AI vs Non-AI??

[nealjpage]

I really love my new Nikon FE2, but desperately want a new lens. The Soligor 24-80 isn't too bad, but the zoom function has trouble holding a constant focal length. So I'm looking into getting some Nikkor primes, but am confused about the Nikon system.

I'm a Pentax guy and have gotten used to their K-mount system so never really had to worry about compatibility. Nikon's got me stumped. I wikipediaed the camera and lens, but got lost somewhere in this whole AI or non AI deal. And the Nikonian site lists a bunch of lenses and body combos, but not the FE2.

So, in short, can anyone tell me what kind of lens mount/AI/non AI deal I should look for?


Oh, and while I'm at it, what's with the little metal 'tab' that sticks up off the aperture ring?

 

[Garbz]

That tab is for the non-AI Nikkor cameras. It's backwards compatibility for those. The camera had a little clip which clicks into the tab to allow it to read the camera aperture.

You can tell if a lens is an AI lens or not based on the ring. Run your finger on the outside of the back of the ring, and somewhere near the tab you'll find a section which sits out. That is your AutoIndexing tab and this tells every Nikon camera from about the 1970s onwards (except the D40) what aperture the camera is at.

This is the only criteria for a lens to work on the Nikon FE, the aperture ring, and the AI indent. All my lenses work including the AI, AI-S, AF, and some AF-S lenses. What you need to watch out for are lenses marked as DX since they won't project a full image onto 35mm film, and lenses marked G. Many new AF-S Nikkors are G designated and work for cameras with electronic based aperture selection only. I.e. These do not have an aperture ring.

Other than that Pretty much every lens works all the way up to my new Nikkor AF 80-200mm f/2.8 D

 

[jwkwd]

Perhaps this will help: http://www.nikonians.org/nikon/slr-lens.html#chart

 

[nealjpage]

That tab is for the non-AI Nikkor cameras. It's backwards compatibility for those. The camera had a little clip which clicks into the tab to allow it to read the camera aperture.

You can tell if a lens is an AI lens or not based on the ring. Run your finger on the outside of the back of the ring, and somewhere near the tab you'll find a section which sits out. That is your AutoIndexing tab and this tells every Nikon camera from about the 1970s onwards (except the D40) what aperture the camera is at.

This is the only criteria for a lens to work on the Nikon FE, the aperture ring, and the AI indent. All my lenses work including the AI, AI-S, AF, and some AF-S lenses. What you need to watch out for are lenses marked as DX since they won't project a full image onto 35mm film, and lenses marked G. Many new AF-S Nikkors are G designated and work for cameras with electronic based aperture selection only. I.e. These do not have an aperture ring.

Other than that Pretty much every lens works all the way up to my new Nikkor AF 80-200mm f/2.8 D

So, without the AI tab, my meter/shutter speed won't work properly, will it?

I'm so green when it comes to automatic cameras!