GerryER Loc: Virginia USA

I've searched this topic but still don't get the general idea. I have an Olympus Pen and would like to try some older manual lenses on it and realize I need to get the appropriate adapters to mount the lens. Now, if I put the camera in Manual mode and set the lens aperture and manual focus, do I have to set the aperture in the camera to that of the lens. ISO in auto?? Shutter speed?? Or, should I be using Shutter Priority?? I'm confused as to how the camera interacts with a manual lens. Thanks for any help.
Gerry

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Hey Gerry, I just came back from another 5-hours of shooting with manual focus Canon FD lenses on a Sony mirrorless a7II. What the camera will do is simply meter the light hitting the sensor. I was shooting insects in a slight wind, so I set the camera in shutter priority and AUTO ISO. I set the aperture manually on the lens and just focused and fired away. On the Sony, probably the Olympus, you tell the camera the focal length of the lens to 'tune' the in-body stabilization support.

When I'm not so concerned about freezing motion, I shoot in Aperture priority. This causes the camera to try to hold the ISO to ISO-100 (or the camera's base ISO) while still in AUTO ISO. Then, the shutterspeed is adjusted for the light hitting the sensor.

If you capture in RAW, look at 'upping' the sharpening setting assuming your camera has a 'focus peaking' that shows a color in the EVF for the plane of focus. The sharpening doesn't impact the RAW file, but it does make the 'shimmer' of color in the EVF more pronounced for the focus peaking. And finally, be sure to use the 10x in the EVF so you can very precisely focus the lens.

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

I use extension tubes for years and I see no noticeable loss of IQ. I also use a Sony A7II. Images are wonderful!

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

First ... AAAAHHHH!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P427Zr3gUV4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzn6yKTVcfs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVlDZZ8DOx0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQoMOgtvqT0

I do this all the time. Old Nikon manual lenses- some with ears!- on my digital Nikons.
I kinda cheat. Notta lotta landscapes, these days mostly snaps of relatives doing something.
Manual mode, auto iso, aperture priority based on lens. Auto iso sets the shutter for me.
Aim, focus, shoot = picture. I like manual focus so I can move the DOF back and forth.

zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

I think that is the key concept to keep in mind. I usually shoot aperture priority on my Sony A7 III, and usually do when I use vintage manual lenses as well. Rather than setting aperture in camera, I set it on the aperture ring on the lens. The camera does the rest (except for focusing). If you want to set ISO manually you can do that as well.

So the important thing to keep in mind is that you have to set the aperture manually by using the aperture ring on the lens, regardless of camera settings. The camera then measures the light and adjusts exposure and ISO, based on your preferences.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I shoot sometimes with old K-Mount and M42-Mount lenses on a digital Pentax - but not very often {I had a good reason for going AF twenty-five years ago}. I shoot with K-Mount lenses exactly as I would with ’modern’ lenses {except I can’t AF with manual focus ones}; I shoot manual-everything or aperture-priority {manual ISO} with M42-Mount ones.

GerryER Loc: Virginia USA

Thank you for the inputs. Coming from a film background, I am quite familiar with the "triangle." My question related to how to set the camera up when using a manual lens which chg_canon came closest to answering; thank you.

To SteveG, what do extension tubes do, and how do they help with a manual lens on a digital camera?

I basically get the manual mode operation, but the aperture portion in both manual and aperture priority confuses me, as the camera is usually telling the lens what to stop down to. So, if I am setting the aperture manually on the lens, should I be telling the camera what I am stopped to? Maybe I am making this more complicated than it is. I assumed (ass-u-me) that when using the camera with a digital lens, the camera tells the lens what aperture to go to and the lens tells the camera that it is there (closed-loop feedback system), but apparently it is open-loop and the camera just assumes it is there once it tells the lens the proper stop (?).
To HarryO, thank you for the video links; been there done that.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You don't need to 'tell' the camera anything about the aperture. In fact, set the camera option (assumed available on your camera type) to release the shutter with no lens attached. The 'key' idea is that the camera meters the light hitting the sensor. The camera doesn't know whether the light is coming through a lens or no lens at all.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

An interesting concept .....? !
.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

You should not think of ‘film’ and ‘digital’ lenses. I have used both Canon and Pentax ‘film’ lenses with digital cameras. You need to think of how a particular lens mount actually is used. For example, with Pentax lenses, for KA-Mount, the body sets the lens to a particular aperture setting using a mechanical link and the lens gives an in-exact mechanical setting that reflects actual setting, but my digital camera actually measures light coming through the lens to determine shutter speed; with the modern KAF4-mount, everything is done by digital signal. With Canon’s EF- Mount, everything has been digital signals for over thirty years. But don’t worry about how it works - worry first about how to use it.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

I have a manual lens that I use with my PENF. A manual lens is easy to use. You can set the camera either to A or M. If you use in M mode your camera will act like a old match needle system - just turn the aperture ring until until the light meter indicator in the view finder is in the middle. Adjust the aperture a bit for exposure compensation if necessary. If you are in A mode select an appropriate aperture and shoot. Of course you will need to manually focus. Make sure to set up focus peaking.


You will need to go to Menu K (on PenF and many others) to enter the lens information manually. It is important that the camera knows the focal length for IBIS to work correctly. Details are on page 129 of the PenF manual.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I use my Zeiss lenses from the 60s on my digitals and have no issues.
--Bob

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I too love the Sony Focus Peaking, it makes all my old manual lenses wonderful toys, and many of them take great shots!!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

For me, the days of soft focus film shots had reached their end, too expensive for that level of failure. I sold off the old cameras and decided to give MILC a shot before selling off the lenses too. My eyes are still fine when I can 'see' what I'm doing, which hasn't been in the optical view finder of legacy film cameras in years, if ever.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I have both Sony and Olympus, and the procedure for using the Olympus is exactly the same as using a Sony. I love manual focus lenses with both.