[jhilla]

where can i find it in the settings?

do I have to apply these setting prior to attaching the lens?

thanks!

[monochrome]

There is an expression with initials RT*M. "Read the * Manual"

In your user manual, in the Index (probably indexed under Manual Lenses or Aperture Ring) you will find instructions to "Enable Aperture Ring" in the Setup Menu of your camera. There is a thread in the Beginner's Corner Q&A that describes how to use Pentax DSLR's with manual lenses.

F-- will always show with a manual lens. You will be asked to input the lens focal length when you power on with a manual lens attached when SR is enabled. You should always Power the camera Off before changing lenses.

[jhilla]

There is an expression with initials RT*M. "Read the * Manual"

In your user manual, in the Index (probably indexed under Manual Lenses or Aperture Ring) you will find instructions to "Enable Aperture Ring" in the Setup Menu of your camera. There is a thread in the Beginner's Corner Q&A that describes how to use Pentax DSLR's with manual lenses.

F-- will always show with a manual lens. You will be asked to input the lens focal length when you power on with a manual lens attached when SR is enabled. You should always Power the camera Off before changing lenses.

Thanks Monochrome, I got the lens to work earlier w/ the settings changed.

[Eve-Line]

I'm sure this has been covered many times before but I thought I'd take my own stab at it on my blog.
Cheers!

Hi Robert,
One quick glance at your blog and I figured out how to get my old manual lens to work with the K-x ). Thanks a lot. I will definitely come back later to read more in details !
Eve

[tmessenger]

The early P/K mount lenses will work the same if you remove the lever on the back side of the lens.

M42 screwmounts are actually more convenient & more accurate to meter with than the early P/K bayonets. Set your lens to the manual position. Put your camera in AV mode. As you select the aperture you want, the camera sets the shutter speed, visible in the viewfinder. You can lock in the exposure by hitting the exposure lock button, which will hold that locked in exposure through multiple shots as long as you keep your finger halfway depressed on the shutter button between shots. At least this is how it works with mt *ist DS. Perhaps some other forum member can chime in to confirm or deny the validity of this method on other models. The only downside is that you have to remain at that stopped down f stop to shoot. If your selected f stop is too dark to allow accurate focusing in some situations, you might want to focus before you meter. Unfortunately, this method can't be used with the manual K mounts, as the lens meters at the widest aperture setting, no matter which f stop you think you've chosen.

[Mobusaki]

(Sorry if there's a double post)

I've been trying to use my old k-mount manual lenses with my K10D and it hasn't been going well. Hopefully you guys can help me out.

I've followed all the steps. 'Using aperture ring' is set to permitted, 'Green button in TAv & M' is set to Tv shift (I've tried the default of program here as well), and the Preview Method is Optical Preview. I'm shooting in manual mode. although I've tried every other mode as well. I've also made sure to put it into manual focus.

Here's what's happening: I can take pictures, and the camera adjusts the shutter speed according to the available light, but -only- at the maximum aperture, so 2.8 when using my 28mm prime.

I get the F - - in the viewfinder and LCD display, that's normal. But when I move the aperture ring and hit the green button, it has no affect on the shutter speed. I can take a picture at an aperture of 2.8 or 22 and it comes out exactly the same, with exactly the same shutter speed!! I've looked through the lens and twisted the power switch to the aperture preview symbol, and I hear it move, but it is just closing down to the widest aperture, never down any lower than that. This applies to every old k-mount, manual focus lens I use.

My 28mm lens even has an auto-aperture position on the aperture ring. Using that position, F-- goes away and I can see an aperture designation in the viewfinder and LCD screen. However, it still only shoots at the max aperture, no matter what I do. I can set it to 2.8 with 1/30 shutter speed and 22 with 1/30 shutter speed and both pictures come out exactly the same.

Just now I decided to look at my kit lens and see if I can see the aperture drop down when I set it to ap 22 in manual and hit optical review or the green button. I cannot. I then took some test shots, one at shutter speed 1/30 and ap 5.6, another at 1/30 and ap 22. They both exposed exactly the same. What's wrong with my camera? Is it a hardware problem or a software problem?

History: I've had the camera for about a week. I can't say for certain if this part of the camera ever worked properly, but I am pretty sure I remember looking through the viewfinder, setting it to low ap, hitting the optical preview, and seeing the viewfinder darken and my depth of field increase. I also did this with my film camera this week, so I can't be certain if it ever worked at all on my K10D! I know, I'm terrible!

Further history: I got a lens stuck on the camera. A JCPenney 28mm AP lens with a back lens cover that says KR on it. I didn't notice that until after I had the lens on. It came with my K1000 and worked with it, so I assumed it would be safe to use on the K10D. After about 5-10 minutes of wiggling the lens, and using a very, very thin flathead to (very) gently try to lift the pin that was stuck (read some threads online about stuck lenses on K10D), it came off. However, it came loose when I was just wiggling it gently, not when I was using the flathead screwdriver. I was not applying a large amount of force, but certainly more than I felt comfortable using with a camera. I then removed the pin from the lens and it would go on and off of the K10D without issue.

The camera came with firmware 1.0. I updated to firmware 3.0 the other day, and noticed this aperture issue after that. The lens got stuck on the camera before I updated the firmware.

So the problem could be either from the firmware update, from the lens getting stuck, or it could have been there from the day I bought it. Here's a picture of how far the rod comes out when you hit the green button or optical preview without a lens attached. I'm sorry for the poor quality, but all I had available at the time was a point and shoot that didn't want to focus on anything but the grip.

Please help me fix this. I dearly hope it is not a physical problem with the camera! I can't imagine having to send it in for repair or replacement so soon.

[Marc Sabatella]

If you can't even get your kit lens to stop down, or the 28 in "A" position, then it seems likely the aperture control mechanism on the camera was damaged when you removed the stuck lens. However, without knowing more about your level of expertise in operating the camera, I can't completely rule out operator error here. You say you've got pictures taken with the kit lens at 1/30" at both f/5.6 and f/22 that came out looking the same - could you post those, with EXIF intact (to a different thread - in the DSLR forum - as this is way off topic here). I take it you did these in M mode, BTW - in Av mode, even a faulty aperture control mechanism would have changed the shutter speed with the kit lens.

[GoremanX]

A further note on M42 lenses;

Some of these lenses (non-Pentax brand) do not have a Manual/Auto switch for aperture control. They do have the mechanism in place for older M42 cameras to push the aperture pin when you take the picture, but that's obviously useless when using the lens on a modern camera.

Instead of a Manual/Auto switch, what these lenses usually have is a "Preview" button which closes the aperture to whatever you have the aperture ring set to. But it only does this as long as you keep the "Preview" button pressed. As soon as you let it go, the aperture springs back to wide open. So for metering, you have to hold down the lens' "Preview" button when you press the Green button on the camera to get an appropriate shutter speed. And to take the picture, you again have to be holding down this "Preview" button when you press the shutter button. It's frustrating and cumbersome, but it does work.

I've experimented with different ways to hold down the "Preview" button (elastic, zip tie, etc), but nothing seems to work reliably. Personally, I'd just avoid these specific types of lenses altogether. I far prefer the Manual/Auto switch on my Super Takumar 50mm f1.4. I always leave it in Manual.

edit: Here's a shot of one such lens. The Preview button is that pin sticking out the left side.

[dcmsox2004]

robert, thanks a million for your post.... your efforts are greatly appreciated !!! dave m

[yuwlyuwl]

Your blog is such a help. Thank you so much!

The only thing I had to do a little different from what you blog says, to make my Pentax-M 50mm 1:2 work with K-x is: I must change Using Aperture Ring first, otherwise SR is always OFF and there is no way to set Focus.
After Using Aperture Ring is changed to 2, SR came ON and I was also able to set Focus (also from Menu).

[wrkingclasshero]

Hey there, I tried everything listed on the blog, and for some reason when I put my camera into the optical preview mode the aperture stays wide open. I also followed the instructions on the Pentax support site (http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:gdDSCIdzaJUJ:support.pentaximaging.com/d...&ct=clnk&gl=us) and I still get no results with either the optical preview, or the green button. The lens that I am using is a "HANIMEX LENS 1:2.8 HMC f=28 mm 120120" that I procured from my k1000. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[GoremanX]

I think that's a manual aperture lens. You control the aperture with the aperture ring. The camera cannot change it for you. Essentially, what you see through the viewfinder is what the camera will see when you take a picture.

[wrkingclasshero]

I understand, however when I set the aperture ring to f16 there is no difference at all to being wide open, whether the optical preview, green button, or final picture (with the same shutter, iso, ect.) By the way, yes the lens is manual, I was just putting down the exact model in the off chance that there was a problem with that particular lens.

[Ira]

I understand, however when I set the aperture ring to f16 there is no difference at all to being wide open, whether the optical preview, green button, or final picture (with the same shutter, iso, ect.) By the way, yes the lens is manual, I was just putting down the exact model in the off chance that there was a problem with that particular lens.

The green button has nothing to do with it.

So this lens has no A/M switch, correct? Or a button?

Does it have another RING, like an aperture ring, with nothing marked on it? If so, you have to turn this to stop the lens down.

In addition, what happens when you take the lens off the body? Does the aperture open and close?

[GoremanX]

I understand, however when I set the aperture ring to f16 there is no difference at all to being wide open, whether the optical preview, green button, or final picture (with the same shutter, iso, ect.) By the way, yes the lens is manual, I was just putting down the exact model in the off chance that there was a problem with that particular lens.

As far as I can tell, that lens was available in an M42 mount, a K mount, an A mount, and maybe even others. Each one of those would behave differently and I have no idea which one you have.