AF 50mm 1.4D works on my F90x but not my D70s!!

[peter_andrew]

I recently bought a D70s. My 50mm does not work with it. At the

dealer it wouldn't work on an new F80 either. Is the CPU in my lens

too old or obsolete? The three salesmen were completely puzzled.

It DOES work beautifully with my F90x. It is my favourite lens and

I am very disappointed. What could it be? Any suggestions/comments

would be grand!

 

Pete Andrew

[john schroeder]

The only reason it would not work is if the aperature ring is not locked at f22. You would get an "FEE" error if the the ring is not locked. The N90s does not require the ring to be locked to work.

[ramon_v__california_]

i will echo john's comment.

[peter_andrew]

Aperture ring was locked. I bought it from Henry's (Toronto), arguable Canada's highest volume dealer, and they had no explanations.

[frank_skomial]

It should work at any position of aperture ring, in Manual or Aperture priority modes.

[dmitriyk]

All AF-D lenses should work just fine on all D70s. My 50mm f/1.4 AF-D included.

 

Try the lens on another body - perhaps, in a camera store - and the body with another AF-D

lens. Track down the problem as much as you can and get in touch with Nikon support.

[dmitriyk]

<i>It should work at any position of aperture ring, in Manual or Aperture priority modes.

</i><br>

<br>

Not so. Welcome to the world of Nikon dSLRs.

[Michael R Freeman]

Peter,

 

Do you get a FEE error on the D70, even with the lens aperture set to minimum, or does it simply not work?

 

If you are not getting a FEE indication then this is very strange indeed, as *ALL* Nikon AF lenses (regardless of age) are fully compatible with the D70 and F80.

 

If you are getting a FEE error, then post a reply. I have one possible explanation for the strange behavior if that is the case.

[hayward]

Did you check the contacts (little brass studs) on the lens? Are they all there and clean?

[peter_andrew]

"FEE" does show up. The studs were checked and are clean.

[Michael R Freeman]

Peter,

 

Okay - this MIGHT be the source of your problem. Look at the back of your lens aperture ring on the 50mm. There should be a little tab at the 3 o'clock position (#3 in photo below).

 

Is this tab broken or missing? On the D70 (and F80) this little tab will depress the "minimum aperture detection switch" at about the 7 o'clock position of the camera lens mount. This is the only way that the D70 and F80 can detect if you have indeed locked the aperture at f/22 on a non-G lens (the F90x uses a different mechanism). If the tab is missing you will get a FEE warning even with the lens set to minimum aperture.<div></div>

[Michael R Freeman]

The above is a manual focus lens of course, but the 50mm AF-D will have the same tabs and couplings.

[Michael R Freeman]

Minimum aperture position detection switch on D70, F80, etc ...<div></div>

[todd peach seattle, washi]

Michael has nailed it, I think. I have a 35/2.0 AF I bought cheap; works fine on my N90s and F100, but it acts like yours on my D70. Little tab thingy is broken on the lens. I found that I could manually depress the switch on the camera and make it work, but that got old fast. My lens could probably be repaired, but I fear a professional repair would cost as much as the lens is worth.

[joseph_wisniewski]

I've built those little tabs before from scrap aluminum, held in place either with one screw or epoxy.

[gary_watson]

Armed with this, I'd demand a refund or exchange for a functioning lens from Henri's. They can be a bit thick about this sort thing but be persistent and emphatic that they sold you a duff lens.

[patricks]

just be aware, my 50/1.4 D wasn't a good performer on my D70. works great on a F100 but the bokeh on a D70 was horrible.

[fourfa]

<img src="http://www.fourfa.com/pics/tamron-tab.jpg">

<p>

that's the tab

[fourfa]

I had this once, solution was to jam a piece of matchstick in the switch until I could get it repaired.

[peter_andrew]

Bingo! There is something snapped off exactly where you said it would be. I just have to figure out the best way to do it with what I have. I don't want to damage the digital body.

 

Thanks gents!

[Michael R Freeman]

Sigh. One of the weak points of the plastic aperture rings on AF Nikkors I would guess, as it is not that uncommon to hear about this. I would imagine it is a much rarer occurance on older manual focus Nikkors with metal aperture rings, but then they won't meter on AF bodies that use this "minimum aperture detection" system anyway.

 

Glad we found the source of your problem.

[Michael R Freeman]

On the other hand, given that it is plastic, you can probably superglue a small piece of hard plastic to the back of the ring if you are careful. Just don't glue your aperture ring to the lens! :-)

[peter_andrew]

Thank you so much for your help. This is my favourite website... by far!

 

Pete