I'm a traitor...

[JeffieLove]

Hey everyone... So I had a Canon 60D. It is currently unusable and I need to see if I can upgrade or get it fixed or something. In the meantime, I am getting my sister's Nikon D3100. I can't function without a 50mm f1.8 lens. I know nothing about how Nikon stuff works and so far I have found 2 different 50mm f1.8 lenses on the Nikon site and there's a $100 difference in price. My uneducated brain is having a very difficult time looking at all the specs and everything and trying to figure out which one would function with the D3100. So here's what I'm looking at...

AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

Can someone give me a basic run down of the difference between the two and whether they both will work with the D3100 or not? Also, if anyone can tell me how these correlate in Canon terms, then maybe I will be able to figure this out on my own next time lol

 

[Destin]

Hey everyone... So I had a Canon 60D. It is currently unusable and I need to see if I can upgrade or get it fixed or something. In the meantime, I am getting my sister's Nikon D3100. I can't function without a 50mm f1.8 lens. I know nothing about how Nikon stuff works and so far I have found 2 different 50mm f1.8 lenses on the Nikon site and there's a $100 difference in price. My uneducated brain is having a very difficult time looking at all the specs and everything and trying to figure out which one would function with the D3100. So here's what I'm looking at...

AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

Can someone give me a basic run down of the difference between the two and whether they both will work with the D3100 or not? Also, if anyone can tell me how these correlate in Canon terms, then maybe I will be able to figure this out on my own next time lol

You need the G. The D will not autofocus on the lower end Nikon bodies as it’s a screw drive lens and the 3xxx bodies don’t have a focus motor.

 

[JeffieLove]

Hey everyone... So I had a Canon 60D. It is currently unusable and I need to see if I can upgrade or get it fixed or something. In the meantime, I am getting my sister's Nikon D3100. I can't function without a 50mm f1.8 lens. I know nothing about how Nikon stuff works and so far I have found 2 different 50mm f1.8 lenses on the Nikon site and there's a $100 difference in price. My uneducated brain is having a very difficult time looking at all the specs and everything and trying to figure out which one would function with the D3100. So here's what I'm looking at...

AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

Can someone give me a basic run down of the difference between the two and whether they both will work with the D3100 or not? Also, if anyone can tell me how these correlate in Canon terms, then maybe I will be able to figure this out on my own next time lol

You need the G. The D will not autofocus on the lower end Nikon bodies as it’s a screw drive lens and the 3xxx bodies don’t have a focus motor.

Figures I have to spend the extra $100... lol

 

[snowbear]

Correct - the AF-S means there is an AF motor (Silent wave) built into the lens, the AF rlies on the AF motor to be in the camera body. The "D" designates the lens captures distance and the "G" means gelded - it has no aperture ring. If you are OK without auto focus, or plan to upgrade the body anytime, I'd go with the AF / D, but I also shoot film with a Nikon body that has the motor.

 

[JeffieLove]

So is this an easy, cover all type answer? Every time I go to buy a lens it should have the G after the aperture?

 

[snowbear]

Also, there is a "rangefinder" feature in the Nikons - a light in the viewfinder that will let you know when the subject is in focus.

NO - the "G" just means the lens has no aperture ring. For auto focus on any body, you are looking for "AF-S"

 

[JeffieLove]

Okay - so it's the AF-S that I need to be looking for then. Right? Sorry, I ask a lot of questions to make sure that I am definitely not going to screw up. Especially when it involves hundreds of dollars being spent lol

 

[Destin]

Okay - so it's the AF-S that I need to be looking for then. Right? Sorry, I ask a lot of questions to make sure that I am definitely not going to screw up. Especially when it involves hundreds of dollars being spent lol

Correct. And that applies to the D3xxx series and the D5xxx series cameras. The D7xxx series and up have built in focus motors and will focus any Nikon autofocus lens.

 

[snowbear]

I just noticed you are in Elkton.

There's a list of the abbreviations on the Nikon site, somewhere (nikonusa.com).

 

[benhasajeep]

Also as your looking at lenses. DX means they are for crop sensor cameras. The D3100 is a 1.5x crop factor. So slightly less than your 60D of 1.6x. Nikon DX lenses are designed for cameras with the crop sensors. Anything not DX will work on DX and full frame bodies.

 

[Destin]

Also as your looking at lenses. DX means they are for crop sensor cameras. The D3100 is a 1.5x crop factor. So slightly less than your 60D of 1.6x. Nikon DX lenses are designed for cameras with the crop sensors. Anything not DX will work on DX and full frame bodies.

However FX will work just fine on your Dx body.

 

[snowbear]

Also as your looking at lenses. DX means they are for crop sensor cameras. The D3100 is a 1.5x crop factor. So slightly less than your 60D of 1.6x. Nikon DX lenses are designed for cameras with the crop sensors. Anything not DX will work on DX and full frame bodies.

However FX will work just fine on your Dx body.

Sometimes better than on FX bodies - less, if any, edge distortion.

 

[Solarflare]

Yes some lenses with weak corners will be a bit better on DX then FX, while some with sharpness over the area will be less performant on DX.

The AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 VR1 zoom for example is nowadays almost exclusively used on DX only, despite being designed for the full frame, since its cheap and is infamous for its weak corners.

Either way you can use all lenses, DX or not(*), on both FX and DX bodies. Obviously DX lenses on a FX body will either have to be used with DX crop mode or will tend to have more or less vignetting / dark corners.


(*) : There are no FX lenses. Or in other words, the FX lenses are all those without a "DX" in the name.