Old glass for D90

[IronWing]

I'm looking for a dSLR and squinting real hard at the D90. One comment I read on another forum stated that Nikkor glass from the film era will work on the D90 (and other Nikons as well). What I am thinking about specifically is getting the D90 with a medium zoom designed for it as a primary lens but then get an old manual focus macro lens for macro pics. Would this work? Are there any nasty surprises to using old glass with the D90?

 

[996GT2]

Every Nikon SLR (film and digital) singe 1959 uses a standard Nikon F mount; what this means is that the D90 will be able to physically fit most older lenses without a problem (with the exception of some older fisheye lenses that poke into the body and break the mirror).

However...there are only 6 Nikon DSLRs that have matrix metering with older, manual focus AI, AI-S, and Series E lenses. They are the D200, D300, D700, D2H/D2X, and D3 (the D1 only has spot and CW metering). Other Nikon DSLRs cannot meter (find the correct exposure automatically) with older lenses and can ONLY be used in manual mode.

As you can see, the D90 is not on the list above. As such, when you mount an older AI or AI-S lens onto it, you need to use manual mode (M on the dial) and do EVERYTHING manually. That means guessing an exposure, choosing a shutter speed and ISO combination, manually focusing, stopping down the lens to the correct aperture, and then pressing the shutter button to actually take the shot. Then you need to review the image on the LCD screen to make sure that the exposure you guessed is correct, or you'll have to repeat everything again with a different shutter speed/aperture. With one of the 6 cameras I listed above, all you need to do is focus and the camera figures out the correct exposure for you.

If you're trying to do everything manually in a hurry, it can be incredibly frustrating. However, if you're using this for macro and have the time to make minute exposure adjustments manually with the lens on a tripod, then a D90 is quite usable with these older lenses. If you plan to use older lenses for more than just macro or slow-action work, then getting a D300 would probably be a better idea.

 

[IronWing]

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of info I needed.

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Every Nikon SLR (film and digital) singe 1959 uses a standard Nikon F mount; what this means is that the D90 will be able to physically fit most older lenses without a problem (with the exception of some older fisheye lenses that poke into the body and break the mirror).

However...there are only 6 Nikon DSLRs that have matrix metering with older, manual focus AI, AI-S, and Series E lenses. They are the D200, D300, D700, D2H/D2X, and D3 (the D1 only has spot and CW metering). Other Nikon DSLRs cannot meter (find the correct exposure automatically) with older lenses and can ONLY be used in manual mode.

As you can see, the D90 is not on the list above. As such, when you mount an older AI or AI-S lens onto it, you need to use manual mode (M on the dial) and do EVERYTHING manually. That means guessing an exposure, choosing a shutter speed and ISO combination, manually focusing, stopping down the lens to the correct aperture, and then pressing the shutter button to actually take the shot. Then you need to review the image on the LCD screen to make sure that the exposure you guessed is correct, or you'll have to repeat everything again with a different shutter speed/aperture. With one of the 6 cameras I listed above, all you need to do is focus and the camera figures out the correct exposure for you.

Almost all of the above is correct, except for this:

Originally posted by: 996GT2
stopping down the lens to the correct aperture

If the lens has the word "Auto" written or implied anywhere on it, then it will automatically stop down to the aperture selected on the aperture ring after you click the shutter. This includes pre-AI, AI, AI-s, AF, and AF-D lenses. The obvious exception is when using autoexposure with autofocus lenses, in which situation you must select the smallest orange-marked aperture to control the aperture from the camera body.

So, my process for shooting with a manual lens on my D90 is:
- manually focus through viewfinder (or use magnify preview in Live View)
- guess correct exposure (your guesses will get better with practice), set manual shutter and aperture
- take shot
- review and tweak shutter/aperture/focus

The above process is well suited to tripod work, such as macro. Using a pre-AI lens is no different than using an AF-D lens with manual exposure and manual focus.

 

[ElFenix]

nikon recommends against using pre-AI lenses on many modern bodies.

this is the issue, afaik


oddly enough the pre-AI lenses mount without any potential issues on the D40/x/60



general consensus seems to be to mount old lenses very carefully

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: soydios

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Every Nikon SLR (film and digital) singe 1959 uses a standard Nikon F mount; what this means is that the D90 will be able to physically fit most older lenses without a problem (with the exception of some older fisheye lenses that poke into the body and break the mirror).

However...there are only 6 Nikon DSLRs that have matrix metering with older, manual focus AI, AI-S, and Series E lenses. They are the D200, D300, D700, D2H/D2X, and D3 (the D1 only has spot and CW metering). Other Nikon DSLRs cannot meter (find the correct exposure automatically) with older lenses and can ONLY be used in manual mode.

As you can see, the D90 is not on the list above. As such, when you mount an older AI or AI-S lens onto it, you need to use manual mode (M on the dial) and do EVERYTHING manually. That means guessing an exposure, choosing a shutter speed and ISO combination, manually focusing, stopping down the lens to the correct aperture, and then pressing the shutter button to actually take the shot. Then you need to review the image on the LCD screen to make sure that the exposure you guessed is correct, or you'll have to repeat everything again with a different shutter speed/aperture. With one of the 6 cameras I listed above, all you need to do is focus and the camera figures out the correct exposure for you.

Almost all of the above is correct, except for this:

Originally posted by: 996GT2
stopping down the lens to the correct aperture

If the lens has the word "Auto" written or implied anywhere on it, then it will automatically stop down to the aperture selected on the aperture ring after you click the shutter. This includes pre-AI, AI, AI-s, AF, and AF-D lenses. The obvious exception is when using autoexposure with autofocus lenses, in which situation you must select the smallest orange-marked aperture to control the aperture from the camera body.

So, my process for shooting with a manual lens on my D90 is:
- manually focus through viewfinder (or use magnify preview in Live View)
- guess correct exposure (your guesses will get better with practice), set manual shutter and aperture
- take shot
- review and tweak shutter/aperture/focus

The above process is well suited to tripod work, such as macro. Using a pre-AI lens is no different than using an AF-D lens with manual exposure and manual focus.

Good catch.

Here is a good compatibility chart for Nikon DSLRs. Pre-AI lenses won't mount on any DLSR except the D40/60 series, and even then there is no metering. No Nikon DSLR will mount the pre-AI invasive fisheyes that poke into the camera body.

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
nikon recommends against using pre-AI lenses on many modern bodies.

this is the issue, afaik


oddly enough the pre-AI lenses mount without any potential issues on the D40/x/60



general consensus seems to be to mount old lenses very carefully

that issue makes sense. only applies to bodies with AI indexing though. pre-AI lenses work fine with my D50, but I haven't tried them yet with my D90.