Derrel
Mr. Rain Cloud
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Thanks Cop J for the handy diagram, which is allowable here under Fair Use provisions,since this is for educational purposes AND we are commenting on it. You know, this whole "low-end Nikon's do not have a focusing motor in the body" issue is one of the MAIN pieces of "ammunition" Canon fans love to trot out as being a plus for low-end Canon bodies instead of the Nikon D40,D40x,D60,D3000,and Nikon D5000 bodies. I am a dual-system user (Rebel 350, 20D, EOS 5D) (Nikon D70,D2x, and Fuji S2and S5 Pro) and have a couple comments about this whole "no AF motor" issue;
First off, the "baby Nikons" as the D40 and D40x, D60,D3000,and D5000 are commonly called, have the "green-dot" rangefinder for manual focusing assistance with any lens with an f/5.6 or faster aperture--99% of all Nikkor lenses ever made. The "baby Nikons" will light meter with ALL autofocusing Nikkor lenses made for regular Nikon cameras, so any Nikon mount lens in AF mount, AF-D mount, AF-i, AF-S, or G series,will light meter with the five baby Nikons. So, basically EVERY Nikon Autofocus lens made since 1987 (roughly 25 million lenses) will light meter on those five Nikons.
Also, roughly 20 million or more manual focusing Nikon lenses, going all the way back to 1959, will MOUNT and have f/stop control, and will shoot pictures, with green-dot AF confirmation on the five baby Nikon bodies. Just set the camera to manual exposure mode. That means that the baby Nikons can use pre-AI lenses and pre-AI accessories. All the cool old stuff from the 60's and 70's,like $20 wide-angles and $30 300mm f/5.6 telephotos, slide duplicators, bellows, lens reversing rings, cheap Nikon M2 extension rings, basically ANYTHING ever made in Nikon F-mount, will fit onto the 5 baby Nikons, with no modification necessary to the camera body or to the lens. So....that means there are,according to Nikon, 50 million lenses they have made, that will mount, shoot, and give green-dot focus confirmation. Plus maybe 40 million Sears, Tamron,Sigma,Tokina, Phoenix,Quantaray,Rokinon, Spiratone,Celestron,Rokunar,lenses in F-mount, that will work on the five "baby Nikons". If a lens is in Nikon mount, except for a handful of rare, invasive fisheye lenses, those five bodies will be able to mount and use the lens. Pawn shop lenses, grandpa's old Nikkormat lenses from 1969, Dad's old Nikon lenses from the 1980's, sis's discarded college Nikon camera lenses, those $5 extension tubes--ALL that stuff will work on a baby Nikon. All of it.
Again-ANY non-exotic F-mount lens, 1959 to 2009 will mount, have diaphragm control, and will shoot photos with green-dot focus confirm as long as it is f/5.6 or faster. The 6mm and 8mm circular-field fisheye and the 21mm f/4 Nikon for example, all $2,000-$4,000 collectibles, are the only lenses that will not mount right.
ANY AF lens in Nikon mount will have light metering, so any AF lens 1987 to 2009 will meter. The majority of Nikon lenses that will not autofocus on the baby Nikons are lenses that cost as much, or more than, the cameras themselves. The original baby Nikon, the D40, was the world's best-selling d-slr ever. Most baby Nikon users will want new,modern AF-S lenses that are small,light and affordable. So, back to this entire no-AF motor in Nikon low-end vs Canon with AF-in-lens argument: everything is a compromise. Canon abandoned its users in 1987. Canon FD mount lenses are virtually useless on any digital,unless you own an exceedingly rare FD to EF adapter made for a very short time by Canon. Canon EF-S lenses will NOT mount onto full-frame Canon bodies because the EF-S lenses protrude far into the body--just like those three,rare old Nikon ultrawides did. If a lens will accept a Nikon F-mount rear lens cap--it WILL MOUNT AND it will SHOOT with AF confirmation on five models of what many of us call the "baby Nikons". Fifty years worth of lenses will mount and shoot on a baby Nikon. Fifty million made by Nikon, who knows how many made by 3rd parties.
The baby Nikons will not light meter with manual focusing lenses, but they will light meter with basically ANY autofocus lens in F-mount. They will mount and shoot almost any lens or any accessory made over the last fifty years in F-mount. For those on a budget, or who want low-priced lenses or oddball accessories, like slide duplicators and cheap extension tubes and bargain priced macro lenses, the baby Nikons are a blessing in disguise.
First off, the "baby Nikons" as the D40 and D40x, D60,D3000,and D5000 are commonly called, have the "green-dot" rangefinder for manual focusing assistance with any lens with an f/5.6 or faster aperture--99% of all Nikkor lenses ever made. The "baby Nikons" will light meter with ALL autofocusing Nikkor lenses made for regular Nikon cameras, so any Nikon mount lens in AF mount, AF-D mount, AF-i, AF-S, or G series,will light meter with the five baby Nikons. So, basically EVERY Nikon Autofocus lens made since 1987 (roughly 25 million lenses) will light meter on those five Nikons.
Also, roughly 20 million or more manual focusing Nikon lenses, going all the way back to 1959, will MOUNT and have f/stop control, and will shoot pictures, with green-dot AF confirmation on the five baby Nikon bodies. Just set the camera to manual exposure mode. That means that the baby Nikons can use pre-AI lenses and pre-AI accessories. All the cool old stuff from the 60's and 70's,like $20 wide-angles and $30 300mm f/5.6 telephotos, slide duplicators, bellows, lens reversing rings, cheap Nikon M2 extension rings, basically ANYTHING ever made in Nikon F-mount, will fit onto the 5 baby Nikons, with no modification necessary to the camera body or to the lens. So....that means there are,according to Nikon, 50 million lenses they have made, that will mount, shoot, and give green-dot focus confirmation. Plus maybe 40 million Sears, Tamron,Sigma,Tokina, Phoenix,Quantaray,Rokinon, Spiratone,Celestron,Rokunar,lenses in F-mount, that will work on the five "baby Nikons". If a lens is in Nikon mount, except for a handful of rare, invasive fisheye lenses, those five bodies will be able to mount and use the lens. Pawn shop lenses, grandpa's old Nikkormat lenses from 1969, Dad's old Nikon lenses from the 1980's, sis's discarded college Nikon camera lenses, those $5 extension tubes--ALL that stuff will work on a baby Nikon. All of it.
Again-ANY non-exotic F-mount lens, 1959 to 2009 will mount, have diaphragm control, and will shoot photos with green-dot focus confirm as long as it is f/5.6 or faster. The 6mm and 8mm circular-field fisheye and the 21mm f/4 Nikon for example, all $2,000-$4,000 collectibles, are the only lenses that will not mount right.
ANY AF lens in Nikon mount will have light metering, so any AF lens 1987 to 2009 will meter. The majority of Nikon lenses that will not autofocus on the baby Nikons are lenses that cost as much, or more than, the cameras themselves. The original baby Nikon, the D40, was the world's best-selling d-slr ever. Most baby Nikon users will want new,modern AF-S lenses that are small,light and affordable. So, back to this entire no-AF motor in Nikon low-end vs Canon with AF-in-lens argument: everything is a compromise. Canon abandoned its users in 1987. Canon FD mount lenses are virtually useless on any digital,unless you own an exceedingly rare FD to EF adapter made for a very short time by Canon. Canon EF-S lenses will NOT mount onto full-frame Canon bodies because the EF-S lenses protrude far into the body--just like those three,rare old Nikon ultrawides did. If a lens will accept a Nikon F-mount rear lens cap--it WILL MOUNT AND it will SHOOT with AF confirmation on five models of what many of us call the "baby Nikons". Fifty years worth of lenses will mount and shoot on a baby Nikon. Fifty million made by Nikon, who knows how many made by 3rd parties.
The baby Nikons will not light meter with manual focusing lenses, but they will light meter with basically ANY autofocus lens in F-mount. They will mount and shoot almost any lens or any accessory made over the last fifty years in F-mount. For those on a budget, or who want low-priced lenses or oddball accessories, like slide duplicators and cheap extension tubes and bargain priced macro lenses, the baby Nikons are a blessing in disguise.
