Canon EOS-1V puzzled?! - Aperture shows as 00

[ecusimano]

I am trying to use a pro lenses like my sigma art 35mm with my mint condition Canon EOS 1v (SLR). I purchased and hooked up the lens adapter (EF to F) necessary to use (as its a nikon f mount) but in the viewfinder, it's a bit fuzzy/grainy and I can't take a photo. Aperture displays as '00' on LCD. Adapter and lens is definitely on right, flipped to manual mode, but appears to be a lack of communication. What am I doing wrong?

[MikeSowsun · Accepted solution]

Nothing is “off”. This is how Canon designed the camera to work. Canon did not want the camera to operate if the lens can not communicate with the lens. All EOS film cameras, and early EOS DSLRs have a mechanical switch on the lens mount to sense when a lens is mounted. Later DSLRs use the electronic communication contacts to sense the lens being mounted. 

This is what the switch looks like. It is located at roughly 10 o’clock on the camera lens mount.

You have two options:

1) add an AF Confirmation chip to the adapter to simulate electronic communication 

2) modify the adapter so that it does not physically engage the switch 

With any lens you use, you will need to manual focus, and manually set the aperture. It will not be possible to manually set the aperture on a Sigma “Art” lens.

From Bob Atkins website:

Using Manual Focus Lenses on Canon EOS bodies

The lens detection Microswitch

“On some EOS bodies there is a small microswitch in the lensmount which must not be tripped by any attached lens or lens adapter in order for the camera body to work. If an adapted manual focus lens trips this microswitch, the camera body them looks for a valid EF series lens to be attached. If it doesn't see the correct electrical connection the the camera body thinks there is an error condition and will not operate. I've never been able to find an official list of which bodies have this switch and which don't. The early 1D series bodies do, up to the 1D MkII. The 1D MkIII doesn't. I think the D30, D60 and 10D have it too (note that's the D30/D60 not the later 30D/60D). Some, possibly all, EOS film bodies have it. I know the EOS-3 does for example.”

“If you have one of the bodies with this microswitch and your adapted lens causes the camera to freeze you have to remove a small part of one of the bayonet flanges in order to avoid tripping the switch. Either that or do not lock the adapter completely in the EOS mount. If you don't fully rotate it so that it "clicks" into place it won't trip the switch. Of course the adapter is them not fully locked onto the camera, so you need to be careful not to accidentally allow the lens to part company with the camera!”

[ecusimano]

Hi John, kind of you to reply. I am using a similar adaptor (from Urth) and I fully expected to use all manual controls, but my SLR will not take a photo. Shutter closes then won't open. And nothing changes when setting aperture on the lens. Something is off. 

[MikeSowsun · Accepted solution]

Nothing is “off”. This is how Canon designed the camera to work. Canon did not want the camera to operate if the lens can not communicate with the lens. All EOS film cameras, and early EOS DSLRs have a mechanical switch on the lens mount to sense when a lens is mounted. Later DSLRs use the electronic communication contacts to sense the lens being mounted. 

This is what the switch looks like. It is located at roughly 10 o’clock on the camera lens mount.

You have two options:

1) add an AF Confirmation chip to the adapter to simulate electronic communication 

2) modify the adapter so that it does not physically engage the switch 

With any lens you use, you will need to manual focus, and manually set the aperture. It will not be possible to manually set the aperture on a Sigma “Art” lens.

From Bob Atkins website:

Using Manual Focus Lenses on Canon EOS bodies

The lens detection Microswitch

“On some EOS bodies there is a small microswitch in the lensmount which must not be tripped by any attached lens or lens adapter in order for the camera body to work. If an adapted manual focus lens trips this microswitch, the camera body them looks for a valid EF series lens to be attached. If it doesn't see the correct electrical connection the the camera body thinks there is an error condition and will not operate. I've never been able to find an official list of which bodies have this switch and which don't. The early 1D series bodies do, up to the 1D MkII. The 1D MkIII doesn't. I think the D30, D60 and 10D have it too (note that's the D30/D60 not the later 30D/60D). Some, possibly all, EOS film bodies have it. I know the EOS-3 does for example.”

“If you have one of the bodies with this microswitch and your adapted lens causes the camera to freeze you have to remove a small part of one of the bayonet flanges in order to avoid tripping the switch. Either that or do not lock the adapter completely in the EOS mount. If you don't fully rotate it so that it "clicks" into place it won't trip the switch. Of course the adapter is them not fully locked onto the camera, so you need to be careful not to accidentally allow the lens to part company with the camera!”

[ecusimano]

Wow, this is eye opening Mike! Thank you for sharing, this is exactly the information I've been searching for. I will try it this evening and have my answer. Thank you so much again! 

[ecusimano]

Hi John, kind of you to reply. I am using a similar adaptor (from Urth) and I fully expected to use all manual controls, but my SLR will not take a photo. Shutter closes then won't open. And nothing changes when setting aperture on the lens. Something is off. 

[jrhoffman75]

Lets try working our way out from the camera.

1. with no lens or adapter on the camera does the shutter fire?

2. if yes, then install just the adapter and repeat. What happens?

[ecusimano]

Hi John, thank you for replying. The answer to #1 is yes, shutter fires without any lens or adapter #2 answer is no, no shutter release with adapter on body only.

What does this reveal to you besides no electrical communication with adapter? 

[jrhoffman75]

It confirms what Mike said. I checked on line. There are adapters with chips that will signal the camera that a lens is attached, but the one I looked at specifically said not for film cameras. 

[AtticusLake · Accepted solution]

You can't use an autofocus (i.e. electronic control) Nikon lens on a Canon camera.  Or vice versa.  The communications protocol that the camera uses to talk to the lens is completely different between Canon and Nikon (and Sony, Panasonic, ...).  So even if you physically attach the lens, there is no way to focus or set aperture, and hence no way to take pictures.

The adapter you're (presumably) using is designed to let you use MECHANICAL (i.e. manual focus) Nikon lenses on Canon cameras.  These are lenses where the focus ring is mechanically geared to the elements inside the lens.  Such lenses do exist; they're mainly cine lenses, though.

The aperture reading 00 is the camera telling you that it can't see a lens -- i.e. it can't communicate with the lens.  If you had a mechanical lens attached, so you could focus it manually, you would go into the menus and set "Release shutter without lens" or something similar; the aperture would still read 00, because you would be setting the aperture mechanically on the lens, but you would then be able to take pics.

I wrote an article about lens compatibility which may help: https://moonblink.info/MudLake/gear/lenses