[Capslock118]

Reading the sticky in this forum about manual lenses I found that by using shake reduction the camera can record the focal length of your shot for a manual lens.

The only outstanding item on my list is the aperture. With the manual lenses, the camera doesn't know what the aperture is set to.

What do folks do?
Do you adjust the EXIF data and if so how do you do so?
Do you not make this a big deal and just forget about it?

Just curious really, I might be too lazy to really do anything about it unless there was something quick on camera I could do.

[Marc Sabatella]

I don't bother. There's no way to set anything in the camera;you have to do it in PP. For my shots in low light, I know they're wide open, and that will be as obvious to me in a year as in an hour. For shots not in low light, I'm unlikely to remember the aperture even after an hour.

[Ira]

Reading the sticky in this forum about manual lenses I found that by using shake reduction the camera can record the focal length of your shot for a manual lens.

The only outstanding item on my list is the aperture. With the manual lenses, the camera doesn't know what the aperture is set to.

What do folks do?
Do you adjust the EXIF data and if so how do you do so?
Do you not make this a big deal and just forget about it?

Just curious really, I might be too lazy to really do anything about it unless there was something quick on camera I could do.

This bugs me to no end too, and the only thing I can think of is to have little cards in your pocket with the main stops written on them, and you rough shoot them after you do the shot. Then rename the file so you'll know. This would only be necessary in the beginning to learn the sweet spot of your lenses,.

But if you're anything like me, with manual, you're going to shoot a few anyway, so you might as well just bracket a little.

It's great to have that information, but the question is, I guess, how is that information gonna help you in the future, so it really worth the trouble?

[Capslock118]

I agree that it seems like a hassle so I am not going to bother.

the question is, I guess, how is that information gonna help you in the future, so it really worth the trouble?

Well it really comes down to this not having much to do cameras per se. It's more of a desire to have full and complete information, regardless of if I use it or not. The field is there to hold the data, so it ought to be filled; like mp3 tags.

But I also do not have a desire to make a note for every picture just for the aperture setting.

[Ira]

I agree that it seems like a hassle so I am not going to bother.



Well it really comes down to this not having much to do cameras per se. It's more of a desire to have full and complete information, regardless of if I use it or not. The field is there to hold the data, so it ought to be filled; like mp3 tags.

But I also do not have a desire to make a note for every picture just for the aperture setting.

Depending on the lens, you're always going to have your starting point aperture. For example, with "regular" shots on my Tak 50 1.4, my "sweet spot" is F8, and I use that as a starting point for most walk-around shooting. So, if I then take another shot at 5.6, then 4, I'm going to know the aperture via the EXIF data because of the corresponding change in shutter speed, which IS listed there.

So, there actually ARE ways to kind of "retain" this information based on shooting habits you develop, customized for what works best for you.

[JeffJS]

You know your shutter speed, ISO, and LV from the meter reading. There's probably a way to calculate it.

I simply don't worry about it though. I look at the picture and know, Wide open aperture, Stopped down aperture.

[Canada_Rockies]

Reading the sticky in this forum about manual lenses I found that by using shake reduction the camera can record the focal length of your shot for a manual lens.

Actually, what is recorded is what you selected when the SR menu popped up, not what the focal length is really. In my case, the M 400 registers as 400, 550 (with 1.4x) and 700 (with 1.7x) because those are the nearest settings available. They don't register correctly when I am in a great hurry, and add the 1.4x but don't take the time to change the setting for example. Sometimes the shot is what is needed, not the accuracy.

The only outstanding item on my list is the aperture. With the manual lenses, the camera doesn't know what the aperture is set to.

What do folks do?
Do you adjust the EXIF data and if so how do you do so?
Do you not make this a big deal and just forget about it?

Not a big deal. I don't sweat this. In testing situations only, will I record the stops on my handy little notebook in my pocket, just as we used to do with film cameras.

Just curious really, I might be too lazy to really do anything about it unless there was something quick on camera I could do.

[ashurbanipal]

I prefer to have the aperture in the Exif data for manual lenses; the difficult part for me is remembering what aperture I've used. I have certain usage habits for each of my lenses, which makes it easier for me to determine which aperture was used when I download the pics. My normal process already includes altering the metadata (adding geotags, captions, keywords, etc) so it's not that much of an additional burden to add the aperture. I use ExifTool to add the aperture (and some other information). I have an ExifTool folder on my computer desktop which contains icons for the data I most often add; this makes it a simple drag-and-drop operation to add the aperture info to Exif. I can go into more detail if this is something you'd be interested in.

I will admit that I mostly do this because I'm a bit persnickety about having complete information in the Exif. However, it does come in handy in certain situations--for example if I want to compare F2 shots to F2.8 shots. If you already know how your lenses perform I imagine you'd be unlikely to find this useful, but since I'm a relative newbie at this I find it helpful.

[Lowell Goudge]

while not having the aperture is a potential issue for some, It does not bother me.

I would like it, and I do record it for some specific shots, but usually I know the two main points, wide open or stopped down a little.

For preset M42 lenses it is easier, you set aperture and then stop down with the preset ring, always to the same spot. so you only need to make note of when you change it. Usually you wet it once for the lighting conditions and then never again