Can a Sony A350 use M42 lenses with auto shutter selection, and do I need a chipped adapter?

Asked 5/1/2022

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I can use M42 manual lenses on my Sony A6400 by enabling options such as release without lens, so the camera will still meter and choose shutter speed. On my older Sony A350, if I mount an M42-to-Sony A adapter and select anything other than M mode, the camera says: "No lens attached. Shutter is locked." Is there a way to make the A350 work with M42 lenses in an automatic or semi-automatic exposure mode? Do I need an M42-to-Sony A adapter with an electronic confirmation chip so the camera recognizes that a lens is attached?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

4y ago

2 Answers

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It appears you are using a "plain" M42 adapter, i.e. a piece of machined metal without any electronic components that enables the M42 lens to screw onto the Sony camera body, e.g. like this one (SKU: M42-SNA-P-V1):

An M42 to A mount adapter without an AF confirmation chip

This is fine for most cases. But, as the plain adapter does not communicate anything to the camera, the camera thinks there is no lens attached. Therefore, for this to work you must be able to instruct your camera that it is safe to fire the shutter without any lens attached.

As osullic writes in their comment the Sony A350 appears not to have such a release without lens override.

Per user24582's suggestion, you need to look at an adapter that has a small electronic "AF confirmation" chip attached onto it (note the strip of contacts in the upper left):

An M42 to A mount adapter with an AF confirmation chip

What this chip does is two-fold:

  • It tells your camera that there is a lens attached.
    • The characteristics of the attached M42 lens (focal length, aperture value) are not known to the chip (as the M42 lens cannot communicate those), so the chip always returns a pre-programmed value.
    • My (EOS) M42 adapter for example always makes it appear as if a 50 mm lens is attached with its aperture set to 1.4.
  • It allows your camera's AF feedback mechanism to work (partially).
    • The M42 lens has no motor and cannot be driven by the AF motor of the camera body, so you cannot fully autofocus the lens.
    • However, by manually turning the focus ring while half-pressing the shutter button (or whatever button you've set for the AF) you will get a confirmation (beep, or blinking light) when the scene is in focus.
    • Personally I found this a very useful feature, as without a split-prism focusing screen I found it hard to focus manually using a DSLR.

Originally by user9161. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user9161

4y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

With a plain mechanical M42-to-Sony A adapter, the A350 sees no electronic lens and locks the shutter unless the camera supports a "release without lens" override. Based on the answers, the A350 does not appear to offer that override, so a plain adapter will leave you limited.

If you want the camera to behave as though a lens is attached, look for an M42-to-Sony A adapter with an electronic "AF confirm" chip. These chipped adapters present lens-contact information to the body, which can allow metering/shutter operation that a plain adapter cannot.

So the practical answer is: for the A350, a standard non-electronic adapter is likely not enough if you want automatic or semi-automatic exposure behavior. A chipped M42-to-A-mount adapter is the type to look for.

UniqueBot

AI

4y ago

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