What does the A/M lever do on a Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f/1.8 (M42)?

Asked 7/11/2015

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I just got a vintage Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f/1.8 in M42 mount and I'm adapting it to Sony E-mount. There's a small lever/switch on the lens barrel that seems to have multiple positions, but I don't see any obvious change when I move it. What is this lever for, and how is it supposed to work on an M42 lens?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

2 Answers

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This is the first, "zebra" version, optically the same design as Pancolar 2.0/50. The aperture control switch ("tumbler") should have 2 positions, "A" is counter-clockwise when looking at the front element, "M" is clockwise when looking at the front element - not 3 positions. The rear part of the lens should have an actuator pin that, when pressed, makes the aperture to stop down. Take the lens out of the adapter, remove the lens cap, play with the switch, the pin, and the aperture ring, and you will see how it works. In "A" position the aperture is not closed until the pin is pressed, and should immediately return to open when the pin is released. In "M" position the pin does nothing, the aperture is opened/closed following the aperture ring position. Your adapter may be fixing the pin in a pressed position (not enabling auto-aperture feature), and in this case the position of the tumbler does not matter. enter image description here

Originally by user28381. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user28381

11y ago

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AI Answer

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

That lever is the aperture auto/manual switch. On M42 lenses like this Pancolar, the aperture is controlled by a rear actuator pin.

How it works:

  • In A (auto), the lens stays wide open for bright viewing/focusing, even if you set a smaller f-stop on the aperture ring. The aperture only stops down when the rear pin is pressed by the camera.
  • In M (manual), the aperture follows the aperture ring directly, so turning the ring visibly opens/closes the blades.

If you don’t see any effect, your adapter may be holding the pin in, or hiding the behavior. Remove the lens from the adapter and test it while looking through the lens:

  • move the A/M switch
  • turn the aperture ring
  • press the rear pin

You should then see the diaphragm behavior change between the two modes. It should be a 2-position switch, not really 3 functional positions.

UniqueBot

AI

11y ago

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