dslr's for dummies...

... like me. I'm considering dumping some of my old 35mm stuff for pennies on the dollar. If I should <ever> decide to, or when I can afford to get a dslr, what about the compatibility with my lenses. I have Nikon 35mm. All the lenses are AF, but before the "D" lenses.

I'm certain the mount is the same and I do at least understand the crop factor depending on image sensor size. But are there any features or functions that would be lost using an older lens on a new dslr?

I won't get rid of my good Nikon glass if I knew that they would work on some future Nikon dslr body.

Thanks!

Lon

New lenses, by and far, have certain optimizations that benefit digital camera users. In particular, how the rear element is coated - digital lenses typically have a coating to minimize reflections from the sensor. Also, lenses that have flaws that are quite acceptable on a film camera may produce less than acceptable images on a digital camera. Finally, the user interface is something to consider. Many new lenses, especially the more expensive ones, have internal motors to drive autofocusing. It was the one thing I looked forward to when I made the switch and I have been able to take images that would not have been easily possible with my manual focus 35 mm lenses. It was a Contax and I was using Zeiss lenses, so the image quality was generally very good to excellent. But being able to capture action subjects consistently was always an issue with my film gear, and not at all an issue with my D200. I am using one lens that was designed for film autofocus bodies, an 80-200 F2.8 which has given me consistently good results, however the updated version of this is somewhat better - faster focus, slightly crisper image, vibration reduction technology. There is no easy answer to your question. You must evaluate each of your older lenses on the new camera to see if it meets your needs. A very helpful website for Nikon owners is

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html#top1

He does a great job of testing lenses on a variety of bodies, both digital and film. It should save you a lot of legwork.

Lon, I'm not a Nikon user but I believe one of the strengths of the Nikon system is compatibility of lenses. Unlike Canon, I think that most older Nikon lenses will work on 'modern' DSLRs. I seem to recall something with one or two of the lower line Nikon bodies (e.g., the D40?) that made AF only compatible with a certain line of lenses but all could still be used in manual focus.

It's not the 'D' that's important but whether the lenses have any contacts on the mount to couple with the light meter. The oldest Nikon lenses only had that cam on the aperture ring. More recent ones had a notch on the aperture ring that at least cameras like the F5 could still use.

I would expect with most Nikon bodies you would have to stop down the lens for metering. Not a big problem when shooting landscapes as is the lack of auto-focus.

If there really is a problem with sensor reflections that make older Nikkor lenses not usable, and you had to get lenses as well as a body, I would take a look at the Sony A900.

- Dan.

Personally, I have not run into the sensor reflection issue. Perhaps I should shoot into the sun more often!!!!! hahaha It appears that Lon said he has older AUTOFOCUS lenses. These will 99 percent work with the newer Nikon Digital cameras with the exception of the D40s and maybe the D60 (there was a second plastic body that has trouble with older AF lenses). If you want to know more about compatibility, go to several of the websites that have excellent reviews...like Ken Rockwell http://www.kenrockwell.com or "mir" in the pacific rim I think.

Which body you get offers different features. A D700, D3, D3x will all give you a full frame from your lenses be they wide angle to telephoto. ALL other Nikon digitals will give you the crop factor. I have "given on loan" to my son and daughter some of my older autofocus lenses. They use them on their D70's and have not had any trouble. I have had not trouble with them on my D200. AS stated above, they will focus slower than the new stuff, but work like champs. Most of the older AF lenses are better built than some of the plastic stuff now being sold to support the low end bodies - not sure optically. Perhaps a list of what you have and which digital body you are interested in would give us a better frame of reference to help you!

As far as dumping the gear for pennies on the dollar, I have my old 35mm bodies in a glass cabinet as a little museum - cause I can't bear to part with them. There sits my EM, FE, N90s, and F5 just begging for some film to eat. I am sorry that my little town has lost all its camera shops that could process film to my liking, leaving only the one hour pharmaceuticals.

Troup Nightingale

Thanks for the links and responses. I'm actually not in a market for a dslr, but the info provided answers my question and will will keep my glass for now.

Thanks again!

Lon

I use a couple of manual focus lenses on my D200, and I have one AF-D as well as two AF-S lenses. Having used the AF-S lenses, which allow you to manually focus/re-focus while in AF mode, I would never again buy an AF lens without that feature. You really get used to it, and then it's #$*! when you go back to AF-D.