How To Use Af Lens On Non Af Camera

Intermediate

Which NIKKOR Lens Type is Right for Your DSLR?

Revised September 2016

Reading about all of the different lens types and abbreviations might exist a bit overwhelming, and so we'll attempt to simplify this as much as possible. You're interested in 1 of the latest NIKKOR lenses, only aren't certain if it will work with your camera. Well, at that place's an easy way to know—past checking the abbreviations that make upwardly the name of each NIKKOR lens.

Nikon makes two dissimilar types of DSLR camera bodies—those that have a built-in focus motor, and those that don't. The cameras that don't have a focus motor built-in need to use a lens that has a focus motor built-in to it. There are 2 types of Nikon lenses that have a built-in focus motor: AF-South lenses and AF-P lenses. Lenses that do not have a focus motor incorporated into information technology are simply called AF NIKKOR lenses.

AF NIKKOR lenses use a mechanical coupling between the lens and the camera trunk. On several Nikon DSLR camera bodies, the focus motor is in the camera and a series of gears drives the lens' focusing mechanism, which allows the lens to focus.

AF-S NIKKOR lenses feature Nikon's Silent Wave Motor (SWM). This engineering converts "traveling waves" into rotational energy to focus the optics. This enables high-speed autofocusing that's extremely accurate and super quiet.

AF-P lenses use a "Pulse" motor or "Stepping" autofocus motor and are even quieter and smoother to autofocus than an AF-S lens, making these lenses ideal when shooting video with a DSLR.

The DSLR photographic camera bodies that do characteristic a focus motor can apply AF and AF-S lenses. Or, in other words, because AF-S NIKKORs take the focus motor built into the lens, they can exist used on any electric current Nikon photographic camera body, whether the body has a focus motor or non, because the lens itself controls the focusing function.

Consumer level Nikon digital SLR cameras are designed without congenital-in focus motors, which allow them to be smaller and lighter than the larger, more professional models. Consumer DSLRs that do non incorporate a built-in focus motor, therefore demand to apply an AF-S or AF-P NIKKOR lens to get the total autofocus capabilities from the lens.

But what if you own ane of the aforementioned consumer level camera bodies and really want to employ an AF lens. You lot demand to know if your camera tin can take the lens—and the answer is yes. An AF NIKKOR lens tin can be used on a consumer camera, with limited functionality. You will have to manually focus the lens, using the focus ring on the lens barrel. The electronic rangefinder, which is visible in the lower left portion of the viewfinder, will confirm that your field of study is in focus. Rotate the focus ring on the lens and when information technology lights up green, the bailiwick is in focus.

AF-P Lenses

The newer AF-P lenses let you set certain settings from the photographic camera'due south menu system, such as VR (Vibration Reduction) and the AF/MF fashion. Older lenses take switches on the lens butt for turning VR on and off, as well as switching betwixt manual focus mode and AF way.

Considering the focus fashion and VR are set using the photographic camera menus, not every Nikon DSLR is compatible with AF-P lenses, and those that are may need to have their firmware updated so they'll show the correct bill of fare items.

East-Type NIKKOR Lenses

Select newer NIKKOR lenses contain an electromagnetic diaphragm machinery in the lens barrel to provide highly authentic electronic diaphragm or aperture blade control when using auto exposure during continuous shooting, especially when shooting at high frame rates. This is dissimilar from 1000 or D type lenses, in which the diaphragm blades are operated mechanically. Older digital SLR photographic camera bodies as well as motion picture SLRs can not utilize E blazon lenses.

Legacy NIKKOR Lenses

One of the great aspects of Nikon'south camera systems is that most of the legacy lenses—those that y'all may have used with your film-based Nikon SLR camera—tin can exist used on your digital SLR camera. There may be some limitations, depending upon exactly which NIKKOR lens you're looking to utilize with your DSLR, only we'll go into that in a minute.

An AIs lens, the Micro NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8 lens is a manual focus lens.

AI Lenses

What if you've got older lenses that you lot used to apply with a Nikon film-based SLR photographic camera—well you can use those lenses equally long as they were made later 1977. That's when Nikon began manufacturing AI lenses. AI stands for "Automatic Maximum Discontinuity Indexing" system, which is the mechanical organization for coupling the lens to the photographic camera's exposure arrangement.

AI lenses are manual focus, and can exist used on whatsoever Nikon DSLR with a few exceptions. In full general, the higher-finish camera bodies will be able to meter through the lens of an AI NIKKOR. The prosumer and consumer level bodies can take an AI NIKKOR lens, merely the exposure will need to exist adamant manually, using a light meter, non through the lens.

The AIS lens, which came later, allowed for automatic aperture control; which controlled the discontinuity more precisely.

An AI-P lens is a manual lens that has a CPU (basically a computer) built into it; which is used to transfer metering data from the lens to the photographic camera.

An AF-I lens uses a congenital-in D/C coreless focus bulldoze motor for speedy autofocus operation and were Nikon's beginning lenses to offer the now popular One thousand/A focusing style.

So regardless of the other abbreviations you may see on NIKKOR lenses, certain consumer Nikon DSLR cameras crave the utilize of AF-Due south lenses for total functionality. The higher-end pro DSLR camera bodies need only an AF lens for autofocus functionality. An AI lens can be used, when focusing manually, on almost all Nikon DSLR cameras, but tin only meter through the lens when paired with the higher cease DSLR models.

Nikon Ai NIKKOR lens. (r.) A Nikon Ais NIKKOR lens, with lens blazon signaling pin notch, highlighted in red.

Differences betwixt Autofocus and Manual Focus Lenses

Now that we've gone through a little history of NIKKOR lenses, we'll discuss the differences between autofocus and manual focus NIKKOR lenses.

Nikon currently offers lenses that have autofocus operation and others that offer only transmission focus functioning. Considering y'all sometimes desire to be able to control the focus yourself yous can actually manually focus whatsoever autofocus NIKKOR lens, simply by setting it to the transmission focus mode.

Nosotros know there are three series of autofocus lenses: AF NIKKOR, AF-S NIKKOR and AF-P NIKKOR. They can all be used in manual focusing mode.

The AF-Due south version of the Nikon 24-120mm lens; (r.) the AF version of the Nikon 24-120mm lens.

The AF NIKKOR 35mm f/2D lens is an example of a D-Type lens.

D-Type NIKKOR Lenses

A D-type lens relays subject-to-camera-distance information to Nikon DSLRs that characteristic 3D Color Matrix Metering (all versions), 3D Matrix Metering, 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill up-Wink and i-TTL Balanced Fill up-Flash. Many D-Type lenses accept an aperture control ring and tin can be used on older Nikon SLR cameras that permit for transmission control of the aperture, also equally on DSLRs—especially useful for adjusting aperture while recording D-Movies on higher end models. When used on a DSLR, the discontinuity control ring needs to exist locked at the smallest possible aperture (by and large designated in orange), and the aperture control is maintained through the photographic camera's command dial.

G-Type NIKKOR Lenses

A G-blazon lens does not have an aperture command band and are intended for use on Nikon DSLRs that let the lens aperture to exist adjusted via the camera'south command dial. Because Chiliad-type lenses relay subject field-to-camera-distance information to the camera, where it is used to assist determine ambient and wink exposure, they are also considered to be D-type lenses. The lack of an aperture control band is perhaps the easiest way that you tin can tell if a lens is a Thou-Type NIKKOR or not. [The AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens, shown higher up is an example of a G-Type lens. Note in that location is no aperture band on that version of the lens, while there is an aperture ring on the AF version, above right.]

Transmission Focus NIKKOR Lenses

Manual focus NIKKOR lenses, on the other mitt, don't have the adequacy to autofocus at all. Manual focus lenses can exist used on all current Nikon DSLRs, in the manual focus mode.

With the inclusion of HD video capture in many new Nikon DSLRs, manual prime (or fixed focal length) lenses are experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Manual focus lenses will not use the in-camera metering systems on several DSLRs so make sure to review your teaching manual to understand the compatibility of manual focus NIKKOR lenses and your particular camera. [The Micro NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8 lens, which is shown as an example of an Ais lens, is a manual focus lens.]