Nikon minimum aperture lock question

I shoot in aperture prio and set the aperture on the camera BUT i forgot to lock the aperture on the lens:

whats it gonna be? The aperture shown on the display or the aperture on the lens that i forgot to lock?

Aperture control on Nikon lenses* is by a lever that protrudes into the camera body.
That lever is spring-loaded, pulling it into the closed (smallest aperture) position
With the lens off the camera, you can move that lever to see what it does.

A lever in the camera body holds the lens lever in the full-open position for metering.
The body lever can assume any position in its range, thus setting the lens aperture.

During exposure, the body lever moves, allowing the aperture to close.
The closure is limited by the positions of the body lever AND the aperture ring setting.

It cannot go any smaller than the f/stop setting on the aperture ring.
The minimum-aperture mechanical lock just guarantees that the aperture ring is in the fully closed position so the camera can use the full range of apertures.

- Leigh

*Note this description applies only to REAL Nikon lenses, not the G lenses.

Which body?
On the F100, if you set to Program or Aperture-priority mode and don't set the lens to the minimum aperture, the shutter locks and you get "fEE" on the display. With a non-CPU lens (AI/AIS), the camera will shoot at whatever aperture is set on the lens.

Odot said:

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whats it gonna be? The aperture shown on the display or the aperture on the lens that i forgot to lock?

Click to expand...

Leigh B said:

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The minimum-aperture mechanical lock just guarantees that the aperture ring is in the fully closed position so the camera can use the full range of apertures.
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Click to expand...

As Leigh has described, the lock just ensures you'll get the full range. It also ensures you won't accidentally turn the ring.

If the ring is at minimum aperture (lock or not), the aperture used is what you've chosen through the camera controls.

Odot said:

I shoot in aperture prio and set the aperture on the camera BUT i forgot to lock the aperture on the lens:

whats it gonna be? The aperture shown on the display or the aperture on the lens that i forgot to lock?

Click to expand...

In my experience, as long as the lens is stopped all the way down, it doesn't matter if it's actually locked or not. I have some older Nikkors and the tiny lock is a bitch to work; if I were shooting program I doubt I'd lock it (though come to think of it, I've never shot program - but I have bumped the lens over to F22 and had it lock and had to futz with the little stubby thing...)