Can I use this lens

<p>Hi all I am a complete newby, and have been given a Nikon 3100 as a gift, I also have acquired a Tamron 80-210 lens. As it came, it doesnt appear to fit the body of the Nikon, I have been advised that it can be fitted using rings, Please help what kind of rings do I need.<br>

Many thanks and kindest regards Chris</p>

<p>Tamron makes lenses with different mounts for different brands of camera, and in the old days like 1970's, Tamron used to make lenses with add-on mounts to fit different brands. If you can capture images of that lens, especially show us the rear mount area, perhaps we can help.</p>

<p>However, unless that Tamron lens already has a Nikon mount, it is not worthwhile. It sounds like it is a very old lens that is not going to auto focus or even meter with your D3100.</p>

<p>If the lens says something like "Adaptall" or "Adaptall II", there are accessory fittings to fit most cameras. Here is a link which should be helpful to you: http://www.adaptall-2.org/</p>

<p>Yes, this sounds like the manual focus adaptall lens. As Shun says, you can get an appropriate mount - with all the disadvantages he gives. Do you have another lens for the camera?</p>

<p>I agree, don't worry about that lens. Get yourself either the Nikon 55-200mm VR, or if you can afford it, the Tamron 70-300mm VC. You'll thank me later. Zoom lenses of that era (the 1970's and 1980's) weren't really worthwhile.</p>

<p>If you're talking about a Tamron Adaptall 2 CF Tele Macro BBAR MC, that's actually a pretty good lens in terms of image quality. It's also very well made and not too heavy. If you see an Adaptall 2 Nikon adapter cheap (or a broken lens with the adapter on it that you can get cheaply), pick it up and try it.</p>

<p>The limitations would be that the lens does not autofocus, and on your camera it won't operate the meter, so you'd have to put the camera in manual and figure out the exposure yourself.</p>

<p>Many thanks for all your quick, and kind responses, it is a Tamron Adaptall 2 CF Tele Macro BBAR MC, so many thanks, its going to be trial and effort for me as a new SLR user.<br>

again Many thanks & kindest regards Chris</p>

<p>To Simon Hickie<br>

Yes I have the lens that came with the camera a which is a nikor 18-55, also I have been given a nikor 50mm f/1.8D, also Photax Super Paragon35-75mm and the Tameron Adaptall 2 any advice would be greatly appreciated.<br>

Regards Chris the newby</p>

<p>To Simon Hickie<br>

Yes I have the lens that came with the camera a which is a nikor 18-55, also I have been given a nikor 50mm f/1.8D, also Photax Super Paragon35-75mm and the Tameron Adaptall 2 any advice would be greatly appreciated.<br>

Regards Chris the newby</p>

<p>The 18-55mm is a good lens to start with. Great midrange, will be good for 90% of what you probably want to shoot as a new photographer. The 50mm f/1.8 is a pretty solid lens, good image quality for cheap, is about $100 new today. It doesn't autofocus on your camera, but you can look in your manual and engage rangefinder mode to help you focus with it. Shoot it in aperture-priority mode, and you will be able to create some nice creamy backgrounds when used between f/1.8 to f/2.8. The Photax lens probably isn't worth using, but you can see if it mounts on your camera, guess the exposure, and see how you like it (or if you have an Android or iphone, you can download an exposure meter app). If you really want to try that Tamron lens out, you should just go to ebay, search for "Adaptall Nikon," and buy one of the £15-£20 adapters that you see. Again though, you'll have to shoot it like you would the Photax lens, using manual focus, and without any exposure information in the camera.</p>

<p>Hi Chris<br>

Sound advice here and I agree with Ariel's suggestions. If you decide a telephoto zoom is something you want to use a lot, then either of the 55-200 VR or 55-300 VR Nikkors would be a great addition.<br>

Actually, I'm a bit envious - now is a great time to be a newby: relatively cheap kit (in real terms) and no film to pay for and process!<br>

Also, don't forget to back up your images (portable hard drives are cheap). Shooting RAW and converting with View NX (free) is also worth doing.</p>

<p>Chris -- my first dslr was a D40x which, like the d3100, didn't meter with old manual focus Nikon mount lenses. I found this actually a kind of advantage: you guess the exposure, get it wildly wrong or close to correct, and you do that for some days, and you end up pretty good at guessing exposures, which proves helpful if, like me, you migrate to film as well. </p>

<p>What's more difficult if you have any vision difficulties at all is getting sharp focus. I THINK -- someone here please correct me -- the green dot (focus confirmation dot in the fiewfinder window, bottom right or left) in the D3100 will work as you focus a manual focus lens, but keep in mind that thing might not be focusing on what you're focusing on. I use one spot auto-focus most of the time these days since I find NIKON auto-focus so hinky in any complicated scene. So check what mode your D3100 focus is set to. Center spot is the best, or, easiest to control -- just point the center of the frame at the thing you want in focus, then reframe the shot as you wish. (All this only applies IF the green dot works with MF lenses; if not, then what i've said really only applies to your 18-55, and you have to hold down the shutter button halfway to keep that eager AF system from refocusing the lens if you move the frame, or else hold down an AF lock button if the D3100 has that feature, but for some reason I think it doesn't.... )</p>

<p>I eventually bought a Nkon viewfinder magnifier. You lose part of the frame but you can at least see the focus. </p>

<p>Get a real lens forget about that thing and get a new genuine Nikon lens you'll be glad you did...</p>