Compatibility of Nikon F Mount Lenses

Eniac27 · Jan 5, 2025

I am currently looking for some extra lenses for my Nikon FM (which works well with Ai/Ais Lenses), and i was wondering will the light meter work with newer AF lenses (i.e. will the camera receive aperture information from the lens). It would be great if anyone could help.

Thanks a lot!

mshchem · Jan 5, 2025

AF-D lenses work great. The latest G type lenses are not compatible with the FM.

MFstooges · Jan 5, 2025

My only 50mm is AFD which I use with FM and FE. No problem at all except the focus ring is too light for my liking.

mshchem · Jan 5, 2025

Cosina made Zeiss ZF lens are wonderful. Made in Japan, nice metal and great quality, can be found used at decent prices.

mshchem · Jan 5, 2025

Eniac27 said:
I am currently looking for some extra lenses for my Nikon FM (which works well with Ai/Ais Lenses), and i was wondering will the light meter work with newer AF lenses (i.e. will the camera receive aperture information from the lens). It would be great if anyone could help.

Thanks a lot!

Welcome to Photrio!!!

250swb · Jan 5, 2025

Eniac27 said:
I am currently looking for some extra lenses for my Nikon FM (which works well with Ai/Ais Lenses), and i was wondering will the light meter work with newer AF lenses (i.e. will the camera receive aperture information from the lens). It would be great if anyone could help.

Thanks a lot!

Here is a lens compatibility chart which you may find helpful.

https://www.nikonians.org/reviews/nikon-slr-camera-and-lens-compatibility

The good news is just because a lens has AF it doesn't mean it is newer and so 'better' than an Ai/Ais lens. As others have said the 'D' lenses will work and give the options of improved super wide lenses like 20mm or micro 60mm etc.

Ben Hutcherson · Jan 5, 2025

Just to dig out a bit of terminology, the lenses you need to avoid are type G lenses(no aperture ring) bag type E lenses(electronic aperture).

G type lenses will work fine with “two dial” film cameras like the F5, F6, F100 and a few others. They also have some limited compatibility with older cameras like the F4(you can get shutter priority and program) but with non-electronic cameras they will always shoot at minimum aperture.

Type E lenses can’t have their aperture controlled by any film camera. They will always shoot wide open. Since most of them are modern fast aperture zooms and long primes, this isn’t as detrimental as you might think, but something to be aware of.

Also watch out for AF-P lenses, all of which are either G or E lenses also. These are sometimes called “focus by wire” lenses, and have no physical connection between the focus ring and the lens focus mechanism. These can only be focused(even manually) on a compatible body.

AF and AF-D lenses have aperture rings, and are actually 100% AI-s lenses just with extras for autofocus. A lot of the small primes and cheap zooms are not great for manual focus, as the focus ring has a short travel and is super light. Many also have really small focus rings. A lot of larger primes and higher end zooms actually have pretty decent manual focus with large rings and good damping.

ic-racer · Jan 5, 2025

The "E" lenses are all AI-S and aperture can be controlled on all cameras.

Sometimes one has to just try things and see which modes work. For example G lenses on a N2000, etc.

Chan Tran · Jan 5, 2025

ic-racer said:
The "E" lenses are all AI-S and aperture can be controlled on all cameras.

Sometimes one has to just try things and see which modes work. For example G lenses on a N2000, etc.

The Series E lenses and Type E lenses are 2 different things.
The Series E lenses were introduced with the EM and 100% compatible with the FM as they are the same as AI-s lenses without the rabbit ear.
The Type E lenses are much newer and are not compatible with anything made before the Nikon D3 and thus none of Nikon film camera including the F6. The Type E has its own actuator to open and close the aperture.

Sirius Glass · Jan 5, 2025

Welcome to Photrio!

I use Nikon AF cameras [N75 and F100] with the D lenses and a few manual lenses [ 15mm Fisheye and a 18mm 110 degree wide angle]

Ben Hutcherson · Jan 6, 2025

ic-racer said:
The "E" lenses are all AI-S and aperture can be controlled on all cameras.

Sometimes one has to just try things and see which modes work. For example G lenses on a N2000, etc.

Type E lenses have no mechanical aperture coupling. The only camera that can control them are DSLRs(and mirrorless) introduced after ~2008. Interestingly enough, though, I can put my 24-70 f/2.8E or 70-200 f/2.8E FL on one of my F4s and the camera will still give correct exposure-it knows that f/2.8 is the only available aperture. The F5 and F6 will show f/2.8 as the aperture in any mode and not let you change it.

It’s actually a shame the F6 never got a firmware update to control these lenses. Most of Nikons newer high end F mount lenses use this type of aperture, and among other things I love that it’s free of the exposure inconsistency sometimes seen in G lenses, especially in high speed shooting. In fact I never paid much attention, but a lot of times in say a family portrait session(which is almost always on digital for me…just the reality) I’m often using the 24-70 and 70-200 pair on two separate bodies, with the 24-70 doing the heavy lifting a lot of times. I’d often notice random missed exposures in a sequence, but would never be able to tie it to a specific lens or body. It was especially frustrating when I’d have 20 photos of the same group, and the bad exposure would be on the one where everyone was looking at the camera and smiling…and that’s often where it would be most apparent because I’ll usually shoot groups at moderate apertures.

This problem went away for me if I was using a D lens and setting aperture on the aperture ring. It also went away when I upgraded the 24-70G to the E version. I lost it completely when I got the 70-200 FL last summer, which is just a magic lens in general(if only Nikon hadn’t felt the need to mess with the zoom and focus rings). That lens still gets some “best in class” recognition, and even compares favorably to the newer Z mount version. I just got a roll of Velvia back where I shot a few frames with it, and the lens is just as amazing on film as digital.

As stated, these are not the same thing as the budget Series E lenses. Yes, those are 100% AI-s compliant lenses.

ic-racer · Jan 6, 2025

Type E lenses have no mechanical aperture coupling.

All E lenses are AI-S and do have aperture couping. This was stated above. Please don't contaminate the analog section with confusing discussion of digital equipment that has no use in film photography; especially in this 100% analog section. Maybe the moderators will step in here.

Chan Tran · Jan 6, 2025

ic-racer said:
All E lenses are AI-S and do have aperture couping. This was stated above. Please don't contaminate the analog section with confusing discussion of digital equipment that has no use in film photography; especially in this 100% analog section. Maybe the moderators will step in here.

So you do not consider the E Type lenses as Nikon F mount lenses?

Ben Hutcherson · Jan 6, 2025

ic-racer said:
All E lenses are AI-S and do have aperture couping. This was stated above. Please don't contaminate the analog section with confusing discussion of digital equipment that has no use in film photography; especially in this 100% analog section. Maybe the moderators will step in here.

Tell my transparencies shot with my 70-200 f/2.8E that the lenses have "no use" in film photography.

They're not a wise investment if you use a 100% film workflow, but if you have the lenses they will work.

It is also worth mentioning in the context of someone shopping because these are 100% F-mount lenses that will physically fit any F mount film body from an F to an F6 to a Nikkorex to an N55. They just have serious limitations on all these bodies...

And no, these type E lenses do not have any mechanical coupling to the camera body, aperture or otherwise.

koraks · Jan 6, 2025

ic-racer said:
Maybe the moderators will step in here.

I think we'll probably not, because the discussion revolves around lenses and lens/body compatibility, and I don't think we're going to very strictly police the analog/digital divide in this case.

Andreas Thaler · Jan 7, 2025

Ben Hutcherson said:
And no, these type E lenses do not have any mechanical coupling to the camera body, aperture or otherwise.

Example for a Series E lens:

Mechanical aperture coupling elements on the Ai-S bayonet:

AI coupling for transmitting the set aperture to the aperture simulator camera (red)
aperture lever that couples with the open aperture lever in the mirror box (green)

Andreas Thaler · Jan 7, 2025

ic-racer said:
All E lenses are AI-S and do have aperture couping.

True for Series E.

Andreas Thaler · Jan 7, 2025

To make sure you know what we're talking about, the terms should be used clearly.

As an analog photographer here in the analog forum, I understand „E“ to mean „Series E“ in the Nikon world.

I've provided an example for Series E here.

Chan Tran · Jan 7, 2025

Andreas Thaler said:
If Series E lenses are 100% Ai-S compatible, how can they function without a mechanical aperture clutch?

How does a Series E lens then work on a Nikon FA, which is what it was made for, and how does it transfer the set aperture?

Type E lenses are not Series E lenses. In fact the correct term is E Type lenses. Ben was talking about the E type lenses which have electromagnetic diaphragm. These were introduced in 2007. No film camera can control the diaphragm on these lenses and the lens to body interface is 100% electronic. No mechanical coupling of any kind.

Andreas Thaler · Jan 7, 2025

Chan Tran said:
Type E lenses are not Series E lenses. In fact the correct term is E Type lenses. Ben was talking about the E type lenses which have electromagnetic diaphragm. These were introduced in 2007. No film camera can control the diaphragm on these lenses and the lens to body interface is 100% electronic. No mechanical coupling of any kind.

I have already deleted my post that you quoted because it is not relevant in the context.

For the need to clarify the terms, see above.

Chan Tran · Jan 7, 2025

Andreas Thaler said:
I have already deleted my post that you quoted because it is not relevant in the context.

For the need to clarify the terms, see above.

So in the analog section we can't talk about AF-P lenses either? They do mount on the FM but you can't focus it.

Ben Hutcherson · Jan 7, 2025

Andreas Thaler said:
If Series E lenses are 100% Ai-S compatible, how can they function without a mechanical aperture clutch?

How does a Series E lens work on a Nikon FA, which is what it was made for, and how does it transfer the set aperture?

It's unfortunate that Nikon has used the "E" designation for two different, unrelated lens types.

"Series E" lenses were, as you show, the budget lenses originally designed for the Nikon EM, but fully compatible with all Nikon bodies capable of coupling to AI-S lenses. They made liberal use of plastic(compared to contemporary Nikkor-branded lenses-they have a lot of metal compared to many modern lenses!), used simple optical designs, and omitted the coupling shoe for earlier non-AI meters.

The E lenses we are speaking of are more modern, and eliminate all mechanical connection to the camera. As said, they are not totally irrelevant for discussion here because, even though they are digital era lenses, you can put them on any F mount camera you desire. On fully mechanical cameras, the lens will remain wide open, but exposure will still be fine since that's also how the camera will meter. Electronic cameras will be fully aware that they can not stop the aperture down, so every exposure will still be correct. Late film cameras like the F5, F6, F100, and N80 will still autofocus fine and will get VR. The F4 will meter and expose correctly(again, fully aware that the lens can't be stopped down) and will operate the autofocus on these lenses.

Andreas Thaler · Jan 7, 2025

Ben Hutcherson said:
It's unfortunate that Nikon has used the "E" designation for two different, unrelated lens types.

"Series E" lenses were, as you show, the budget lenses originally designed for the Nikon EM, but fully compatible with all Nikon bodies capable of coupling to AI-S lenses. They made liberal use of plastic(compared to contemporary Nikkor-branded lenses-they have a lot of metal compared to many modern lenses!), used simple optical designs, and omitted the coupling shoe for earlier non-AI meters.

The E lenses we are speaking of are more modern, and eliminate all mechanical connection to the camera. As said, they are not totally irrelevant for discussion here because, even though they are digital era lenses, you can put them on any F mount camera you desire. On fully mechanical cameras, the lens will remain wide open, but exposure will still be fine since that's also how the camera will meter. Electronic cameras will be fully aware that they can not stop the aperture down, so every exposure will still be correct. Late film cameras like the F5, F6, F100, and N80 will still autofocus fine and will get VR. The F4 will meter and expose correctly(again, fully aware that the lens can't be stopped down) and will operate the autofocus on these lenses.

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All right, thanks for the info

chuckroast · Jan 7, 2025

Eniac27 said:
I am currently looking for some extra lenses for my Nikon FM (which works well with Ai/Ais Lenses), and i was wondering will the light meter work with newer AF lenses (i.e. will the camera receive aperture information from the lens). It would be great if anyone could help.

Thanks a lot!

Others here have noted that the AF-Ds will work. I heartily recommend the 28-70 f/3.5-4.5 AF-D lens. I got one for $50 or so and use it with a D750 and at some point will try it with my F3.

I took it to Europe and shot a week with nothing else on the D750 because I didn't want the weight of a longer zoom. It's absolutely tack sharp with excellent color rendering.

(It's leagues better than the 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5 I tried before that, which was hot garbage and very soft.)

__Brian · Jan 7, 2025

It's easier to use zoom lenses with "constant" aperture across the focal range with an FM or other manual exposure camera. Zooms with aperture that changed as the lens is zoomed became popular with auto-exposure cameras. Most of the less expensive AF Zooms are variable aperture.

Compatibility of Nikon F Mount Lenses

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