Use of aperture ring settings

**psoo** · 10-08-2015, 09:18 AM

I recently purchased a K50 camera body which I will use mainly with my 18-135 mm Pentax lens. When I tried to use a Pentax 100 mm f/4 lens to take some macro shots I found the shutter would not operate. Then I remembered that on my Kx I had to go to the aperture ring option and "enable" it, which fixed the problem. On my Kx I left it permanently "enabled" and had no problems using a variety of older Pentax and other lenses. Can anyone tell me under what situations I should disable the aperture ring setting? Does the "enabling" in any way limit the versatility of my 18-135 mm lens?

Last edited by psoo; 10-09-2015 at 02:38 PM.

vonBaloney · 10-08-2015, 09:24 AM

Originally posted by P. Soo

I recently purchased a K50 camera body which I will use mainly with my 18-135 mm Pentax lens. When I tried to use a Pentax 100 mm f/4 lens to take some macro shots I found the shutter would not operate. Then I remembered that on my Kx I had to go to the aperture ring option and "enable" it, which fixed the problem. On my Kx I left it permanently "enabled" and had no problems using a variety of older Pentax and other lenses. Can anyone tell me under what situations I should I disable the aperture ring setting? Does the "enabling" in any way limit the versatility of my 18-135 mm lens?

No, just leave it on forever. It's sole purpose seems to be to get newbies to set their aperture rings to 'A' on lenses that have them. Keeps you from taking wide-open shots accidentally if your aperture ring gets moved...

bertwert · 10-08-2015, 10:07 AM

I just leave it on forever.
It doesn't affect anything!
Actually what vonBaloney said.

**psoo** · 10-08-2015, 02:18 PM

Thanks to both of you. I'll leave the aperture ring "enabled".

mohb · 10-08-2015, 02:28 PM

Originally posted by vonBaloney

It's sole purpose seems to be to get newbies to set their aperture rings to 'A' on lenses that have them. Keeps you from taking wide-open shots accidentally if your aperture ring gets moved...

Is there any reason why 'enabled' shouldn't be the default or even build the cameras so they are always enabled?

vonBaloney · 10-08-2015, 03:07 PM

Originally posted by mohb

Is there any reason why 'enabled' shouldn't be the default or even build the cameras so they are always enabled?

Again, I think it is just to avoid unpleasant surprises from someone that wouldn't even imagine that a non-automatic aperture exists. So it doesn't let you shoot at all unless you put the ring on 'A' or enable it to use the ring manually (which only works in "M"ode on the camera). If you don't have any manual non-A lenses, there is no reason to enable it...

**Lowell Goudge** · 10-08-2015, 10:10 PM

Originally posted by vonBaloney

No, just leave it on forever. It's sole purpose seems to be to get newbies to set their aperture rings to 'A' on lenses that have them. Keeps you from taking wide-open shots accidentally if your aperture ring gets moved...

Never thought of it this way before, but I have a lot of AF lenses which still have an option to shoot manual aperture. In fact, except for my FA-J 18-35, and the DA 18-55 and 50-200 kit lenses I picked up, every other AF lens I have has an aperture ring. They do get moved from time to time by accident when mounting lenses, and for people who expect the computer to think for them, maybe it's a good thing.

Me, it is permenantly set to use aperture ring, for my ~50 legacy lenses

stevebrot · 10-09-2015, 09:47 AM

Originally posted by mohb

Is there any reason why 'enabled' shouldn't be the default or even build the cameras so they are always enabled?

This is the eternal question!!

There is some logic to why it is set up the way it is. A user with non-A glass is made immediate aware that things are different.

Steve

**psoo** · 10-09-2015, 10:52 AM

Originally posted by stevebrot

This is the eternal question!!

There is some logic to why it is set up the way it is. A user with non-A glass is made immediate aware that things are different.

Steve

That's true Steve. But some people will get so frustrated that they will put away the non-A lens assuming it is unusable, unless they consult the experts in the Forum.

stevebrot · 10-10-2015, 08:25 AM

Originally posted by P. Soo

That's true Steve. But some people will get so frustrated that they will put away the non-A lens assuming it is unusable, unless they consult the experts in the Forum.

Or unless they consult their user manual.

I know, the user manual is a little terse and the information not easy to find, but it is there. After all, the "experts" on the forum learned it from somewhere. Fortunately, they are kind enough to patiently walk hundreds of users per year through the intricacies of working the stop-down metering system resulting in many happy Pentax users.

FWIW, to address your original question, the "Aperture Enabled" custom setting with "off" as the default has been a feature of Pentax SLRs since at least the *ist film camera in 2003. The default setting is puzzling to those of us who use non-A aperture ring lenses, but not so puzzling to those who own A-series and FA-series lenses with the "A" setting and who also use them on cameras that support the aperture ring for Av or manual modes (most K-mount Pentax film cameras). In that case the aperture ring is frequently off the "A" position when the user is expecting it to be "on".* Before the *ist, crippled mount ZM/MZ series cameras behaved badly when paired with a non-A situation with little feedback to the user. Much wasted film and spoiled photos were the outcomes. Having "Aperture Enabled" as a setting with fail-over being "no exposure" was much preferable. I agree that removing the setting option and having the camera default to F--- is probably a reasonable alternative in the present environment.

Steve

* I sometimes flex my FA lenses onto my '80s vintage film cameras and have been bit by this use case.

10-08-2015, 09:18 AM	#1
psoo Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 485	Use of aperture ring settings I recently purchased a K50 camera body which I will use mainly with my 18-135 mm Pentax lens. When I tried to use a Pentax 100 mm f/4 lens to take some macro shots I found the shutter would not operate. Then I remembered that on my Kx I had to go to the aperture ring option and "enable" it, which fixed the problem. On my Kx I left it permanently "enabled" and had no problems using a variety of older Pentax and other lenses. Can anyone tell me under what situations I should disable the aperture ring setting? Does the "enabling" in any way limit the versatility of my 18-135 mm lens? Last edited by psoo; 10-09-2015 at 02:38 PM.

10-10-2015, 08:25 AM	#10
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by P. Soo That's true Steve. But some people will get so frustrated that they will put away the non-A lens assuming it is unusable, unless they consult the experts in the Forum. Or unless they consult their user manual. I know, the user manual is a little terse and the information not easy to find, but it is there. After all, the "experts" on the forum learned it from somewhere. Fortunately, they are kind enough to patiently walk hundreds of users per year through the intricacies of working the stop-down metering system resulting in many happy Pentax users. FWIW, to address your original question, the "Aperture Enabled" custom setting with "off" as the default has been a feature of Pentax SLRs since at least the ist film camera in 2003. The default setting is puzzling to those of us who use non-A aperture ring lenses, but not so puzzling to those who own A-series and FA-series lenses with the "A" setting and who also use them on cameras that support the aperture ring for Av or manual modes (most K-mount Pentax film cameras). In that case the aperture ring is frequently off the "A" position when the user is expecting it to be "on". Before the ist, crippled mount ZM/MZ series cameras behaved badly when paired with a non-A situation with little feedback to the user. Much wasted film and spoiled photos were the outcomes. Having "Aperture Enabled" as a setting with fail-over being "no exposure" was much preferable. I agree that removing the setting option and having the camera default to F--- is probably a reasonable alternative in the present environment. Steve I sometimes flex my FA lenses onto my '80s vintage film cameras and have been bit by this use case. Last edited by stevebrot; 10-10-2015 at 08:42 AM.

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10-08-2015, 09:24 AM	#2
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Originally posted by P. Soo I recently purchased a K50 camera body which I will use mainly with my 18-135 mm Pentax lens. When I tried to use a Pentax 100 mm f/4 lens to take some macro shots I found the shutter would not operate. Then I remembered that on my Kx I had to go to the aperture ring option and "enable" it, which fixed the problem. On my Kx I left it permanently "enabled" and had no problems using a variety of older Pentax and other lenses. Can anyone tell me under what situations I should I disable the aperture ring setting? Does the "enabling" in any way limit the versatility of my 18-135 mm lens? No, just leave it on forever. It's sole purpose seems to be to get newbies to set their aperture rings to 'A' on lenses that have them. Keeps you from taking wide-open shots accidentally if your aperture ring gets moved...

10-08-2015, 10:07 AM	#3
bertwert Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Golden, BC Posts: 15,172	I just leave it on forever. It doesn't affect anything! Actually what vonBaloney said.

10-08-2015, 02:18 PM	#4
psoo Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 485 Original Poster	Thanks to both of you. I'll leave the aperture ring "enabled".

10-08-2015, 02:28 PM	#5
mohb Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,912	Originally posted by vonBaloney It's sole purpose seems to be to get newbies to set their aperture rings to 'A' on lenses that have them. Keeps you from taking wide-open shots accidentally if your aperture ring gets moved... Is there any reason why 'enabled' shouldn't be the default or even build the cameras so they are always enabled?

10-08-2015, 03:07 PM	#6
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Originally posted by mohb Is there any reason why 'enabled' shouldn't be the default or even build the cameras so they are always enabled? Again, I think it is just to avoid unpleasant surprises from someone that wouldn't even imagine that a non-automatic aperture exists. So it doesn't let you shoot at all unless you put the ring on 'A' or enable it to use the ring manually (which only works in "M"ode on the camera). If you don't have any manual non-A lenses, there is no reason to enable it...

10-08-2015, 10:10 PM	#7
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,891	Originally posted by vonBaloney No, just leave it on forever. It's sole purpose seems to be to get newbies to set their aperture rings to 'A' on lenses that have them. Keeps you from taking wide-open shots accidentally if your aperture ring gets moved... Never thought of it this way before, but I have a lot of AF lenses which still have an option to shoot manual aperture. In fact, except for my FA-J 18-35, and the DA 18-55 and 50-200 kit lenses I picked up, every other AF lens I have has an aperture ring. They do get moved from time to time by accident when mounting lenses, and for people who expect the computer to think for them, maybe it's a good thing. Me, it is permenantly set to use aperture ring, for my ~50 legacy lenses

10-09-2015, 09:47 AM	#8
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by mohb Is there any reason why 'enabled' shouldn't be the default or even build the cameras so they are always enabled? This is the eternal question!! There is some logic to why it is set up the way it is. A user with non-A glass is made immediate aware that things are different. Steve

10-09-2015, 10:52 AM	#9
psoo Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 485 Original Poster	Originally posted by stevebrot This is the eternal question!! There is some logic to why it is set up the way it is. A user with non-A glass is made immediate aware that things are different. Steve That's true Steve. But some people will get so frustrated that they will put away the non-A lens assuming it is unusable, unless they consult the experts in the Forum.