Non-d lens with off camera flash

Z

zm15

Senior Member
Im looking to add the 85mm 1.8 lens, non D version sine its cheaper, to my collection. However after reading that the D means distance for use with flash, im a little confused in what situations where it actually matters.

I have a sb-400 that i use on camera, and then when i use umbrellas, i trigger an yongnuo yn-560 ii off camera. And sometimes i use the 560 ii on camera in manual only. All of these are for family pictures around the house or outside.

In any of these situations, would the non D version of the lens even matter with the flash? Better off to get the D version??
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
If the flash is off camera, I don't see how there would be a difference between the D and non D. The D lens would be mostly useful when using the onboard flash, but when you start using off camera flash then the distance between the subject and the flash has no influence on the outcome. The distance between the main off-camera flash and the subject combined with the power of the flash is what would be of importance. So in a case like this, it wouldn't matter if the lens does transmit to the camera the focusing distance.

Hope this helps. If not, maybe we can clarify some more, but for now this is all that comes to my mind.
 
Pierro

Pierro

Senior Member
No it doesnt mean diaphragm

D is distance information ( G lenses do the same thing ) whichs sends distance info to camera for 3-d matrix metering.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
pistnbroke said:
a nikon lens designated D has on the lens diaphragm control G does not .QED
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You are right about the G lens not having the diaphragm control on the lens. On the other hand, the previous AF lenses also had the diaphragm on the lens but just would not tell the camera the focusing distance to help establish the flash power.
 
S

stmv

Senior Member
To answer your question, if the savings are significant, then I would go with the AF non D version.

I use the 35-70 2.8 Non D,, identical to the D version except that the D version gave distance information for the on camera flash.

85 AF 1.8 D is a nice lens, The D version has been out so long, not sure how many non D versions were made, but from a glass/blades/foscus/body identical.
 
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AC016

AC016

Senior Member
Pierro said:
Every lens before the AF-D also had diaphragms, so why no letter D on those ? QED
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D means distance information. It let the camera know at what distance the camera is focused.

Copied form KRs Website directlty:
" "D" means these lenses let the camera know the distance at which the lens is focused. All lenses introduced since 1992 have been "D."
This can help the camera set flash exposure more accurately if the subject occupies only a small part of the frame, or if you're shooting into mirrors or very light or dark subjects. With non-D lenses the camera is more likely to get tricked into the wrong exposure in these odd cases.
On digital SLRs introduced since about 2010, they can often correct lens distortion, but only with D lenses.
If you are buying used lenses on a budget you can get the earlier non-D versions cheaper, and if you are considering updating a non-D lens to D, don't bother unless you shoot a lot of fill-flash.
In fact, the instruction manual of the 105mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor cautions that the D feature of the lens can lead to the WRONG EXPOSURE unless you keep your flashes at the same distance from the subject as the film, which is a real obstacle to creativity.
There are a couple of ways to signify a "D" lens: Nikon usually marks its lenses as "50mm f/1.4D AF" as opposed to "50mm f/1.4 AF-D," but it all means the same thing.
Most AF-D lenses are AF and AI-s, and work great on manual focus cameras. You'll need to have a coupling prong added for use with the meter on ancient pre-AI cameras.
The D feature has no direct relation to autofocus speed, however as Nikon introduced newer D versions of existing lenses they sometimes sped up the autofocus speed, too. The Nikon 70-210mm f/4-5.6 is an example of this; the D version focuses several times faster than the earlier one. The speed comes from a change in mechanical gearing inside the lens; not the D feature itself.
Focusing speed has nothing to do with whether or not a lens is D. Of course newer lenses are D and newer lenses tend to focus more quickly, but the focus speed is determined by the gearing between the AF coupler and the focus ring, not the D feature alone.
All the newest AF lenses, especially every AF-S, AF-I and especially G, are also D. Nikon doesn't bother to mark it anymore on the newest models."
Nikkor Lens Technology

When it comes to lenses, i don't think there is anyone else as thorough
 
S

stmv

Senior Member
not Diaphraghm but distance

Here is a defintion from following site: Nikon Nikkor lens mark meaning

DDistance/Dimension. Indicated after the f-number number. It means the lens is capable of using Nikon's 3D Matrix Metering on bodies that support it. The lens transmits focus distance information, which is incorporated into the camera's exposure calculations.
 
Pierro

Pierro

Senior Member
AC016 said:
D means distance information. It let the camera know at what distance the camera is focused.
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Yes i know this, as i posted it earlier. I wasnt asking because i didnt knoww, ..it was in reply to someone posting the D means diaphragm :)

pistnbroke said:
D means diaphragm ..ie you can adjust it on the lens whilst G means Gelded as in a horse ...ie they took the Diaphragm adjust off ....
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Pierro said:
No it doesnt mean diaphragm

D is distance information ( G lenses do the same thing ) whichs sends distance info to camera for 3-d matrix metering.
Click to expand...
 
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