Using a Kenko pinhole on a D80

<p>I recently acquired a Kenko Pinhole Lens 02. It came with an adapter to mount on my D80. How can I get the shutter to fire? Any mode I try all I get in the viewfinder is blinking lights. It will fire in Manual, but there would be no meter reading.</p>

<p>I also use Canon gear, and to use non Canon lenses all I need to do is select Aperture priority and the camera will select the shutter speed. Apparently this does nor work with Nikon.<br>

<br />I do have the D80 manual, but don't know where to look re shooting with a non Nikon lens.<br>

<br />Can anyone give me a suggestion please?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>The problem is not so much it being a non-Nikon lens, but rather the lens making no connection (electronic or mechanical) to the camera. So, as far as the camera is aware, there is no lens mounted. And indeed, on a D80 that means it'll only work in manual mode, no metering available.<br>

So, the only way to shoot it is to get an idea of the aperture of the pinhole lens by trial and error (shoot during a sunny day when 'sunny-16' applies, check the shutterspeed when you get a proper exposure, and calculate back what aperture that would mean more or less), and then it should be useable in manual using a lightmeter or another camera to meter.</p>

<p>That's one of the few advantages to some of the older pro and upper tier Nikon dSLRs - functional metering with manual lenses, non-Nikon lenses and no lenses at all. My D2H works fine in aperture priority mode for pinhole photography and infrared, even when I can't see much of anything through the viewfinder.</p>

<p>If the pinhole or alternative lens/photography bug bites, you might consider picking up a good used D2H, D2X, D200, or another older model that meters with just about anything.</p>

<p>In full manual or guesstimation exposure, there are <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=estimating+pinhole+exposures&rlz=1C1LENN_enUS490US490&oq=estimating+pinhole+exposures&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8">charts online for estimating pinhole exposures</a> based on the sensitivity of the recording media (film, light sensitive paper, or digital), available light, and aperture. Most film/paper pinholers use those, along with experience to guide them.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies, that was I was assuming I would need to do. Guess I've been spoiled by Canon. I'll give it a try!</p>

 

<p>Same thing when I had a MF 55mm f3.5 that I used with my D90. Couldn't meter, couldn't do anything but shoot manually, manual focus, and guess exposure.<br /><br />Fact is, with pinhole photography, you're not exactly shooting action anyway, right? So it's a small price to pay imho.</p>

<p>Used D200's often have reasonable prices. </p>

<p>If you are into old or unusual lenses, I recommend buying one.</p>

<p>Yes Nikon requires a chip in the lens for auto metering (actually, a bit newer Nikon bodies like the D90 and smaller do meter without chip, but only in live-view preview and movie mode, not for stills).<br>

If you want auto metering, you can look for a "Dandelion" (Tagotech) metering chip, around $30. </p>