Lens confusion :/

[oO Stevie Oo]

Howdy

I'm currently using a Nikon D80, I have 2 lenses (18-135mm and 70-300mm)

The time has come where I am desperate for more depth of field,
I was concidering getting a Nikon 50mm f1.8 which should do the job, but the more I research lenes, the more confused I get,

I think I need a F bayonett lens as most Nikons are, but then I was reading about DX and FX bodies,
The D80 from what I've read is a DX body, by can run FX lenses in crop or something.

So I sort of thought I knew what I was looking for, then I came across cameras with internal focus motor and AF-S and AiS,
So I'm now really confused,

I tried researching the D80 and I believe it has an internal focus motor and It has that flat pin thing sticking out on the mount for the lens (which I think is the internal motor drive thing)

Could anyone please clarify exactly what I need to be looking at for compatibility?

Do I need a lens with a built in AF motor?
What type of focus is compatible?
What lens mount is it if not F?

And anything else you can think of would be much appreciated

Thanks in advance

 

[Tysonator]

I not a NIKON user, though I do know the motor for AF is in the camera body not the lens.

 

[At The Gates]

Howdy

Do I need a lens with a built in AF motor?
What type of focus is compatible?
What lens mount is it if not F?

And anything else you can think of would be much appreciated

Thanks in advance

Your D80 has a motor so can autofocus using AF-S or AF/AF-D lenses. You can buy pretty much any Nikon lens and it will autofocus. So for example the £90 50mm AF-D f/1.8 will work fine on your D80.

It uses F mount lenses. All their SLRs do.

Keeping it simple - You have a crop sensor that Nikon call DX. A DX lens will work fine on your D80 but so will an "FX" or full frame lens (really these aren't designated FX they just have the DX left off the lens model description). It's the other way round that's an issue. DX lenses will produce images with black borders on FX or 35mm film cameras as the size of the lens won't cover the whole of the FX sensor.

 

[Nexus]

To add to this, are you slightly confused on depth of field?

You say you want a lens with a big open aperture at f1.8 which gives you a very shallow depth of field. If you wanted a large depth of field with everything sharp then you would be using a much higher aperture which is available on most lenses.

 

[matja]

Your D80 has a motor so can autofocus using AF-S or AF/AF-D lenses. You can buy pretty much any Nikon lens and it will autofocus. So for example the £90 50mm AF-D f/1.8 will work fine on your D80.

It uses F mount lenses. All their SLRs do.

Keeping it simple - You have a crop sensor that Nikon call DX. A DX lens will work fine on your D80 but so will an "FX" or full frame lens (really these aren't designated FX they just have the DX left off the lens model description). It's the other way round that's an issue. DX lenses will produce images with black borders on FX or 35mm film cameras as the size of the lens won't cover the whole of the FX sensor.

Spot on.

OP: Some extra info I found helpful when I had to read up on it before :
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm#dslr

 

[oO Stevie Oo]

Some very helpful info there, thanks guys

I'm not confused with DOF, I ment i wanted a lens to single out subjects and allow shots to capture more shallow DOF, and allow me to get a lot closer than the 18-135mm lens does.
(sorry should have been more specific)

From what I read, I sort of got the idea I could purchase pretty much anything from old film lenses to more modern lenses, then once I read about the focus modes and DX/FX sensors I lost the will to read lol

The 2 lenses I have, I've looked at them closer and the 18-135mm has internal auto focus, as where the 70-300mm I have has external focus drive, therefore the camera body drives the focus as you can see the little drive thing spinning when the lens is off the body and you turn the manual focus.

So now I'm a lot more confident in what i need

Thanks again