85/1.8 AF-D and either D5100 or D7000= no go?

[shawngibson]

<p>Hey guys, been a long time.</p>

<p>I want to build a small digital system after selling both my 5D and E-P2 stuff (for my bike insurance and other things etc). I still have my old (film) F4 and 85/1.8 and want the lenses to be usable on both systems (film and digital). </p>

<p>I went to futureshop today with my 85mm, and on the 5100 it wouldn't AF (but could MF), and on the 7000 it wouldn't work at all, threw an error. But I know the lens works.</p>

<p>Do I need to go used with a D200 or something, to make this lens work? I'm not so worried about resolution as I've made 100s of 8-12mp APC images that look fine at 16x20, I am good at photoshop and I do a lot of stitching with my manfrotto 303 SPH, which seems less reliant on huge files. I'm also OK with manual HDR, ie 2-3 frames manually and bring it in to Photoshop..</p>

<p>Point is, I want to buy a digital camera that is fully compatible with whatever lenses I may use on my old film camera...within reason of course. If it's an old AF lens, I want the digital camera to focus...which I think means buying an older (D200/D70 maybe) as there is no motor in many older lenses.</p>

<p>Am I missing something?</p>

[mihai_ciuca]

<p>Hi Shawn,<br /> D7000 is a fine camera and works with every Nikon lens excepting the pre-AI glass. So your 85/1.8 AF-D must work with no problem on it. I have a D7000 and I've been using it with several AF-D lenses with no any problem. Because D5100 does not have an AF motor it does AF only with AF-S lenses.<br /> If your lens was not used for long try to clean its contacts and try again. Or try it on a different body to see if is a problem of the lens or a problem of that body.<br /> If your budget fit a D7000 my advice is to stay with this model because it will serve you for many years. D200 is still OK but honestly is an outdated camera with poor performance at high ISO.<br /> Good luck!</p>

[andylynn]

It should work on the D7000. You might need to clean the electrical contacts. Make sure aperture ring is stopped

down all the way. You know, the usual.

[shawngibson]

<p>Thanks Mihai, I was relying on the salesperson, couldn't touch the camera. He let me play with the 5100 but the 7000 was in a box so he put my lens on and played with it. I really like the D7000 based on a few internet reviews. I guess I'll go to Henrys and try again:)<br>

I've not used the lens for about 6 months but yesterday on the F4S it worked fine (I have about 20 rolls of film and some PMK Pyro and reversal developer to work with, very excited! From Freestyle I think was the name of the company, if you're in to film).<br>

I was surprised to see my 85mm fail on the store-model D7000...but the guy was not very smart and I couldn't touch the camera, so I'm not surprised.<br>

Shawn</p>

[shawngibson]

<p>>>Make sure aperture ring is stopped down all the way. You know, the usual.</p>

<p>That might explain it!</p>

[owen_omeara]

Shawn:

 

I have a d7000 and the same 85mm. That you are talking about and the combo works fine. I agree with the suggestion to

clean the points and try again. I am fond of this old lens and I originally bought it for an F-4 as well. The d7000 is a great

machine and I hope this works out well for you. Cheers.

 

-Owen

[ariel_s1]

<p>I'd bet good money that it's not from dirty contacts, but from the aperture ring not being stopped down to f/16, as Andy mentions. That's why it's marked in orange. If you let us know what the error was, we could help you better. If the LCD was blinking "F ee" in the aperture portion of the window, it was a stopdown issue. If it was "Err" or "-E-" it was a lens contact error, or memory card error.</p>

<p>That's the bonus of going to an actual camera shop instead of a big-box store, you would be playing with a camera now instead of reading advice on the internet!</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>If you don't get to touch the camera yourself, who knows maybe the sales person set AF/M to manual focus. In that case there would be no AF with any lens.</p>

<p>It is best that you get to hold the camera yourself and look through the viewfinder. It is not a secret that I love the D7000, but clearly not everybody likes it. A lot of these preferences are highly subjective.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>sales people who wont let potential customers handle cameras personally lose sales. that guy clearly didnt know what he was doing.</p>

<p>i agree with Mihai, get a d7000 if budget allows. d200/d70/d80/d50 will work too, but the problem there isnt optical quality so much as poor high-ISO compared to later models, which is a limiting factor.</p>

[errol young]

<p>Just tried my 85mm 1.8 H on my D700. Worked fine. All manual. I love this lens. Just do not have situations where I can use it.</p>

[davebryce]

<p>Even though Future shop is a great place for some things I will say that a lot of the staff don't know much about the product. I would say go to Henry's as they know more about them and you can touch them. As for them not letting you handle the D7000 they are boneheads as I did in the Future Shop I went to. Best of luck </p>

[CvhKaar]

Mmm If the guy at the shop did not know how to get an AF-D lens work with the D7000, i'd say that you are lucky if he did not damage your lens...

[Christopher Sperry Photogr]

<p>I also have the 85mm f/1.8 AF-D. Stopped down to f/16, it is fully functional on my D80 and D7000. Never an issue. Two MF lenses I own and like on the D7000: Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 ais, and Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/4 ai. I assigned the Fn button to quickly select MF lenses. I have reached the point of equilibrium in Nikon DX.</p>

[anthony_r3]

<p>First of all, on D5100 you will have no auto-focus with AF-D lenses. <br>

D7000 will work fine with AF-D lenses and it is a great camera too!<br>

I used to own D200 until I wold it recently and I have number of AF-D lenses so I can use it on FE as well.<br>

Right now I am debating between D300 or D7000 (debating just because of stupid built quality) but I find D7000 more suitable to many.</p>

[stank]

<p>Between the D300 and the D7000, the D300 will drive the non-servo lenses (screw drive lenses) with a little more authority (ie. faster). This is only a consideration if AF speed is an issue. I long debated these two bodies and tried them out with my collection of AF and AF-D lenses and found the D300 to focus a tad faster with less hunting.<br>

However, if low light capability (or video) is your bigger need, then the D7000 may better suit your needs.<br>

Stan</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Maybe it's been too obvious for others to point out, but the only cameras that'll give you FULL compatibility with all your film lenses are full-frame ones. At this point in time I'd be looking for a nice used D700 that someone's traded for a D800. You'll find it a big improvement on the 5D that you used to own in terms of dynamic range, ISO speed and features.</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<blockquote>

<p>Maybe it's been too obvious for others to point out, but the only cameras that'll give you FULL compatibility with all your film lenses are full-frame ones.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not sure what you mean, but this isn't really true. The D200/300/300s/7000 all meter with any MF AI lens. They are "fully compatible". They crop the image, but this can be either an advantage or disadvantage, depending on the need of the moment.</p>

<p>That said, the OP does indeed need to understand the crop factor before making the decision., if they don't already.</p>

<p>If the OP wants to have the lenses behave exactly the same on a DSLR as they did on a film camera, your statement is correct.</p>

[shawngibson]

<p>Thanks for the responses, All:)</p>

<p>I know Futureshop is not the place to buy gear, for sure, but it was just up the street and only 9deg C so it was a bit cold on my bike to go downtown (I'm a wimp!). I just wanted to see if the lens would work, and I usually purchase at Henrys, Vistek or Downtown Camera. I can't really blame the salesperson, either - I've been at this long enough that I should have remembered to set the lens to the proper position. My own stupidity.</p>

<p>Peter - I am guessing by 'compatible' he means same FoV/crop. I would definitely like to have the same FoV, but I can't afford a 24x36mm Nikon sensor right now, the D700, even used, is out of my range unfortunately.</p>

<p>I am VERY pleased to know that my lens works with the D7000, and it opens a lot of possibilities for a small, 3 lens set up that will in effect be 6 lenses, sorta, FoV wise:) I also very much like the idea of mentally calibrating a digital and film system. I mean by that, use the superior electronics of the new digital camera to help with exposure decisions on the old film camera. Say I know I'm going to shoot some Rollei film at ISO25, I can use the film camera to meter, and then the digital camera with a 2-stop ND at ISO 100...unless I'm brain dead this morning, which is of course possible. Maybe, there is obviously a lot of variability given sensor vs film+development techniques.</p>

<p>But now I'm just babbling. I'll keep my eye out for a used full frame for a while that I might get 'cheap'. I don't need a camera til I'm going camping, trips, etc. and it's still too cold for that:(</p>

<p>Thanks again for your advice and for verifying that my old lens, and other old lenses, will work with the D7000.</p>

<p>Shawn</p>

<p>ps after years of Canon digital systems and a pretty expansive E-P2 set up (full kit with great lenses...highly recommend this system), it's good to come back to Nikon for digital. I've owned several F3HPs and several F4s, and I love them all. Always regretted that at the time, Canon made the most sense for digital. Glad times have changed:)</p>

[Christopher Sperry Photogr]

<blockquote>

<p>FULL compatibility</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I stated "fully functional" to describe using my 85mm f/1.8D on my D7000. I originally purchased the lens to use on my F4s, and on my D80. The OP is seeking " a digital camera that is fully compatible with whatever lenses I may use on my old film camera...within reason of course".</p>

<p>Nikon acknowledges and recommends the use of some Nikon lenses on multiple formats -- that being 35mm film, FX digital, and DX digital -- using the same lens. I'm sure that Shawn, the OP, can easily sort all this out. Some less experienced buyers may need additional explanations.</p>

<p>An example from Nikon USA's website: the <em>AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED</em>. This "Full-Frame" or "FX" lens is a popular choice for use on the D7000. Under Key Features, it is stated, "approximates the picture angle performance of a 105-450mm lens on 35mm SLR". Period. Well, as we know, that picture angle approximation is if we mount the lens on a DX camera body -- but it doesn't state that in the overview. So is it fully compatible on a DX body? Yes.</p>

<p>Then progress to the Tech Specs tab of the lens, and scroll down to Compatible Format(s). Here the compatibilities are stated by Nikon: FX, DX, FX in DX Crop Mode, 35mm Film. These are the format compatibilities of this lens. From my perspective, the lens is fully compatible with the listed formats.</p>

<p>http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Camera-Lenses/2161/AF-S-VR-Zoom-NIKKOR-70-300mm-f%252F4.5-5.6G-IF-ED.html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-Overview</p>

[shawngibson]

<p>>>Nikon acknowledges and recommends the use of some Nikon lenses on multiple formats -- that being 35mm film, FX digital, and DX digital -- using the same lens. I'm sure that Shawn, the OP, can easily sort all this out. Some less experienced buyers may need additional explanations.</p>

<p>The fact that Nikon uses a single mount - the F mount - is both a blessing, in that you can with many cameras throw on a huge number of lenses, some decades old, some MF, etc. - but at the same time, there is a truth that needs to be conveyed. The D5100 is a perfect example. I'd never thought about a drive in the lens vs. a drive in the body, before trying to come up with a digital/film system that would allow me to use the same lenses including, when applicable, autofocus.</p>

<p>Call me silly, but as I'm reading more, I think the whole "G" thing is a mistake. I want DoF, distance, control of my lens. One of the reasons I disliked Canon was there were, even in the film days later on, too many buttons to push. I don't want to go into a menu to change the aperture, for example.</p>

<p>Anyways, apologies for the digression...</p>

<p>We have manufacturers trying to do away with the SLR altogether, ie the mirrorless designs. Many of them wish to appeal to people who want to use controls rather than digital menus, when they can (The Leica influence, I suppose, or like my old SP2 from Olympus). I hope that's the way of the future. We finally learned that resolution is not the be-all-end-all, and indeed Canon took a step back in that realm - a huge leap of faith, sales wise - and now concentrates on the other things that make a camera popular (or they are possibly confused with the addition of video lol).</p>

<p>There is no better way to see what is popular than to see what worked with film cameras in the first place. An F4s with a digital sensor and minimal needed extras, that would be sweet:)</p>

<p> </p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>"Full compatibility" to me means that the digital picture you get from a given lens should be the same as the picture using film, not simply aperture and AF functionality, etc. So a full-frame DSLR is the only format that will give complete compatibility - including the same angle-of-view. Yes, you can certainly fit the lens to some DX cameras and retain AF, but you won't get the same picture as from film.</p>

<p>Apologies if my interpretation of full-compatibility was at variance with the OPs intention.</p>

<p>BTW, I'm pretty sure that you could buy a used D700 privately for the new asking price of a D7000. I know I'd nearly snatch the hand off of any dealer that made me that offer as trade in on a D800.</p>

[shawngibson]

<p>My original intention was that the lens works, including AF. I realized the crop factor but should have indicated that. My apologies:(</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<blockquote>

<p>"Full compatibility" to me means that the digital picture you get from a given lens should be the same as the picture using film, not simply aperture and AF functionality, etc. So a full-frame DSLR is the only format that will give complete compatibility - </p>

</blockquote>

<p>No offense, but I doubt most of us have that narrow a definition of "full compatibility". I know I don't. Full compatibility means the lens functions in terms of exposure and AF.</p>

[alex_zepeda]

<p>BTW, with the D300 you can definitely set the camera up to let you use the aperture ring instead of the command dial. I assume that the D7000 with its two command dials is the same way.</p>

[shawngibson]

<p>Guys, honestly speaking, if my goal is to get images at least as good as I could get on an E-P2 or 350 Rebel, never higher ISO than ISO 800, want full manual control and the ability to AF old AFD lenses (in order to be able to use my F4s which I am very partial to), what's to stop me from buying a used D90? It's a CMOS sensor, more than enough resolution. I spend a great deal of time massaging images in Photoshop, for example this is from an old Olympus point and shoot, circa almost a decade ago and makes a great 13x19 as do most of my images, regardless of source camera:</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/11540210-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="952" /></p>

<p>And this is from a 300D, if you'll excuse the amputated arm lol:</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/12659936-md.jpg" alt="" width="453" height="680" /></p>

<p>The point is, I never use the file out of the camera, and a lot of what I aspire towards these days is hi-res stitches that gain resolution by way of all the images involved. Often a single shot from any camera is 1/20th the output for me. What does the D7000 do that you, personally, could not live without and is absent on the D90 given the above or general usage?</p>

<p>I'd rather spend less on a body so I have more for a 35/2 AFD and 180/2.8 unless you feel adequate reason to talk me out of it.</p>

<p>Shawn</p>