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Use of old lenses on a new Digital Nikon D80


juan_p_loria

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What? Of course the older lenses will work with the D80. You can use the AIS, AI and AID lenses. I use AIS lenses all of the time with my D70s. They won't autofocus nor meter on a D80 but with a little practice you'll likely find, like I have, that this isn't much of an issue. It's a complete non-issue for studio photography.

 

Heck, it might even improve your skills by not using metering and having to get a better feel for lighting and how it relates to shutter speed and f stop.

 

To me, one of the reasons to go Nikon is the older lenses.

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If you already have the older AIS lenses, and do not already own a Nikon DSLR, then I would recommend you buy the D 200. Haviong the ability to meter is a real benefit. You want to get excellent images at the moment you take the image and this means the best possible exposure available to you. With the D 80 and Nikon AIS lenses that means using an external light meter or using the histogram. If you go the histogram route, shoot RAW and adjust for exposure errors post processing. My shooting style suggets you get it right in the camera which is why I bought the D 200 for use with my AIS lenses. Joe Smith
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I use quite a few AI lenses on my D50. One of my favorite combinations i the Nikkor AI 55mm 3.5 macro lens on my D50 for photos of food. As long as you check the monitor after the exposure for adjustments you can geat great photos. Just keep the crop factor in mind when buying AI lenses for use on digital bodies, and don't try to mount a non-AI lens on your digital body.
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If the lens has not been Ai'd (most these days are) then, no, you cannot.

 

You can get the lens "Ai'd" which removes material from the mount. There are two types of AI conversions. If you get the wrong one the lens won't clear and it won't mount.

 

Someone bought me a nice 105mm lens and had it Ai'd but it would not work on my fuji S2. The reason is it needed the "other" conversion.

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