A question about lenses

[SteelieD]

I have often thought of getting into digital SLR photography, but the price of admission is a bit steep. I have an older Nikon SLR film camera with some decent lenses (I'll have to dig it out of the closet to be more specific). I was thinking that if the older lenses would be compatible with a newer digital SLR body, then I might be able to get into a price range I could handle. So... with all expertise here,I thought I'd ask, will the old lenses work?

Thanks!

[Adam Grace]

The older lenses will work with the D80 if they are AF auto focus lenses, if I remember correctly. The less expensive D40 and D40x will not take older lenses.

[SteelieD]

Thanks Adam. I did some research last night and you are exactly right. The older AF lenses that I have will work on the D50, D70 or D80 but not, the D40 or D40x (unless you are willing to manually focus). The difference being the the newer AF-S lenses have the focusing motor built into the lens, not the camera.

Anybody have a D80 they want to sell for cheap?! :lol:

[bolden]

What lenses do you have?

Depending on what you want to use the camera for, a used d50 or d70 could be perfect. I have been using a d50 for about a year and a half, and it has treated me well. Also, either of these cameras can be had for pretty cheap.

[SteelieD]

Ben,

I have a Nikon Nikkor 35-70 and Nikon Nikkor 70-210. Not sure If I should spend the $$ on the D50 (used, of course) or just start fresh and go with the D40 kit and upgrade lenses as I can afford to. Keep in mind, these lenses have got to be 15 years old but are in 'like new' condition. A bit noisy, but, functionally, very sound. What do you think?

[bolden]

Nikon has a number of different 35-70's and also 70-210's, so depending on which ones you have you should be able to get about two hundred bucks for them.

You can get the d40 with 18-55 kit lens for $489 from B&H, which is where i have gotten all of my equipment. The kit lens is actually very sharp, and as long as you are mainly taking landscapes or fish pictures it works great. If you want somehing longer, there is a 55-200 af-s vr that is similar to the 18-55 and only $229. So, for about $700 minus whatever you can sell your lenses for you have a nice d40 setup with plenty of range.

The one thing you need to think of are lenses that you may consider in the future, because the d40 may not work with them.

There are a lot of things that could change your decisions, so maybe give some info about what you will actually do with the camera. Will you take it fishing? Mostly landscapes? Any wildlife? Travelling? etc.

With some of that info and a little more specifics on the lenses i think i could give you a little better idea of the best setup.

[Rob]

The older lenses will work with the D80 if they are AF auto focus lenses, if I remember correctly. The less expensive D40 and D40x will not take older lenses.

Very true .

I bought a nikon d40 because i had a bunch of old nikon manual lenses that i have for my nikon f2 . :D I was told my someone at our local camera shop :twisted: that they would work with the D40 on manual , :( not true . I could not get a clear photo on manual no matter what i did . :cry: NOT SHURE WHY I BELIEVED HIM :oops: :oops: So i called and talked to someone else at another shop and was given the right info . THEY DON"T WORK !! I was going to get the canon 20d , but went with the nikon so i could use my lenses. I don't like all plastic camera's so i returned the nikon and went with the canon 20 D and metal body . Not sure if plastic is a bad thing , i didn't like plastic body's .
The Nikon's kit lens , is way better than the one that came with my canon. But i was going to get a new lens anyway . I should have just bought the body , but i needed a lens until i had the $$$$$ for the new lens.

[OceanSunfish]

Right now, there is a Nikkor AF-S VR lens (for the D40x) 18-200 3.5 with vibration reduction as well as the 105 2.8 AF-S VR Macro.

The former is a great carry around lens and travel lens. The later will not only be outstanding for macro work, but will be great for portraits and low light situations. These two lenses are pricey, but they are available for the D40x today and both will pretty much cover just about whatever a person plans to shoot, near and far. I learned about these two from a good friend of mine that is a professional photographer.

So, there are two great lenses for the D40x available today. You can obsolete proof the lenses, but the camera body will be old tech in a few short years.

Learn what you want by using the D40 or D40x, then graduate to the D300 or equivalant. Skip right over the D80 if you can.

BTW, I like to support my local camera pro shop where I receive great service. However, Costco has a great deal on the D40x camera kit right now that comes with two kit lenses if you want to go that route. Price is $799. Otherwise, look at the two lenses I wrote about above.

I've had great luck with buydig.com too.

Lastly, stay away from the those real low-ball online stores that offer the D40x and D80 at the $300 range. Bad news.