On the SL3, Is there a "shoot without lens" setting?

[HansLee]

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Hello!

I am new to the forum and with the SL3.  I using it to shoot with manual lenses - Voigtlander M lenses, vintage LTM and adapted old lenses such as the Minolta Rocker 24mm.  I've been using the Leica M-L mount adapter and everything works fine, the camera can detect the lens and I can manually set the  focal length.  I am using the rayqual LTM (m39) to L mount adapter and same thing and for the minolta sr lens I am using a rayqual adapter as well.

I just got an old M42 lens and used the Novoflex M42 to L-mount adapter and in this case the camera doesn't detect the lens.  The viewfinder and screen is completely black and the shooting mode indicator has the "-" instead of an "A", "M", "S" or "P" mode. I am assuming it doesn't know a lens is attached.  So when I went into the camera settings - I cannot find any setting remotely close to "shoot without lens" mode that I have found in my previous cameras.

I am confused as to why the Rayqual adapters somehow tells the camera there is a lens attached as both don't have any electrical contacts. And the Novoflex adapter doesn't tell the camera there is a lens attached.  I searched the manual and could not find a setting to tell the camera there is a lens attached.  I've gone to the focal length setting and manually set it but that did nothing.

I am a bit lost.  what am I missing?  would love some help here.  Thanks in advance!

Hanslee

[Archiver]

This is a funny one, because the Panasonic mirrorless cameras have a Shoot Without Lens setting. But as far as I can tell, the SL2/S doesn't, and from the sounds of it, the SL3 doesn't either. I use adapters including M to L, Contax/Yashica to L, Minolta MD to L, and Pentax K to L, without problems on my SL2-S. But what made a difference on my Panasonic S5 was not quite clicking the adapter into place. There is just enough play that the lens lock wasn't engaging properly, so the camera only displayed a black image. Give the adapter a firm twist to lock it and see if this helps.

[HansLee]

Thanks for sharing the tip, I tried it and alas it didn't work. I am a bit lost on this as well.  The adapter fits like a glove with no play.

[Biotar]

A black screen indicates that the adapter is not seated correctly (the locking pin does not come out completely), or it may be short-circuiting the contacts - insulate the adapter at this point with tape.

Edited June 24 by Biotar

[HansLee]

Thanks Biotar for the suggestion.  I've checked the mounting and its seated properly, the fit is actually really solid, so much so that taping it makes the fit too tight and I don't want tape debris winding up on the sensor.  Seems like a manufacturing or design problem with the adapter - don't know if this is across all their adapters or just the one I have.  Probably going to return the Novoflex - am waiting to hear back from their tech support.

[S Maclean]

I have a polar pro cheap effect lens to create light leaks.  It is fixed length, focus and aperture and it does not register on camera as a lens.  The instructions say you have to set the camera to "shoot without lens" but it works with the SL3 without me changing any setting.  Not sure if this helps in any way.

[HansLee]

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Thanks S Maclean, it's actually helpful to know that the adapter itself somehow mechnically triggers the camera that lens has been attached without changing any settings.  My other adapters from Rayqual does this, I just wasn't sure if that was normal/standard.  Having another point of data helps.  I am going to return the adapter and and purchase the Rayqual - I didn't even hear back from their tech support.  I was surprised that the Novoflex, marketing itself as a premium product, didn't work at something simple.

[Archiver]

18 hours ago, HansLee said:

Thanks S Maclean, it's actually helpful to know that the adapter itself somehow mechnically triggers the camera that lens has been attached without changing any settings.  My other adapters from Rayqual does this, I just wasn't sure if that was normal/standard.  Having another point of data helps.  I am going to return the adapter and and purchase the Rayqual - I didn't even hear back from their tech support.  I was surprised that the Novoflex, marketing itself as a premium product, didn't work at something simple.

Even my inexpensive Urth adapters work on L mount cameras, apart from the need to firmly twist the adapter at one instance. Since then, they have worked fine, which makes the Novoflex incident surprising.

[HansLee]

Yes, I was surprised as well.  I gave it a good twist and no effect.  I returned the Novoflex and just got the Rayqual model today and it worked like a charm straight out of the box.  I tried looking at the L-mount spec to see what the spec said about manual (no electrical contact) lenses, and found out that you don't get to look at the spec unless you are part of the L-Mount alliance. I did compare the back of the mounts from my other adapters and I couldn't see a difference in the mount flanges. 

[BernardC]

On 6/27/2025 at 4:52 PM, HansLee said:

I tried looking at the L-mount spec to see what the spec said about manual (no electrical contact) lenses, and found out that you don't get to look at the spec unless you are part of the L-Mount alliance.

I'm not sure what you expect to find-out about non-electronic lenses in the "L-mount spec." Different brands can choose to have a "shoot without lens" setting in their menu. Apparently some Lumix bodies have this, but Leica doesn't bother (they allow you to shoot even when no lens is detected).

The adapter that you returned was out-of tolerance, and probably shorted some of the contacts. That's very unusual. People here have been using Novoflex adapters on L Mount for a decade with few reported issues. I'm sure that a replacement Novoflex adapter would have worked.

[wjdrijfhout]

I have experienced something similar with a Novoflex EF-L adapter. When mounting an EF lens, all was fine, but when mounting a ‘dumb’ lens (a ittelescope in my case), the adapter would not work. The trick to solve this, was to cover the connections on the Novoflex adapter, with a tiny piece of cellotape. This made it a ‘dumb’ adapter, and those work fine on the SL cameras. SL works with no lens attached or with dumb adapters with no problem and without the need to change a menu setting.