Sony A7 with the Canon 50mm f/0.95 Dream Lens
Sony A7, Canon 50mm f/0.95 Dream Lens, North Wales Wedding Photographer
On this day of 27th November 2013 I introduce my new Sony A7 mirrorless full frame camera complete with the legendary Canon 50mm f/0.95 lens. The unique thing about this combo is that up until the Sony A7 and A7R there was only one choice to use this lens on a full frame camera and that was the Leica M240. You cannot mount the lens on a mirrored DSLR due to the distance between sensor and back of the lens.
This is a GAME CHANGER.
What Sony have essentially created here is an art camera. They have given us an easel in which to add our preferred choice of glass and then create our final image. This is an incredible feat, and I’ve been shooting canon for over 10 years. I’m not moving away from Canon as they provide the most complete and exhaustive range of EOS bodies and lenses that no other company bar none can rival and that is before we even mention the Canon Professional Services network around the globe upon which so many professionals depend upon to keep their gear shooting day after day.
For those of that shoot TS lenses then the A7 is a formidable force to be able to accurately view focus in the viewfinder with far greater accuracy than you can with an optical TTL view and so much easier than using the rear screen held out in front of you. And of course there is no AF to think about with the TS lenses. Equally if you have ever struggled to focus fast glass on a DSLR even after changing screen then the A7 offers a really great solution with the EVF. I can easily focus a 1.2 lens without magnification or focus peaking.
The tilt screen is another incredibly useful feature that both Canon and Nikon have to date ignored to off on their full frame cameras most likely saving the feature as a marketing move for future models. Sony give us this on the A7 allowing the camera to be placed right doen on the ground and then accurate focus can be achieved using the screen as guidance. You just cant comfortably or sometimes properly do that with a fixed rear screen.
I dont think the A7 or A7R will be up to replacing all the sports shooters cameras in any near time period yet, the AF is simply not as good as the offerings from Canon and Nikon DSLR’s but i cant really see why sports shooters would want/need a smaller body etc.
Let me spell this out, it’s not about the size of the body ( i could buy the OM-1 for that ), it’s about being the first full frame (non rangefinder) mirrorless camera. It’s about for a long as i remember digital being around that people were dreaming of the day that they would be able to mount fast legacy lenses on a full frame sized sensor and acheive accurate focus. The wait was about 10 years but it sure was worth it. What you will see from this is a reflux of old gear being used in creative and passionate artistic ways that the bearers of film cameras were not able to even touch*.
*citations available on request.
The Canon 50mm f/0.95 lens was built as a rangefinder lens in the 1960’s and 1970’s by Canon and was the fastest available lens until Leica copied the lens back in 2008 with their 50mm Noctilux M ASPH lens also for rangefinders. The Leica lens will set you back £8000 in the UK !
Until now this peice of glass hasnt been of much use in the digital arena unless you either own a Leica M240 or you mount it on a mirrorless camera such as an NEX or other less than full frame body.
I will be using this combo on a shoot later this week but until then here’s a few of what the combo looks like.
Judging by the serious lack of these lenses for sale on Ebay post A7 release I predict a renaissance of its images and that can only be a good thing.
Lens to E-mount adaptor used is THIS EBAY ADAPTOR.
Come visit the Canon 50mm f/0.95 Dream Lens Facebook Group!
There’s a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the serial numbers for this lens and if there are different versions of it in existance. We know there is the TV and none TV versions but how do these tie in to the serial numbers? My hunch is that the factory were making these to order mainly for the rangefinder cameras that were the Canon 7 and 7s and whenever a TV version was required these would retain the serial number as made but have the rear element and mount changed to suit the TV mount. The front bezel would also be changed to display TV. There’s already a small database of serial numbers in existance but i have no idea who owns that page and if the site will stay up – it’s also at risk of false numbers being added on the fly. I therefore decided to move a copy here and ask people to add to the page I’m hosting here with your versions and serial numbers of the Canon 50mm f/0.95 Dream Lens. See the page here.
If anyone would like to add to the mix then please let me know 🙂
Some shots from a recent wedding with the Sony A7 and 50mm f/0.95
Hi Paul, Thank you for the great article and pictures. I just aquired the same lens but the c-mount adapter seems to be very tight on the lens mount. Can you tell me if there is a trick to take the c-mount adapter off the lens. I don’t want to force is to hard. I hope you can help me out here. Thanks, Gaston
Omg these pictures make me wanna cry they’re so beautiful… May I ask what your editing process is? Did you edit all of these photos in Lightroom with something like VSCO? Thanks!
What aperture are these at? .95 or stopped down?
Have you shot any video with it? i dream of this lens…swoooon
hi, is this lens will be working with sony nex6? and if yes, what adapter should I buy?
This lens looks fantastic! Did you ever post those side by side comparisons of other 50mm lenses? Where could I find that? Thanks!
amazing photos! I just purchased my very first mirror less full frame camera now I will be saving for this amazing glass. I was looking at mitakon 50mm f0.95 too not sure if you tried those lens yet?
Please help me i have one and it is TV and called c mount and i cant find adaptor for Sony a7r
Hi, I have a Nocti Leica 0.95 and M240. But Id love to try it with a Sony A7. Can you let me know the adaptor I will need?
I am definitely going to keep an eye on this thread and I love the 0.95 pics. I am very interested in the A7 as a future purchase. I am in Knutsford, so if you are ever in town taking pictures, be prepared to be collared by me with a couple of questions about the camera!
Hey Paul,
Can’t wait to see your comparison. I’m wondering how this will stack up against the 1.2L on the A7. Would you happen to already have an Sony FE 55 1.8 already for comparison?
Great article Paul and cannot agree more on the possibilities with the A7/R. Looking forward to try out my when the adapter arrives.
Your setup looks like it’s out of the terminator… it’s awesome… bringing the best of past engineering out of the closet is a milestone achievement in technology. Partially because these marvels almost died along with the men who owned them, but more importantly the manufacturing, production, and marketing of these goods today can’t swing a profit… therefore do not get produced. I applaud these efforts, and am copying your swag.
The overall aesthetic of these fast legacy lenses are downright nasty (in a good way) – this type of bokeh would be a bit difficult to reproduce in photoshop. That said, it’s a unique look that doesnt really copy our human eye in the same way as a 1.4/1.8.
Has anyone played around with the 15.00 adapters on ebay? I have a feeling the results are similar (and if we can save 100.00 on each adapter we can buy more juicy glass)…
William C, Its possible the NEX to C mount is not a full frame circle. My TV lens is unmodified with the adaptor so i get no vignetting. Are you able to put your lens back to the original spec and use this adaptor – http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-50mm-f-0-95-to-Sony-NEX-Adapter-both-NEX-Cams-and-FS100-700-RF-TV-ver-/171205186556?pt=US_Lens_Adapters_Mounts_Tubes&hash=item27dc9fd3fc
William C, Its possible the NEX to C mount is not a full frame circle. My TV lens is unmodified with the adaptor so i get no vignetting. Are you able to put your lens back to the original spec and use this adaptor – http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-50mm-f-0-95-to-Sony-NEX-Adapter-both-NEX-Cams-and-FS100-700-RF-TV-ver-/171205186556?pt=US_Lens_Adapters_Mounts_Tubes&hash=item27dc9fd3fc
I have this exact same lens (TV version) and I was using it on my nex7 with a c mount to ensure mount adapter and it worked fine. But when I put it on the A7r, I got this circle vignette. Would the adaptor you use make a difference? With the C to E adapter, I had to remove the metal adapter that came with the lens. From you picture, looks like you left that on and added the adapter you got from ebay. The extra adaptors move let further away from the sensor, is that what made the difference?
Hi Paul! Im interested in your 50 f 0.95! could you please tell me how much you got it ? Thanks
Hi Paul! Im interested in your 50 f 0.95! could you please tell me how much you got it ? Thanks
Hi, use the same set-up A7 + Canon 50/0.95 and the same adapter. Do you have the same loose feel of the adapter to the camera? Mine wobble all over the place.
I agree, that this combo is absolutely somthing totally different. Try and shoot against the sun with this lens, you will get explosions of light and the mots artistic flare imagable. (I am a wedding photog and can´t wait to put this camera into duty…). I hope I can put up some samples soon: http://www.hamburg-hochzeitsfotografen.de
Hi, use the same set-up A7 + Canon 50/0.95 and the same adapter. Do you have the same loose feel of the adapter to the camera? Mine wobble all over the place.
I agree, that this combo is absolutely somthing totally different. Try and shoot against the sun with this lens, you will get explosions of light and the mots artistic flare imagable. (I am a wedding photog and can´t wait to put this camera into duty…). I hope I can put up some samples soon: http://www.hamburg-hochzeitsfotografen.de
Jas, I’ve not used the SLR magic lens but from what i see it doesnt have any unique characteristics in its rendering where as this old design is full of quirky rendering 🙂
Beautiful pics, Paul, bokeh is dreamy. love to see this lens compared to the SLR Magic Noktor 50mm f/0.95 E mount HyperPrime? no competition I'm sure 🙂
Beautiful pics, Paul, bokeh is dreamy. love to see this lens compared to the SLR Magic Noktor 50mm f/0.95 E mount HyperPrime? no competition I'm sure 🙂
Holy smokes that’s amazing. Please post more! So tempting to save up for this.
you're going for this 0.95 canon RF leh?
you're going for this 0.95 canon RF leh?
Hi Joseph, it's this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181244374727?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
🙂
Hi Joseph, it's this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181244374727?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
🙂
Hi Paul, I'm about to acquire the 0.95 RF mount and will mount it to my Sony A7r, would you know what kind of adapter I should purchase? Thanks.
Hi Paul, I'm about to acquire the 0.95 RF mount and will mount it to my Sony A7r, would you know what kind of adapter I should purchase? Thanks.
🙂 good catch bro
🙂 good catch bro
hum…it's a SONY camera with a CANON lens. It's wrong in the text. But nice set anyway!
hum…it's a SONY camera with a CANON lens. It's wrong in the text. But nice set anyway!
A7 has breathed new life into my legacy lens collection. I hope you will post some shots with this ultra fast lens.