The lens mount of the Sony NEX camera system is called E-mount. The E stands for Eighteen, as the flange focal distance of the Sony NEX camera series is exactly eighteen millimeters. Most interchangeable lens systems use a longer flange focal distance and therefore you can adapt nearly every available lens to the E-mount of the Sony NEX camera system.
In this case I used the NEX/LEM adapter from Novoflex to adapt an Voigtländer Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm/5.6 to a Sony A7 (ILCE-7). As this camera incorporates a full frame sensor this setup equals to a focal length of 12mm.
You must be aware that this combination only allows manual control. But the Sony A7 (ILCE-7) camera assists in the use of manual lenses if the camera is proper configured:
- Make sure you enable the shooting without a lens: Menu → Custom Settings (gear icon) → 3 → Release w/o Lens → Enable
- Set the Focus Magnification Time using Menu → Custom Settings (gear icon) → 1 → Focus Magnif. Time → No Limit
You can choose between No Limit — 2 Sec — 5 Sec. - Set the Peaking Level using Menu → Custom Settings (gear icon) → 2 → Peaking Level → Mid
You can choose between Low — Mid — High. - Set the Peaking Level using Menu → Custom Settings (gear icon) → 2 → Peaking Color → Yellow
You can choose between Yellow — Red — White.
Switch your camera to A- Mode (aperture priority) and use the Focus Magnifier function to get a perfectly sharp picture even when shooting a fast lens wide open. The default configuration of the camera assigns the Focus Magnifier function to button C1 (Custom Button 1). You can reassign the function using Menu → Custom Settings (gear icon) → 6 → Custom Key Settings.