Question on using older primes on D3300
- Thread starter gustafson
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Thought there was some further complication with Q lenses
Bob Blaylock
Senior Member
I had to look up to see just what sort of lenses you're talking about.
The E series turns out to be a short-lived series of unusually cheap (for Nikon), low-quality (for Nikon) lenses. Q is a designation used with some pre-AI lenses to indicate that it had four optical elements.
I am going to assume that as far as anything to do with using old lenses, your D3300 is exactly the same as my D3200—that none of the differences between any D3?00 or D5?00 cameras have any bearing on the use of old lenses. I am highly confident that this assumption is correct.
For all intents and purposes, I expect that both these lenses will work exactly the same for you, and will work as described in your manual, where it describes how the camera would work with non-CPU, AI lenses.
Your manual will claim that non-AI lenses (such as your “Q¨ lens) cannot be used at all with your camera, but the manual is mistaken on that point. I understand that there are some bodies that can be damaged by mounting a non-AI lens, but your D3300 is not one of them. In fact, there is no way for your D3300 to tell at all the difference between an AI and a non-AI lens.
These old lenses will only work in M (manual) mode, and not in any other. In any other mode, the camera expects a CPU lens to be mounted, one that will communicate electronically with the camera, which, of course, these older lenses will not do; with a non-CPU lens mounted, in any mode but M, the camera will say “Lens not attached”, and will refuse to operate.
So, you'll be left with doing everything manually. Shutter speed, aperture, focus. A very fortunate thing about a digital camera, rather than film, is that you can see a result right away; so you can set the exposure by a guesstimate, take a picture, and then adjust, and take another picture, and repeat until you get it right.
Focusing is the hard part. The focus screen that came stock in my D3200 (which I assume is the same as the one in your D3300) is pretty much useless for manual focusing. It's really optimized for novice users, using only autofocus lenses, to give the brightest and clearest view of everything in the scene. That makes it very difficult to see what is in focus and what is not.
There is an electronic rangefinder that can be enabled (Menu→Setup→Rangefinder), which can help. It works in every mode except M. So, once enabled, you can flip to any other mode, focus using the rangefinder, then flip back to M to take the picture. What a nuisance!
What you'll really want to do is to install an aftermarket focus screen, that lets you see what is in focus and what is not. Go to eBay, and search on the following keywords:
bresson focus screen d3300
The part that you want costs about $21. Here's a picture of a search showing three instances of the correct part…
Bob Blaylock
Senior Member
Only in that “Q” lenses are non-AI lenses. In the early non-AI lenses, Nikon had a pattern of letter designations that referred to the number of optical elements in the lens. Quoting from the Wikipedia…
T, Q, P, H, S, O, N, UD, QD, PD — Appears immediately before or after the "Nikkor" name on F-type lenses (see above), designating the number of optical elements in the design. Short for Tres (3), Quattuor (4), Penta (5), Hex (6), Septem (7), Octo (8), Novem (9), UnDecim (11), QuattuorDecim (14) and Penta-Decem (15). The terms Unus (1) and Bini (2) were also apparently designated, but never used. Terms P=Penta, H=Hexa, and PD=Penta-Decem (Greek root) were used (instead of Quinque, Sex, and QuinDecim) to avoid ambiguity with Quattuor, Septem and QuattuorDecim. This designation scheme was dropped with the introduction of "Modern" (K-type) Nikkors in 1974.
Nikon, of course, claims that non-AI lenses cannot be used on any DSLR other than the Df, but in fact, they can be used on any D3?00 or D5?00 model just fine, and probably on any model that does not attempt to support the mechanical AI aperture coupling.
Bob, Ajoy: thanks for your insights. Guess I'll have to get used to working in manual mode and taking test shots to set exposure manually using the histogram. Good to know that focus confirmation would work for these lenses. Ajoy: does the focus confirmation work in M mode, or did you have to switch out of M and back into M as Bob indicated for the rangefinder feature? Sure would be nice if one didn't have to switch modes just to avail of a basic feature!
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Focus confirmation works in M mode, the range finder though, does not. I use my AIS Macro lens once in a while, at maximum magnification with external flash, hence all my settings remain same, shot to shot.
The way to use non cpu lenses in D3xxx is
. Switch the mode to "M"
. If using flash switch speed to 200 - maximum supported synchronization.
. With external flash you have to calculate power level. For my macros at f/44, it is 1/2
Other wise estimate the exposure using Sunny 16 rule, and then tweak it by referring to the Histogram. Just remember that D3300 has +1EV head room if you shoot RAW, and dark areas of upto -3EV exposure at ISO 100 are easily corrected for. So in effect you have quite a large latitude if you are shooting with non cpu lenses.
The way to use non cpu lenses in D3xxx is
. Switch the mode to "M"
. If using flash switch speed to 200 - maximum supported synchronization.
. With external flash you have to calculate power level. For my macros at f/44, it is 1/2
Other wise estimate the exposure using Sunny 16 rule, and then tweak it by referring to the Histogram. Just remember that D3300 has +1EV head room if you shoot RAW, and dark areas of upto -3EV exposure at ISO 100 are easily corrected for. So in effect you have quite a large latitude if you are shooting with non cpu lenses.
Quick follow-up question on changing the aperture of these old lenses using a D3300. I understand many older lenses have an aperture ring - is that the only way to change the aperture? Or do they also have a lever near the lens mount that the D3300 can possibly operate? I read somewhere that for some DSLR models, the min and max aperture information can be manually entered into the camera to adjust aperture from the camera body. Can the D3x00s also do this, or is that restricted to pro models?
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Fred Kingston
Senior Member
You will have to manually change the aperture via the aperture ring on the lens. You might have difficulty with the non-AI lens. Even though it will fit the bayonet mount of the camera...there are a few tolerance issues with turning the aperture ring when on your current camera... There is a gentleman in ANN Arbor MI that can convert your non-AI lens to AIS for about $30...his web site is aiconversions.com
Fred Kingston
Senior Member
The fact that the body cannot see the lens, and doesn't meter, means that the body doesn't have a clue what aperture is set...meaning you have to physically turn the aperture ring on the lens to change the aperture. 
Fred <---with a dozen Nikon cameras, and a hundred Nikon lenses from 1957 forward... Trust me...
Fred <---with a dozen Nikon cameras, and a hundred Nikon lenses from 1957 forward... Trust me...
You have to use the aperture ring on the lens to set the aperture.
Note that the lens will be wide open, till you shoot. When you press the shutter, the body will move the aperture lever on the lens, so that it closes the aperture. The mechanical linkage will close the aperture, and there is a hard stop at the set aperture. If the lens had a CPU, then the camera body would know how much to move the lever to get the required aperture, as there is no CPU, the lever is moved till the aperture closes to the set value.
Haha, I will take your word for it! Just hoping there was a simple hack to work the aperture lever through the lens body
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There is, get a body which has the "Aperture Feeler" - all FX bodies and the D90, D300(s), D7xxx and you can have "Aperture Priority" mode with full metering.
Brilliant explanation, Ajoy! I knew bits of this but was unable to connect the dots, so thank you very much for the help!
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Another intriguing option I stumbled upon was to add a generic CPU ($30 on eBay) to a non-CPU lens. This a true hack, and depending on the lens, may not be worth the effort / risk of damage to the lens.
Adding a CPU to MF Nikkor lenses – Part II - Photographs, Photographers and Photography
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Wanted to share an update with my experiments with older primes. Getting the exposure right in manual mode with these primes has not been that difficult, even for a newbie. And the sharpness, wow.
The 200mm f4 leaves my 55-200 VR in the dust at 200. Sharper, better contrast, and less noise. Not bad for a 40 year old lens.
The 50mm f1.8 E gives a viewfinder view that is very close to what my eye sees. That was a surprise given the crop factor. I'll reserve judgment on the IQ until I've taken more pics, but initial impression is muted. The lens is super small though even for the D3300. No surprise it was used as a cap for bodies back in the day lol.
I've since picked up a 105mm f2.5 Nikkor-P (Sonnar type) and a 28mm f3.5 Nikkor-H. The 105 makes nice portraits, but sharpness has been a bit hit or miss with manual focusing using the green confirmation dot in the viewfinder. I've had better luck taking sharp images with liveview or using the Nikon wireless mobile app on my phone.
The 28mm has not impressed thus far. Getting focused images using the viewfinder has been really hit or miss, as the confirmation dot stays on for quite a range, and the wide angle makes it difficult to tell visually whether the subject is in focus or not. Thus, not sure if the inconsistent sharpness is a symptom of my focusing technique or the lens itself. More on this as I experiment further.
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The 200mm f4 leaves my 55-200 VR in the dust at 200. Sharper, better contrast, and less noise. Not bad for a 40 year old lens.
The 50mm f1.8 E gives a viewfinder view that is very close to what my eye sees. That was a surprise given the crop factor. I'll reserve judgment on the IQ until I've taken more pics, but initial impression is muted. The lens is super small though even for the D3300. No surprise it was used as a cap for bodies back in the day lol.
I've since picked up a 105mm f2.5 Nikkor-P (Sonnar type) and a 28mm f3.5 Nikkor-H. The 105 makes nice portraits, but sharpness has been a bit hit or miss with manual focusing using the green confirmation dot in the viewfinder. I've had better luck taking sharp images with liveview or using the Nikon wireless mobile app on my phone.
The 28mm has not impressed thus far. Getting focused images using the viewfinder has been really hit or miss, as the confirmation dot stays on for quite a range, and the wide angle makes it difficult to tell visually whether the subject is in focus or not. Thus, not sure if the inconsistent sharpness is a symptom of my focusing technique or the lens itself. More on this as I experiment further.
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