Originally posted by WMBP smc Pentax-M 1:1.4 50mm lens.
Envy, envy - I have the f2 version that everyone looks down on. Apparently that f1.4 is niiiice.
Quote: When I turn the camera on, the LCD now shows me a Shake Reduction screen that I don't understand. It seems to be asking the focal length of the lens. I set it so that it says
<[40 50 55]>
which has to be right. It's a 50mm lens, after all.
That's all correct. And only relevant if you're going to turn SR on, but I assume you got the lens for low light, so you will.
Quote: I also went to Menu > Custom Setting > Using aperture ring, and set it to 2 ("Permitted"). The on-screen help says "Pictures can be taken even when aperture ring position is other than A." I do not understand this. I don't know what the aperture ring is, and I don't anywhere see an "A" setting. Nevertheless, this was originally on 1 ("Prohibited") and the camera didn't work with this new lens attached at all then. It worked when I changed this setting, so I assume that's the right thing to do.
Yes, you need it set to 2. The aperture ring is the narrow ring with all the little numbers on it. It's an "M" lens, so it has no "A" position. You set the aperture by turning the ring, rather than using the thumb wheel on the camera.
Quote: The camera does not appear to know what the f-stop value is. Is that just the way it is? Kind of a bummer. It doesn't appear to be possible with this lens attached to set the exposure automatically at all since the camera has no idea what the aperture is.
The lens doesn't have the necessary contacts to talk to the camera - that technology didn't exist when it was built. And no, none of the automatic functions will work. You have to set the camera to M (manual). Then you can either press the AE-L button, or use the DOF preview (the little lever on the shutter button). Pressing AE-L stops the lens down momentarily, allowing the camera to meter the incoming light, and it then sets the appropriate shutter speed. You may need to set a menu option: custom settings, AE-L button on M expsr, set to 2: Tv shift. Using DOF preview will show you over- or under-exposure in the lower right of the viewfinder (e.g. -1.5) and you can change the shutter speed or aperture until it's 0.0 (or something else if you're getting fancy).
Quote: And as far as I can tell, I use auto-focus while this lens is attached. The shutter simply won't depress at all.
I don't quite follow you here, but this is a manual lens, so you'll want to put the camera to MF and focus manually.
Quote: Manual focusing is difficult - I can't quite tell if the picture is in focus or not. And depth of field seems pretty shallow as you might expect at f/1.4, so focus becomes critical. I'm getting the impression this may be a lens useful only for special kinds of shots.
Practice, practice, practice. You might want to consider an eyepiece magnifier or a Katzeye screen, I have neither but have heard good things about both - do a search and I'm sure you'll find more info than you need.
Once you get used to the slightly clunky metering, these manual lenses are a joy to use, in my opinion. I love the nice firm manual focus, and having cut my teeth on a fully manual camera, I also enjoy the clicky aperture ring. Don't give up on it, you'll adjust and I hope enjoy the lens. If not, you can always send it to me!
Julie