Somebody HELP!

HannahRebekah · Apr 30, 2011

I'm not sure where to put this, since I don't see a heading called 'I'm about to pull my hair out, can someone please tell me what the heck is going on!?1?!'. Suffice it to say, I have had a very long couple of weeks trying to figure out why my lenses/cameras are doing this thing that they're not supposed to be doing. Alright. Other than tell you the long story, I'm just going to ask some questions regarding how camera are supposed to work. These inquiries are specifically for Sony people, because that's the equipment I own, but I'd also like to know what other cameras do. 1. Are you supposed to be able to see the aperture close on the lens when it is attached to the camera body? From what I gather, you are. 2. Is there some mechanism that would be in a kit lens but not in a better (say, 50mm f1.4) lens that would create the correct aperture result for the settings without actually closing the aperture on the lens? I am pretty darn sure the lever on the camera (on EITHER camera, a300 or a850) is not moving, otherwise I would see the aperture close, and I'm not.

Hardrock · Apr 30, 2011

Im kind of confused on wha you are really asking but the lens is wide open until you hit the shutter and then it stops down to what ever you want. Therfore you would not see it stopped down unless your camera has a DOF preview button. Please someone correct me if Im wrong...

HannahRebekah · Apr 30, 2011

Thank you! That actually helps a lot.

analog.universe · Apr 30, 2011

Hardrock said:
the lens is wide open until you hit the shutter and then it stops down to what ever you want. Therfore you would not see it stopped down unless your camera has a DOF preview button. Please someone correct me if Im wrong...

This is exactly what my camera does. The only exception being really old lenses that only have an aperture ring on the lens and can not be controlled from the camera.

Dagwood56 · Apr 30, 2011

I have a Sony 100, but I'm not really sure I know what you are asking.... do you mean: when looking thru the lens are you supposed to see the size of the opening close when setting the apeture or do you mean are you supposed to see the shutter close when you take your photo? I also am not sure what you are talking about when you say "lever".....are you meaning the shutter release button? Or are you meaning the wheel near the shutter button which is used to adjust the apeture and shutter?

HannahRebekah · Apr 30, 2011

Thank you, you've all been very helpful, and I've finally figured out what the problem is.

KmH · Apr 30, 2011

For those that maybe don't follow what the discussion is about.

To have a well lit viewfinder before the shutter is released in a DSLR camera, the lens aperture is kept as wide open as the lens is capable of to let in the maximum amount of light, not only so the photographer can see to frame the shot, but also so the auto focus and metering systems get enough light to function properly.

When the shutter is released, if the lens max aperture isn't what the lens is set to, then the aperture gets stopped down to what it is set to. The apeture again opens to it's max after each shot, even when shooting in continuous mode.

This issue goes in part to kit zoom lenses that are variable aperture. at the long end of the zoom range most kit zoom lenses are at f/5.6, the widest max aperture for their totally zoomed out focal length. F/5.6 is often the upper limit aperture that auto focus cab reliably perform at, and even then yuou have to use the cross-type focus point, if your camera has a cross-type focus point. Other wise, auto focus may not perfrpm accurately.