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How to pre-set aperture on a detached e-mount lens?

Susurs

Susurs

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 18, 2010
1,611
11,066
Hi!

I was wondering if the only possible way to set and maintain a specific aperture value when a lens (SEL50F18) is detached from Sony e-mount body is to detach the lens while camera is ON? I red somewhere that the last pin on the mount supply’s power to lens, so there cannot be issues (except dust) - is it so?

P.S. Another question - can anyone share the experience with a Sony lens (probably SEL50F18) reversed + extension tubes for macro photography?

Thanks!
upload_2017-7-10_14-0-52.png
:)
 
Last edited:
There are manual lenses for Sony e-mount,Samyang manufacture some really good ones,with mechanical aperture setting on lens,all you need to do,is to set the camera to A mode.
 
Thanks! ;) For now, however, I have 2 lenses which set aperture automatically.
 
I do understand this, thanks, ;) but it is not an option at the moment. The question is how to correctly do it with the automatic lens.
 
Susurs said:
I do understand this, thanks, ;) but it is not an option at the moment. The question is how to correctly do it with the automatic lens.
Click to expand...
Set camera to "A" mode,set aperture with camera settings,and leave the camera in A mode. On modern automatic lenses for e-mount,there are no aperture settings on the lens itself,the settings is always done from the camera. With a manual lens,it's always done with the aperture ring on lens.
 
I would go buy a Canon FD50mm f1.4 (or 1.8 as it is cheaper) and a cheap adapter off ebay.... then it is manual where you need it. Also a Canon 50mm f3.5 macro lens is a cracker. I paid £50 for mine.
 
Susurs said:
Hi!

I was wondering if the only possible way to set and maintain a specific aperture value when a lens (SEL50F18) is detached from Sony e-mount body is to detach the lens while camera is ON? I red somewhere that the last pin on the mount supply’s power to lens, so there cannot be issues (except dust) - is it so?
Click to expand...

Lenses stay at rest with the aperture wide open, only stopping down to the required value while the camera takes the image so detaching the lens with power on, irrespective of the mode in which the aperture is being set on the camera.

The only specific lenses I'm aware of where you can do this would be F-mount Nikon pre-G (so with a manual Aperture ring) and then only if you manually hold the mechanical coupling lever so simulating what the body would be doing while taking an image).

In general I wouldn't recommend attaching/detaching lenses with body power on, it may never cause an issue but live pins can always find a way of being shorted and it <may> then cause an issue that will be expensive to fix.

Just my $0.02
 
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E-mount lens powers down with aperture closed.
 
Susurs said:
E-mount lens powers down with aperture closed.
Click to expand...

Then likely it powers down fully closed, not at the setting selected - have you verified that? Worth checking even if it does appear to stay at a mid-setting, that it truly stays there irrespective of lens handling.
 
Setting aperture to a desired value and then removing lens while the camera is ON works fine for me.
 
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