Any fairly recent Nikon bodies compatible with AF-D lenses?

NvidiaDan · 1 Jun 2013 at 16:33

Hey all, as per the title really. I inherited a Nikon fit Sigma 135-400 APO lens a while back but as I own a Sony body I have never used it. The other day my Sigma 70-300 on my sony broke out of warranty so I'm left without a long reach lens which as I use it for mainly aircraft photography is important.

So my question is, can I pick up a second hand Nikon body that will deliver good results and still work with an AF-D lens?

Raikiri · 1 Jun 2013 at 16:38

Depends on your budget, D7000 would be the ideal choice but the D90 can be had a bit cheaper. There's also the D200 which will be fine if you're shooting in good light.

K.C. Leblanc · 1 Jun 2013 at 18:04

Ken Rockwell has a list on his site.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm

What Sony are you using? This will give us an idea of your expectations. I would agree with Raikiri's recommendations. I have actually just bought a D7000, since the D200 is just hope less in low light (and I like shooting gigs).

NvidiaDan · 2 Jun 2013 at 15:31

Using the a200. Not the best but I was considering an upgrade so something better is always welcome. Are there any websites that sell bodies with reasonable finance options? Slippery slope I know but this couldn't have happened at a worse time, just as I want to start using it every weekend.

K.C. Leblanc · 2 Jun 2013 at 16:32

http://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/

Or look out for a used D80. It will be comparable with the α200 and not too expensive, dealers are selling them at £170ish.

Ksanti · 2 Jun 2013 at 16:35

Any Nikon body with a screw drive motor will work so it's basically anything digital EXCEPT the D40, D40x, D60, D3000, D3100, D3200, D5000, D5100 and D5200.

Energize · 2 Jun 2013 at 20:55

All recent prosumer models upwards feature it as far as I'm aware. Ie, D7000 and better.

Out of curiosity, I've heard people say that an f/1.2 AF lens is not possible because of the size of the Nikon mount, (though have not checked the veracity of that) could the screw drive be used to work around that restriction?

K.C. Leblanc · 2 Jun 2013 at 21:05

Energize said:
Out of curiosity, I've heard people say that an f/1.2 AF lens is not possible because of the size of the Nikon mount, (though have not checked the veracity of that) could the screw drive be used to work around that restriction?

There is an f1.2 manual focus F Mount lens. I would think if anything using the inbuilt AF motor would make things harder since they've got to run the AF from a fixed point instead of placing the AF motor wherever is most convenient. They probably don't make one because they know that it would be expense and not sell well. Does f1.2 really give you much over f1.4?

D.P. · 3 Jun 2013 at 04:35

Even on the canon mount f1.2 pushes things about much, the 85 L has weird mechanical vignetting wide open sinc ethe mount blocks light before hitting the sensor.

You also have to consider that f/1.2 lens were popular back in the film days when even IsO 800 was quite noisy and impacted images, now a days we are several stops ahead of film so the need for utra fast lenses is greatly reduced.

Furthermore digital sensors really don't respond wel to ultra fast apertures. there is a strong decline in efficiency as lenses get faster than around f/2.2. So much so that an f1.2 lens doesn't really provide any more light than a f1.4 lens and an f1.8 lens is not really noticible lower.

Saying that Nikon have passed a few patents for new 50-58mm f/1.2 lenses over the last years so it is possible something might be released, more for marketing than anything else.

D.P. · 3 Jun 2013 at 04:37

As for cameras that support AF-D lens, all Nikon DSLRs support all AF-D lenses but. Few entry level models won't support Autofocus with these lenses (but do support metering, TTL, aperture control, etc. Anything from the D70 up will also support autofocus.

CGrieves · 4 Jun 2013 at 09:11

D.P. said:
Furthermore digital sensors really don't respond wel to ultra fast apertures. there is a strong decline in efficiency as lenses get faster than around f/2.2. So much so that an f1.2 lens doesn't really provide any more light than a f1.4 lens and an f1.8 lens is not really noticible lower.

D.P.- Will start another thread rather than jack this one, but would be interested in a more in-depth explanation of that!

NvidiaDan · 4 Jun 2013 at 22:30

My budget would be around 250-300 so am I right in thinking a second hand D90 would be best or could I do better?

D.P. · 4 Jun 2013 at 22:39

Probably as far as you can go with that kind of budget. The D90 is still a great camera that I use for most of my work. If you don't need the high end AF or FPS then it stands up very well today.

darelmiler · 5 Jun 2013 at 08:34

Yes, nikon body is give a good result. The AF-D ultrawide lens improved upon a previous f/3.5 manual design with a faster lens speed of f/2.8. It give a unique position of having tested most every combination along the way.