I have an Sony A7C (Full Frame Sensor). I saw a video about 7Artisans 60mm Macro Lens and bought it for digitizing negatives.
I hadn’t realized, that this is an APS-C lens!
Now I am not sure what to do: Should I keep the 7Artisans lens and digitize my negatives in crop mode? Or should I send it back and get a Full Frame lens (or an old lens with an adapter)?
Will it be OK to “scan” my negatives in crop mode? Or does this have disadvantages?
How much better will the quality be if I get a Full Frame lens?
I wouldn’t care, if I only had an APS-C camera. But now that I have a Full Frame camera, it feels kind of bad to not use it to its full capacity because of a bad lens choice
I have recently taken lots of analog pictures (might want to print one or another), plus I want to digitize tons of old negatives from my parents.
I want decent quality for that. Especially I don’t want to start with a compromise only to be unhappy with the outcome and have to start all over
Your A7C is a 24 Mpixel full frame camera, crop it to APS-C and you’ll get roughly 10 Mpixel shots.
Depending on how large the image circle of your lens actually is - and depending on the format of your negatives, you might get a higher yield, but then again, maybe not. Stitching can get you more pixels if you really need them, but also more work and headaches, e.g. if the lens has visible distortions.
If you consider buying a new lens, I’d have a look at this page, search the forum for posts about the lenses used - and start saving money.
If you have older lenses and close-up rings and adapters, they might be worth a try, but I’d not spend any fair amount of money for things that might turn out to not work as expected.
I agree, get a full frame lens to take every available advantage of your full frame 24 Mpixel sensor. Avoid all the adapter stuff that’s going to add complexity and probably reduce image quality compared to a modern lens. The lens you choose will depend on your budget, an excellent source of macro lens reviews is:
I got the Sigma 105mm f2.8 that is excellent and just as good, as Sony’s 90mm macro f2.8, at less $. Ultimately you have to decide what works for you and how serious you are about results.
It’s not even close, with your camera body, you want to use all 24 MPx.
I concur with the reco above for the Sigma Macro ART. I have the 70mm and it’s tops, along with the 55 f/2.8 Micro Nikkor AI.
Finally, I tested the $140 60mm 7Artisans lens (version 1, with the protruding snout). It was OK, but not up to the level of the above two lenses (CA and low res in APS corners). There’s now a version 2 of 7Artisans; will be interested to know if it’s better.
