Help! Canon glass on a Sony alpha?

[KeithVH]

To all you Sony a6000 fans out there. Anyone have any experience with using an adapter to Canon EF lenses on this body? On the proverbial dilemma horns here whether to get a new Canon DSLR body or start migrating to mirrorless.

Problem is, good Sony lenses seem disproportionately expensive ($300 for a 50/1.8?). Replacing all my lenses is not in the cards right now. Especially for a decent wide zoom.

My big concern is what I lose by using an adapter besides AF.

 

[fractal]

To all you Sony a6000 fans out there. Anyone have any experience with using an adapter to Canon EF lenses on this body? On the proverbial dilemma horns here whether to get a new Canon DSLR body or start migrating to mirrorless.

Problem is, good Sony lenses seem disproportionately expensive ($300 for a 50/1.8?). Replacing all my lenses is not in the cards right now. Especially for a decent wide zoom.

My big concern is what I lose by using an adapter besides AF.

Good news and bad news. Good news is Metabones makes a Canon EF to Sony E-mount adaptor which allows electronic communication between lens and camera. More good news; when used with the new Sony A6300 it also provides PD AF. Also works with the A7ii, A7Sii and A7rii.

Bad news - no AF with the A6000 and the adaptor runs about $400.

Some of the older Canon lenses have been spotty. I would read some of the reviews here...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1158850-REG/metabones_mb_ef_e_bt4_canon_ef_to_e_mount.html

 

[fractal]

If you are set on the A6000, there are much cheaper "dummy" adaptors. You would have to manually focus however. I do the same with my NEX-7 and a few Minolta and Olympus lenses utilizing focus peaking. For wide lenses it's much easier.

There are also other AF adaptors for Canon to E-mount (NEX and A6000) but they tend to be slower and reviews have been spotty.

http://www.amazon.com/Auto-focus-Mount-Adapter-EF-NEX-Exposure/dp/B00F87A7W6

 

[KeithVH]

Yeah, I was definitely conflicted after realizing I'd having to shell out for the 6300 and the more expensive Metabones. While money isn't the main factor, it is a consideration relative to my perception of value gauged against a DSLR.

But what I have now found more frustrating is how small the body really is. Stopped on the way home from work and my stubby little fingers don't work very well with the compact nature of the alphas.

I feel like I'm back at square one. But I greatly appreciate the input. One of these days I'm gonna hafta just make a decision.

 

[thomas998]

Yeah, I was definitely conflicted after realizing I'd having to shell out for the 6300 and the more expensive Metabones. While money isn't the main factor, it is a consideration relative to my perception of value gauged against a DSLR.

But what I have now found more frustrating is how small the body really is. Stopped on the way home from work and my stubby little fingers don't work very well with the compact nature of the alphas.

I feel like I'm back at square one. But I greatly appreciate the input. One of these days I'm gonna hafta just make a decision.

Well your other option is to just life with two camera systems no need to assume you have to give one up. I have decided that for the most part I will do two systems... The mirrorless Sony is fine when I want something small and it allows me to use a bunch of old rangefinder lenses and other orphan lenses from my closet... but I still haven't given up my Nikon system and am unlikely to ever do it for several reasons... As you point out the Sony mirrorless camera is too small... it doesn't feel right if I'm using long telephoto lenses and feels even more awkward if I put a decent flash on it, and for whatever reason Sony hasn't perfect the flash system so I really can't depend on it... If I were you I would probably just update your canon camera and keep using the Sony as more of a backup.