Nikon AI lens on a D60

Can someone tell me how I would set exposure with an AI lens on a D60? Do I have to have a seperate light meter. I just picked up a 50mm, f2 lens on Ebay without realizing it is an AI lens and am wondering if it will be useless to me. Manual focus is not an issue but I will need to be able to meter for exposure. Thank you
Stan

Sorry, the D60 won't meter AI lenses. You can set it to Manual and use an external light meter, or guess. With the instant feedback you get, guessing the exposure might not be as bad as you think.

The least expensive Nikon DSLR that will meter an AI lens is the D7000.
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srd1941 said:

Can someone tell me how I would set exposure with an AI lens on a D60? Do I have to have a seperate light meter. I just picked up a 50mm, f2 lens on Ebay without realizing it is an AI lens and am wondering if it will be useless to me. Manual focus is not an issue but I will need to be able to meter for exposure. Thank you
Stan

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Stan I have just picked up an 85mm AI lens and have the same issue, but it's not bad at all.

The camera (D90) has to be in manual mode, and wont display the selected aperture, this is set by twisting the aperture ring on the lens itself, all you do is select the appropriate shutter speed, and check the result/histogram and tweak accordingly.

Thank you very much for the replies. That doesn't sound so bad and it will be an opportunity to learn more about my camara. Thanks again
Stan

Hi,

You've got a number of choices for getting your exposures right.

You can just shoot and chimp. This will work but might not be adequate for critical work (stuff where you have one shot or you want dead on exposure).

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/histograms.htm

A variation of this would be to shoot tight on something with a known value. You could use a gray card, the diffused highlight on a face (zoomed right in), grass, sky. Basically fill the frame with one tone then decide where you would like to put it in your tonal range. Read up on the zone system a little, it'll make sense.

http://www.normankoren.com/zonesystem.html

You can use an old hand held meter. These were produced in the millions back in the day and can still be found very inexpensively. I have several lying around but one Sekonic I've used for years with my old Praktica L2. The key to using one of these would be to calibrate it to a perfect exposure (using a grey card for example). If you know it's 2/3s of a stop over all the time then you are good.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gossen-Luna-Pro-Exposure-Meter-Nice-reliable-lightmeter-/220742414148?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336545ef44

Newer versions of these light meters are still sold today. One cool one is the Sekonic twinmate L-208 that fits in your hot shoe. Boom, instant meter on your D60.

http://www.amazon.com/Sekonic-L-208-Light-Meter-Black/dp/B000KZBRG6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1298482453&sr=1-1

One guy here actually modded his D40 to meter with older lenses. I don't know if he did anything commercially with it but it appears to work very smoothly in his video.

http://www.alternativemicrosystems.com/D40/

Fred Parker has an article on using your mind as the ultimate exposure computer for nature photography. He has some interesting insights. Sunny 16 rule on steroids.

http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm

Lot's of stuff out there. Have fun with it. If you want that true old school film experience just put some gaffer's tape on your LCD, no peeking.

srd1941 said:

Can someone tell me how I would set exposure with an AI lens on a D60? Do I have to have a seperate light meter. I just picked up a 50mm, f2 lens on Ebay without realizing it is an AI lens and am wondering if it will be useless to me. Manual focus is not an issue but I will need to be able to meter for exposure. Thank you
Stan

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eddyshoots

I’d agree with everything said. I use these lenses on my D60 all the time. I’m fortunate that I have been around a long time and experienced not having a light meter or simply used the “Sunny Sixteen” rule. Eventually I purchased a Sekonic and then a Luna Pro. Both are still working

Not a big deal after a bit of practice. And you can always do a quick bracket using the F-Stop ring or the shutter speed.
Pap
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/34495676@N08

I used to shoot a lot of AI/AIS lenses on my D80 and D90, and yes, it can be done. You will have to use the histogram to judge whether the exposure is good, adjust, and re-take the shot. A light meter would work just as well if you don't want to "chimp" your way to the right exposure. You will also have to learn to manual-focus, and with the smaller viewfinder of the D60, this can be a chore -- even if it has a green light indicator.

I used to be very enthusiastic about non-CPU (AI/AIS) lens shooting, but old age and laziness are moving me more to modernity, and even though my current cameras do meter with these legacy lenses, I've been getting rid of a few of them. I would keep trying for a while, though, because these older lenses are an affordable alternative to get high quality glass that would otherwise cost you a great deal these days.
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Seeking the heart and spirit in each image



Gallery and blog: http://esfotoclix.com
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I'm in the same boat Eno. I have a terrific 105 1.8 that just gives the smoothest backgrounds wide open. But it's manual focus and I find that I have trouble nailing that critical focus when wide open. I'm just hitting that age where I'm sure reading glasses are soon to come. I think I"m going to have to sell it and perhaps get an 85 1.8 AF (although my dream replacement would be the 105 F2 DC )
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eddyshoots

A lot of good information here. I'm sure I'll have fun with it. It takes quit a bit to discourage me really. It was kind of one of those Ebay times when I should have kept my hands in my pockets and off the kiyboard; however, I like to learn new things so all will turn out well. Thank you
Stan

srd1941 said:

A lot of good information here. I'm sure I'll have fun with it. It takes quit a bit to discourage me really. It was kind of one of those Ebay times when I should have kept my hands in my pockets and off the kiyboard; however, I like to learn new things so all will turn out well. Thank you
Stan

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hehe, I think we've all done that. I've got ebay open right now and I'm trying to decide if I want to pull the trigger on a focusing screen for my AIS lenses or not.

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eddyshoots

eddyshoots said:

I'm in the same boat Eno. I have a terrific 105 1.8 that just gives the smoothest backgrounds wide open. But it's manual focus and I find that I have trouble nailing that critical focus when wide open. I'm just hitting that age where I'm sure reading glasses are soon to come. I think I"m going to have to sell it and perhaps get an 85 1.8 AF (although my dream replacement would be the 105 F2 DC )

Click to expand...

Yeah, I recently picked up a 105 f2 DC (and just today a 135 f2 DC!), and reluctantly, my AIS 105 f2.5 is up for sale. I've shot a lot of good stuff with the AIS, but the number of missed focus shots when wide open is just too high for the type of shooting I'm doing now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeking the heart and spirit in each image



Gallery and blog: http://esfotoclix.com
Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22061657@N03

Learn about Nikkors (Nikon lenses) here so you won't make the same mistake again.

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/AFNikkor/index.htm

Very best site for Nikkors.

Can you please tell me how to get an AI lens onto the D60? I am looking for adapters and have yet to find one. In the listings, they all appear to take an "AI F to [Some other camera type]". Clearly they are not the same as the AI is slightly larger and will not go into the camera body directly.

Your thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

MonsterMix said:

Can you please tell me how to get an AI lens onto the D60? I am looking for adapters and have yet to find one. In the listings, they all appear to take an "AI F to [Some other camera type]". Clearly they are not the same as the AI is slightly larger and will not go into the camera body directly.

Your thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

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An AI Nikkor should attach to your D60 with no issues. If it doesn't fit, it's not an F-mount lens.

MonsterMix said:

Can you please tell me how to get an AI lens onto the D60? I am looking for adapters and have yet to find one. In the listings, they all appear to take an "AI F to [Some other camera type]". Clearly they are not the same as the AI is slightly larger and will not go into the camera body directly.

Your thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

Long ago, Canon made a D60. More recently, Canon made a 60D. Both accept Canon EOS EF lenses. Both can use AI lenses, with an adapter, such as the Novoflex EOS-NIK. The Canon 60D will meter light that enters the camera through an AI lens. I am not sure about the Canon D60.

A Nikon D60 will accept AI lenses, though as the earlier replies in this thread have indicated, you will have to find a way to meter the light, yourself.