Can I use through the lens metering

[rpcrowe]

I am trying to figure this one out. I have already searched Google and YouTube but have not found the specific answer.

The question is: Can I use through the lens metering with a lens that is not electronically connected to the camera?

Case in point: Using a bellows and an enlarging lens for high ratio macro photos. The lens has no communication with the camera but, the lens can stop down to the shooting aperture independently of the camera.

Usually, I would just use a meter and expose as per that reading. However using a bellows, I would lose a great amount of light - that loss would increase as the length of the bellows increases.

Sure, I could use the formula considering the focal length of the lens and the length between the lens and the focal plane and calculate the exposure. However, it would be a LOT EASIER if I could read the exposure through the lens.

I don't yet have the gear, so I can't experiment... I seem to remember that with a film SLR, I could put the camera in either AV or TV mode and get the exposure through the lens. However, that has been ages ago and I don't really remember how to do it...

[DanK]

Yes, but...

The metering per se does not depend on electrical connections to the lens. After all, through-the-lens metering was a standard feature of many old film cameras that had no electrical connections to the lens. However, the read-out depends on the camera knowing the aperture, so you will have to shut the aperture down by hand to get a correct reading.

[rpcrowe]

This is quite an interesting video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKZinv9QkmQ

[tao2]

Hi Richard,

Yes, ye can use TTL metering with a non-electronic coupled lens. Ah use M42 lenses most of the time on my DSLR. Just use Aperture Priority and yer camera will set the shutter speed as usual. It'll still show if yer over/under exposed. Ye can also use full manual control and see the metering settings and adjust manually. Ah understand ye may run into difficulties with bellows but ye can get an adapter which'll allow wide-open aperture focussing, and will then stop down tae shoot. Think the adapter's called a double release ring?

[rpcrowe]

Thank you both. I am investigating the use of the enlarging lenses. I wish that I did not give away the lenses that I had along with my Besseler enlarger. However, the lenses that I had were not top-line glass. I think that I will look into an El-Nikkor lens. They are pretty cheap used.

First, I will just get the lens and an adapter to the EOS mount (I don't want to mess with drilling a hole in a plastic body cap and using that as a mount for the lens). I will then experiment with the El-Nikkor on my extension tubes. If things go well, I will then get a bellows.

I wonder what the difference between using a reverse adapter for a standard DSLR lens and using an enlarger lens might be? The nice thing about the enlarger lens is that I can manually adjust the f.stop. I have seen rigs made from lens caps that allow manual adjustments of standard DSLR lenses but, I am not sure I want to go that route. Possibly, I could find an older lens with totally manual f/stop or a pre-set f/stop system...

[Black Pearl]

I use stop-down metering on my Fuji almost every day, I have to as my Samyang 12mm which is a Fuji X mount lens is a stop down design but also the older manual lenses I fit via adapters work in that way too. This is one area where mirrorless has an advantage as the LCD/EVF can be set to compensate so it always displays a nice bright image.

[tao2]

Thank you both. I am investigating the use of the enlarging lenses. I wish that I did not give away the lenses that I had along with my Besseler enlarger. However, the lenses that I had were not top-line glass. I think that I will look into an El-Nikkor lens. They are pretty cheap used.

First, I will just get the lens and an adapter to the EOS mount (I don't want to mess with drilling a hole in a plastic body cap and using that as a mount for the lens). I will then experiment with the El-Nikkor on my extension tubes. If things go well, I will then get a bellows.

I wonder what the difference between using a reverse adapter for a standard DSLR lens and using an enlarger lens might be? The nice thing about the enlarger lens is that I can manually adjust the f.stop. I have seen rigs made from lens caps that allow manual adjustments of standard DSLR lenses but, I am not sure I want to go that route. Possibly, I could find an older lens with totally manual f/stop or a pre-set f/stop system...

Hi Richard,

Ah use an EL Nikkor 50mm, enlarging lens. It's an M39 thread, so ye'll need an M39-M42 step-up ring (it will screw in flush tae the M42/EOS adapter), then an M42-EOS mount (unless Canon make a straight M39-EOS mount?). Some shots with the EL Nikkor (all hand-held)...








With extension tubes...