AF possible with AI and AIS lenses?

<p>I've been a Canon user for years, but I have several older Nikon AI and AIS lenses that I use occasionally on my Canon bodies. I have to use manual focusing of course, but I really enjoy the results I get from the old Nikon lenses. My question is this, Are there any Nikon DSLR bodies I can pick up where I can use AI and AIS lenses and get AF? I believe the answer is no, but I'm not certain. Also, if the answer is no, are there any available methods of conversion to allow AF with these lenses on any Nikon cameras? Thanks.</p>

<p>A long time ago Nikon made a teleconverter with moving glass the TC16A that gave limited AF to the lens mounted on it, even if it’s an AI or AIs lens. Using it does multiply the focal length by 1.6X, reducing the angle of view. Unfortunately, many Nikon DSLRs have an incompatibility with the TC16A, which can only be overcome by rewiring the teleconverter's CPU contacts.</p>

<p>These lenses have no mechanism for autofocus, so no, there will be no autofocus.<br>

As far as I know, there are no conversions. The only thing I could think of is the TC16A teleconverter, which allows AF with Ai/AiS lenses (with quite some limits).</p>

<p>Modification of the TC16A for DSLRs: http://www.foolography.com/free-stuff/modify-tc-16a/</p>

<p>The Nikon D2X was the last body that did not need a modified TC-16A. Do some searching and see what lenses can be mounted on it, I can't remember if there are limitations or not.</p>

<p>I used the TC-16A on a D2X with a Nikon 200/2 AI and Nikon 400/2.8 AIS. It only provides AF for a certain range of focus, but you determine that range by setting the focus on the lens. As the lens focal length increases the AF range decreases. My most effective use of the TC-16A was with the 200/2 for soccer with the D2X. The combo gave me an effective focal length of 480mm at about f3.5. I could stand behind the goal line (I enjoyed photographing the play as it came towards me) and set the AF focus range to include the goal at the far end, and the play at the front of the net at my end. The focus range on the 400/2.8 was so limiting I rarely used it. It was a range of much less than 100 feet. </p>

<p>I found the TC-16A to be quick to focus and detracted very little from image quality, very similar to the Nikon TC-14e and Canon EF 1.4x. Not only does it multiply focal length by 1.6x it also takes approximately 1 1/3 stops of light.</p>

<p>I certainly wish Canon had introduced an AF converter when they killed the FD mount, it would have saved me and many others at least some grief. I have often wondered the feasibility of converting the TC-16A to EOS/FD mounts and wiring, but the electronics are likely completely incompatible.</p>

<p>thanks gentlemen!</p>

<p>It depends what you mean by "AF" Jack. Ai and Ai-S lenses will allow use of the focus confirmation dot with some of Nikon's DSLRs, so there can be some focus automation - it's just that your eyes, fingers and brain have to act as the AF servo loop for the camera. This is certainly better than no focus confirmation at all that you get when using MF lenses on a Canon Eos body.</p>

<p>The TC-16A isn't a practical proposition IME. The conversion to make it useable with DSLRs is fiddly, risky, time-consuming and has limited usefulness. Plus the optical quality of the TC-16A is questionable and gives a lot of corner falloff with some lenses.</p>

<p>Another option is to fit the lenses with a "Dandelion" chip that makes the camera body think it has an AF lens attached. Of course the lens still won't autofocus, but you can use focus trap with the modified lens(es). This is where you fully press the shutter button while twisting the focus of the lens. The shutter will only fire when focus has been acquired. This works very well with the dandelion converted lenses I have, and can be just as accurate and almost as quick as using an AF lens.</p>

<p>Joe, I've really never used a manual lens with focus confirmation. Being that I'm a film shooter from years back, I'm comfortable with manual focus on modern DSLRs. The TC-16A sounds like an interesting option, but it does seem like a lot of effort for what might not be a totally satisfying result. Since there would not be any AF with AI & AIS lenses on Nikon body, I guess I'll just stick with using Nikon manual glass on my 6D. In fact, I had the 6D out today with the Nikon 200mm f4 AIS, a very underrated lens for sure.</p>

<p>Ja. Focus confirmation is the best you can hope for, and with the very dangerous (potentially to your camera) "focus confirm" chips on a Nikon>EOS adapter, you can use your old Nikon AI and AIs lenses with 'confirmation' on any EOS camera that you are willing to put at risk.</p>

<p>But if you have a good set of eyes, and can relearn how to manually focus, just use the adapters without the glued-on piece of pirated circuitry that fools the camera (if you're lucky) into thinking there is an EF lens on the camera. Using the old manual Nikkor lenses on Canon EOS gives you stop-down TTL metering regardless of the EOS model. For which ones will meter on a Nikon-F mount see http://www.nikonians.org/reviews?alias=nikon-slr-camera-and-lens-compatibility </p>

<p>I currently use four Nikon lenses on my Canon 5D II and I don't worry about using confirm chips. Simply confirm with liveview if necesary.</p>

<p>It's odd how it works out. Many Nikon bodies will not meter with AI and AIS and yet they will AF confirm. All Canon bodies will meter with the AI and AIS lenses but not focus confirm. I have always preferred metering. </p>

<p>Actually, getting the TC-16A to autofocus on a modern body isn't all that hard (it's mostly moving a pin around) - the fiddly bit is trying to get it to identify itself correctly for aperture. My aperture reporting is a bit confused, but it still autofocusses fine. They're easier to find, and cheaper, than I expected, so I suggest trying it.<br />

<br />

How useful this is depends on the combination. My 500 f/4 and D700 combination worked very nicely - the edges are soft, but if I'm tracking birds in flight, it's not too bad, and I'd much rather hit focus than not. On a D800, the TC-16 is so bad as to be a real problem for optics - the combination just doesn't keep up with the sensor unless you stop down until you're diffraction limited. Though, to be honest, my bigger problem was trying to work out where I was pointing a 700mm lens (the biggest redeeming feature of my soft 150-500 was that I could use the 150mm end as a spotter scope). Of course, on a 500mm, the TC-16 can't cover the whole AF range, but it's a lot better than nothing.<br />

<br />

It's not stopping me from wanting an AF 400mm f/2.8, though.<br />

<br />

A sufficiently high-end Nikon body <i>will</i> meter with a manual lens, however - so if you want shutter priority or wide-open focus then you might still want to check them out. It's a weird quirk that Canons (at least, when I used mine) won't provide focus confirmation without a chip in the lens, and cheaper Nikon bodies won't provide metering information without a chip in the lens. (It's a weirder quirk that you need to chip lenses to get the latest Nikon bodies to trap focus, but now I'm getting obscure.) Edit: Cross-over with John.</p>

<p>I've been manually focusing for 40 years and trust it more than AF. But the focusing screens on current DSLRs arent' nearly as good as the screens on the older manual focus SLRs, so I find the focus-confirmation light to be useful as an electronic rangefinder.</p>