FX format lenses on D7000 body ?

Hi !

I am new to this Nikon forum; I am considering to switch over from pentax system to nikon system; but the biggest dilemma and confusion and frustration, I am facing at this moment is whether to go with D7000 body + DX lenses and later on upgrade to D4 straightway !.... OR, D800 body +FX lenses now itself ? ...... Of course, these question I am running behind due to funds factor to setup a FX format system ...

My question to you guys :

1. If I buy D7000 with DX lenses now, will I be able to use later on FX body ? .... How does the FX to DX switchover mode work on FX body ?

2. Is the FX lenses compatible to D7000 DX body ? .... then I could invest on FX lenses at the beginning itself and later on I could upgrade to high end FX Nikon body....

Any advice welcome.

Thanks.
--
a pentaxian

The D800 automatically selects the DX mode when a DX lens is attached.

FX lenses work perfectly well on a D7000 - better than on an FX camera, in some cases, because the edges often the weakest part of lens performance and you don't use them with DX. Some lower-cost FX lenses are particularly practical for switching from DX to FX: 28mm primes are good "normal" lenses on DX then moderate wide-angles on FX, a fast 50mm prime is a good portrait lens on DX and then a "normal" lens on FX.

A pentaxian said:

1. If I buy D7000 with DX lenses now, will I be able to use later on FX body ? .... How does the FX to DX switchover mode work on FX body ?

Click to expand...

Yes. When you put a DX lens on an FX body, the camera will switch to DX mode, meaning the sensor area will be cropped.

A pentaxian said:

2. Is the FX lenses compatible to D7000 DX body ? .... then I could invest on FX lenses at the beginning itself and later on I could upgrade to high end FX Nikon body....

Click to expand...

Yes. You can use any FX lens on the D7000. If you are planning on upgrading to FX in the future, it can make good sense to buy FX lenses now, as long as the focal lengths work for you need right now.

Just remember that on a DX body with any lens, FX or DX, the image is cropped relative to a the same lens on an FX body. So, for example, an 80 mm lens on a DX body, has the same field of view as about a 120 mm lens on an FX body. Or, as another example, I shoot with the 17-55 a lot on my D7000. If I were to switch to FX and wanted to keep more or less the same effective field of view and same shooting style, I would want to get the 24-70.

I have only FX lenses and have been using them on a D70 since 2004 so certainly can confirm they work just fine. Equivalent DX lenses are probably smaller and lighter.

Can't comment on DX lenses on a FX body.

David

A pentaxian said:

2. Is the FX lenses compatible to D7000 DX body ? .... then I could invest on FX lenses at the beginning itself and later on I could upgrade to high end FX Nikon body....

Click to expand...

Many thanks; I think it just works like this :-....

If use Pentax FA primes OR Sigma zoom lenses with aperture ring on my Pentax K5 (APS-C sensor with 1.5X crop factor), I probably get same effect ..... FA 77mm limited f1.8 is probably giving me 115.5 mm focal length ! .... Am I correct ?

I agree with you, as you said, It is better to buy few FX lenses and D7000 now and later on, when I will have fund, I will upgrade to D4. ... I need lenses mostly right now to work on :-

Wedding photography;
Group Photography;
Portraits;
Occasional zoo, nature etc... all purpose ....

.... Could you please give me some suggestion for ONLY FX lenses?

Thanks.

--
a pentaxian

If funds are tight, you may get the 18-105 VR kit lens for the D7000. When you go to FX you may sell both. Some may substitute the 16-85 VR lens here. On sunny days they make nice lens. For FX you may go for a 24-120 or the new 24-85 lens.

For the tele lens, the 70-300 VR is very good & makes a nice pair with a 16-85. While it works on a FX you may want better glass on a D800.

--
I Shoot RAW

A pentaxian said:

Many thanks; I think it just works like this :-....

If use Pentax FA primes OR Sigma zoom lenses with aperture ring on my Pentax K5 (APS-C sensor with 1.5X crop factor), I probably get same effect ..... FA 77mm limited f1.8 is probably giving me 115.5 mm focal length ! .... Am I correct ?

Click to expand...

Yes... crop factor is the same on Nikons.

A pentaxian said:

I agree with you, as you said, It is better to buy few FX lenses and D7000 now and later on, when I will have fund, I will upgrade to D4. ... I need lenses mostly right now to work on :-

Wedding photography;
Group Photography;
Portraits;
Occasional zoo, nature etc... all purpose ....

Click to expand...

24-70 f2.8 => this is what most wedding photogs use.
24-120 f4 => a cheaper alternative to the above.

70-200VRII f2.8 => Expensive, but very good and useful for the weddings and portraits as well. You could also use it for the longer stuff, specially on a crop body.

the 24-70 would be a great portrait lens, specially in a crop body. Nikon has a bunch of nice primes that you could get depending on budget.

Since you would be using these on a crop body, you would probably need a wide angle as well.

The 70-300VR is realtively cheap, and FX. You could use it for the longer stuff. My guess is that it´s too slow (f#) to use at weddings though.

A pentaxian said:

.... Could you please give me some suggestion for ONLY FX lenses?

Thanks.

--
a pentaxian

Click to expand...

A pentaxian said:

If use Pentax FA primes OR Sigma zoom lenses with aperture ring on my Pentax K5 (APS-C sensor with 1.5X crop factor), I probably get same effect ..... FA 77mm limited f1.8 is probably giving me 115.5 mm focal length ! .... Am I correct ?

Click to expand...

Yes, to get a full frame (35mm) perspective you will need to multiply the focal length by 1.5 wether it is a full frame lens, or a DX lens. For example a 28-70 meant for a full frame will seem like a 42-105 on a DX (D7000), and a 18-70 DX lens will seem like a 28-105 on the DX body. So to get wide angle for the DX you will probably need at least one DX lens.

A pentaxian said:

I agree with you, as you said, It is better to buy few FX lenses and D7000 now and later on, when I will have fund, I will upgrade to D4. ... I need lenses mostly right now to work on :-

.... Could you please give me some suggestion for ONLY FX lenses?

Click to expand...

The nice thing about the D7000, and all of their full frame models (also the high end DX models) is they will meter with older Nikkor's which are all full frame. So you can look at all of the Auto Focus lenses made for Nikon plus the manual focus AI/AI-S lenses.
--
Michael
http://www.flickr.com/photos/c36sailor/

FX lenses work on both FX and DX camera bodies. The focal length is the same on both bodies. What changes is the field of view. On a DX body a 50mm lens will have the FOV of a 75mm lens. It's called cropped factor not focal length factor. If you can, try to purchase lenses that will work on an FX body just in case you find yourself with an FX camera. A big advantage to DX format is the cost of the bodies and lenses are less expensive. They also usually weigh less. Most people will be happy with DX format and not even know the difference.

I use a 50mm f1.4 on my D7000 all the time. Works great albiet the crop factor is 75mm. I doubt that I will buy any more DX lenses because the 'build quality' on a FX lens is superior. Plus you can use a FX lens on a DX body but the reverse is not necessarily true.

If you have a 12-24 mm DX zoomlens (Nikon or Tokina) for wide angle pictures on your DX camera, as a bonus you may use it from 18 mm up as a wide angle FX lens.
--
WillemB

WillemB said:

If you have a 12-24 mm DX zoomlens (Nikon or Tokina) for wide angle pictures on your DX camera, as a bonus you may use it from 18 mm up as a wide angle FX lens.
--
WillemB

Click to expand...

Yes, I'm curious to give that a try...might enable me to buy a different lens for a little while, or give me more time to save for something different.
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Herby