To chip or not to chip

adamz

As this topic hasn't been brought up recently I would like ask you what is your opinion and experience on putting chip on manual lenses. Personally, I'm considering to put a chip on my 50/1.2.

shawnino

How easy is that to do? It would open up a whole new world to me at the right price point.

adamz

price wise it's not a problem, as you can get a decent chip from ebay for app $30 (P&S incl.)

HipShot

What is "chip?"

adamz

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EURO-AF-Confirm-Metering-Emulator-Chip-for-Nikon-DSLR-D5200-D90-on-Lens-AIS-AI-/231129905010?pt=US_Lens_Adapters_Mounts_Tubes&hash=item35d06a7772

michael66

Just to be clear, this chip will only provide you metering, not AF. Won't you need to make a few cuts in the back-side of older lenses? Pre-AI, <1977(?), I think.

henrik1963

As I understand it you get focus confirmation, control of aperture and metering with old lenses.

michael66

hmmm... I have to check that out. On my D7100, I thought I got focus confirmation with my AIS manual focus 300mm f/4.5 ( 1470 ). At least the ball lights up. It has no chip.

Ade

Focus confirmation doesn't require a chip. However, if the lens front- or back- focuses, you will need the chip to "fix" the confirmation using AF Fine Tune.

@adamz The 50/1.2 is not a great candidate for self-chipping due to very tight tolerances around the rear baffle. Lens disassembly and machining will be required, and you'll need to sand down the rear of the chip also to provide more clearance.

There's an outfit called Legacy2Digital which provide a chipping service for this lens (costs around $400).

adamz

thanks Ade. my main idea to chip it was to get the lens data in EXIF, as it's sometimes useful. however, for $400 I'll simply skip that - not worth the money. as for the green AF dot, I don't trust that at all

Ade

Well you could do it yourself if you're mechanically inclined and good with a Dremel tool.

Here's a nice writeup on modifying the 50/1.4:

http://pindelski.org/Photography/2012/05/09/nikkor-s-50mm-f1-4-lens/

The 1.2 has even less clearance, so the chip itself will need to be further sanded down. The Legacy2Digital people use a different "2-piece" chip with thin mechanical contacts separated by wires from the actual "cpu".

I read someone chipped the 58mm Noct, which involves grinding the rear lens element! @-)

NSXTypeR

Focus confirmation doesn't require a chip. However, if the lens front- or back- focuses, you will need the chip to "fix" the confirmation using AF Fine Tune.

@adamz The 50/1.2 is not a great candidate for self-chipping due to very tight tolerances around the rear baffle. Lens disassembly and machining will be required, and you'll need to sand down the rear of the chip also to provide more clearance.

There's an outfit called Legacy2Digital which provide a chipping service for this lens (costs around $400).

That's what I heard too- chipping isn't a given with every lens, the rear element is pretty large so it's hard to chip the 50mm 1.2.

By the way, you still should be able to get focus confirmation and EXIF info if you plug in the data for "Non-CPU lenses". I get EXIF info for my dad's 50mm 1.2 on the D7000.

Check out these test shots, and check out the EXIF data on it too.



Exif is all there!



I would like to add that the 50mm 1.2 is also quite sharp at F11.

Ade

By the way, you still should be able to get focus confirmation and EXIF info if you plug in the data for "Non-CPU lenses". I get EXIF info for my dad's 50mm 1.2 on the D7000.

Yes but not all of the EXIF fields are filled in correctly. E.g., on the above images the "Lens" field shows "0mm f/0" and many aperture fields (like "Max Aperture Value") are all set to f/1.0.

These fields are used by programs like Aperture and Lightroom -- e.g., to list all pictures taken with a specific lens, or to enable lens correction profile to be applied automatically -- so if you want such capabilities then you'll need to correct the EXIF data, manually or using a script.

Also, without the CPU, the camera will only operate in M or A modes. Adding the CPU enables operation in all modes (P, S, A, M).

NSXTypeR

By the way, you still should be able to get focus confirmation and EXIF info if you plug in the data for "Non-CPU lenses". I get EXIF info for my dad's 50mm 1.2 on the D7000.

Yes but not all of the EXIF fields are filled in correctly. E.g., on the above images the "Lens" field shows "0mm f/0" and many aperture fields (like "Max Aperture Value") are all set to f/1.0.

These fields are used by programs like Aperture and Lightroom -- e.g., to list all pictures taken with a specific lens, or to enable lens correction profile to be applied automatically -- so if you want such capabilities then you'll need to correct the EXIF data, manually or using a script.

Also, without the CPU, the camera will only operate in M or A modes. Adding the CPU enables operation in all modes (P, S, A, M).

Ah, I see what you mean. But how would P mode possibly work when the aperture ring is manually adjusted?

Ade

The chip allows the camera to control the aperture via the command-dial. Like on AF-D lenses, the aperture is has to be physically set to its minimal position (highest f-number).

This is only recommended for AI-S lenses. For older lenses (AI and pre-AI), it's best to manually use the aperture ring since the camera will not set the aperture properly.

adamz

hmm... interesting NSX, it must be sth wrong than with my setup as I don't see the 50mm in my EXIF:(

PB_PM

If you set the set aperture and focal length in the non-CPU data it should show in the EXIF data. It does for my files.

NSXTypeR

hmm... interesting NSX, it must be sth wrong than with my setup as I don't see the 50mm in my EXIF:(

Maybe you didn't hit OK after entering the info? Nikon cameras tend to not do anything until you do that.

PB_PM

Yes, once you put the data in you need to go up to Done and press OK (not the center button). Then when you use a lens you need to switch the settings based on which lens is in use.