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I'm just starting to get into photography and got a used Sony QX1 and the 16-50 kit lens.
Now I'm looking to extend my glass collection.

I've read that to use lenses without any electrical connections, the camera needs to support "release without lens".

A quick search found this at the Sony community

When I first heard about the QX1 I thought it would be great if I could use it with ALL of my lenses (including the adapted ones), especially my Zeiss ZM manual lenses.

Unfortunately as I (finally) found out, the QX1 does not support the Release without Lens feature that the NEX cameras use - thus allowing the shutter to operate without there being an electronically mounted E mount lens attached.

So that would say No.

But - if I remove the kit lens from my QX1 and press the shutter button, it does click and seems to take a picture.

Does anyone of you definitely know whether it works, before I invest a lot of money into manual focus lenses?

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    \$\begingroup\$ What firmware version is your camera running? How old is the comment you linked to? What was the most recent firmware version available at that time? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Jan 26, 2021 at 20:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ There haven't been any firmware updates for the QX1 \$\endgroup\$
    – Lukas Rieger
    Jan 26, 2021 at 22:04
  • \$\begingroup\$ A cheap way to test the hypothesis is with a cheap adapter + lens combo. There’s a 35mm f1.7 Cmount combo floating around the internet for less than $30. Old K-mount film era kit zooms are dirt cheap to the point that one plus an adapter might be even less...if it doesn’t work you are not out much... \$\endgroup\$
    – Bob Macaroni McStevens
    Jan 27, 2021 at 17:30
  • \$\begingroup\$ ...or poke a pinhole in a body cap even cheaper. \$\endgroup\$
    – Bob Macaroni McStevens
    Jan 27, 2021 at 17:32

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"... if I remove the kit lens from my QX1 and press the shutter button, it does click and seems to take a picture." – Does the camera save an image to the memory card? If so, shouldn't that answer your question?

You can try taking pictures with tape over the lens contacts If you capture anything recognizable, even if blurry, there's no reason you wouldn't be able to use manual lenses.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes the image is saved. And looking again at the thread, someone else wrote > "The sensor already supports shooting without lens attached. Worked for me with pinhole sensor cap and also with a Cannon mount adapter (without contacts)" < I was a bit paranoid and hoping for someone to tell me "yes, I have the exact same camera and it works", but this should be good enough. Thanks! \$\endgroup\$
    – Lukas Rieger
    Jan 26, 2021 at 22:06
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    \$\begingroup\$ Vintage lenses are pretty inexpensive. Since prices have pretty much already bottomed out, you can usually resell for the purchase price, minus fees and shipping. So if it doesn't work out, it's a cheap experiment. \$\endgroup\$
    – xiota
    Jan 26, 2021 at 22:53

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