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Aperture mode with M and R lenses?


scott kirkpatrick

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When I have used R lenses on the M and M or R lenses on my Olympus cameras, I usually set the aperture that I need on the lens, set A mode on the camera and shoot away.  But on page 241 of the SL instruction manual it says "Only the exposure control methods T and M are available."  

 

Huh?  Reading the reviews, it sounds as if shooting in aperture mode remains a standard way of using these lenses.  Is the manual in error or am I missing something?

 

scott 

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When I have used R lenses on the M and M or R lenses on my Olympus cameras, I usually set the aperture that I need on the lens, set A mode on the camera and shoot away.  But on page 241 of the SL instruction manual it says "Only the exposure control methods T and M are available."  

 

Huh?  Reading the reviews, it sounds as if shooting in aperture mode remains a standard way of using these lenses.  Is the manual in error or am I missing something?

 

scott 

Hi Scott

It's rubbish (the manual, not the camera) - you have A and M mode with M and R lenses - T mode is not available

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When I have used R lenses on the M and M or R lenses on my Olympus cameras, I usually set the aperture that I need on the lens, set A mode on the camera and shoot away.  But on page 241 of the SL instruction manual it says "Only the exposure control methods T and M are available."  

 

Huh?  Reading the reviews, it sounds as if shooting in aperture mode remains a standard way of using these lenses.  Is the manual in error or am I missing something?

 

scott 

 

It's a typo, that's all.  B)

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It's a typo, that's all.  B)

I think it is probably a conceptual error.  After all, only P mode fails to work.  Anyway, like the bumblebee that doesn't know it cannot fly, the SL doesn't know that A mode fails.  Oh, right. T mode is kinda hard to implement without a lens controlled by the camera.  And Key lock is really mind-bending.  ON means off, and OFF means ON...

 

scott

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I think it is probably a conceptual error.  After all, only P mode fails to work.  Anyway, like the bumblebee that doesn't know it cannot fly, the SL doesn't know that A mode fails.  Oh, right. T mode is kinda hard to implement without a lens controlled by the camera.  And Key lock is really mind-bending.  ON means off, and OFF means ON...

 

 

Um, the SL only allows you to choose A and M exposure modes when you fit anything other than a dedicated, L mount lens (SL or T). It's just a typo in the manual. 

 

You're reading the manual as if it is dogma, scott. It's not. It's just a description of the controls and options, as fallible as any storybook might be.  :rolleyes:

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I think it is probably a conceptual error.  After all, only P mode fails to work.  Anyway, like the bumblebee that doesn't know it cannot fly, the SL doesn't know that A mode fails.  Oh, right. T mode is kinda hard to implement without a lens controlled by the camera.  And Key lock is really mind-bending.  ON means off, and OFF means ON...

 

scott

 

 

But which keys?

Rhetorical question - I'll RTFM - eventually.

 

Key Lock is a mechanism designed to prevent you from interrupting or unintentionally damaging a video recording by locking out the shutter release and control dials while video recording is happening. You turn it ON to lock out the still camera controls. When it is OFF, you can make a still frame exposure and adjust still capture settings while a video recording is in progress, causing the video recording to be split. 

 

That's my understanding from the few minutes I've spent experimenting with video so far.  B)

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Key Lock is a mechanism designed to prevent you from interrupting or unintentionally damaging a video recording by locking out the shutter release and control dials while video recording is happening. You turn it ON to lock out the still camera controls. When it is OFF, you can make a still frame exposure and adjust still capture settings while a video recording is in progress, causing the video recording to be split. 

 

That's my understanding from the few minutes I've spent experimenting with video so far.  B)

I've now just looked at the manual for the first time and, if one can believe it, you are not quite right. KeyLock disables the dials so you cannot change aperture, shutter speed or exposure compensation. It is also not just a video issue. 

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I've now just looked at the manual for the first time and, if one can believe it, you are not quite right. KeyLock disables the dials so you cannot change aperture, shutter speed or exposure compensation. It is also not just a video issue. 

 

Hmm. I just played with turning it on and off, checking operations. With Key Lock ON, the dials are locked in both still and video capture modes.

The shutter release is active if you're in still mode, but the video release is not.

Flip to video mode, and the video release is active but the shutter release is not. 

 

More curious is exposure compensation. I have it assigned to the FN button and exposure bracketing to the LV button.

With the camera in still mode and Key Lock enabled, exposure compensation and exposure bracketing are both accessible via the soft buttons I've assigned them.

Flip to video mode, the FN button enables the default gray card white balance function, but the LV button stays assigned to exposure bracketing. 

 

So yes: it's not just a video issue, but the behavior is a bit more complex than just "lock the controls". The FN change when in video capture mode is surprising because exposure comp is still available from the Favorites menu. I'd call that a bug.. or at least unexpected behavior. 

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Aperture priority works just fine with R lenses. I am using it with my 80-200 quite happily.

 

The SL manual seems to be full of interesting insights.

 

Gordon

I am not convinced it does work properly. I have put the same lens on my SL and set 80-200/4-R on lens profiles in Setup. I then set up auto ISO to 1/(2xfocal length) minimum speed and max ISO 6400. If you then watch how auto ISO is working, it only steps up the ISO when the shutter speed drops to 1/30, whereas I feel it should step up the ISO, when the shutter speed drops below 1/160. Obviously it cannot detect the zoom amount, so I would have thought it would work to the lowest focal length. I would try it with fixed ISO but we have the painters in doing the stairs and stairwell and I cannot get upstairs to my SL at the moment. I am wondering if this aspect does not therefore work with an R lens, aperture priority and auto ISO, as the manual implies it doesn't. Aperture priority and auto ISO does work as expected, with an M lens fitted. 

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So yes: it's not just a video issue, but the behavior is a bit more complex than just "lock the controls". The FN change when in video capture mode is surprising because exposure comp is still available from the Favorites menu. I'd call that a bug.. or at least unexpected behavior. 

Microsoft staff were not allowed to use the B** word, so they used to call them "Featurettes" . I think therefore that this is definitely an SL Featurette.  :p

 

Wilson

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KeyLock at first sounded reasonably clever -- still photography without accidental disturbances from the video button, video without any interruptions from the shutter button, both accessible through a mode change (the LV button) without digging into the menus.  Albeit it ties up three buttons that can't now be reprogrammed for anything else.  On the Ms and on my Olympus gear, I am photo-centric -- just turn video OFF and use the video button for something more useful, but OK. Locking the controls sounds like overdoing things, and the side effects reported above do seem like BUGs!

 

Wilson, maybe the curious AutoISO behavior is a side effect of the fact that your lens in the lens table is reported to have zero focal length. 

 

scott

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KeyLock at first sounded reasonably clever -- still photography without accidental disturbances from the video button, video without any interruptions from the shutter button, both accessible through a mode change (the LV button) without digging into the menus.  Albeit it ties up three buttons that can't now be reprogrammed for anything else.  On the Ms and on my Olympus gear, I am photo-centric -- just turn video OFF and use the video button for something more useful, but OK. Locking the controls sounds like overdoing things, and the side effects reported above do seem like BUGs!

 

Wilson, maybe the curious AutoISO behavior is a side effect of the fact that your lens in the lens table is reported to have zero focal length. 

 

Mode Lock does what you want ... It locks out the video button when not in video mode, and locks out the shutter release when you are in video mode. Key Lock is a larger lock ... it's essentially enforcing "Everything is set up, don't change it!" and just giving you access to the shutter and video releases in their respective modes. 

 

For an adapted zoom lens, since the camera is unable to determine the current focal length setting, I'd set an explicit shutter speed I was comfortable with for AutoISO. This is one of the reasons I haven't bothered with adapted zoom lenses ... too many things to stay aware of and have to fiddle. 

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 I haven't bothered with adapted zoom lenses ... too many things to stay aware of and have to fiddle. 

 

The really awesome R zoom lenses today cost about as much as the SL zooms, both present and promised.  I wouldn't think adapted zooms are going to be a common source of complaints.

 

scott

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