Sony LA-EA4 adapter review

According provided by Sony LA-EA4 adapter and Sony a7 camera huge thanks Sony Ukraine.

Sony LA-EA4 review

Sony LA-EA4 review

Sony LA-EA4 is a dedicated adapter for attaching 'A-mount' lenses to 'E' mount cameras. With this adapter (adapter), you can attach any Sony A-mount or Minolta A-mount lens to Sony NEX or Sony ILCE cameras, including full-format Sony a7, a7r, a7s.

Sony LA-EA4

Sony LA-EA4

Sony LA-EA4 has a built-in focusing motor, and therefore allows you to focus automatically using even the old Sony and Minolta motorless lenses. For example, to write this note, I used a lens SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye, which does not have a focus motor, and which is perfectly focused using the Sony LA-EA4 adapter. The focusing motor installed in the adapter works quickly, no worse than the corresponding motors in Sony SLR or SLT cameras. With this adapter, you can easily use any auto-focusing lenses since 1985. For example, you can buy an old full-format very cheaply Minolta Maxxum Zoom AF Lens 28-85mm 1: 3.5 (22) -4.5 and shoot for your own pleasure.

Sony LA-EA4

Sony LA-EA4

Most older non-motorized lenses do not have a focus mode switch. With these lenses, you cannot rotate the focus ring in auto focus mode so as not to damage the motor. In order to switch to manual focus mode on a similar lens using Sony LA-EA4, just select the 'MF' focus mode in the camera menu, after which the focus motor will turn off automatically.

Sony LA-EA4

Wardrobe Case Sony LA-EA4

Also, the adapter has a built-in blinking aperture mechanism, which allows you to automatically control the aperture value. During focusing, the aperture remains fully open, and at the time of shooting, the adapter closes. During movie shooting, you cannot change the values ​​of the F number.

Sony LA-EA4

Sony LA-EA4 tripod socket

The adapter is powered by the camera and does not require any batteries or rechargeable batteries. The adapter itself looks unusual because of the protruding block, in which, apparently, there are focusing mechanisms, aperture controls and phase focus sensors.

Sony LA-EA4 adapter with SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye lens

Sony LA-EA4 adapter with lens SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye. Part of a translucent mirror is visible.

Most interestingly, the Sony LA-EA4 has a translucent mirror and a phase focusing module. The mirror is fixed and reflects approximately 1/3 of the light flux to the phase focus sensors. The sensor itself consists of 15 points, 3 of which are cruciform. In fact, when using such an adapter, you can get an ordinary SLT camera (a camera with a translucent mirror) from a mirrorless Sony camera.

Sony LA-EA4 adapter on Sony A7 camera

Sony LA-EA4 adapter for Sony A7 camera. You can see the focus motor 'screwdriver'.

When I used the Sony LA-EA4 adapter, the Sony a7 camera turned off its built-in hybrid focusing module and switched to using the data obtained using the adapter’s phase focus sensors. The best part is that when using such a bundle, the focusing speed increases significantly and is not inferior to SLR or SLT cameras. When shooting movies, focusing works just as well as when shooting photos.

Sony LA-EA4

Sony LA-EA4, clearly visible translucent mirror

It's just a pity that all focus points are grouped in the center of the frame, in fact, the focus area is limited to 10% of the total image area. Using the camera menu, you can fine-tune the adapter for each individual lens (this can help solve the problem of back-focus or front-focus).

Focus points when using Sony LA-EA4

Focus points when using the Sony LA-EA4. Cross-shaped are the central focus point, as well as the extreme upper and lowermost in the central vertical column.

The adapter has a tripod socket, which allows you to more correctly distribute the weight balance between the camera and the lens when using a tripod.

Sony LA-EA4 adapter with SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye lens

Sony LA-EA4 adapter with SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye

I would like to point out that Sony has 4 different A to E mount adapters:

  1. LA-EA1 - Suitable for APS-C cameras only and does not support non-motorized lenses.
  2. LA-EA2 - Suitable for APS-C cameras only and supports non-motorized lenses.
  3. LA-EA3 - Suitable for full frame and crop cameras, but does not support non-motorized lenses.
  4. LA-EA4 - Suitable for full-frame and crop cameras, and also supports non-motorized lenses. This adapter is presented in this note.

All adapters have a diaphragm control mechanism. With adapters LA-EA1 and LA-EA3, it is advisable to use lenses with a built-in focus motor (SAM and SSD lenses). In addition, LA-EA1 and LA-EA3 do not have a phase focus sensor, which allows them to work only due to the focusing system of the camera itself.

Ultimately the LA-EA4 is the most advanced adapter that fits anything and everything.

Sony LA-EA4 adapter with SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye lens and Sony A7 camera

Sony LA-EA4 adapter with SAL16F28 lens Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye and camera Sony A7

In a sense, the LA-EA4 is a real godsend for camera users sony a7r, which only focuses on contrast. With such an adapter, its focusing speed increases significantly.

Here link to the archive with the originals - 238 MB, 10 photos in .ARW format (RAW) All photos taken on the lens SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye and a Sony A7 camera (ILCE-7).

The official websites indicate that the adapter supports all 'A' mount lenses, find some restrictions related to aperture I could not lens. It should also be noted that the adapter does not work when using teleconverters.

Sony LA-EA4 adapter with SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye lens and Sony A7 camera

Sony LA-EA4 adapter with lens SAL16F28 Sony 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye and Sony A7 Camera

Catalog of modern Sony lenses can look at this link.

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Results

The LA-EA4 is a very interesting little thing that can make an SLT camera from a conventional mirrorless camera, thus ensuring full compatibility with any 'A' mount lenses and fast focusing using phase sensors. Of the shortcomings, I want to highlight the accuracy of all focusing points in the center of the frame.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval.

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Comments: 78, on the topic: Sony LA-EA4 adapter review

  • Jury

    That's the problem of dust on the matrix solved :)

    • Arkady Shapoval

      and others appeared :)
      Although, here in my review now to a7 is also my native 28-70, with E mount. And the problem has not been completely resolved, because it needs to be installed on the camera. Do not shoot with one fish-eye?

      • Jury

        Yes, it means I didn’t dare, I need to remove the adapter :)

  • Dmitry K

    new lego from sony! assemble the camera yourself! But seriously, is this some kind of patch for mirrorless focuses slowly? Now you have a solution. As a result, a thin and light mirrorless mirror became a DSLR with all the consequences in the form of weight and size.
    For me, crap, it is necessary either to bring the focus to the mind in contrast to the mind as in 70d, for example, or to put a mirror in the case and normally throw out the phase focus points. And so everyone wanted at once, but got "neither fish, nor meat"

    • Denis

      Look in the wrong direction. This “patch” will not solve any camera problems when using native optics. It only allows you to use optics for DSLRs, but it turned out better or worse - a moot point. Yes, focusing is faster. No, the dimensions and weight have suffered.
      And then, you do not need to judge all mirrorless cameras based on a review of the braked A7R alone.

  • Yuriy75

    But the view from the camera became in military style. (looks like a spare part for weapons) :)
    Sony has a strange policy - first chop off the functionality of the camera, and then solve the problem with prosthetic adapters.

    • Denis

      How will this prosthesis adapter solve any camera problems when using its native optics? After all, this is an ADAPTER, for other optics, the native one will not.

      • Yuriy75

        With native optics - a camera for thoughtful shooting (you walk around and think why x ... did I buy it? I could take a full-frame DSLR and a normal glass would be enough ...) :)

        • anonym

          But I still thought, what kind of thoughtful shooting is this? Now it has become clear)))

        • Sergei

          In essence, about thoughtful shooting ;-), but the one who does not do anything is not mistaken.

  • Alexey

    Here it is - α

  • 23W@WW.EE

    with such a price (((I'd rather buy an adapter for Kenon glasses

    • Basil

      And canon glasses here ?! What idiocy ?! This adapter is designed for those who want to use Sony and Minolta SLR lenses with AUTO FOCUS on Sony's mirrorless mirrors !! What's so complicated ?! How many idiots came running! Learn materiel, boobies!

      • Arkady Shapoval

        Dear readers! Do not grieve Rei, be a little kinder.

      • anonym

        say more that sony has the best glasses)

        • AM

          There are a couple of really best. Like other manufacturers. What?

      • anonym

        That's right, the people do not think at all, but want for 3 cents 10 in one.

  • Anatoly

    Sonya would at least somehow put the consumer into the camera and mounts a cigarette case with a lighter in the camera,

    here are the freaks, how they mock the breeders.

    • anonym

      This is not a mockery, it’s called a creative approach by marketers.

      • Basil

        What today? Stupid Comment Day ?! Learn the materiel!

  • anonym

    This creative approach of marketers does not evoke positive emotions ... "... we will do, for a start, mirrorless cameras, such small and compact ones will be straightforward to record! ... just attach a silly focusing system, and then add, to all this mini charm, an adapter with a motor and normal focusing for in order to hang normal glasses, because we don't want to make relatives ... well, well ... voila! and we get the same DSLR in size, but without a mirror and cut-down functionality for fabulous money, but this is market development and users should understand this, progress cannot stand still! ... ”- I ask for all the preambles, but from a technical point of view presence on the market of mirrorless cameras is not rational, because The “dampness” of the technologies used, multiplied by the cost, negates in the bud all the charm of the idea of ​​mirrorless cameras, and all this stuff floats in the suspended languages ​​of marketers, that's all. Once again, I'm sorry for the off-top, it's boiling. And a special thank you for the review, your work can hardly be overestimated!

    • anonym

      And here are the marketers !! Well, at what ?! What's going on in people's heads ?? !! Why this adapter read my comment below. You - to learn materiel on the site of Arcadia, and then "think a lot" over what you read! This device has a very clear purpose!

  • anonym

    Yes, they are tsuki, made a consumer society, and now they milk us

    • Basil

      Do not get fooled! Shoot Zenith! And you will be happy!

  • anonym

    the most expensive adapter I've ever seen, I wonder who will buy it at all !!!

    • Basil

      Buy one who, unlike, for example, from you, understands why it is needed!

      • anonym

        the fool who bought the A7R will buy it
        for that kind of money you can choose a much better technique for yourself !!!
        you probably work in sony)

  • Basil

    Dudes, you really fucked up !! Why is the stock of negativity in the direction of this lovely little thing. I explain on the fingers for the most advanced. Mirrorless mirrors are needed for photographing on manual optics with short segments (for example, from old rangefinders), because it is impossible to use them normally on the mirror in principle (because of the working segment). Now I have a mirrorless mirror from Sony and I want to use a Sonia lens FROM THE MIRROR. And I want to use it with autofocus !! What to do? Buy another camera ?? This is exactly the task that the adapter from this article solves. Unfortunately it was not possible to poyuzat it, but in any case, the idea is great !! If necessary, I’ll definitely buy this adapter for my croaked Sony Nex F3, because I’m going to take Carl Zeiss Planar 85 1.4 for Sony WITH AUTO FOCUS. And in order to use it on a Nex with AUTO FOCUS, I just need such an adapter. If anyone doesn’t know, Arl Zeiss Planar 85 1.4 Toko for Sony DSLRs comes with autofocus, and for Canon and Nikon they make Toko with manual focus. So take it clearly !!!

    • Amateur

      So why is it necessary!
      And people, fools, think that mirrorless have a short length due to the small matrix.
      But it turns out mirrorless made especially for fans of the old rangefinder optics!
      I just didn’t understand: the soap dishes have a shorter segment, what is this for?
      Got it! This is so that you can take off the door peephole!
      :)

      • Alex

        People are really fools. Often they think it is incomprehensible by what and it is not clear on what basis, without even bothering to delve into the essence of the issue.

      • anonym

        Little matrices?
        Yes the same as DSLR in the same class

    • anonym

      Only the question is, why take full-frame expensive glass from Zeiss on a cropped budget Nex F3 mirrorless camera, and even an adapter is not cheap? For the money that this adapter costs, you can buy a Sony DSLR a 580 or a 57 and shoot without an adapter ... I don't see the logic.

  • Victor

    But isn’t it cheaper to buy a Sonya DSLR under its own glass, unless of course not requiring a minimum of space in the place of this adapter? You can generally buy a used cheap.
    And I think one more thing: since the adapter is powered by a camera, it would be necessary to buy a pen for a bat.

  • Vasil

    Privit usim! Hto pidskazhe yak perekh_dnik pratsyuє on Sony NEX VG900 z SAL2470z. Chi with video entry є can we change the value of diaphragm?

  • Alexander

    Thank you very much for your review! I recently changed Canon 5D Mark3 to Sony A7s, I thought about the Metabons adapter for EF glasses, but according to reviews, all Canon lenses terribly slow even through this top-end adapter. Now I’ll definitely take the Sony LA-EA4 adapter and Sony A-mount glasses.

    • Ivan

      Sony does not officially release an adapter to the Canon system.
      But Minolta optics can be found inexpensively and in excellent quality. Moreover - there is an adapter with screwdriver support !!!
      In a word, Sony is serious ...

  • Ivan

    Arkady, I have a question for you. Can this adapter be fitted with the battery handle installed?

    • Andrei

      The adapter, with the battery handle installed, is installed without problems.

  • anonym

    Full frame mirrorless cameras are the future.

  • Andrei

    Bought 1.5 years ago. Used daily. Suitable for photographers and those who use autofocus. Fragile. Requires careful handling.
    The build quality is poor. Plastic. Not worth the money at all. Inconvenient. Looks ugly. In addition, if the camera hangs on the shoulder strap, this miracle rests against the side. There is a very large backlash, I had to stick pieces of electrical tape between the camera mount and the adapter so that it doesn't wobble. The ring for attaching to the camera is made of aluminum and the hole where the retainer is inserted has loosened over time by the retainer itself and it is precisely because of this backlash. Now the lens loses its connection with the carcass all the time. I doubt that with the modern precision of production at the plant they can mess up with the bayonet so much ... I suspect that Sony's marketers allowed this backlash on purpose so that in a couple of years people would buy new adapters. + I hit the camera a couple of times, and now the adapter is constantly buggy. The inside is transparent plastic, which should not be touched. Do not clean it with a cleaning pencil. I tried to clean it with lint-free eclipse napkins, stains remain. Autofocus through the adapter works lousy, does not bring it to the ideal and you have to tighten it by hand. Fortunately, I shoot video, so I never needed autofocus. There are manual analogues of this crap. It is a pity that I did not figure it out earlier and spent money on this misunderstanding.

    • Ivan

      what kind of manual analogues were meant?

      • Edward

        Sony before plastic a7s and a7m2 on the mirrorless had plastic mounts were plastic
        (those are plastic + foil)
        metal mount can be ordered to replace this horror
        - issue price 600r
        it is quite possible to put it on your own - enough skills in working with a screwdriver

        this should fix the backlash

  • anonym

    Sony has excellent native glasses. And do not fence the garden. And if someone does not have enough money, buy yourself a soap box and be happy.

  • anonym

    Good afternoon, do not tell me, but because of what or how to fix it? During the movie shooting mode with autofocus on the LA-EA4 with the A7R camera, you cannot select any of the modes (A, S, M), the P mode is immediately turned on and it is not possible to adjust the aperture or shutter speed, everything is simple in the machine.

    • Artem

      To adjust everything, you’ll have to turn off autofocus. Such a moronic adapter.

  • Artem

    The main disadvantage of this adapter is the mirror that does not rise in manual focus mode.
    The mirror is quite dark, and any prime lens in low light turns into a cheap whale lens. This is the main disadvantage of this adapter. In a dimly lit room, he is forced to use a conventional adapter.
    And the adapter does not like the cold, autofocus starts to fail, it spontaneously turns off and the focus squares on the screen disappear.

  • Slone

    DSLR lovers scolded Sonya in every possible way))): “crutches; lego from sony; The “creative” approach of marketers ”. Autofocus, and even like a DSLR - it's great, of course, but let's look from the other side. So, I'm an amateur and I don't have the opportunity to pay more than 200 thousand rubles for a basic full-frame kit, but once, at a sale, I buy a Sony A7R carcass for only 63 thousand. What kind of DSLR will I buy for this money? Well, maybe Nikon D600 with a mileage of 50 thousand, to which, whatever one may say, and half a toast at least have to buy, but, as they say, a pig in a poke. For Sony A7R, I buy adapters for a penny for a start in China for Canon AF, Nikon, M42, M39 and for a year calmly, slowly, I go through all my and not my stock of Soviet optics, optics of all my friends Nikonists and Canonists and see what I want to continue. I like this philosophy when I can stick ABSOLUTELY any glass on my carcass. If you need autofocus, take off a party or a birthday party - set the native zoom or Sony LA-EA4 and Minolt high-aperture zoom. Bulky and ugly? But tomorrow I will sort it all out, wind up the M39 and half a meter from the rangefinder, put it in a small purse and go for a walk in the park in the evening. Or a very compact version is obtained with a Canon 40mm 2.8, also literally fits into a purse. I need an interesting portrait - I'm putting on Zenitar M 1.7, which I really liked during my sleep, or I'll take it from my friend Helios-40, which is under Nikon. I'll get richer, maybe I'll buy ZEISS Batis, or maybe not. In general, for an amateur Sony 7 series, even the first wave is a very good option if you are philosophical about life.
    And I forgot to say that I have been on mirrorless cameras for a long time and I start to get very blunt when I shoot with some other Canon 6D. I'm starting to sorely miss histograms and other information in the viewfinder and after each frame I start to look at the screen to see “how it happened”. This is especially dumb when you are not "17" and already have some + in your eyesight. In a mirrorless camera, I can shoot without looking up from the viewfinder.

    • Oleg

      all the same, there is very little good Soviet rangefinder optics. And while you buy all the adapters, here's the price of Kenon 6d. And you can put a zenitar on it and a 40mm pancake and Nikon lenses to drive the d-series in manual mode. Only the size is bigger than Sony and there are no histograms in the viewfinder. Plus, Sony has expensive native optics. Still, I would like to see the Kenon full-frame mirrorless in the future. But for now, Kenon and Nikon keep the full frame like the bride’s virginity. Prices from crop to full frame such as punches in the heavy boxing division

      • Slone

        Canon 6D is an excellent device, but even with 24-105 not L, it will cost 25 thousand rubles more than a seven with a whale, and weigh almost 2 (!) Times more. For an amateur, 25-30 thousand already matter. Dragging a pound and a half all day on a trip is a serious burden. And if you throw a long zoom, half a toss, batteries into your bag, it can turn into torture by the end of the day. Sonya the seventh with a whale will weigh 800 grams. And even if you hang a LAEA4, plus a high-aperture 28-75mm with an A-mount, the weight will be less than a 6D with a whale by 400 grams, and in terms of speed and functionality, the dormouse can bypass a somewhat castrated 6D. Although again, I repeat - a matter of taste, perception of the world and personal philosophy. For example, I was offered an exchange of 7R for 6D and I agreed. Hunted 6D for a week and when the owner of 6D backed down, I was incredibly happy to return the 7R back. Perhaps the owner of the 6D was also happy, but as far as I know, he sold it and is now using a simple seven (makes a video).

  • VLAD

    So 1 - front back focus, which is not always corrected by micro-autofocus correction
    2 - obesity of dots, because of this, full-length photographs are extremely difficult to make

  • Victor

    I need an adapter or adapter for the lens of a minolt to a Canon camera….

    • Sergos

      pennies on ali

  • Vlad

    Thanks Arkady, in one paragraph you described the difference between these 4 adapters which I could not figure out in any way!

  • Alexander

    Is there a set of adapters for Arkady ??? Do I need Sony A 77 ll / A mount / to go back to E mount?

    • Edward

      it is a bad idea
      mk due to the fact that the focal distance of a DSLR is greater than that of a mirrorless - it will turn out that lenses for mount e - will focus only at a very short distance - they work only as macro lenses

      there are adapters with a lens - but they significantly degrade the image quality

      due to these reasons, such adapters are not produced by practices - at least - by brands, because there is no point in them

  • Alexander

    Indeed, the E mount has the most different lenses !!! And the mount is such that all adapters are sold for it.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Manual lenses, or what? On FE, the least of all are lenses.

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