Sony Nex-3N and M42 adapters

zanxion72 · Joined: 11 Dec 2012 Posts: 145 Location: Athens, Greece

My sister has given me a tiny Nex-3N this christmas. I do not like the lens that came with it and I have in mind using my M42 lenses with it.
I have seen many adapters around for attaching an M42 lens to the E mount, but on Nex-3N will I be offered with metered exposure in A and M modes? Will that manual focus peaking be available while using M42 or any other all manual lenses?

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

The M42 adapter is a simple tube with the thread to take the lens, there is no electrical connection to the camera. With the M42 lenses I use my NEX in 'Shutter Priority' - I set the aperture I want on the lens to get the depth of field that I want, then adjust the shutter speed until the live view and histogram show the exposure I want, sometimes I use the ISO setting as well, I think 'Auto ISO will work as well. I know a lot of other people use different methods, but this suits me. Focus peaking works fine, it make the old lenses a joy to use.

Some M42 lenses that do not have a A - M switch have to have the exposure pin on the back of the lens held shut, how that is done is often dependent on the lens, some of mine I have used a tiny bit of plastic tube as a spacer inside the lens - which means taking the back off the lens, or I glue the pin down from the outside. I don't use superglue, I use a glue that can be removed should I need to.

M42 adapters are cheap and simple, there's plenty of choice and most should be good. And there's a lot of very good lenses out there to have fun with.

zanxion72 · Joined: 11 Dec 2012 Posts: 145 Location: Athens, Greece

Thank you! So that little thing is capable of doing more with my M42 lenses than my D90! I have also noticed that all adapters are reported as allowing to focus at infinity without a correction glass. Is that true?

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

There's no glass, it's just a tube. And infinity is absolutely possible. A few of my lenses go past infinity - which isn't a problem, but none do not reach infinity.

memetph · Joined: 01 Dec 2013 Posts: 940 Location: Poland

Buy the proper adapter and you won't need to modify your lens . Most of M42 adapters push the pin thanks to a ring at the end of the thread .
There are execptions within the M42 lenses like the Mamiya sx .
The Sx have a second pin to transmit the aperture to the body. Unless you find a very narrow adapter there is no other solution than to remove this pin.

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4744 Location: Cheshire, England

Go for it and enjoy yer M42 glass