Canon lenses may not autofocus with the Sony A7r3 and the Sigma MC-11 adapter.

I didn’t set out to do a review of this gear, so I apologize for the webcam and built in mic. If this is useful and people want more, maybe I’ll put more effort into the next one. But for now, this is just a quick bit of advice for those looking to use their Canon autofocus lenses on a Sony A7r3 with a Sigma MC-11 adapter.

This is merely MY experience. Yours may differ. I’m just offering my experience so you can add it to the rest of your research and so you don’t make the same mistake I did.

Backstory: We’re upgrading from the Canon 6D. After tons of research, we settled on either the Sony A7r3 or the Canon 5D Mk4 and decided to rent the Sony and try it out.

We were going to use the Metabones adapter for our Canon lenses but were talked out of it by a technician who swore by the new Sigma MC-11. So, that’s what we went with. And, long story short, it sucked. Less than half of our images were useable and less than half of those were truly sharp (regardless of which Canon lens we used).

Because the resolution of the LCD is so high, I relied on it to check my focus. It was when I looked at the images on the computer that I realized how soft they were.

Without getting into the details of our limited testing, (we tried different ISO settings, aperature settings, shutter speeds and focusing methods and we even reset the camera to it’s default), the camera couldn’t consistently produce a sharp image.

Now, it was focusing very quickly, which was great, and I could see the focus point as it locked on to an eye or face… and that was great, too. I felt confident that these were going to be some great images. But as I said, I only reviewed them on the LCD. We didn’t have the option to view them on a computer at the time. And I regret that.

We reviewed the images and it was tough to find where the actual focus was. Usually, you can tell if an image is front or back focused. These? I couldn’t tell.

So, what happened?

Story: Well, the rental company told me that I was misinformed and they do NOT recommend using this combo with Canon lenses. Sigma adapter and Sigma lenses? Great. Sigma adapter and Canon lenses? Not at all. In fact, there's an indicator LED on the side of the adapter that lights solid green when a compatible, fully updated lens is attached, flashing green when the lens needs an update, orange when the adapter needs an update, and no light when an incompatible lens is attached. That light stays off when any Canon brand lens is attached.

I can’t speak for the accuracy of focus on any other combination than the Sony A7r3, the Sigma MC-11 adapter and Canon EF lenses. I have no idea how the Metabones adapter (or any other adapter) would fare on the A7r3 or even the A7r4, but if you want to send the gear over for me to test it out, I’m happy to do so. I’ll even make a useful video out of it instead of just a webcam clip with me yapping. Someone’s going to have to send me a Sony A7r3 or A7r4 also, because we don’t have one. We purchased the Mark 4 instead.

Hey Metabones? Sony? Do you think your combination will work? Prove it to me and I WILL use your gear. Believe me, I want it. I want that huge resolution. I want Pixel Shift. And I like the size. Send me your stuff, I’ll test it out and if it works as you say it does (in other words, if it does it’s job), I’ll convert.

That’s it.
Trust the A7r3 Sigma combination if you want. Some people may have success. But I don’t recommend it. And neither does Sony, Sigma or Canon (of course). In my experience it was a complete and utter failure. So, do your research and take this as just one more bit of advice.

Good Luck.
www.holtwebb.photography

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