Nikon: Compatibility of old lenses to digital?

[peter k.]

Have an 84 year old friend who wants to get back into photography, yet wants to simplify. and use his old Nikon F2 lenses from his old film equipment, and go digital with it.

Suggestions please on what Nikon digital camera's would be best suited for this.
thanks p.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Not my favorite camera article writer but "Nikon Lens Compatibility" by Ken Rockwell is a good place to start learning about which lenses work well with later film and digital cameras.

Nikon Lens Compatibility by Ken Rockwell

Nikon Lens Compatibility by Ken Rockwell

kenrockwell.com

 

[madNbad]

The Df will accept the widest variety of Nikkor lenses. It has the little flip up lever to accommodate both non-Ai and Ai/Ai-S lenses. There is also a menu selection for non-Ai lenses. The Df is getting a bit old and being based of the D600 they do suffer from the same problem with excess oil but it would be easiest one to use with older lenses.

 

[Chan Tran]

The Df will accept the widest variety of Nikkor lenses. It has the little flip up lever to accommodate both non-Ai and Ai/Ai-S lenses. There is also a menu selection for non-Ai lenses. The Df is getting a bit old and being based of the D600 they do suffer from the same problem with excess oil but it would be easiest one to use with older lenses.

The Df doesn't have the the oil problem. The Df is much newer than the D600 and thus doesn't have the same shutter.

 

[madNbad]

The Df doesn't have the the oil problem. The Df is much newer than the D600 and thus doesn't have the same shutter.

I owned one and had it serviced. The technician commented on the oil.

 

[Chan Tran]

I owned one and had it serviced. The technician commented on the oil.

I didn't have the oil problem. I did have the exposure meter failed. Any way if the OP's friend has the AI lenses then it would be easier.

 

[madNbad]

I didn't have the oil problem. I did have the exposure meter failed. Any way if the OP's friend has the AI lenses then it would be easier.

The Df was the one time I put some serious effort into moving to digital. Sold it, bought a Leica M4 and a Sony for scanning negatives. If I was to ever get another Nikon digital, it would be the ZFc.

 

[wiltw]

The main reason that a 'film lens' will not work well with a 'digital sensor' regards Wide Angle FL lenses, in which the assorted wavelengths of light fall at slightly different angles from each other, and the divergence of different colors can result in Chromatic Abberations, or what is ofeten referred to as 'purple fringing' seen most prominently in things like tree limbs against the bright sky behind, in which the edges of the limbs have a purplish outline. WA lenses designed 'for digital' attempt to made the light fall more perpendicularly to the sensor surface, rather than at an angle to the surface, so that purple fringing is less visible.

An example https://focus-review.com/en/what-is-chromatic-aberration/

Operationally, using film camera lenses on digital body means that there is not body-control of aperture selection or automatic stop-down to shooting aperture when the shutter is pressed to take a photo...you need to focus wide open, stop down to shooting aperture, and view thru stopped-down lens to compose and shoot. Any lens with stop-down control on the lens barrel would be more convenient to use...press the stop-down button, press the shutter button, then let go of the stop-down button to refocus. (But some mount adapter rings force the lens to always have the set aperture in use.)

 

[Chan Tran]

Operationally, using film camera lenses on digital body means that there is not body-control of aperture selection or automatic stop-down to shooting aperture when the shutter is pressed to take a photo...you need to focus wide open, stop down to shooting aperture, and view thru stopped-down lens to compose and shoot. Any lens with stop-down control on the lens barrel would be more convenient to use...press the stop-down button, press the shutter button, then let go of the stop-down button to refocus. (But some mount adapter rings force the lens to always have the set aperture in use.)

This is not true in the case of the old Nikkor and the Nikon Df. It would meter with full aperture and automatically stops the lens down at set aperture during the actual exposure.

 

[reddesert]

Wilt, please read the Ken Rockwell article on Nikon lens compatibility linked above. Your information is not correct.

1. Virtually all Nikon digital SLRs have mechanical control of the aperture so you can view at full aperture and the camera stops the lens down when the shutter is fired. That is, they all have the mechanical stop down lever inside the mount, even the cheap entry level DSLRs. However, the lower-end DSLRs do not have an AI indexing tab, so you don't get metering, and in general you should not mount a non-AI lens on a DSLR body, because it might foul some of the body mechanics (just like you shouldn't mount a non-AI lens on an Nikon AF film SLR).

2. There are Nikon digital SLRs that have the AI indexing tab around the edge of the lens mount so they can meter with a manual focus AI lens. Not only the Df. These are generally the "pro" (D2, D3, ...) and semi-pro level bodies (D200, D300, D700, ...). This is actually really useful, and the older D200, D300, etc bodies are fairly inexpensive on the used market.

 

[wiltw]

Wilt, please read the Ken Rockwell article on Nikon lens compatibility linked above. Your information is not correct.

1. Virtually all Nikon digital SLRs have mechanical control of the aperture so you can view at full aperture and the camera stops the lens down when the shutter is fired. That is, they all have the mechanical stop down lever inside the mount, even the cheap entry level DSLRs. However, the lower-end DSLRs do not have an AI indexing tab, so you don't get metering, and in general you should not mount a non-AI lens on a DSLR body, because it might foul some of the body mechanics (just like you shouldn't mount a non-AI lens on an Nikon AF film SLR).

2. There are Nikon digital SLRs that have the AI indexing tab around the edge of the lens mount so they can meter with a manual focus AI lens. Not only the Df. These are generally the "pro" (D2, D3, ...) and semi-pro level bodies (D200, D300, D700, ...). This is actually really useful, and the older D200, D300, etc bodies are fairly inexpensive on the used market.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[juan]

All of my AI lenses work with my D750. Use M or A mode and set the aperture manually. If he’s used to an F2, this will be familiar to him. The camera recognizes the aperture setting and stops down when the shutter is released just like an F2. In fact, I frequently carry the D750 and F2 bodies with one set of lenses.

Look up how to use the viewfinder dots for manual focus - there’s no split or micro focus screen for digitals. I really like the old lenses.

Don’t put a non-AI lens on any camera other than the Df.

 

[jon.oman]

Why not a Nikon z5, with the ftz adaptor? It will take any of his lenses in manual focus mode, aperture selection on the lens. By using focus peaking, he can tell when things are in focus. Plus, the camera will provide Image Stabilization for those old lenses. Just another option.

 

[faberryman]

He is 84. Does he really want to carry around a bag full of old lenses? Why not sell all his analog stuff and buy a digital camera (any brand including but not limited to Nikon) and a mid-wide to mid-tele zoom. I don't know how his vision is, but AF might be a real plus. Or he could buy a bag full of film and send it off for processing and scans. That's digital too. That way he wouldn't have to learn a new camera or any software.

 

[peter k.]

He is 84. Does he really want to carry around a bag full of old lenses?

Vellll a very good question, but he's in a wanna do mode... and the only way he will find out is by trying!
Researching a little, an old D90 would seem to work as Juan suggested for a D750

Use M or A mode and set the aperture manually. If he’s used to an F2, this will be familiar to him. The camera recognizes the aperture setting and stops down when the shutter is released just like an F2.

It would enable him to see if he really wanted to do it, and if he did, he could upgrade later.

 

[reddesert]

A D90 won't meter with his manual focus lenses. A D200 or D300 will meter with manual focus lenses in A or M mode. Please read the compatibility chart by Ken Rockwell that Sirius Glass linked to above.

If you spend some more money you can get a used D700, D610, etc full frame DSLR that will meter with the manual focus lenses and give the full field of view. For example a used D610 is about $440 at KEH right now, which is a lot of camera for the $. DSLRs depreciate a lot.

 

[peter k.]

Ah thank you, good point.

 

[Tomwlkr]

The main reason that a 'film lens' will not work well with a 'digital sensor' regards Wide Angle FL lenses, in which the assorted wavelengths of light fall at slightly different angles from each other, and the divergence of different colors can result in Chromatic Abberations, or what is ofeten referred to as 'purple fringing' seen most prominently in things like tree limbs against the bright sky behind, in which the edges of the limbs have a purplish outline. WA lenses designed 'for digital' attempt to made the light fall more perpendicularly to the sensor surface, rather than at an angle to the surface, so that purple fringing is less visible.

An example https://focus-review.com/en/what-is-chromatic-aberration/

Operationally, using film camera lenses on digital body means that there is not body-control of aperture selection or automatic stop-down to shooting aperture when the shutter is pressed to take a photo...you need to focus wide open, stop down to shooting aperture, and view thru stopped-down lens to compose and shoot. Any lens with stop-down control on the lens barrel would be more convenient to use...press the stop-down button, press the shutter button, then let go of the stop-down button to refocus. (But some mount adapter rings force the lens to always have the set aperture in use.)

I use my ai lenses on my D200 all the time. Work better than Nikon's DX lenses

 

[Tomwlkr]

I use my ai lenses on my D200 all the time. Work better than Nikon's DX lenses

Nikon AF D lenses work even better

 

[Chan Tran]

2. There are Nikon digital SLRs that have the AI indexing tab around the edge of the lens mount so they can meter with a manual focus AI lens. Not only the Df. These are generally the "pro" (D2, D3, ...) and semi-pro level bodies (D200, D300, D700, ...). This is actually really useful, and the older D200, D300, etc bodies are fairly inexpensive on the used market.

The different is with pre AI lenses. The Df can meter at full aperture with the pre AI lenses too.