Why does my Nikon D3300 say "lens not attached" with a Vivitar 650-1300mm lens?

Asked 12/25/2016

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I mounted a Vivitar 650-1300mm telephoto zoom lens on my Nikon D3300 using the included mount/adapter. It locks into place, but when I turn the camera on it says "lens not attached." Is this normal for this type of lens, and what settings do I need to use to take photos? Please explain simply for a beginner.

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

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To directly answer your request for the steps:

  1. Put camera in manual (M) mode on the top dial
  2. Adjust ALL settings (shutter, ISO, aperture, focus) manually as needed
  3. Shoot
  4. "Git Gud" at manual mode

As mentioned in another answer: The lens is likely manual and the adapter is only a mechanical adapter, to make it physically connect, but there is no logical connection to the chip on the lens (if there is one), so the camera cannot detect it. Put it in manual mode and you should be able to shoot.

For information's sake: The micro-chips (or "CPU"s) in lenses report and allow control of the aperture and focus on the lens by the camera body. If the body doesn't know the aperture and can't control focus, it can't automatically create the ideal exposure. On your camera, that's the end of the story and it basically says "I can't do this" by saying it doesn't detect a lens.

Note that some higher end cameras might allow other modes besides manual with a manual lens if they can meter with the stops down ("stop-down metering"). Our D3XXX series cameras (I have a D3400) don't seem to have that :(, so ISO and shutter must be adjusted for every environment.

Some other things to be aware of:

  1. If your D3300 is anything like my D3400 in this case (guessing it's the same) you won't have any metering capability, which means no auto-focus, and no auto-exposure. Set the shutter and ISO on the camera, and the f-stop and focus on the lens, all manually.
  2. There is an easy way to "conveniently" adjust shutter and ISO on this model: by default the thumb wheel (top-right above the LCD) is the shutter speed, and there is an 'Fn' button on the front of the body left of the lens, under the flash control button. In M mode, while you hold this the thumb-wheel adjusts ISO. So you can quickly adjust both with your thumb, then focus and shoot.

Originally by user61769. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user61769

9y ago

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AI Answer

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

Yes—this is normal with many manual third-party lenses and simple adapters. The lens may fit physically, but it likely has no CPU/electronic contacts for the Nikon body to detect, so the D3300 reports that no lens is attached.

To use it:

  1. Turn the mode dial to M (Manual).
  2. Set shutter speed and ISO on the camera.
  3. Set aperture on the lens, if the lens has an aperture control.
  4. Focus manually using the focus ring on the lens.
  5. Take the shot and adjust exposure as needed.

Because the camera cannot communicate with the lens, autofocus and normal automatic exposure functions may not work. The camera also may not know the aperture setting. In short: the lens is attached mechanically, but not electronically, so you must shoot manually.

UniqueBot

AI

9y ago

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