Reading mode: Light Dark

New D200 user needs to talk old lenses

Go to last post
Old Timer63

Old Timer63

Veteran Member
Messages
6,028
Reaction score
1,818
Location
UK
I've just added a D200 to my Canon cameras. I tried one at focus in the UK and it brought back all the reasons why I first started out with Nikon.

Anyway, what I really fancy is using some of the A1-S lenses I used to have, my mind is a bit blocked as to what were the stellar lenses so perhaps someone can fill me in on that.

I remember my 55 micro 2.8 was superb and 180 2.8 but everything got stolen a while back.

What exactly do you loose when mounting the A1-S lenses on the D200 apart from AF( BTw is the D200 screen OK for MF?)

I ordered a 12-24 Nikon and 24-120VR but don't mind filling in between with MF primes.

What is the situation with the ziess lenses that were going to come out in Nikon fit?

Thanks
--
'The Devil Made Me Do It'

Dave
http://www.pbase.com/davechilvers
 
AI lenses will work in manual and aperture-priority modes on the D200.

The viewfinder is big and bright enough to allow manual focusing, plus there is a focus-confirmation indicator in the VF.
 
And if you want a split image prism in the viewfinder, you can always look for a katz eye screen to replace the D200's screen.
 
. . . I'd suggest you take a look at the lens compatibility section of your camera manual.

Greg
 
Dave Chilvers said:
Will a non A1 lens work on the D200??
Click to expand...
Pre-AI lens will NOT work, unless you modify them. Pre-AI lenses need an area of the apature ring cut. I've heard (but have not experienced) damage can result if you try to mount a pre-AI lens on a D200. Perhaps someone can confirm this.

"AI" stands for "Aperture Indexing". When you mount the lens, a ridge on the aperture ring moves a lever, which tells the camera what the maximum aperture is. After mounting, the older Non-AI lenses required you to manually rotate the aperture ring to the maximum aperture position so the meter would "know" what the max aperture was.
 
To add to what others have said, D200 has a special menu item "non-CPU lens data" where you input the focal length and speed of a non-CPU lens (pre AF lenses; exception are 3 Ai-P lenses with chips but without AF - 45mm f/2.8, 500m f/4 Ai-P and 85mm f/2.8 PC Micro-Nikkor) and the camera correctly meters in M and A modes - as you turn the aperture ring the camera displays the corresponding f-stop in the viewfinder and on the top LCD. Non-Ai lenses may damage the Ai tab on the camera so don't use them without Ai-conversion. A strange thing: I have a wonderful pre-Ai (and not converted) 55mm compensating Micro-Nikkor and a matching M2 extension tube. The tube does not interfere with the Ai-tab so I can mount the lens with the tube to obtain 1:1 magnification ratio. You were already directed to sites evaluating Nikkor lenses and out of those I would most strongly recommend to visit Bjorn Roslett's site (www.naturfotograf.com). You will find evaluations of most Nikon lenses on both film and digital bodies. I base my purchases of old Nikkors on Bjorn's suggestions.
regards
Jarek
Dave Chilvers said:
I've just added a D200 to my Canon cameras. I tried one at focus in
the UK and it brought back all the reasons why I first started out
with Nikon.

Anyway, what I really fancy is using some of the A1-S lenses I used
to have, my mind is a bit blocked as to what were the stellar
lenses so perhaps someone can fill me in on that.
I remember my 55 micro 2.8 was superb and 180 2.8 but everything
got stolen a while back.

What exactly do you loose when mounting the A1-S lenses on the D200
apart from AF( BTw is the D200 screen OK for MF?)

I ordered a 12-24 Nikon and 24-120VR but don't mind filling in
between with MF primes.
What is the situation with the ziess lenses that were going to come
out in Nikon fit?

Thanks
--
'The Devil Made Me Do It'

Dave
http://www.pbase.com/davechilvers
Click to expand...
 
I had my 35 year old 105 f2.5 lens notched for use on my D200. It meters in aperture mode and is manually adjusted for focus. It works great.
--
arvine
 
Google "AI conversion" or "John White" $35 a pop...
--
'Once in a while, you get shown the light
in the strangest of places if you look at it right...'
 
Dave Chilvers said:
I've just added a D200 to my Canon cameras. I tried one at focus in
the UK and it brought back all the reasons why I first started out
with Nikon.

Anyway, what I really fancy is using some of the A1-S lenses I used
to have, my mind is a bit blocked as to what were the stellar
lenses so perhaps someone can fill me in on that.
Click to expand...
what range of focal lengths?

i have the 24mm 2.8, 28mm 2.8, 35mm 2, 50mm 1.8 (I), 28-50mm 3.5, and 35-105mm 3.5-4.5, all ais. i'd like to expand that with a 20mm 2.8, 85mm 2, and 105 2.5.

the 28mm 2.8 is a great lens. the 50mm is also great (first, long barrelled version, like the ai), but the sample variation among the later "pancake" versions is rather wide. the 85 and 105 are supposed to be some of the best nikon has ever made. if you're look for 35mm, i hear the 1.4 is slightly better than the 2. (same for the 50mm).

people also rave about the 58mm 1.2 noct, but good luck with that one. for a lot less money, there's a cult following for the 45mm ai-p.
Old Timer63 said:
What exactly do you loose when mounting the A1-S lenses on the D200
apart from AF( BTw is the D200 screen OK for MF?)
Click to expand...
the d200's screen is OK for mf, but it could be better. it's large and bright (by consumer dslr standards), but an old matte ground glass screen with split-prism rangefinders would be nicer. i'm planning on modifying mine with the katz-eye screen very soon.

as for losses, program/shutter modes do not work, and you only get color matrix metering, not the newer 3d version. you also lose other distance-related calculations, such as for ttl flash. personally, i don't consider any of this a big deal.

a quirk for people used to modern lenses is that you HAVE TO adjust f/stop with the aperture ring on the lens. the camera cannot control the apertrue of the lens. i don't know why, exactly, but that's also why program and shutter modes are out. this also means you only get whole-stops in terms of aperture, except for one or two exceptions. the half detent between 1.8 and 2.8 will show up as "2", and the one between 3.5 and 5.6 will show up as "4."
Old Timer63 said:
What is the situation with the ziess lenses that were going to come
out in Nikon fit?
Click to expand...
they are supposed to be very impressive. also expensive.
 
Dave Chilvers said:
Anyway, what I really fancy is using some of the A1-S lenses I used
to have, my mind is a bit blocked as to what were the stellar
lenses so perhaps someone can fill me in on that.
I remember my 55 micro 2.8 was superb and 180 2.8 but everything
got stolen a while back.
Click to expand...
The AI-S 28mm f/2 and 35mm f/1.4 are both rather good, so are the fast standards - the AI-S 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.2 and the Noct Nikkor 58mm f/1.2. Both the AI-S 85mm f/2 and f/1.4 lenses are good (although the newer AF-D 85mm f/1.4 is better than either). The AI-S 105mm f/2.5 is something of a cult lens, and the AI-S 180mm f/2.8 ED is a classic.

Note these are all AI/AI-S versions. The meter coupling tab on the D200 isn't retractable like on the last F2 Photomic heads, FE, FM, F3, F4, so if you mount pre-AI lenses, there is considerable risk of damaging the coupling mechanism on the body. If you want to use pre-AI lenses, they need to be converted (I have a converted pre-AI Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 and Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 which both work well).
Old Timer63 said:
What exactly do you loose when mounting the A1-S lenses on the D200
apart from AF( BTw is the D200 screen OK for MF?)
Click to expand...
You have to manually enter lens data into the camera so it appears in image EXIF. Other than that, you get open aperture metering exactly like on older film bodies. Nikon's most advanced TTL flash metering doesn't work with AI-S lenses, but there is still TTL flash metering available.
Old Timer63 said:
I ordered a 12-24 Nikon and 24-120VR but don't mind filling in
between with MF primes.
What is the situation with the ziess lenses that were going to come
out in Nikon fit?
Click to expand...
Zeiss now have six native Nikon F mount lenses: two wide angle AI-S Distagons - 25mm f/2.8 and 35mm f/2, two fast Planars - 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4, and two Makro-Planars - 50mm f/2 and 100mm f/2. The are all made by Cosina in Japan under Zeiss supervision, and the quality and performance of all of them seems pretty good.
 
Hi,

I've got a pre-AI PC28/f:4, and even if it is said non-compatible by Nikon in its charts, it seems to fit perfectly my D200 (its full manual diaphram command is next the front lens, and its back lens never exceeds its mount).
What do you think about that ?
Any danger ?

(NB: it's too old to get any reliable information from Nikon - Nikon answer would be "it's a pre-AI lens so it can't fit")
Tx
 
thieery said:
Hi,
I've got a pre-AI PC28/f:4, and even if it is said non-compatible
by Nikon in its charts, it seems to fit perfectly my D200 (its full
manual diaphram command is next the front lens, and its back lens
never exceeds its mount).
What do you think about that ?
Any danger ?
Click to expand...
I understand the consensus opinion is that they are not safe (note I have never tried one of the old PC designs on body newer than an F3). The outer casing of the lens barrel extends beyond the mount face by several millimetres right in the area where the AI indexing tab is. You need to check that the tab and ring to which it attaches doesn't contact the rear of the lens. If it does (and I suspect it does), you face real risk of damaging the AI coupling mechanism on the body.
 
The AI and AIS lenses work fine on the D200. Most of the non-AI lenses can be converted to AI and they also work fine. Just be aware that the D200 requires a wider gap on the mount to be cut than the FE2, FM2 etc, because the camera prong cannot lift up like on the older bodies.
Old Timer63 said:
What exactly do you lose when mounting the A1-S lenses on the D200
apart from AF( BTw is the D200 screen OK for MF?)
Click to expand...
Because the D200 uses and APS sensor, the field of view will be smaller or narrower, creating the impression that the lens has an effectively larger focal length. The viewfinder is good, but not what you might have been used to on an F3 or FM2. Add a magnifying eyepiece to your camera, and it should be slightly easier to focus. I also changed the viewfinder to a splitscreen, but mostly it does not make a big difference, except with long teles. The D200 has a nifty feature that allows you to dial in the focal length and maximum aperture of the MF lens. This means that the correct f-stop is shown in the viewfinder, and the exif data also show this information, making it useful for sorting etc.
Old Timer63 said:
What is the situation with the ziess lenses that were going to come
out in Nikon fit?
Click to expand...
The benefit of AI/AIS compatibility lies with speciality lenses, i.e. lenses that are just not available in AF. They include PCs, wide and normal fast primes, flare resistant wides and some unusual zooms. Over and above that, the older MF lenses are cheap used, and some (not all) are better than their AF counterparts. They are also built well, and some may outlast their AF counterparts by a few lifetimes if well looked after.

The Zeiss lenses are for special purposes only, and come at a price that requires a very serious consideration of what you want to do with such a lens. The 100/2 macro is said to be 1600 USD. On the other hand, you can get a 105/4 Micro-Nikkor AI version for 130 USD, and it is still one of the best macro lenses ever made. So unless you use f/2 and f/2.8, the Zeiss might be somewhat academic. By similar comparison, the Zeiss 50/1.4 for f-mount is around 550 USD, and a Nikkor AIS version should sell for around 150 USD. The Zeiss has a different look and may be slightly sharper, as far as I can see on the samples posted, but for the difference in price it is rather academic on a D200. Not to say the same will be true on a 22 MP FF body, though. So they are to the general crowd a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, but to a minority of serious photographers they are a welcome addition to the arsenal of available lenses.

Bjorn Rorslett, Jan Wakker, Roland Vink and David Ruether have done extensive listings of MF Nikkors with ratings, links and what have you. If you are willing to do some reading, google those names and burn a few candles, and you'll know all there is to know about MF Nikkors.

Regards,
dorff

--
Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

If you have trouble falling asleep, visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/dorff/
 
Great Wealth of imformation from you guys, Thanks.

Good to know that you don't have to use stop down metering.
--
'The Devil Made Me Do It'

Dave
http://www.pbase.com/davechilvers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top