24mm PC-E on F100

<p>I just made what to me is a disturbing observation with my Nikkor 24mm PC-E lens on my F100 body. When I press the DoF button, I hear the usual physical noise of what sounds like the diaphragm closing but in the viewfinder the scene remains unchanged, even when set to f22. The correct f-stop information is displayed on the camera and the exposure electronics all appear to work - scene exposure changes when the f-stop ring is rotated. When I place the lens on my D300 and press the DoF I hear the same noise and as expected, in the viewfinder the scene darkens. When I try other lenses on my F100 and press DoF I hear the noise and the scene darkens as well. I like shooting film but the down side is I won't know if I've got a problem till I've shot the roll and then it's too late. I'm traveling and the shots I take before I get my film processed can't be re-captured. So my question, is this behavior of the 24mm PC-E on the F100 'normal'. Most importantly, when I actually press the shutter release and take a photograph, is the lens stopping down and exposing the film properly? Can anyone provide me with some comforting words?</p>

<p>John,<br>

I'm not sure if the 24mm PC-E lens works fine with the F100, but you can perform the following test with the camera empty, don't need to put film in it.</p>

<p>- Take shots at slow speeds using different apertures looking at your lens (like if you were shotting a self portrait)<br>

- Observe if the diaphragm closes accordingly to the selected apertures while shoting</p>

<p>The reason de DOF preview don't work on the F100 is because there is not mechanical coupling between the camera and the lens for aperture. All the F100 does is to move the aperture coupling lever.</p>

<p>Newer cameras like the D300 can use the Electronic diaphragm without problems.</p>

<p>To close the diaphragm, you need to press the button on the lens. It's this rubbery button on top of the lens. To open it, press the button again. The camera cannot control the diaphragm. Only the D3, D300 and newer cameras have automatic aperture control on the PC-E Nikkors.</p>

<p>What Ilkka says is true. All the noise you hear both the F100 and D300 making is the mechanical aperture mechanism that works on every Nikkor except the PC-E lenses.</p>

<p>The PC-E lenses have their aperture on the "wrong side" of the tilt/shift mechanism, so those mechanical levers can't get to it. Nikon added an electronic aperture control mechanism, with a motor on the far side of the tilt-shift. They then added protocol to control that to their newer cameras (which still cycle the camera's motor, hence all the extra "whir-click" noises, even though it's not needed). On an F100, you have to use the little button on the lens to trigger the lens's stop-down motor.</p>