Seriously thinking Nikon digital but...

railman44 · Apr 26, 2005

I've got some lens questions. I'm familiar with the Nikkor AI or AIS lenses but I'm clueless when it comes to AF. I've seen "D", "G", etc. lenses on eBay. I'm thinking each different letter denotes some type of quality or lack of? Will any Nikon AF lens work and meter with a D70? I know the older AI or AIS will work but the metering won't. Any help would be appreciated!

Skipster · Apr 26, 2005

http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20992

catweh00 · Apr 26, 2005

G lenses are made without the aperture ring--which simply means you have to select aperture via the command/sub-command dial on your d70.
I think the manula has a lens chart in the back of it--there are so many nikon lens types, just look in the back of the manual--D lenses work perfectly, as do G lenses. Higher quality glass in nikon's system is labeled ED .
Craig

Patrick · Apr 26, 2005

Also the build quality on the "G" isn't the greatest.

mikerfns · Apr 26, 2005

Patrick said:
Also the build quality on the "G" isn't the greatest.

While that was initially true (and is still certainly true for the cheap 28~80 kit zooms), that is no longer the case. Of late, all newly released Nikkors, including pro zooms costing thousands, have been "G" lenses.

mikerfns · Apr 26, 2005

See here: http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/nikon_articles/other/compatibility.html#type

And yes, ANY autofocus Nikon lens will meter with a D70, and work in ALL exposure modes.

Mike

Skipster · Apr 26, 2005

Thanks for that link mikerfns. Lots of useful info there I can surely use.

Patrick · Apr 27, 2005

mikerfns said:
While that was initially true (and is still certainly true for the cheap 28~80 kit zooms), that is no longer the case. Of late, all newly released Nikkors, including pro zooms costing thousands, have been "G" lenses.

I didn't take into account that he would be thinking of buying a pro zoom costing thousands.

mikerfns · Apr 27, 2005

Patrick said:
I didn't take into account that he would be thinking of buying a pro zoom costing thousands.

You don't need to spend thousands for a nice "G" lens. Some of the current consumer "G" zoom are very nicely made. The recent AF-S 24-85G is as nicely built (or better) as any of the earlier zooms like the 28~105D et al. I haven't personally seen the new AF-S 24~120G (about $500), but I would venture it is just as well (or better) constructed than the earlier 24~120D.

But I would certainly agree that some G lenses, like the 28~80G and 70~300G are cheap to the extreme (they are assembled with TAPE). We have the independents like Sigma to thank for that, as Nikon needs to produce cheap stuff to compete with the 3rd party cheap stuff. But for some that is all they can afford, and a cheap lens is better than no lens at all.

Mike