) Silver model

-LENSES-

• (x1) Minolta 16mm lens 1:2.8 Fish Eye
• (x1) Minolta 28mm lens 1:2.5
• (x1) Minolta 58mm lens 1:1.2
• (x1) Minolta 135mm lens 1:2.8
• (x1) Sigma XQ High Power Zoom 70-230mm 1:4.5
  
  
  If anyone is able to tell me how I can run these lenses on my A7iii body (especially the 70-230) it would be much appreciated. From the research I've done, it seems the cheaper immediate option (ships in tonight) for an adapter on Amazon is below. This is a cheap option with no auto focus or the bells and whistles from the body to lens, so fully manual in every way.
  

  Fotasy Minolta MD MC Rokkor Lens to E Mount Adapter, MD E-Mount, MD to E, Compatible with Sony a7 a7R a7s II III IV a9 a7c Alpha 1 a6600 a6500 a6400 a6300 a6100 a6000 a5100 a5000 a3500 ZV-E10​

Also, I saw that the Sony adapter below from what I read allowed auto focus to a degree and worked pretty well with old lenses. If I'm missing ANYTHING to make these lenses work with good quality, tips and tricks, or anything else PLEASE let me know! Unfortunately I haven't learned manual lenses as of yet since I shoot on my 35mm prime with AF on manual mode, so it'll be a hurdle to jump over as I'm learning. I would love to find an adapter that's a little cheaper than the one below that allows auto focus while keeping quality at a distance.

Sony LA-EA4 A-Mount to E-Mount FF Lens Adapter with TMT​

 

[Unframed Dave]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not clued up on adapters, but there's a few on here that use them. They'll be along shortly.

 

[iamdlewis]

Welcome. I too am in the Philly region.

That adaptor, Fotasy Minolta MD MC Rokkor Lens to E Mount Adapter, would be the correct one and yes everything would be manual, aperture and focus on the lens, ISO on the body but then again everything on those cameras were manual anyway.

 

[Chris 3754]

Hi Triiton, welcome to the site! I may be able to help here since I shoot "legacy glass" regularly. That is the term for adapting old lenses to our mirrorless cameras. Although I collect and use Canon FD lenses, it's the same regardless of the legacy glass that you use. Likewise, I have done it with an a7iii and had excellent results. I would recommend the K&F adapter, which you can get on Amazon, it's is cheap in price but very well made. Also, it has a cool orange stripe to match our Sony world cameras. Legacy glass is outstanding, think of it like comparing vinyl albums to digital music, a little softer and not as crisp, but having a very pleasing result. Remember, these lenses were designed by engineers using slide rules, whereas modern lenses are computer-designed. Don't get me wrong, they are still sharp, but it's a different kind of sharp if that makes sense. The best thing to do is shoot the same image with legacy glass and then a Sony lens and you will see it. Sometimes legacy is better, sometimes modern is better, but legacy is ALWAYS more fun to use, especially with the tie they give you to your grandfather. Lastly, you may find the zoom not what you think, that is a shortcoming of legacy glass, the primes are where the magic happens.

So some thoughts on shooting, you will of course be using manual focus so enabling Focus Peaking is a must. You will also need to get your understanding of the great triad down pat - Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO because for the most part you will be shooting in manual mode. The great thing about mirrorless cameras is that by using the viewfinder you will have some idea of your exposure. You can also review your shots in-camera and make adjustments.

One other thing is fungus. Unfortunately, fungus infects old lenses depending on how they were stored. None of these old timers are going to be perfect and most imperfections can be fixed in post editing, but there are times when a lens is too far gone. Usually in these cases, the cost of repair outweighs the cost of replacing the lens. Look through both ends of the lens and you will see what I mean.

I have been shooting Canon since 1979, and I still shoot some film, but being able to still use my old lenses on a modern camera is special. Do some internet searches on using legacy glass with Sony mirrorless, there are excellent articles out there. DM me or just put your questions here, happy to help, I love this old gear.

 

[TriitonPhotography]

Much appreciated chief! I'm 24 currently and have been slowly getting into photography over the years since 2018ish (def getting more serious as of recent). Film photography is something I know very little about but I do also find it interesting since it can bring a scene to life compared to some digital photos. For the mean time, my Sony A7iii with my Minolta adapter seems to be working well but I'll have to find time to practice a lot more with the manual lenses since I'm used to my 35mm prime with auto focus lol. The main lens I wanted to use out of the "Legacy glass" collection is the Sigma 70-230 f4.5 since I didn't have zooming capabilities with my 35mm and street photography has occasions that will sometimes call for the zoom. I'll be looking over YouTube videos throughout my dead points at work this weekend and making a check list of stuff I need to try out for each lens on Tuesday (my first day off after this weekend) to put them all to the test!

The small 15 minute test I did this morning seems like the zoom lens is letting in a LOT of light even with a lower ISO (as low as 60 or 50) so I'm not too sure if its a setting type of deal that's backend on my A7iii with manual lenses or something that needs to be changed on the actual lens. Seemed a little difficult as well to use it handheld to get a semi focused shot even if it looks in focus through the viewfinder or on my display screen. Maybe I'll need a tripod for running manual lenses that are a little larger? I've also seen people mention that with manual lenses you'll have to steady your breathing for taking the shot and to stay as still as possible unless you are running a tripod (which would be difficult for street photography I feel). If you have any tips around what I had just mentioned, or honestly any at all lol then feel free to let me in on the "legacy" secrets!