How to Set Up Your Camera to Shoot With Vintage + Manual Lenses
Welcome to this week's video! Today, I'll be diving into camera menu settings for shooting with vintage lenses and showcasing two of my all-time favorite vintage lenses: the Osawa MC 28mm f2.8 and the Auto Takumar 35mm f2.3. As a photographer, working with vintage lenses has become more than just a technical choice, it’s a passion. There’s something magical and nostalgic about the unique character these lenses bring to both photos and videos. But there’s one hurdle most photographers face when getting started:
👉 Your camera won’t release the shutter with a manual or vintage lens mounted unless you change a setting.
Why This Happens (The Technical Explanation)
Modern mirrorless cameras communicate with lenses electronically. Modern cameras expect to see lens data through electrical contacts. But vintage/manual lenses have no electrical communication, they’re all mechanical. So when you mount one, the camera thinks there’s no lens attached and blocks the shutter release button from firing the shutter to protect the sensor.
Without overriding that behavior in the menu, pressing the shutter button will:
✔️ do nothing
✔️ show a warning
✔ or refuse to fire the shutter
Step-by-Step: Enable Release Shutter Without Lens
This is the critical menu setting you must enable if you want your camera to shoot with vintage, manual, or adapted lenses.
📌 On Canon Mirrorless Cameras (EOS R5 / R5 Mark II / R6 / R7, etc.)
Press MENU on your camera.
Go to the Orange tab (sometimes world icon or tools depending on model).
Look for “Release shutter w/o lens” or “Release shutter without lens”.
Set this to ON / Enable.
➡️ Once enabled, your camera will fire the shutter even though it doesn’t see an electronic lens attached.
💡 Tip: This setting can be in different places in the Canon menu depending on your model.
📌 On Other Brands (Sony, Nikon, Fuji, Lumix, etc.)
All major mirrorless brands include a similar setting, often called:
Release shutter without lens
Shoot without lens
Allow shutter to fire w/o lens
Go into your camera’s menu and search for “lens” you should find it. The wording and location vary, but the concept is the same. If you’re shooting with a newer SONY camera this setting is enabled by default so you probably won’t even be checking this blog post. lol.
Additional Menu and Shooting Tips for Manual Lenses
🧠 Use Manual Mode
Vintage and manual lenses don’t have electronic aperture control. So your camera can’t automatically adjust the aperture. Best options: ✔️ Manual (M) Mode is your best friend. You control shutter speed, aperture, and ISO as you need. This is how I use all my vintage lenses.
Note: Program, Scene Modes, and Shutter Priority often don’t work with manual lenses.
🎯 Use Manual Focus Tools
Modern mirrorless cameras have helpful tools for manual lenses:
✅ Focus Peaking, highlights areas that are in focus.
✅ Magnification / MF Assist, zooms in the viewfinder for critical focus. This is super helpful.
✅ Assign a custom button (e.g., back button) to toggle magnification quickly.
These make focusing vintage lenses far easier, since there’s no autofocus.
Example: Canon R5 Mark II + Vintage Lens Workflow
Here’s how it looks in practice when shooting with vintage lenses on a modern mirrorless camera:
Mount the vintage lens with the correct adapter.
➡️ Here is more info on adapters if needed.Enable Release shutter without lens in menu.
Switch your camera to Manual mode.
Use Back Button Magnification for critical focus.
Focus manually, frame your shot, and press the shutter.
Enjoy the unique character vintage lenses give your images.
Shooting vintage lenses is slower and more tactile than modern glass, but that’s part of the fun. The way these lenses render highlights, contrast, and imperfections brings character to your photography that can’t be replicated with modern optics. So be prepared to slow down and be more thoughtful about your photography.
Common Questions
❓ My camera still won’t take photos after enabling the setting, what now?
Make sure you’re in Manual Mode.
Check that your adapter is correctly mounted.
Some cameras require you to assign focus assist tools or peaking manually.
Research common issues with your camera model and vintage lenses on Google. There might be an additional menu setting you might have to change.
❓ Can I use autofocus lenses with this setting Enabled?
Yes. This setting only affects lenses without electronic contacts. Modern autofocus lenses communicate electronically, so the camera already “knows” they’re mounted, and won’t block the shutter even without this setting.
❓ Do vintage lenses work on DSLRs?
Most DSLRs don’t block shutter release by default, so vintage lenses usually work without having to adjust anything. But this varies between brands and models.
Worth mentioning is that some vintage lenses can sit deep into the DLSR body and you may have to lock the mirror in the up position in order to avoid smashing the mirror into the back of the lens when mounted. If you are mounting vintage or manual focus glass on your DSLR do your research first.
For me, shooting with vintage glass is not just about achieving a particular look; it’s about slowing down and immersing myself in the process of photography. In today’s fast-paced world of digital cameras and autofocus, vintage lenses force me to step back in time. They make me take a more thoughtful approach to every shot. The tactile experience of manually focusing, setting aperture, and carefully composing each frame brings a level of mindfulness to my work that is refreshing and fun. It reminds me why I fell in love with photography in the first place, capturing moments, not just images.
If you’ve ever wanted to explore the world of vintage lenses or just want to hear more about how I use them, make sure to subscribe for more content like this. I’m excited to continue sharing my journey with these timeless tools and helping you along your journey with them too.
Final Thoughts
Shooting with vintage and manual lenses is an incredibly rewarding way to expand your creative vision. The menu setting to enable shutter release without a lens is the first step, once you’ve enabled that, your camera opens up to a whole world of classic glass and creative lenses. There is a whole new world to explore. Thanks for reading. See you in the next post.
More Content With These Lenses
Canon nFD 17mm f4, Auto Takumar 35mm f2.3, Osawa 28mm f2.8
🚀 EQUIPMENT USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO
Canon EOS R5 Mark II - https://amzn.to/46UH9NX
Fujifilm X100vi - https://amzn.to/3VlWLWy
Canon RF 15-35mm f2.8 L IS USM - https://amzn.to/32fkIma
Tiffen Pro Mist 1/8 - https://amzn.to/3uYDXMs
NiSi True Color VND - https://amzn.to/3YbYL29
K&F Concept M42 to RF adapter https://amzn.to/42XfoBl
Fotodiox Pro Lens Adapter FD to RF - https://amzn.to/2SILCkP
Sennheiser AVX MKE2 LAV - https://amzn.to/3x6VtTk
