Which nikon dslr?

Joce

Joce

New member
Hey there! :fun4:

I should start by saying that I have almost zero experience with DSLRs. Initially, I planned on getting a canon rebel t1i as a starter camera and get to know the basics. However, I found out that my dad has a STASH of old nikon film lenses! :eek1:

Obviously I want to make full use of them but in order to that, I need to buy a dslr with 35mm sensor >.< Since these are all in the pro-series and I'm a complete beginner, which model is most user friendly? Will I encounter many more problems than starting out with a D90? or T1i?

thanks! :bounce3:
 
Thanks doug, I actually read that before I posted. Should prolly clarify my question. As a complete noob in photography, would I be able to use the professional series cameras and thereby benefit the set of free lens my dad already has or would it be too difficult for me to operate and i should look into starting models?
 
I'm not versed in Nikon lens mounts but if your dad's lenses are Canon EF mount, they'd fit the entire line of Canon DSLR.

There aren't huge sensor differences between the Canon Rebel line and the 50D line, it's mostly in the size of the body and ruggedness.
 
I'm looking into nikon as my dad's lens are nikon. I thought because film sized sensors used a diff set of lens than other cropped ones. My dad's camera was a very old film slr and so his lenses are only compatible with 35mm? That's the whole reason why i'm looking for a Dslr that has a full sensor.

Am I making sense? Not really familiar with camera lingo >.< That and i could've messed all the terms up on accident >.<
 
You'll need to wait for someone with Nikon experience to answer that. As long as the lens mount is correct there isn't generally an issue using a full frame lens on a cropped sensor. Also depending on the age of lenses you likely won't have automatic control. That's not necessarily a terrible thing.
 
You Dad's len's will fit the DSLR's, but you will probably loose some o the functionality off the camera body (things like auto focus, and possibly metering). If you are trying to do macro/micro photography only, this may not be a big deal as you will ant to focus and meter manually.
 
does that mean i can buy any Nikon dlr body, including lower end models, and the lenses will still work?
 
Get some of the lens numbers. The D90, D40, D40x, D3000, and D5000 don't have motors in the body but if your dad's old lenses are AF they will auto focus an the other Nikon bodies. If they aren't AF, they may do other metering and should mount to the body. A bit older and they may be complete manual. If they fall into the very older catagory, they may be screw mount and not work at all.
 
ok thanks! i'll have to search for the numbers. They were bought sometime between late 1970s to early 1980s.

Thanks for telling me this! My SA was trying to tell me that only the very high end models would be compatible with the old lenses :(
 
All Nikon mounts have stayed the same over the decades so your dads lenses will attach to any digital body you buy. As noted above however you may have only manual function [no auto focus, and f stop function]. The picture below is an old AI lens. Note the metal prong at the bottom of the lens, at 6 0'clock. These type lenses will be the least functional. The crop factor will be a function of the body you buy, Fx or Dx, which will change the focal distance but not how the lens "works". Take a lens with you to your local camera store, LCS, and try it out.

36976.jpg
 
If you are looking for full frame Dslr's the cheapest nikon you are going to find that is FX is the D700 (~$2600). Otherwise you can go with the DX cameras for much cheaper and the older lenses will still work with it. You won't even notice the crop since the view you see will be the cropped to begin with.
 
Misled said:
Get some of the lens numbers. The D90, D40, D40x, D3000, and D5000 don't have motors in the body but if your dad's old lenses are AF they will auto focus an the other Nikon bodies. If they aren't AF, they may do other metering and should mount to the body. A bit older and they may be complete manual. If they fall into the very older catagory, they may be screw mount and not work at all.
Click to expand...

The D90 does have the autofocus motor. It's the little nub at about the 7 o'clock mark int he photo below.

nikon_d90_lens_mount.jpg
 
ok so i can buy any nikon dslr and use the lenses but I wont be able to use auto focus. And if I don't buy a full frame body, the images will be cropped but I would barely notice. I also read that if I use a cropped sensor body, the focal length will increase by x1.5. So if i shoot macros, it would be more difficult with the old lens + cropped body sensor?

"Nikon lenses designed for film or digital cameras work the same way. Film camera lenses tend to be heavier, however, and keep in mind that unless you have a full-frame Nikon digital camera such as the D700, the focal length will be multiplied by 1.5. So if you have a normal 50mm lens, it will be 75mm on the digital camera. This helps if you want to extend your telephoto reach. If you add a 2x extender, that small 200mm lens becomes 600mm. Focal lengths for full-frame digital cameras are the same as they are for film cameras."

Thanks for all the help. My local store was only trying to sell me the most expesnive models...
 
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