It’s so the camera can electronically control the lens.
Yes - when using a lens with an aperture ring* on a Nikon DSLR, you place the aperture ring to the smallest aperture and use the camera to control the aperture. The Nikkor “D” lenses have a small slide switch that will lock the aperture ring, just for this reason.
- On the older non-AI lenses (no electronic contacts) you still use the aperture ring to control aperture.
I should probably start a The Omnibus Digital Photography Thread. A digital camera is necessary for scanning film, but digital photography is a whole different, confusing world.
It’s not all that different. Think of the 35RC - you have to lock the aperture ring before the camera can automatically control the exposure.
The 35RC doesn’t have 14 different settings on its mode dial, and who-knows-how-many settings on its menu. 
Well, the good news about the mode dial is only 4 settings are worth learning about.
P: program mode, fully automatic. Nikon now says “P” stands for professional. That’s a stretch.
A: Aperture priority
S: Shutter priority
M: Manual mode
The rest of the modes are all gimmicks thought up by some marketing team.
About 99% of the photos I’ve ever taken were in A or M.
Edit: I like how Ken Rockwell put it, even if he often grates on me…
I use the P (Professional) mode. Only rarely do I use the S, A and M Modes, and I never use any of the others.
I ignore the green AUTO and all the other fluff modes. They are fluff and will not be discussed here. The fluff modes are for people not willing to read this guide as you are.
Hence, there should be a The Omnibus Digital Photography Thread.
I’ll confine my digital photography questions to scanning negatives only in this thread.
Yep. I think I’m at about 95% M, and 5% A, and never really use anything else. I need control over aperture creatively (though very occasionally shutter speed will take priority and I will use S) – I don’t want the camera choosing both shutter speed and aperture for me. I used to shoot a lot more on A on film (when shooting neg), but since digital and being able to see my results immediately, I’ve shifted over to mostly M. I’ll use A when I have rapidly changing lighting conditions or have to be ready for two different lighting scenarios (in shade and switching to in sun quickly.) I don’t really see any need for any other of the modes, myself (though my cameras don’t have anything beyond that except that AUTO mode, and then user-definable settings like U1, U2, U3.)
Yeah, M is the ticket for me, although tbh the way I have my Fuji set up, A or S essentially behave like manual modes because with my index finger on the exposure compensation wheel, I can almost instantly get to the exposure I want with just a little plus/minus action.
My camera also has 4 saved settings on the mode dial and I actually do use them some. One of the stronger features of the Fuji lineup is their color science. You can load some really nice film stock simulations into those user defined settings for those times I either down feel like shooting RAW or just want some inspiration. I particularly like one of the Portra simulations, the Ektar sim, and one called Pacific Blues. The Cuban Negative sim is nice too.
I started a digital photography thread.
I bought a Speedlight SB-15 for my Nikon FE, and it arrived today. I downloaded the manual. Page 6:
Depress the battery holder release locks (20) (the knurled surfaces on the top and bottom of the left side of the flash head) and the battery holder MS-6 will pop out.
Uh… No it won’t. And I’m not going to force it. Unless I’m missing something that the seller can point out, I’ll return it.
It should be pretty straightforward. Give the release tabs, top and bottom, a good squeeze and outward pull at the same time.
What is the problem you’re having?
Did that. Won’t budge. From the seller:
[T]his an old speedlight and the teeth or rails of the covers get worn out and dirty over time. Sorry for this issue, open a return a request and I’ll send you shipping label.
I’ve printed the return label, boxed it back up, and will go to the Post Office across the street from my office tomorrow.
Any recommendations for a camera bag? It used to be that you could get them anywhere. Now you have to look. I’ll need one with room for a 35mm SLR camera body with a lens (probably 50mm), two zoom lenses (probably 35-105mm, and 70-210mm – but I could do with the shorter zoom), flash, and film. Top opening, not ‘backpack-style’.
I like the Peak Everyday Sling. I have the 6 liter size which is probably too small for your need but they have bigger ones. Best bag I’ve owned, both in general quality and in detailed features. They use these Velcro tabbed internal dividers that fold into a number of shapes so you can customize it for your exact rig.
Mine holds my Fuji XS 10 body, a mid range zoom, a full-size flash, plus a spot for batteries, card readers, and other small equipment.
The price is crazy, but I love the Billingham Hadley Pro. I love them so much that I have acquired 3 over the years.
I have an all black one I use for camera gear, a black-and-tan one I use for carting my bass guitar paraphernalia back and forth, and a khaki with tan straps one that I use as a laptop bag for work.
I currently have a Mamiya C220, Pentax 17, and multiple bits and bobs of film photography such as filters, light meters, and film, in the black camera bag.
I was thinking something more along these lines (and price).
Of course it shows a digital camera. All the bags I see have the cameras lens-down. I’m used to the camera being at one end, bottom down, and oriented widthwise.
That bag looks exactly like the Hadley Pro, though at a mere fraction of the price. I can’t vouch for its quality, but the layout would make me happy.
And it functions the same: there are dividers with Velcro that you position wherever you want them, and you can slip a thin computer of an iPad in the back pocket. The front pockets work for film and gadgets.
Position the dividers wherever you want them so you fit your cameras in the way you like.
The parts camera I ordered to help me practice for surgery on my Rollei 35 turned out to be a fully functional model, so now I had an extra good camera and a still-broken one. I bit the bullet, peeled back the leatherette, and performed successful surgery on the original camera–after 4 hours last Friday I had disassembled and reassembled it about 8 times. But it is working!
I went out shooting the second “parts-only” Rollei 35 on Sunday. As I was crossing a foot bridge, I saw this graffiti cat on the side.
The camera is a viewfinder-only camera, with no focus aid whatsoever, so you just have to guess and set the distance using the scale on the lens. I didn’t want to lose the shot, but I wanted a wide aperture, so I used a cheap laser tape measure gadget to measure the distance from me to the cat so I could nail the focus.
Meow!
Congrats on havingtwo functional Rollei 35s! Nice picture.
Sounds like the Nikonos lens. The two little pointers on the top scale show the focus range. (They move wider and narrower when the aperture is varied.)
