Nikon lense compatibility

[yellow911turbo]

Hello all,

I currently have a N80 with a couple lenses and I am looking into upgrading my digital camera. I'd like to get a Nikon but I will only get one if I can use the same lenses for it. I've searched on the net and I can't make sense of the F-mount types. Very possible that no one here will have the answer, but I figured I'd try. Thanks anyway.

Serge

P.S. Just got back from a (very short) trip to Monaco and Nice.

[yellow911turbo]

Oh, and since I have my own thread, I wanted to ask if K9Handler ignores others' PMs or if it's just mine. I've tried several times now and... nothing.

[RickC]

Like the film cameras, I'm pretty certain all the "D" type autofocus lenses fit all the cameras of the last 10 years or so - digital included. Can use AI lenses with limited features too. Old pin lenses don't work with the metering.

[gchappel]

Try the boards at http://www.nikonians.org
They have answered a lot of my questions.
I went digital about 2 months ago- went with the d70. Awsome camera. I can't get over the ability to take hundreds of pictures, save 4 of them and erase the rest all in the field. I still like the qualities of film, and prefer the softness of film prints, but digital is just so easy.
Gary

[arcsine]

I moved from the 8080 film to the D100 digital and have had no issues with the autofocus (AF) lenses. Looking at www.nikonusa.com they say for the D70/D100 all lenses work except the XI Nikkor. I hope this helps.

[cegerer]

All of your Nikon lenses will work. I have several film and digital Nikon bodies and interchange the lenses frequently. But as with all digital SLR cameras, the effective focal length of the lenses will be altered. You must multiply the focal length by 1.5 when using a digital body. So .... A 35mm lenses will perform more like a 50mm. A 21mm wideangle will be more like a 30mm lenses.

[yellow911turbo]

thanks a lot, guys.

... Pre-AI lenses cannot be mounted on most modern AI only bodies. These include, FM2, FE2, FG, EM, FA, F5, F100 and every N-series camera including the N90s. If you try to mount an non-AI lens on these bodies, you may damage the AI lever. Some AI cameras, like the FM, FE, F2A, F2AS, F3, FT3, EL2 and F4 can move their AI lever out of the way and can use pre-AI lenses; however with most of these, stop-down metering is required since most don't meter couple with the old lenses. Finally, pre-AI bodies must use stop-down metering with AI and later lenses that don't have the IC prong which includes all AF lenses and I think all E series lenses.

cegerer,
is there something that i am missing?

i signed up at nikonians.org and i've done some reading but haven't found the exact answer yet. i'm looking at used d100s on ebay now. i think taht's what i want to go with. i don't want to get a d70 but i may have to.

gary,
i'm curious as to what issues you've had with AF lenses. thanks

cheers all,
serge

[arcsine]

I have had no issues. They function exactly as they did with the film body. Expect for the previously mentioned altering of focal length, I am completely happy with the results especially when shooting in RAW format.

[nostatic]

the only other thing I've read and experienced is that the more you change lenses with your D100/D70, the more often you need to clean the CCD. It can get dirty very fast.

[cegerer]

Pre-AI lenses cannot be mounted on most modern AI only bodies...... "

Yeah, that is true. But the pre-AI stuff is pretty old these days (pre-1978) and doesn't even work with modern Nikon film bodies. There are inexpensive converters available ($40 or so) to convert even pre-AI lenses to work on the newer digital and film bodies.

All Nikon auto-focus lenses will work fine on N80, N65, N60, N5005, N4004, Fuji S1, Fuji S2, D1, D1H, D1X and D2H, and D100, although there be be a few features such as matrix-metering that won't fully work.

[StevoRocket]

I have a D70 - the spec knocks spots off the D100 which is now overpriced. See Steves-digicams.com for a full comparative review.
All Nikon fit AF lenses fit the D70 - and have the effect of upping the size by 1.5 - so a Tamron 28-300 AF XR DI zoom becomes a 42 - 450 zoom on the D70. Quality of the results seems unaffected.
The really cool thing about the D70 - apart from using my existing Nikon fit lenses - is the ISO setting flexibility - you want to shoot 1600 asa - fine just do it - then change to 200asa just do that too!
If you use a fast compact flash card like the LEXAR pro 1gig 80X then the multi shot facility is superb.
Battery life is also superb - I havn't had to use the car charger lead yet or the spare battery!
I am more than satisfied - and the picture quality is also indistinguishable from the 8 megapixle Sony F828 which I also have.
My only reservation about the D70 is how long will it take Nikon to produce the next version with 10 megapixels. video and infra red facilities.
Just do it - go and get one!

[StevoRocket]

Compatibilty of lenses from Steves-digicams.com

1. DX Nikkor: All functions supported;

2. Type G- or D-AF Nikkor: All functions supported;

3. Micro Nikkor 85mm F2.8D: All functions supported except some exposure modes;

4. Other AF Nikkor (excluding lenses for F3AF): All functions supported except 3D Color Matrix Metering, i-TTL balanced Fill-Flash for digital SLR;

5. AI-P Nikkor: All functions supported except 3D Color Matrix Metering, i-TTL balanced Fill-Flash for digital SLR and autofocus;

6. Non-CPU: Can be used in exposure mode M, but exposure meter does not function; electronic range finder can be used if maximum aperture is f/5.6 or faster.

7. IX Nikkor Lenses cannot be used.

[yellow911turbo]

Thanks rocket and the rest for the replies. I read the review of both the d70 and the d100 on steve-digicams.com I think that for the price that the d100s are going on ebay, I'd be crazy not to get the d100. I also ran accross http://store.yahoo.com/royalcamera/digitalcameras-nikon.html while looking on ebay. Does anyone have any idea how it could possibly be so cheap? It's even cheaper than the d70. Is there some kind of a scam that I may be missing. I looked for small print and didn't find any. Maybe at that price some of you reading this will want to get one. Retail for the d100 is around 1500 with a 200$ rebate. I'll also post on nikonians.org and see if anyone knows anything.

Cheers,
Serge

[StevoRocket]

The reason D100 's are cheap is they are outperformed by the D70.

Why? because the D100 was introduced two years ago and the D70 is brand new.

So with the D100 its heavier , slower to start up - has a slower continuous shooting speed - eats batteries - has only 4000th top shutter speed instead of 8000 - is more complex to use than the better menu system on the D70 - there is a comparitive table on the Steves-digicams site because of all the differences that two years chip development can bring.

Try handling both in a shop before you make up your mind. See how many D100's turn up secondhand on ebay.

Buying a D100 is Like buying a 996 instead of a 997.

[yellow911turbo]

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1895.html

that royal camera place seems like a big scam. http://www.resellerratings.com is a good place to look up companies before buying.

rocket,
i wasn't aware that the d100 is that much older than the d70. the d70 is a lower-end camera, but you say that it is a better camera overall because it is that much newer? if you could, tell me how it is better. you listed that it's slower, heavier and less efficient as far as batteries go. for someone that wants something relatively easy to use, would you recommend it? i used to work in commercial photography and we did all digital and i have education along with that experience. i'm in italy so i'm not sure how far i'd have to go before i'd find both cameras to check out. i appreciate your responses and i trust your opinion because we go way back. heh. but seriously, thanks.

serge

[StevoRocket]

Serge

The problem that Nikon had was they were quite a bit later to market with the D70 than Canon were with the Digital Rebel, they had the Nikon D1X for professional use but it was way too expensive for the enthusiastic amateurs, so when they brought out the D70 it had to be better than Canons offerings and it had to be faster to operate than the existing SLR's from Fuji and Pentax. Even if it was as good as or better in some areas than the D100.
Processing chips were in any case faster, newer Compact flash cards had bigger capacities and were faster and Nikon thinking was being influenced by other parallel developments. So now they have the D2x for professionals. And 8megapixels for Prosumer models with fixed zoom lenses.
These web sites review the D70. Good second opinions.
Find them on the last page of the Steves-digicams.com site.

LetsGoDigital's D70 First Look

DP Review's D70 review

Imaging-Resource's D70 review

DC View's D70 review

DC Resource's D70 review

Megapixel.net's D70 review

The bottom line is that the D70 with the 18-70mm lens package is a superb camera/lens combination and with a few Ebay purchased other lenses (like a 28-300 Tamron or Vivitar zoom) gives the 35mm equivolent of 27- 450mm with just two lenses.
My D70 line up is....
Nikon D70
18-70 AF Nikkor - with the camera purchase
28-300 Tamron AF XR DI 1:3.5 - 6.3 - new purchase
35-300 AF Tokina 1:4.5-6.7 - off my 35mm Nikon F50 (to be sold)
50mm AF Nikkor 1:1.4 used - ebay
20mm AF Nikkor 2.8 used - ebay
70-210 AF Nikkor Micro 1:4-5.6 - used - ebay
28-80 AF Nikkor - off my 35mm Nikon F50 (to be sold)