[JohnnyXD]

Hi,

A quick and (probably) stupid question. Is there any way to know the exposure with a manual lens without using the Live view?

I am new with the camera and I thought the photometer was built in on the camera....

Thanks

[dme]

Yes. See Using KM, KA and M42 lenses on Pentax (and Samsung)DSLR's for an in-depth discussion of how it works in theory and practice.

[Adam]

Hi,

A quick and (probably) stupid question. Is there any way to know the exposure with a manual lens without using the Live view?

I am new with the camera and I thought the photometer was built in on the camera....

Thanks

Instructions & video guide found here:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-lens-articles/110657-how-use-meter...k-x-k-7-a.html

[Not a Number]

Specific instructions for the K-30 are found here
Using Older Lenses on PENTAX K-30 | Ricoh Imaging Support

[Aux]

Exposure data is shown in viewfinder.

[JohnnyXD]

I checked it. If you press the green button, it calculates the exposure and changes the shutter speed accordingly. (depends on the aperture, but the camera doesn't know with a manual lens)

But is there any way that it will tell me only the exposure without changing the sutter speed??

[arkav]

I checked it. If you press the green button, it calculates the exposure and changes the shutter speed accordingly. (depends on the aperture, but the camera doesn't know with a manual lens)

But is there any way that it will tell me only the exposure without changing the sutter speed??

JohnnyXD,

As you can see, many people are quick to point you to what they think is the answer to your question, but I wonder if they're actually reading it. I believe that they are incorrect.

I recently purchased the K30, and as far as I can tell, you can't get an exposure reading with an old manual lens. You can get an "exposure setting", by pressing the green button, but as you point out, that is not what you're after. My old K200D gives exposure readings when you do DOF preview ( via the third position on the on/off switch ). You can program the K30 to give DOF preview via the Raw/Fx button, but the meter is inactive when you activate DOF preview.

As far as meter readings go when using Live View, I don't see where you can get a meter reading. You can activate DOF preview while in Live View to stop down your manual lens, but I don't see any indication of how you would get a meter reading. Maybe I haven't configured my K30 correctly, or maybe I'm missing something. I haven't updated the FW from v1.0, so if some of this has been addressed in a FW update, I'd be glad to hear about it.

Cheers, R

[JohnnyXD]

I can't find any option to know the exposure. I need to do it "manually". I would press the green button on the clearest point in the picture and then increase the shutter speed some diaphragms. But seems a bit too random!

And I personally don't like live view.

[Dlanor Sekao]

I believe the answer to your question is NO. Im new at this camera too , so here goes. Using the green button in M mode it stops the lens down and reads the light hitting the sensor. It CANNOT tell what A value is set , so it ONLY gives an approximate Shutter speed . . Now what Im referring to is for Manual "Non-A" lenses. I wish there was a way to input the Aperature value , but there is not for lenses without an A setting on the lens. With A series or newer , no problem.....its right in the viewfinder. I could be wrong , but trying to nut this out for myself too ! Im just going to buy a light meter and be done with it.

[JohnnyXD]

I believe the answer to your question is NO. Im new at this camera too , so here goes. Using the green button in M mode it stops the lens down and reads the light hitting the sensor. It CANNOT tell what A value is set , so it ONLY gives an approximate Shutter speed . . Now what Im referring to is for Manual "Non-A" lenses. I wish there was a way to input the Aperature value , but there is not for lenses without an A setting on the lens. With A series or newer , no problem.....its right in the viewfinder. I could be wrong , but trying to nut this out for myself too ! Im just going to buy a light meter and be done with it.

What I don't understand is why it doesn't give you an approximate exposure value with the lens wide open! You can always calculate mentally if you open or close the diaphragm the adjustment you need to do with the shutter speed

[Dlanor Sekao]

What I don't understand is why it doesn't give you an approximate exposure value with the lens wide open! You can always calculate mentally if you open or close the diaphragm the adjustment you need to do with the shutter speed

It CANT ! It doesn't know what lens your using ! Without a link to know the A value its imposible. It doent know if wide open is a f1.2 or a f3.5. There is NO direct info through the contacts to the camera meter. Only A series lenses are fully compatible in Av , M , or Tv modes. The M42 , K , and M model lenses aren't fully compatible. Uasble...Yes. But the camera wont give you an Aperature and shutter value. Your limited to M mode or Av mode with an exposure time based on the lense stopped down. I know its confusing to me too ! here is an example... Im in M mode and I set my lens to f/11... if I use the green button to stop down and do a meter value and the camera says 1/125 sec , that gives me a starting point. Now I mentally know that my lens stopped down to the set value of f/11 on the lens. Hence...My lens says f11 and the meter stopped down reads 125sec.....Now that makes sense to me , but its not all in the camera on the old lenses.....there isn't full compatability.

[arkav]

It CANT ! It doesn't know what lens your using ! Without a link to know the A value its imposible. It doent know if wide open is a f1.2 or a f3.5. There is NO direct info through the contacts to the camera meter. Only A series lenses are fully compatible in Av , M , or Tv modes. The M42 , K , and M model lenses aren't fully compatible. Uasble...Yes. But the camera wont give you an Aperature and shutter value. Your limited to M mode or Av mode with an exposure time based on the lense stopped down. I know its confusing to me too ! here is an example... Im in M mode and I set my lens to f/11... if I use the green button to stop down and do a meter value and the camera says 1/125 sec , that gives me a starting point. Now I mentally know that my lens stopped down to the set value of f/11 on the lens. Hence...My lens says f11 and the meter stopped down reads 125sec.....Now that makes sense to me , but its not all in the camera on the old lenses.....there isn't full compatability.

I think that when JohnnyXD says he wants a "exposure value", he means he just wants an "over/under" indication - like what a light meter gives you. When you do DOF preview, the camera stops the lens down, the same way as it does when you push the green button. If it can compute and set an appropriate shutter speed when you push the green button, then it can also display an over/under exposure reading based on the current shutter speed, and by how many stops when you do DOF preview.

Want proof? My old K200D ( also a mid-range Pentax DSLR ) does it just fine, and if you have the camera set to spot metering, you can trigger DOF preview and pan around your scene and see, for example, that the white flower over there is 2 stops over, the shadow over there is 1.5 stops under, and the gray card at my feet is at "0". AFAIK, the K7 does this, and probably the K5 as well.

Turning off the meter during DOF preview ( and during live view ) was a bit of a prickish thing to do IMHO. Had I known there was no way to meter with a manual lens, I would have had second thoughts about purchasing this camera. Since all previous cameras supported this, I just assumed this one would as well.

Cheers, Rick

[Dlanor Sekao]

Since Im new to this camera too , Im still quickly learning. In Av mode if using live view and spot metering , it will give a shutter reading based on the area metered. Yes.....I understand what you are saying now. Yes.....that was a rotten thing to do if other models had it before. It seems you can only do several selected areas using the green button repeatedly in spot metering to see the corresponding shutter speed changes and calculate to a degree from that.
I keep trying to work around all this and so far my only solution is to buy a light meter and use that aside from anything IN camera that ISNT there !