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Archive 2009 · Old lenses and what body?

grizz9
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p.1 #1 · Old lenses and what body?

I have several old Nikon lenses that I have used with my Nikon F and F3. I would like to get a Digital body to stick these lenses on and am getting a little confused as to what will work with what. The primary lens I would like to use on this is the Nikon 105mm f/4.0 Nikkor Micro AI-S. I also have several older non Ai lenses that I believe may not be usable. Also a 43-86 zoom that I would use if it would work but it is not as important. I am not looking for a hi $ pro model just an older entry level like th D70 or D40 but really need to know what will work. I have a light meter and metering is not a concern. Thanks, John

Jul 07, 2009 at 05:54 PM

richiebaz
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p.1 #2 · Old lenses and what body?

I cannot believe I am posting a KR link here but he does have a write up about these issues with a nice compatibility chart:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm

Jul 07, 2009 at 06:02 PM

Genes Home
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p.1 #3 · Old lenses and what body?

+1 for the chart. Its a nice tool.

I have several older primes I use with my D300, which has a "non-cpu" menu option that lets you tell the camera the focal length and maximum aperture of the lens you are using. This works great for the AI and higher lenses.

I also have a couple really old lenses (one a 105mm macro, one an 85mm f2.5 and one an ancient 300mm with the old totallly manual TC-1.4xIIB teleconverter) that I have discovered can still be used. Simply use the "non-cpu" option and load the info. Set the camera for "auto-ISO" and it will slide the ISO up and down within the range you set (it knows it can't change the aperture and shutter speed) to try to give you a good exposure......kind of a "software driven" exposure automation. Good for about a 2.5-3 stop range before you have to step in and manually adjust the f-stop or shutter speed.

So I would go for any body which has both the "auto-ISO" and the "non-cpu" menu items.

Jul 07, 2009 at 06:13 PM

Smiert Spionam
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p.1 #4 · Old lenses and what body?

The D200 will give you the same metering with AI lenses as the D300, for a lot less money. You'll still need to convert the non-AI lenses, which can damage the body's aperture linkage.

One advantage of a small body without an AF motor (D40, etc.) is that you can mount your non-AI lenses without that worry, since they don't have a linkage to damage (electronic connection only).

Apart from that small issue, though, the D200 gives you a lot more camera for not much money (down around $500 used, and recently on Bestbuy.com for $599).

Jul 07, 2009 at 06:32 PM

lxdesign
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p.1 #5 · Old lenses and what body?

Why not a D700? They were designed to work with 35mm .... FX is logical! Although you indicate cost is an issue.. but the D700 would serve you very well no matter what you shoot, and those older lenses will work just fine on the 700

Jul 07, 2009 at 06:47 PM

Smiert Spionam
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p.1 #6 · Old lenses and what body?

lxdesign wrote:
Why not a D700? They were designed to work with 35mm .... FX is logical! Although you indicate cost is an issue.. but the D700 would serve you very well no matter what you shoot, and those older lenses will work just fine on the 700

"I am not looking for a hi $ pro model just an older entry level like th D70 or D40 but really need to know what will work."

Jul 07, 2009 at 06:49 PM

lxdesign
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p.1 #7 · Old lenses and what body?

The D2h will work - and you can pick them up these days really inexpesively. The problem with most entry level bodies is that they won't meter for ambient light, which is what you need for the older non-chipped lenses

Jul 07, 2009 at 06:55 PM

panos.v
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p.1 #8 · Old lenses and what body?

Depending on how much money you have, go for a D2H, D200 or D2X. They will meter with your old lenses, unlike the cheaper D50/D70 bodies. I'd prefer the D2 bodies over the D200, mainly for the bigger and brighter viewfinder but because you also get a focusing aid: the D200 only has a dot that tells you whether you focused or not, the D2 bodies have arrows that tell you which way to turn the focus ring to get focus.

Add a Katzeye screen to them and you'll be having a great time. And as said, you can only use AI lenses with these cameras.

Jul 07, 2009 at 07:26 PM

MikeLandry
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p.1 #9 · Old lenses and what body?

grizz9 wrote:
I also have several older non Ai lenses that I believe may not be usable.

I had several non-AI lenses AI'd by Bill Rogers Camera in Las Vegas using original Nikon conversion parts. He did a good job at a good price with quick turnaround.

Looking at his website, it looks as though he's not doing bench work any more - but might still have the parts you'd need.

Jul 07, 2009 at 07:40 PM

aroth87
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p.1 #10 · Old lenses and what body?

A D40 will mount anything you can throw at it. It will even work with non-AI lenses without the need for conversion. Anything other than D40/D40x/D60 will need to have the lens converted to AI before mounting. It won't have any kind of metering with non-AI/AI/AIS lenses and won't autofocus with anything but AFS but, for me at least, its not a big deal. If you can't live without metering/AF, then by all means go for the more expensive bodies. I, for one, love my little D40. I pair mine with a 24mm/f2.8 AIS for a mean little street set up. Using a 50mm/f1.8 Series E makes for a super compact, fast combo as well.

Adam

Jul 07, 2009 at 08:02 PM

Smiert Spionam
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p.1 #11 · Old lenses and what body?

MikeLandry wrote:
I had several non-AI lenses AI'd by Bill Rogers Camera in Las Vegas using original Nikon conversion parts. He did a good job at a good price with quick turnaround.

Looking at his website, it looks as though he's not doing bench work any more - but might still have the parts you'd need.

John White (aiconversions.com) has also been doing this for years, and he has a great reputation.

Jul 07, 2009 at 09:10 PM

Oasisbill
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p.1 #12 · Old lenses and what body?

This might help: http://www.aiconversions.com/compatibilitytable.htm

Jul 07, 2009 at 11:33 PM

Kingfishphoto
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p.1 #13 · Old lenses and what body?

The old Vivitar/Soligor T-4 mount lenses will mount and work with no conversions needed, i have and use several on my D300.

Jul 07, 2009 at 11:51 PM

jsheridan1
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p.1 #14 · Old lenses and what body?

I'm using AI-s 105/4 with D40 and I'm quite happy with the combination. There's one sample picture in your best Nikon shots thread (page 201).

Jul 08, 2009 at 10:45 AM

jsheridan1
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p.1 #15 · Old lenses and what body?

double post

Edited on Jul 08, 2009 at 01:38 PM · View previous versions

Jul 08, 2009 at 10:45 AM

jsheridan1
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p.1 #16 · Old lenses and what body?

panos.v wrote:
Depending on how much money you have, go for a D2H, D200 or D2X. They will meter with your old lenses, unlike the cheaper D50/D70 bodies. I'd prefer the D2 bodies over the D200, mainly for the bigger and brighter viewfinder but because you also get a focusing aid: the D200 only has a dot that tells you whether you focused or not, the D2 bodies have arrows that tell you which way to turn the focus ring to get focus.

Add a Katzeye screen to them and you'll be having a great time. And as said, you can only use AI lenses with these cameras.

I think D60 has also the focus aid.

Jul 08, 2009 at 11:41 AM

jay tieger
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p.1 #17 · Old lenses and what body?

...and don't forget that with an adapter you can mount virtually any old MF Nikkor on (gulp) a Canon DSLR body...and still use the on-board meter...setting aperture is manual too, but I find I typically stop down only 1-2 stops (to 2.8 from 1.4, 4 from 2.5 or 2.8, and to 5.6 from 4/4.5) and just focus/meter shoot from there.
Couldn't be simpler...like this 105 on my old/departed XT...

This image is copyrighted by the owner

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Jul 08, 2009 at 01:32 PM

grizz9
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p.1 #18 · Old lenses and what body?

Yes, I do have an adaptor and have gone that route before.

My deep down thoughts were to trade an old rebel 300D body for an old nikon body just to play with this. I figured there may be a Nikon person wanting to see an old Canon body. I did not mention that here since i was really just looking to see which body was an option. It seems to me the D40 is the real Nikon option for me since all of my old lenses will work on it. Of course that is not a trade option with an old 300d. I may put an FT post on the B&S forum just to see if there is any interest.

Jul 08, 2009 at 03:20 PM

Robert Spencer
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p.1 #19 · Old lenses and what body?

A couple of links that might be useful:
http://theswampbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9865&highlight=convert
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm
http://www.bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm
Good luck. Bob

Jul 08, 2009 at 03:44 PM

DABNIK
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p.1 #20 · Old lenses and what body?

John

I have several old (eg: 1975) Nikon lenses. Had some converted by John White in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He did a great job & has been doing it for years. The other one mentioned here seems to have run into some "reputation problems".
I use them on my new D200 & D300 & they work perfectly. Some people disdain the MF but on my old F2 it was MF and manual exposure - so no big problem. I think (but m not sure) that the D200 & D300 are the only ones you can use these on - until you get to a D700 and up.
The nice thing about old glass - it was great in the 1970s and still is.
Enjoy

Jul 08, 2009 at 06:30 PM

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