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Shots with M42 adaptor all black!

Mike Feldman

By Mike Feldman,
in Legacy Lenses

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Mike Feldman

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I'm trying to use a Fotodiox M42 to NEX adaptor with my Sony a7Sii.

I'm using an Asahi Super-Takumar 1:1.4 / 50mm lens from my (Honeywell!) Pentax Spotmatic.

I've watched a few a7Sii videos covering manual lenses and gone through all the menus.

I get very nice monitor images with peaking for focus assist and zebra for exposure assist.

 

I've got SteadyShot Adjust set to Manual and the Focal length set to 50.

 

But when I shoot an image (in M mode), the result is all black!

 

Hitting the C3 button gives the message "!LENS The lens is not attached correctly or is not supported".

I imagine that's to be expected with a manual lens.  Also, I'm not surprised that the f-stop shows as "F--".

 

But I'm at a loss to figure out how to get an image that's other than all-black.

 

-- Mike

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Arutemu Apprentice

Arutemu

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There is a function in the menu that enables firing the shutter without lens attached. Manual legacy glass is (from the camera body's perspective) essentially "no lens attached", as the connection is purely mechanical without electronic communication. Make sure that function is enabled in your menu. That may be the reason.

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Mike Feldman

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My problem is that I do not know what that function is named, so I have yet to discover it.

 

I did discover that I do get (more or less) proper exposures with my legacy ("dead glass") lens shooting in AUTO mode and in A mode.

 

So perhaps the shots that are all black in M mode were just seriously under exposed?

I'm still learning how to read the detailed information stored in the image, but the all black images were blinking in playback mode,

whereas only the overexposed parts blink in otherwise normal exposures.

 

-- Mike

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Arutemu Apprentice

Arutemu

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Attached is a shot of the back of my A7R II with that function selected. I cannot imagine that it would be vastly different in A7S II.

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Mike Feldman Rookie

Mike Feldman

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Thanks for the detailed setting.  I did indeed have "Release w/o Lens" enabled, so that wasn't my problem.

 

As I said, I got decent exposures shooting in AUTO and Aperture Priority modes.  So I've just got to figure out what Manual setting was preventing any non-black pixels.

 

 

-- Mike

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My problem is that I do not know what that function is named, so I have yet to discover it.

 

I did discover that I do get (more or less) proper exposures with my legacy ("dead glass") lens shooting in AUTO mode and in A mode.

 

So perhaps the shots that are all black in M mode were just seriously under exposed?

I'm still learning how to read the detailed information stored in the image, but the all black images were blinking in playback mode,

whereas only the overexposed parts blink in otherwise normal exposures.

 

-- Mike

   

Sounds like blown-away bald white frames. 

Turn of the highlight blinkies and see what 

happens [or just view the frames on a PC]. 

  

Maybe you are forgetting to stop down or

maybe releasing the shutter while no lens 

is on the body. 

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