Questions about the Mechanics of Legacy Lens Focus and Exposure

1 Yes, it will show whay is in focus. You can either focus wide open and then stop down, or focus stopped down

3/4 You can shoot in either aperture or Manual mode, and the shutter will vary accordingly.

Sent from my LG-P769 using Mu-43 mobile app

 

1. - stopping down after focus generally does not work so well for me.

2 yes but not so much for some. I dont use it but it does work alright.

3 yes as you described. I mostly shoot in A mode with manual/adapted lenses although some times use M mode or otherwise restrict ISO in A mode.

4 Depends on the task at hand.


I'm really liking the metabones speed booster so if you have the budget or access to one then really give that a sincere look. I have 6 or 8 (hard to keep track sometimes) manual lenses that I can use the metabones with so it really extends the range of coverage in both focal length and aperture I get to work with so the added cost 'amortized' is quite low (that's the pitch I give to the wife when costs come up).

 

A couple things worth considering:

-as far as the metering goes, the further you stop down the further off the metering can be so you'll want to be aware of this. I don´t remember exactly how it works but hopefully someone with a better understanding will chime in.

-One other thing I´m somewhat hesitant to mention is that m43 cameras have a somewhat thick sensor stack which can cause some problems with older manual focus lenses. I use a Canon FD 50mm 1.4 from time to time but since upgrading to the E-M5´s 16mp sensor in comparison to my older E-PL2´s 12mp sensor, I´ve not been as happy with the results and so I think there might be some truth to this problem and I´m just now able to notice it more. Here´s the lensrentals.com blog post on the subject:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/07/sensor-stack-thickness-part-iii-the-summary

I don´t think either of those concerns should put you off from trying out your lenses though since it can be a lot of fun to give new life to older glass

 

When I shoot manual lenses on my GX7 I almost always use aperture-priority mode, but you can also use manual mode if you need to. Focus-peaking is a god-send for me and my older eyes, and I really wish my GX1 had that as well. If you wish you can enable the GX7 to display at the chosen aperture to get a sense of the DOF you are shooting for. You may find that focus-peaking works better when the lens is stopped-down.

 

Telephoto lenses should work fine, but as Lens Rentals found out, wide lenses may suffer: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/07/sensor-stack-thickness-part-iii-the-summary.