Why is my Nikon D3400 forcing all lenses to stay wide open?
Asked 7/22/2019
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My Nikon D3400 suddenly won’t stop down the aperture on any lens I mount. In manual mode, if I attach a lens with an aperture ring set to something like f/16, the camera forces it back open to its maximum aperture (for example f/1.4). It stays wide open through the viewfinder, in live view, and even during the exposure. As soon as I remove the lens, the aperture returns to the setting on the lens. Is this expected behavior with the D3400, especially with lenses that have aperture rings?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
1
According to Ken, aperture ring compatibility was "missing" on the D3400, while the D3300 (and earlier) had some support for lenses with aperture rings.
I've used a D3200 with lenses with an aperture ring, but unless the aperture is set to the smallest (largest number), the camera gives an error message - and this only applies to lenses with at least partial support of automatic aperture. (In this case the lens will be wide open until the shutter is released or the preview button pressed.)
It sounds like this might no longer be the case on the D3400. The answer here might also be useful,
Originally by user68831. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user68831
6y ago
0
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This is likely normal behavior with the D3400 when using lenses with aperture rings or older Nikon lenses that don’t have full electronic aperture compatibility.
On many Nikon DSLRs, compatible lenses stay wide open for focusing and only stop down at the moment of exposure. But the D3400 has reduced support for older/aperture-ring lenses compared with some earlier bodies. If the lens is not one the camera can control properly, the body may hold the aperture wide open and not stop it down when shooting.
With Nikon bodies that do support these lenses, the aperture ring often must be set to the smallest aperture (largest f-number), and the camera then controls the aperture electronically. If the D3400 does not support that lens type, you may not get correct aperture control at all.
So the issue is probably compatibility rather than all your lenses suddenly failing. Check whether each lens is fully supported on the D3400; AF-S or other modern CPU lenses are the safest match.
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