Nikon D70 compatible w/ Nikon 35mm lenses?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

kombi45@yahoo.com writes:
> I'm pretty sure that Nikon's digital SLR's are compatible with their
> traditional 35mm lenses, but I wanted to make sure. I have an N80 w/
> the Nikkor AF 28-80mm lens and am looking to add digital to the mix.
> At bhphotovideo.com I can grab the D70 (USA) body for a pretty
> "reasonable" sum, and then just switch lenses as I see fit or until I
> can justify purchasing a zoom, or possibly macro, lens. Is this
> do-able?

The D70 will not meter exposure with manual focus lenses. It's almost
not worth messing with them except maybe for some special
applications. If you have autofocus lenses, you can use them. Note
that the D70 sensor is about half the size of a full 35mm film frame.
Basically it records the center part of the image. The lens coverage
is reduced as if you'd multiplied the focal length by 1.5 or so. That
means your 28-80 on a D70 will have similar coverage to a 45-120 on
your N80. So, your telephotos become "better" (a 200mm acts like a
300mm) but your wideangles become "worse" (a 20mm acts like a 30mm).

There are some lenses now that are designed to ONLY work with the
digital sensor. These are designated "DX". The D70's kit lens, the
18-70 AF-S DX G, is a pretty good lens and you will probably be
happier with it than if you try to use an older lens. It has about
the same coverage as a 28-105 would have on your N80. But it will
only work properly on digital bodies. It will vignette badly on the
N80.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

kombi45@yahoo.com writes:
> > The D70 will not meter exposure with manual focus lenses. It's almost
> > not worth messing with them except maybe for some special
> > applications. If you have autofocus lenses, you can use them.
>
> Unless I'm seriously mistaken, the Nikkor AF 28-80mm is an autofocus
> lens:

Yes, the 28-80 AF will work ok on the D70 if you don't mind the
coverage change. You asked in the subject line about 35mm lenses in
general, not just the 28-80 AF, so I mentioned the limitation of MF lenses.

Also, if your 28-80 is not a D lens (it might be but I'm not sur), you
won't get all the D70's fancy flash metering capabilities.

> Cheap, but autofocus. So this would roughly equate to 120mm on the
> N80, huh? Unless this particular lens doesn't work well with the D70,
> I'm pretty sure this is how I want to start things. Let me know if I'm
> still missing something.

It's a reasonable way to start, especially if you're satisfied with
that lens on the N80. The 18-70 AF-S DX G on the D70 will focus
faster than the 28-80 and in general perform a bit better, plus have
more wideangle coverage, so you'll probably like it better than the
28-80, but on the other hand, it's another lens to buy.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Paul Rubin wrote:
>
> It's a reasonable way to start, especially if you're satisfied with
> that lens on the N80. The 18-70 AF-S DX G on the D70 will focus
> faster than the 28-80 and in general perform a bit better, plus have
> more wideangle coverage, so you'll probably like it better than the
> 28-80, but on the other hand, it's another lens to buy.

To be totally honest, I am not entirely satisfied with it now that I
have started getting somewhat serious about photography. However, I
can live with it for a while longer...especially if it means saving a
few bucks for the time being. Here's the beginnings of a "portfolio"
all taken w/ the N80 and the AF 28-80mm.

http://www.pbase.com/sirchandestroy

Regards,

Ben

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On 1 Jun 2005 19:38:10 -0700, kombi45@yahoo.com wrote:

>I'm pretty sure that Nikon's digital SLR's are compatible with their
>traditional 35mm lenses, but I wanted to make sure. I have an N80 w/
>the Nikkor AF 28-80mm lens and am looking to add digital to the mix.
>At bhphotovideo.com I can grab the D70 (USA) body for a pretty
>"reasonable" sum, and then just switch lenses as I see fit or until I
>can justify purchasing a zoom, or possibly macro, lens. Is this
>do-able?
>
>Regards,
>
>Ben

Ben,

Seems like there's been a lot of good advise and input on this thread
already. I want to reinforce the suggestion of the D70 with kit lens
choice. There's a current listing on B&H for the D70 with 18-70mm
Nikkor for about $900 after rebate. That's only a $220 premium for the
lens. It's an excellent lens and will outperform your current lens.

Anyway, my input.

Roger

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Roger wrote:
> On 1 Jun 2005 19:38:10 -0700, kombi45@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> >I'm pretty sure that Nikon's digital SLR's are compatible with their
> >traditional 35mm lenses, but I wanted to make sure. I have an N80 w/
> >the Nikkor AF 28-80mm lens and am looking to add digital to the mix.
> >At bhphotovideo.com I can grab the D70 (USA) body for a pretty
> >"reasonable" sum, and then just switch lenses as I see fit or until I
> >can justify purchasing a zoom, or possibly macro, lens. Is this
> >do-able?
> >
> >Regards,
> >
> >Ben
>
> Ben,
>
> Seems like there's been a lot of good advise and input on this thread
> already. I want to reinforce the suggestion of the D70 with kit lens
> choice. There's a current listing on B&H for the D70 with 18-70mm
> Nikkor for about $900 after rebate. That's only a $220 premium for the
> lens. It's an excellent lens and will outperform your current lens.
>
> Anyway, my input.
>
> Roger

Thanks Roger. I will check that out - BTW, is it the USA or grey
market camera/lens kit?

Ben