Going Small with Digital (Fuji, DSLR, Nikon, Sony)

[EinsteinsGhost]

We can credit Panasonic for shifting the focus towards compact, mirror-less but interchangeable lens digital cameras, using Micro Four Thirds (MFT) format with a sensor size that is half that of a Full Frame sensor with Olympus joining in. Sony introduced NEX-series with still larger (APS-C) sensor in still smaller body. Fuji and Samsung have set their eyes in this market as well. Nikon introduced the 1-series with a smallish sensor.

This market has clearly grown over last few years and is gaining ground. Outside of obvious compromises (small bodies which can be a plus or a negative, lack of viewfinder in many models and less traditional controls). They are also reviving a market for vintage lenses, as the flange distance is short (with the Sony’s E-mount flange distance being just 18mm, compared to about 44.5mm for its A-mount used in SLT and DSLR models), they can be adapted to lenses from pretty much any brand/mount. This appears to be a secondary advantage.

The primary being: The future? These cameras are mirror-less (fewer mechanical pieces), they are small and outside of challenges presented by lens design (a combination of larger sensors, optical image stabilization and AF circuitry). Leica M9 is, of course, not based on a novel concept and is Full Frame. But, could this be the future of interchangeable lens digital cameras?

Am I the only regular in this forum to own a mirror-less ILC (Sony NEX-3)? If you do own one, and have investigated classic manual lenses, I would love to learn more about your experiences.

[Lamplight]

I investigated mirrorless cameras back in November when I decided I wanted something smaller than my 20d. My problem was that only a couple of them had an optical viewfinder, and one of those wasn't available yet and was simply to expensive (Sony NEX7) and the other was the Nikon and I had some reason for deciding against it, but now I can't recall what it was. I finally decided on the Fuji X10, which is entirely different anyway. I'd still love to have something like the NEX7 or the Fuji Pro X1, but I can't justify the price of either right now. I'd like to be able to use old lenses on a digital camera. Recently I was at an antique store and there was a man with a Sony NEX* trying out different manual focus lenses.

[EinsteinsGhost]

I can identify with that old guy, as my own shopping for adapters has begun. At this very moment, I'm contemplating between Leica-M, Contax or M42 as they all offer a pretty good collection of lenses and in that order. The Leica-M is closest to NEX in flange distance, with Contax G close. M42, however, would be a compromise considering that the long flange distance makes the adapter rather long for NEX (defeating the purpose). On the up side, I can use M42 lenses on SLT-A55 as well.

The growing demand for these little cameras has been pushing the price on these classic lenses.

[EinsteinsGhost]

I have already collected over a half dozen adapters for use of lenses from a variety of mounts on my Sony NEX-3 and that includes an adapter for those little C-mount TV lenses. While I have come across prime lenses from likes of SLR Magic who have adapted 25mm to 50mm TV lenses for Sony NEX-3, I am more interested in a fast lens with short telephoto range.

But my venture stops with one issue: NEX-3 has an APS-C sensor (compared to smaller sensors used in Panasonic and Olympus mirrorless cameras). This requires that I look for minimizing vignetting via a lens that offers a larger image circle. For most part, this renders wide and ultra wide TV lenses pretty much useless for the application. So, I’m mostly interested in longer focal lengths (above 50mm) and large apertures… f/1.2-f/1.8.

Does anybody have experience using these lenses on such cameras? My question specific to the issue would be also around crop factor. Sony NEX-3 has a 1.5x crop factor on traditional DSLR lenses, and would the same apply to the TV lenses as well?

Is focal length of TV lens standardized as it is for regular DSLR cameras (using 35mm frame as the baseline)? Or do they all vary depending on the image circle they're designed to produce? In other words, is there a guarantee that two 12.5mm TV lens would deliver identical field of view, regardless of the size of the image circle they cover?

At this time, I have come across a few relatively inexpensive options to experiment with (a 12.5-75mm f/1.2 and a 12.5-75mm f/1.8).