300mm lens

Hi, i just recently bought a Nikon D40X, I am new to the SLR camera world. It came with 2 lenses, 50mm and 200mm. I seen a 100-300mm lens on ebay (nikkor 100-300mm 1:5.6). Will this fit my camera?

It will fit. Were you aware that it's a manual-focus lens?

It will fit. Were you aware that it's a manual-focus lens?

yeah it says that in description on ebay, its only $10, probably ideal for a learner, cheers

Nikon has only one 100-300mm/f5.6 zoom that is an AI-S lens from the mid 1980's. You can mount that onto your D40x, but there will be no metering and no auto focus.

Nikon has only one 100-300mm/f5.6 zoom that is an AI-S lens from the mid 1980's. You can mount that onto your D40x, but there will be no metering and no auto focus.

ok, thank you

Edited August 19, 2020 by ShunCheung

For $10, I guess you do have much to lose.

 

Back in the late 1980's, I was a bit interested in that lens and I think my local camera store had one on display. But around that time I bought my first AF body and lens: N8008 (F801) and the first-generation 80-200mm/f2.8 AF, and I never bought the 100-300. Instead, I bought the 300mm/f4 AF.

thats what i was thinking, its a bid on ebay, i am the highest and only one bidding,

yeah it says that in description on ebay, its only $10, probably ideal for a learner, cheers

For $10, I guess you do have much to lose.

 

Back in the late 1980's, I was a bit interested in that lens and I think my local camera store had one on display. But around that time I bought my first AF body and lens: N8008 (F801) and the first-generation 80-200mm/f2.8 AF, and I never bought the 100-300. Instead, I bought the 300mm/f4 AF.

For $10, I guess you do have much to lose.

Errr, shouldn't that be DON'T have much to lose?

 

or am I missing something?;)

Errr, shouldn't that be DON'T have much to lose?

 

or am I missing something?;)

No the rest of us are - that's what I read it as, the mind fills in minor details without us even spotting it..

The 100-300mm f/5.6 Ai-S lens kind of sneaked in under the radar when it was introduced, and I don't think it sold in great numbers. Because of this it's a bit of a rarity these days.

 

Good luck with it, but personally I'd save up my money for a Tamron 70-300 SP VC f/4 ~ 5.6 AF zoom. It'll be fully compatible with your camera and much more hand-holdable than an old 'trombone' style manual focus lens.

I don't think it sold in great numbers.

According to Roland Vink's site, 58000 were produced between 1984 and 1998.

Attitudes may differ but whatever it's best to hold out for, if I could get a working Nikon lens for ten bucks I'd get it anyway!

Attitudes may differ but whatever it's best to hold out for, if I could get a working Nikon lens for ten bucks I'd get it anyway!

Yes, it's probably well worth the money... but then if you go around buying up every mediocre bargain lens you come across, you never get beyond using mediocre lenses. Unless you sell them all on for a healthy profit!

According to Roland Vink's site, 58000 were produced...

58000 of them made? Maybe they all sold outside of the UK, because I've seen very few of them in this neck of the woods.

58000 of them made?

Apparently 58200 made - I've never seen one. A constant f/5.6 must not have been too popular in the film days. Don't think there was much of an alternative in those days - 80-200/4.5, f/4 and f/2.8 and the Series E 70-210/4? The AF 75-300/4.5-5.6 apparently was much more popular - about 220000 made.

A constant f/5.6 must not have been too popular in the film days

 

At f/5.6, most split-prism focusing aids go dark. I can imagine many amateurs would have been surprised to see that and then returned the lens.

At f/5.6, most split-prism focusing aids go dark.

That's why I replaced the focusing screens in all my MF-Nikon bodies with Type B or E ones back in the days.

Never ran across this particular lens though I have a few very similar. I wish I could find an E screen for an F2. Or maybe four of them.

 

Rick H.

At f/5.6, most split-prism focusing aids go dark. I can imagine many amateurs would have been surprised to see that and then returned the lens.

As a student I had a M42 300/5.6 on my Pentax ME. Yes the central split prism could go dark, but if you moved your eye slightly it would brighten up again.

More tricky to get the prism to work with the 500/8 I brought later but it did with that too when my eye was placed perfectly.

In both cases the micro prisms surrounding the split prism worked well to give a useful focusing aid without the need for precise eye alignment.

 

The ME was a nice enough camera but certainly not a top of the range model - it only worked in Av giving me no option of controlling shutter speeds other than adjusting the ISO dial.

The ME was a nice enough camera

I had an MX. Loved that camera.

Don't think there was much of an alternative in those days -

I seem to remember that I'd already bought Tokina's monstrous 100-300mm AT-X constant f/4 zoom before I became aware of the f/5.6 zoom Nikkor.

 

That Tokina was OK on film, but a bit of a dog by today's standards.

I wish I could find an E screen for an F2.

Type B F2 screens seem easy enough to come by if you can do without the distracting grid lines. But then you'd probably also be on the hunt for an eyepiece magnifier shortly afterwards to get critical focus.

Edited August 21, 2020 by rodeo_joe|1

I had an MX. Loved that camera.

I still have one of my Dads, an improvement on the ME now I'm more familiar with settings, but as a beginner the ME was great.