Hey guys,
As some of you may probably know, I belong or belonged to the Canon group. My permanent companion: my faithful Canon 5D Mark III. However, as I told you in my last article, I’ve extended my camera family a bit. Among my newest treasures is a Sony Alpha 7II R. I just wanted a smaller and lighter alternative to the compact Canon which, however, can still keep up in terms of image quality. To me the Sony was an easy and a very satisfying choice so far. To use my favorite lenses (above all the SIGMA 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art and the SIGMA 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM | Art) I gathered some information about the MC-11 converter and got it for a test. Now I’ve posted some thoughts and pictures taken with it for you.
The MC-11 mount converter makes it possible to use interchangeable lenses with a SIGMA SA-mount and a SIGMA EF-mount on cameras with a Sony E-mount. A little light on the side of the converter helps you to see whether a certain lens can or cannot be used. The MC-11 enables users of Sony E-mount cameras to use a total of 22 different interchangeable SIGMA lenses.
I think the converter is very handy, relatively compact and light and it appears to be a high-quality product. The autofocus works well while the speed and the preciseness strongly depend on the lighting conditions. In the bright daylight it works very fast and precisely. When you decrease light, the performance of the autofocus deteriorates as well. In darker lighting conditions the focus may not work at all and several attempts may be required to focus clearly on a particular spot.
Basically I’m very impressed by the image performance. In terms of sharpness I see little difference to the images I took with my Canon camera. From a technical viewpoint an MC-11 converter has an intermediate ring that balances the differences of the various flange focal lengths and “translates” the electronic communication. There are no additional integrated lenses, so there are almost no modifications in terms of image quality. From image sharpness to chromatic aberration or vignetting we can stick to the data of our lenses.
One advantage of the adapter is that it is permanently upgraded. You can update it manually any time with the Optimization Pro software. You just need to connect the converter with your PC or Mac with the USB connection that comes with the package. The software checks automatically whether a firmware update is available and will give you useful information details.
After some tests under different conditions I can say that this converter surprised me in a positive way. The image quality is great, it is light and easy to use. The only thing I’m hoping for is an improved focus for higher ISO values. In general the MC-11 is a great addition to my camera bag! For all those of you who use a Sony camera but would still like to use their Sigma lenses, I can definitely recommend this particular converter.
