using manual japanese lenses(Sakar) on my nikon d40?

Greetings all! My father has these manual japanese lenses that I'm dying to use but I wanted to know if there was a universal lens adapter

that I can use on the nikon d40? I'm not sure if I'm getting the brand name right for a bunch of them but two of the lenses are branded as

Sakar lenses. Thanks in advance!!

It's highly unlikely you'll be able to get them to work.

 

First, what SLR camera mount were these lenses made for? I know of Sakar mainly as a manufacturer of cheap

aftermarket

supplemental lenses for digital point-and shoot cameras. AFAIK, there was no Sakar-brand film SLR camera or lenses.

 

Second, the "flange-to-film" distance on Nikon is 46.50mm, meaning that most other well-known SLR cameras' lenses

[Pentax, Canon, etc.] would have to somehow protrude *into* the body of a Nikon to achieve infinity focus.

 

Third, because of that specification, for Canon-EOS mount cameras ["flange to film" distance 44mm], there are

multiple different adapters to use

most other

well-known 35mm camera brands' lenses, but not for Nikon.

I have never seen that brand here in Japan. Not new nor used and I've been to a 1000 different camera stores! Rene'

Are <a href="http://www.sakar.com/thumbnails.aspx?categoryid=142"><b> these </b></a> what you're referring to?<p>

 

If so, they might work if they're the same or larger than the filter ring diameter of your Nikon lens; but using

them will degrade your images considerably. Step-up and step-down rings are available to fit one thread size to

another.<p>

 

<b>BUT</b>, these are cheap wide-angle and telephoto "accessory" lenses, made for <b>digital point-and-shoot

cameras</b>,

where image quality is not much of a concern.<p>

Sakar did indeed make (or more likely just market) manual focus 35mm camera lenses in various mounts. Whether or not

the Sakar lenses would work on your D40 would depend on what mount they have. Adapters are impractical for the

reasons indicated by S.G. Bono above. What brand of camera did your father use these lenses on?

 

If they have a Nikon F mount (there would likely be a "N/AI", "N-AI", "Nikon" or similar marking stamped on the

bayonet),

then they would mount and "work", but in a COMPLETELY manual fashion. NO auto exposure modes, no TTL metering, M

exposure mode only with (obviously) no autofocus.

 

They're unlikely to be worth the trouble, even if the have a N-AI mount. If they don't, they're definitely *not*

worth the trouble.<div></div>

Thanks so much for the responses everyone! That picture is exactly one of the lenses that he owns=D He used to use them on an Pentax

and Yashica SLR camera body. I was thinking-can I use an M42 lens adapter for these lenses? Here is one that I found online: http://www.rugift.com/photocameras/nikon_lens_adapter_with_lens.htm Thanks in advance!!

for the mount..do you mean a screw-pin type of setup? That's what they look like...I will attempt to take a picture later to

show what I mean

<p>Oh man, I always get in trouble on Photo Net! If I had a penny for every response from people that had no experience with a lens telling others it's horrible when they have never tried one!<br>

O.K. here goes.<br>

Sakar makes SLRs, they make the Vivitar V3800N. They make many digitals as well (although some are outsourced.) They made lenses for many years and many were subcontracted out to other companies like Chinon, Komine, Osawa, Varionar and Hoya. Most are now made in Korea but many early Sakar's were made in Japan. Some were really excellent some were mediocre. I've never had a really bad Sakar but in the used market that is a possibility, it's same with Takumars and Zeiss lenses though.<br>

Sakar does make auxiliary lenses but that is <em>not</em> their only foray into lens manufacture.<br>

I have a Japanese made M42 mount Sakar 135mm f2.5 macro that I actually use. It is superb! Absolutely superb!<br>

I use the third party lens for the screw mount Pentax to save the Takumar's and Zeiss' from wear and tear.<br>

I'm not big on zooms although the best shots I ever took (hands down) was with a really cheap Sun Zoom that I borrowed while up in Oak Creek near Sedona Arizona during a monsoon sunset.<br>

If I had asked about it here I'd have been told to stay away from it and wait for years until I could have afforded a wonderkin and its superior light transmitting optical masterpiece. Rrrriiiight!<br>

Crap!<br>

You make do with what you got, get out there and live. Shoot film, shoot digital, be there to catch it. You sure won't if you are at home watching the tube and waiting for the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br>

Man how many shots did you miss!<br>

Yeah if you can afford a super wondrous plastic mega popsicle you'll impress the women and children and your friends with how deep your pockets are and you can look down your noses at those of us that are living an adventure by dusting off an old Nettar!<br>

And man will you be surprised when you get more out of auto focus mediocre and lost shots than we do with a camera that doesn't have a rangefinder or a meter!<br>

The Sakar can be a good value and add versatility to your bag, (I have had pretty mixed results with using Pentax M42 lenses on the Nikon D40X though (not so the digital EOS) so I'd stay with a good 35mm SLR sometimes for as little as 10 bucks on eBay.)<br>

But if you take a great shot with the $10 camera and $10 lens remember not to boast on it here. It can't be done!<br>

Mel</p>

<p>Digging out an old post, but its an interesting discussion and a stellar post from 'Mel Woods' :)<br>

Im waiting on an adaptor ring for a Sakar prime 2.8 I am led to believe that the new 'AF' confirm chips work well as they match the connectors to the EOS pins. Another thing was the ability to 'program' the chip on the adaptor to feed EXIF to the EOS setup. So I am expecting a 2.8 aperture reading which will make life easier. If not I will have to learn to shoot manual. What the hell its a cheap thrill anyway!</p>

<p>Digging out an old post, but its an interesting discussion and a stellar post from 'Mel Woods' :)<br>

Im waiting on an adaptor ring for a Sakar prime 2.8 I am led to believe that the new 'AF' confirm chips work well as they match the connectors to the EOS pins. Another thing was the ability to 'program' the chip on the adaptor to feed EXIF to the EOS setup. So I am expecting a 2.8 aperture reading which will make life easier. If not I will have to learn to shoot manual. What the hell its a cheap thrill anyway!</p>