Will the new E series Nikkor 24-70mm work with a Nikon F6 film camera?

I am replacing my G series Nikkor 24-70mm f:2.8G series lens with a new 24-70 zoom. Am considering the new Nikkor 24-70mm E series. Love what I have read about the VR feature offering low light viability down to very slow speeds. I have also read where Nikon says this lens will not work with ANY film camera...because of the electronic aperture control.

 

My question is specifically will the new 24-70mm Nikkor E series work with the Nikon F6? I received a non-answer from Nikon USA after being on the phone with them. Can someone shoot a roll of film with this new E series lens on a F6 as a test? Does anyone really have a definitive answer to this question?

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

ty

I don't think it will work on an F6. You may be able to take photos at the aperture where the lens is set but not adjust the aperture.

See this recent discussion: D90 and Nikkor 200-500 compatiable?

 

Nikon AF-S E lenses have an electronically controlled aperture diaphragm. All Nikon SLR and DSLR introduced before 2007, i.e. before the D3 and D300, cannot control the aperture on E lenses. After 2007, there are three exceptions: D60, D90, and D3000; those three were introduced in 2008 and 2009. After 2009, all Nikon DSLRs introduced after 2009 can control E lenses. (And the D3, D300, D700 (2008) and D300S (2009) can control E lenses also.)

 

You can still use the 24-70mm/f2.8 E AF-S VR on your F6, but the lens will be stuck at f2.8 all the time. IMO, that is not a major issue at f5.6 for the 200-500, but I doubt that is acceptable to you for the 24-70 to be stuck at f2.8 on the F6. Otherwise, all other features including VR will work as designed.

Even more info on this thread from two years ago: Nikon E Lenses

 

None of the Nikon 35mm film SLR can control the aperture on E lenses. All Nikon FX-format DSLR can.

Edited June 27, 2017 by ShunCheung

I'm surprised Nikon couldn't give you a straight answer - as Shun says, the aperture control won't work. 'E' compatibility would probably be the first requested feature for an 'F7', in the extremely unlikely event Nikon ever decides to make one. Is your old lens broken, or do you just want an upgrade?

I'm surprised Nikon couldn't give you a straight answer

Nikon doesn't necessarily have extremely knowledgeable people answering the phone. Most likely they read off some cue sheets, which are often inaccurate. The Nikon F mount has been around for almost 6 decades. It has evolved significantly, and compatibility is a very complex issue.

Nikon doesn't necessarily have extremely knowledgeable people answering the phone. Most likely they read off some cue sheets, which are often inaccurate. The Nikon F mount has been around for almost 6 decades. It has evolved significantly, and compatibility is a very complex issue.

 

I think that the two big brands continually show us that there are both upsides and downsides to making a "clean break" vs. modifying a lens mount for new technology.

 

The fact that I could buy a new lens off the shelf at my local camera store and(provided I bought the "right" lens) and with a small modification that Nikon even sets the lens up for have mount, meter, and otherwise fully work with my F Photomic is a wonderful thing to me. One of the reasons why I've effectively switched is for that very reason-I can use great film bodies and wonderful manual focus prime lenses and still stick them on a DSLR if I'm so inclined.

 

At the same time, any table of Nikon lens compatibility with a particular body is filled with exceptions, footnotes, and even warnings of "damage will occur." Granted most of these are sort of common sense, but none the less I was a bit annoyed when I was going to give my sister my spare 50mm 1.8 AF and found out it wouldn't autofocus on her camera. Funny enough, I understand that non-AI lenses can actually be mounted on the newest bodies-I know that even though my D70 doesn't have an aperture feeler tab, there's still something else blocking them from mounting. There are also little annoyances like the fact that even though my F100 works fine(in A and M) with AI and AI-s lenses, there's no way to see the set aperture other than physically looking at the ring.

 

On the other hand, every Canon EF mount lens is fully compatible with every EOS body with no exceptions or footnotes. Buy a new lens, stick it on a camera from 1988, and everything is going to work. The FD mount also had the same internal consistency-every FD lens is fully compatible with every FD body.

 

BTW, Nikon has, IMO, done a great service in keeping a flagship 35mm SLR alive, and if I had the $2K to spare I'd buy a new one. I don't think an "F7" is exactly necessary(what major features does the F6 lack?) but it would be nice to see a revised F6 that added support for things like the E aperture lenses under discussion here and stepper motor focusing lenses. Both of these type lenses are essentially useless on the F6.

Edited June 29, 2017 by ben_hutcherson

On the other hand, every Canon EF mount lens is fully compatible with every EOS body with no exceptions or footnotes. Buy a new lens, stick it on a camera from 1988, and everything is going to work.

First of all, please don't start another silly Canon vs. Nikon flame war, but the above statement is not entirely correct. In 2003 Canon came up with EF-S lenses for their APS-C DSLRs, and those EF-S lenses cannot be used on full-frame Canon EOS bodies, APS-H bodies (EOS-1 series) as well as the early, pre-2003 APS-C Canon bodies because the larger mirror on those bodies may hit the rear elements that are sticking out from EF-S lenses.

 

The fact of the matter is that technologies are changing rapidly. Even though Canon made a drastic mount change in 1988, that was 3 decades ago and the original EF mount is getting out of date. Of course Nikon has an even bigger problem with a 6-decade-old F mount. Both companies will likely have to come up with a new mount for mirrorless cameras which can benefit from a shorter registration distance. In fact, Canon already has an incompatible EF-M mount for their APS-C mirrorless cameras, although you can mount EF lenses via an adapter on mirrorless Canon EOS bodies.

 

Nothing lasts forever unless you don't change at all and risk falling way behind your competition.

Edited June 29, 2017 by ShunCheung

Get a Tamron SP VC 24-70.

First of all, please don't start another silly Canon vs. Nikon flame war...

How is he doing that? By just comparing two brands in a totally fair, and IMO unbiased way? Neither get bashed, only their up and downsides are being compared. A bit extreme for a mod to make such an insinuation against a member who has done nothing wrong.

How is he doing that? By just comparing two brands in a totally fair, and IMO unbiased way? Neither get bashed, only their up and downsides are being compared. A bit extreme for a mod to make such an insinuation against a member who has done nothing wrong.

Nobody is starting a flame war on this thread yet. However, Canon's mount change back in the late 1980's while Nikon keeping the same mount which continues to evolve has been the source of endless flame wars, especially in the 1990's. I was merely making a preemptive comment to everybody, not singling out anybody.

 

The fact of the matter is that after making a clean break from the past in 1988 or so, the statement that every Canon EOS EF mount lens would fit every EOS body was good for about 15 years, but that ended about 14 years ago. Today's EF-M mirrorless lenses is another departure.

 

The ever evolving Nikon F mount has led to very complex compatibility charts and lots and lots of exceptions. If Nikon is indeed moving into mirrorless FX and/or DX, a new mount with a different registration distance seems likely, and then we'll have a lot of adapter issues. In 2017, keeping the mechanical aperture control designed in the 1950's when modern electronics was nowhere to be found doesn't make sense.

No, the aperture won't work. Nikon consciously decided to remove compatibility with film cameras on all these new lenses. To Nikon, film is dead, yet they seem to still produce the only 35mm SLR left.

No, the aperture won't work. Nikon consciously decided to remove compatibility with film cameras on all these new lenses. To Nikon, film is dead, yet they seem to still produce the only 35mm SLR left.

 

Make that the only TWO 35mm SLRs left(although I understand that they don't actually make one of them).

 

And Shun, you are completely correct on EF-S-I forgot about that. DX lenses will of course mount on all bodies, although the degree of control is variable and then there's the whole vignetting thing(the basic 18-55 I have doesn't black out the corners past 28mm or so, although I have better lenses to cover those F/Ls and I'm sure there's still some degree of vignetting). It's been a while since I changed the lens on my dRebel(it stays parked on a tripod most of the time with a 100mm Macro on it) but I seem to recall it having a white mark to index EF-S lenses and a red mark to index standard EF lenses. That's enough to tell me that the mount is at least somewhat different.

 

But, there again, I still say that I wish that Nikon would make an F6e(or whatever letter they wanted to append onto it) with support for the new lens technologies that have come out since it was introduced. If you're going to make a flagship film SLR, it would be nice to have it fully compatible with every(full frame) lens you make-especially when $500 consumer DSLRs support those lenses.