Digilux 3, foreign lenses and FUNC1

[Smallcreep]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Can someone help me with the following instruction from the Digilux 3 guide:

 

When you use a lens with no aperture

ring, press [FUNC.1] and then rotate the

command dial to set the aperture.

 

I thought this might help me to obtain an aperture priority effect when using my recently acquired Olympus OM lens, but no such luck. Can someone please explain what this feature is for and how it works?

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[audidudi]

Can someone please explain what this feature is for and how it works?

It's for using 4/3 lenses that don't have an aperture ring on them. The OM series lenses are completely manual and while they can be used on the L1/D3 in stopdown mode, there's no way the camera body can control the aperture function because there's no electrical connections in the 4/3-OM lens adapter and no motors inside the OM lenses...

[MJLogan]

To use Aperture Priority with OM lenses, just set the shutter speed dial to A, and shoot away. You'll have to set the aperture on the lens ring, of course, but the D3 will adjust shutter speed accordingly.

 

Function 1 is for setting aperture on 4/3 system lenses from other manufacturers, as those lenses lack aperture rings.

[miami91]

And if you install firmware update 2.0, you can use the arrow keys and/or the dial directly to adjust aperture, without the need to press Func1.

 

Jeff.

[Smallcreep]

there's no way the camera body can control the aperture function because there's no electrical connections in the 4/3-OM lens adapter and no motors inside the OM lenses...

 

I appreciate that, so perhaps I ought to rephrase my question. Given that the display shows F0.0 all the time. I am wondering how accurate the metering is, and how reliable the automatically selected exposure is. In other words, do I simply ignore the reported aperture?

[MJLogan]

I find that I'm frequently setting the exposure compensation slightly down from normal with my OM lenses, but nothing major, and only when I have the lens more or less wide open. The camera has no way of knowing the f-stop on the lens, but it is smart enough to know how much light is coming through to the sensor.

[dist]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

....I am wondering how accurate the metering is, and how reliable the automatically selected exposure is. In other words, do I simply ignore the reported aperture?

I'm afraid you'll have to (ignore), seeing as there's no communication about the selected aperture between the camera and the lens. The body has no way of knowing. Simple as that. About the reliability of metering, you should be able to judge from a couple of trial shots, right? My guess is that it works fine.

[Smallcreep]

Thanks to everyone who replied for taking the trouble to do so. My question was prompted by what seemed to be inconsistencies in the way the D3 was responding to the lens, but I didn't want to start hares running before asking others. By and large the metering appears fairly accurate, except in low light conditions. As you say, the answer is to get out there and take pictures ...