1/2 stop or no 1/2 stop Bronica (and other) Lenses

I recently purchased a Bronice Zenza PE 150mm lens. It has 1/2 stop increments in that there is a click in between each f-stop to indicate this. I also have an MC 150mm lens (one model earlier) which doesn't have a click in between. My question is, are the MC lenses (or other lenses) capable of registering 1/2 stops even though there is no click simply by rotating the lens to in between the f-stops?

I have done this with lenses on my Nikon FM2 which also don't have the clicks and it has changed the meter reading but sometimes only when I have moved it further towards the next f-stop and not necessarily directly in the middle.

Thanks


Kathy

Any lens can be set to 1/4, 1/2 or any portion of a stop if desired. Click stops are merely for convenience.

Yes, and if you look through the lens, holding down the dof preview, whilst turning the aperture ring you'll be able to see the aperture changing smoothly between f stops.

Thanks for that info and I'll give your handy tip a try David. It's quite a simple thing to do but something I haven't thought to just do. I never really use the dof preview buttons. I guess that adding the click gives a tangible reason that the MC version is less expensive than the PE. It's funny in photography how you can do just about anything without the bells and whistles but adding them in makes things a lot more expensive.

Thanks again


Kathy

Wait a minute. IIRC Bronica goes out of there way to mention not changing aperture with the DOF lever on. Check page 16 of the ETRSI manual. Maybe Bronica is playing it safe maybe it's a real issue.

IIRC the 1/2 stop thing was linked to the III meter [this is for the ETRSI?]. Telling the meter if you're at half stops or not.

From the manual

"* The aperture ring must not be adjusted while the depth of field preview
lever is being depressed."

"When shooting with the optional AE-II Finder E, remember to re-adjust the film speed dial of
the finder when a film back with a different speed is attached to the main body. Also
remember that the aperture ring cannot be set to intermediate settings with the AE-II
Finder E."

I think the extra contacts are for the III finder.

Thanks Nick

I had a quick flick through the manual but will have a good read of it. I have the AEII Finder E so it seems using dof preview is not an option because the manual says the shutter speed setting will not be correct. I'm still not fully understanding why 1/2 stops can't be used but I'll keep reading to get it straight in my mind. I just purchased the ETRSi and lenses so I think I need to go and have a play to work it all out.

Thanks again.

Kathy

Kathy you can use the DOF preview. Just don't try and meter while you use it. The reason it won't work right is the meter will assume that the light level it gets with the lens stopped down is without the lens stopped down. If that makes sense. Basically compose. Use the DOF preview. When everything is right then meter wide open.

Stick the lens and finder on the camera. Turn on the meter. Meter at for example F/4. Then meter at a 1/2 stop either side. Then go the full stop. The meter won't notice the 1/2 stop moves if you're using the older lenses. I'm not sure if the II finder will notice even with the newer lenses.

If you're using an external meter or using TTL flash no big deal. But if you're using just the camera meter then you'll be off.

I didn't actually mean for you to use the dof preview every time you set the lens at an intermediate point between the detents- it was only a way for you to see right now that the aperture does change continuously as you rotate the ring rather than in a series of jumps. Frankly it gets a bit boring watching apertures closing down after the first couple of times. I don't know why your handbook indicates not to alter aperture whilst using dof preview, though I can guess. I don't think they want people systematically zooming up and down the entire aperture range to see what happens to dof as part of their focus routine for every shot. I think they'll see that as a recipe for early wear-out of the mechanism in the lens. Doubt whether it will do any harm to do it a few times though, as indeed I have clearly done.

You shouldn't use the dof whilst metering with the AE11 prism, otherwise it will as pointed out cause an inaccurate reading. This is not the same as saying that you shouldn't use the dof preview with the metered prism fitted- you can check and adjust your focus using the dof if/when appropriate before or after you meter.

There is little point trying to use or set apertures between the full stop detents if you are using the AE11 prism E on auto mode. That's because the prism can vary the shutter speed down to a third stop - so you don't need that flexibility on the aperture. It won't of course tell you exactly what shutter speed it's really using - it will simply indicate the nearest full stop.

Will the AE11 prism take into account any half stop aperture settings? I don't know and my Hove guide isn't saying, but this prism was introduced way before there were lenses with half stop detents ( introduced in 1992) so they'd have had to be pretty far-sighted or maybe just lucky. Its not simple to work it out either- because if you start at f11 and then move the aperture half way to f16 you either won't get a change in reading (inconclusive) or if you do well it could be because the prism thinks you're now on f16.