Need help understanding lenses

[Vilatus]

Hi everybody!

I'm still very new to all this, so I need a little help. Can anybody explain what all the abbreviations in lens titles are? For example "Nikon Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Macro Lens"

I'm confused as to why lenses that look the same cost such wildly different amounts, so I assume it would help if I knew this. Also, how do I identify the mount of the lens? Is it in that jumble of letters?

Thank you!

 

[jaomul]

Ok. This lens is 40mm focal length. The AF-S means it has an ultrasonic motoe built in, ths means it will work on any modern nikon camera whether it has a motor in the camera body or not. F2.8 means its aperture opens up to f2.8, this is a fraction of its length, so the smaller the number the bigger the aperture. You'll generally find larger aperture lenses are more desired and expensive because the let in more light. The DX means it is designed for a crop (dx) nikon camera. There are 2 types of nikon dslr (dx and fx). Dx has a smaller sensor and fx has a larger one.

 

[WB8588]

Hi everybody!

I'm still very new to all this, so I need a little help. Can anybody explain what all the abbreviations in lens titles are? For example "Nikon Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Macro Lens"

I'm confused as to why lenses that look the same cost such wildly different amounts, so I assume it would help if I knew this. Also, how do I identify the mount of the lens? Is it in that jumble of letters?

Thank you!

You have different quality of glass basically. And then what the lens can do when attached to the body of the camera. So like if it has auto focus or not. And the lens also gives information to the camera like when you look through the viewfinder and it tells you of you are over exposed or under exposed. And then coatings on the glass. Go to nikon website and read about the different coatings and operation of diferent lenses. And as for mounts the DX on the lens means its for crop sensor cameras but can also be used on FX cameras.
DX means crop sensor
FX means Full Frame
Somebody will most likely give you more information. You will have fun reading about all the information lol. And thats just Nikon. There are so many camera companies and info it will make your head spin! I find Nikon to be the simplest of them though! But also one of the most expensive. Hope i helped!

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[ac12]

For your lens f/2.8G AF-S DX

• f/2.8 = the maximum aperture size of the lens.
  • A larger aperture lens will cost more than a smaller aperture lens. All other things being equal.
    
  • You will also see something like f/3.5-5.6. This is a variable aperture lens, where the max aperture get smaller as you zoom the lens out. A variable aperture lens is cheaper to make than a fixed aperture lens.
• G = lens where the aperture is controlled by the camera. The lens does not have an aperture ring.
  • I could not use a G lens on my old F2, as the F2 does not have a way to control the aperture.
• AF-S = Auto Focus, Silent motor. This is an electronic autofocus, vs, the mechanical screw drive AF-D lenses that Nikon used before.
  • The AF-D lenses require an AF motor in the body. So a D3400 camera could not autofocus an AF-D lens, as it does not have an AF motor in the body, whereas my D7200 can, because it has an AF motor in the body.
• DX = DX crop sensor lens. The projected image from the lens will cover the smaller DX sensor, but will NOT fully cover the larger FX sensor. Because of this, DX lenses can be made smaller and cheaper than similar FX lenses.

PRO gear vs consumer/prosumer gear.

• A "pro" grade lens is generally made with better materials and made tougher.
  
• The pro zooms are the fixed f/2.8 (and now f/4) zooms vs the cheaper to make variable aperture consumer/prosumer zooms.
• The pro gear has less compromises in the design. Image quality comes before convenience.
  
• The optics are better. And good optics cost $$$$.

The Nikon F mount is the same mount that has been used since the Nikon F in the 1960s.
BUT, and it is a BIG BUT, the meter coupling and autofocus coupling have changed over the years.

• The meter coupling has changed from mechanical (pin/ears to AI) to electronic.
• The AF has also changed from mechanical to electronic.

And now with digital bodies, the aperture is controlled from the body, NOT on the lens.

And on the P lenses, you cannot even manually focus the lens, without a matching camera that can control that lens.

So while the mount itself has remained the same, the coupling of the lens to the body has not. And with that coupling change has come incompatibilities, that you need a compatibility chart to figure out. This chart is critical if you use older film era lenses with modern digital bodies. Even with digital, the new P lenses cannot be use with older digital bodies.

 

[Designer]

The "G" series lenses do not have an aperture ring. The aperture is controlled by the settings you put into the camera.

 

[Vilatus]

For your lens f/2.8G AF-S DX

• f/2.8 = the maximum aperture size of the lens.
  • A larger aperture lens will cost more than a smaller aperture lens. All other things being equal.
    
  • You will also see something like f/3.5-5.6. This is a variable aperture lens, where the max aperture get smaller as you zoom the lens out. A variable aperture lens is cheaper to make than a fixed aperture lens.
• G = lens where the aperture is controlled by the camera. The lens does not have an aperture ring.
  • I could not use a G lens on my old F2, as the F2 does not have a way to control the aperture.
• AF-S = Auto Focus, Silent motor. This is an electronic autofocus, vs, the mechanical screw drive AF-D lenses that Nikon used before.
  • The AF-D lenses required an AF motor in the body. So a D3400 camera could not autofocus an AF-D lens, as it does not have an AF motor in the body.
• DX = DX crop sensor lens. The projected image from the lens will cover the smaller DX sensor, but will NOT fully cover the larger FX sensor. Because of this, DX lenses can be made smaller and cheaper than similar FX lenses.

A "pro" grade lens is generally made with better materials and made tougher. This costs $$$.
The pro zooms are the fixed f/2.8 (and now f/4) zooms vs the consumer/prosumer variable aperture zooms.
The pro gear has less compromises in the design. Image quality comes before convenience. The optics are better. And good optics cost $$$$.

The Nikon F mount is the same mount that has been used since the Nikon F in the 1960s.
BUT, and it is a BIG BUT, the meter coupling has changed over the years from mechanical (ears to AI) to electronic, and the AF has also changed from mechanical to electronic.
So while the mount itself has remained the same, the coupling of the lens to the body has not. And with that coupling change has come incompatiblities, that you need a compatibility chart to figure out. This chart can be critical if you use older film eara lenses with modern digital bodies. Even with digital, the new P lenses cannot be use with older digital bodies.

This is extremely helpful, thank you so much!

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[ac12]

Reading some of the lens codes can be confusing, because this is not all the codes that can be on a lens.
Hang in there, you will get it over time.

It is like years ago when I talked to a bearing salesman. They wanted to increase the part number from 27 to 64 positions. This was so that they could put ALL the relevant specs of the bearing into the part number, rather than have to look it up in a catalog. This was in the days when a catalog was a BIG BOOK, not a file on a computer/tablet.
From my point of view, a 64 position part number was 64 chances for my buyers to make a mistake, and enter the wrong part number.

 

[WB8588]

Reading some of the lens codes can be confusing, because this is not all the codes that can be on a lens.
Hang in there, you will get it over time.

It is like years ago when I talked to a bearing salesman. They wanted to increase the part number from 27 to 64 positions. This was so that they could put ALL the relevant specs of the bearing into the part number, rather than have to look it up in a catalog. This was in the days when a catalog was a BIG BOOK, not a file on a computer/tablet.
From my point of view, a 64 position part number was 64 chances for my buyers to make a mistake, and enter the wrong part number.

That last paragraph lol! So true

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[dxqcanada]

The following links are specific to Nikon lenses:
https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleNo=000001919&configured=1&lang=en_US
How to Read Your NIKKOR Lens Barrel from Nikon

The stuff printed about the lenses will vary with each manufacturer.

 

[KmH]

Lens info and more:
Photography Glossary | Photography Terms & Video Terminology | Nikon

 

[Vilatus]

The following links are specific to Nikon lenses:
https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleNo=000001919&configured=1&lang=en_US
How to Read Your NIKKOR Lens Barrel from Nikon

The stuff printed about the lenses will vary with each manufacturer.

I plan on sticking with Nikon for a while, so thanks!

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[jcdeboever]

Micro is Nikons term for macro .

 

[pendennis]

Nikon also now has a series of lenses "E", in which the aperture is electromagnetically controlled. Older AF cameras (both digital and film) can only use the maximum aperture (e.g. f/5.6) when "E" series lenses are mounted. Apertures are controlled by the camera, similar to "G" lenses.

 

[petrochemist]

The following links are specific to Nikon lenses:
https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleNo=000001919&configured=1&lang=en_US
How to Read Your NIKKOR Lens Barrel from Nikon

The stuff printed about the lenses will vary with each manufacturer.

I plan on sticking with Nikon for a while, so thanks!

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Even if your sticking with a Nikon body Sigma, Tamron & others make plenty of lenses for use on Nikon bodies. Some are rather good, and many are cheaper than the nearest Nikon equivalent. So you might want to use a Sigma lens made in Nikon mount which will use the Sigma abbreviations.
Sadly it almost seems that manufacturers now only standardize on NOT using the same standards

At least focal lengths & apertures are now uniform, very old lenses might use different scales for both. I have lenses with their focal lengths quoted in cm or inches, but I've only read about alternate aperture markings.