lens/compatability

[salty joe]

I am new to digital photography. My budget demands that I start small, so there is a D70 (with a shutter count of 960 ) on the way.

Eventually, I'm sure I'll want a better camera. I'd like any lenses I get to be compatible with the newer Nikons.

Any advice in this regard would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Joe

 

[AC016]

Any new lens on the market today will be compatible. Not knowing which camera you may move to in the future, i would consider buying lenses with their own focus motor in them. If you can not afford brand new ones, companies like B&H, Adorama, etc. have a great selection of used lenses.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks for your reply and those links.

I see descriptions like ED IF AF-S DX VR for lenses. I assume the AF means auto focus which would mean the lens has a motor. Is that right?

Do you know of a link that deciphers the abbreviations for Nikkor lenses?

It's good to know that any new lens would fit my D70. That compatability makes me a little more comfortable about getting married to Nikon.

 

[Marcel]

Thanks for your reply and those links.

I see descriptions like ED IF AF-S DX VR for lenses. I assume the AF means auto focus which would mean the lens has a motor. Is that right?

Do you know of a link that deciphers the abbreviations for Nikkor lenses?

It's good to know that any new lens would fit my D70. That compatability makes me a little more comfortable about getting married to Nikon.

AF means that lens has a focusing coupler that allow some models to be able to achieve focus with lens. The focus is actually screw driven by the body.

AF-S means the lens has it's own focusing motor and is controlled electronically by the body through the lens contacts.

​Hope this helps.

 

[nickt]

You might want to download user manuals for the d70, d5200, and d7000 and compare the lens compatibility charts for each. That might help (or confuse, lol). The d3xoo and d5x00 series are possible upgrade paths for you and they do not contain an internal focus motor and require af-s lenses for autofocus. The d7x00 series is another possible upgrade path and those models do contain a focus motor. So, like your d70, they can use lenses with or without a focus motor, af-s and af.
You can find some good prices on older AF lenses, so it's something to think about. A used d90 is also something that might come your way cheaply in the future and that also has the internal motor for more compatibility.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks nickt and Marcel.
If I understand this correctly, sometimes auto focus is driven from a motor in the camera.

Thanks all. Clearly, I have a lot to learn before buying lenses.

 

[nickt]

If I understand this correctly, sometimes auto focus is driven from a motor in the camera.

Yes, your d70 can go either way. It will have a small drive blade protruding from the mount. If an af lens is mounted, the blade will enter the lens and drive the autofucus. If you mount a newer af-s lens, there will be no hole to accept the drive from the camera. The drive shaft will be pushed back into the camera and ignored. The lens will drive itself with its internal motor. When you upgrade someday, you will have choices to get a camera body with or without that drive motor to support older lenses.

 

[gqtuazon]

I am new to digital photography. My budget demands that I start small, so there is a D70 (with a shutter count of 960 ) on the way.

Eventually, I'm sure I'll want a better camera. I'd like any lenses I get to be compatible with the newer Nikons.

Any advice in this regard would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Joe

Hi Joe. Welcome to the forum and congrats on your camera.

Although it might be a little too early to inquire on your next lens purchase but I can't blame you. Giving a number (price range) helps out narrow down to a smaller group of lenses. "Used" lenses are also generally cheaper and are worth considering.

You can learn more about your camera from the Nikon website

D70 from Nikon

 

[salty joe]

Thanks gqtuazon. The camera I have on the way is body only, so I'm trying to get a grip on lenses.
I'm thinking used lenses for sure. Given that I want to get lenses that are keepers when I upgrade to a better camera, would you agree that AF-s lenses are my best choice in terms of focus? Can all Nikkor lenses be focused manually if the motor fails or you just feel like it?

I'll have to figure out the rest of the abbreviations.

I'm trying to understand the features of the lenses first. Then I'll try to find a lens I like with the right features. Anyway, I'm hoping to find something for a couple hundred bucks. You know, like that super wide angle that can see behind the camera. jk. IDK, we'll see.

I was wondering today, are there cameras with a USB port to dump the memory card to? A handful of flashdrives and you'd be all set for a week of vacation pics.

 

[gqtuazon]

Given that I want to get lenses that are keepers when I upgrade to a better camera, would you agree that AF-s lenses are my best choice in terms of focus? Can all Nikkor lenses be focused manually if the motor fails or you just feel like it?

Most Nikon AF lenses have a Manual / Auto switch. So you can just turn the AF to M to overridde the AF feature. Nikon "D" lenses i.e. AF-D, are driven by the camera built-in motor drive. Some of the entry level cameras do not have this motor, so that means that the D lenses will not AF but can be used as Manual focus. D lenses are a little bit noisier compared to the AF-S since they have this silent wave motor (SWM).

I was wondering today, are there cameras with a USB port to dump the memory card to? A handful of flashdrives and you'd be all set for a week of vacation pics.

I never transfer pictures from camera to the computer via USB cable. I use a SD card reader and plug that in directly to the computer. Less wear on the camera plugs.

 

[jwstl]

I never transfer pictures from camera to the computer via USB cable. I use a SD card reader and plug that in directly to the computer. Less wear on the camera plugs.

I think you misunderstood the question. He was asking if it's possible to transfer from the camera directly to USB flash drives bypassing the need for a computer.
I've never seen that feature in a camera but that doesn't mean it isn't possible.

 

[salty joe]

Yes, jwstl that's what I meant.

 

[salty joe]

While looking around for used lenses, I was surprised to find that fungus can be a problem.
Is it protocall to keep dessicant packs with all lenses? (I'm pretty sure dessicant packs can be dried in a microwave to be used over and over)
What if you are shooting on a misty/foggy day? Is there a low temp oven to dry the lense?

I was looking at a lens that had 1:4.5. Does that mean the lens allows a fraction of the available light equal to 1 over 4.5? In other words, I'd have about 22% of the available light to work with?

 

[Bill4282]

I haven't seen a menu option to download from the camera. How would there be a way for the camera to talk to or connect to the flash drive? The USB ends on both the cable and flash drive are male, so a converter would be needed. Like they said,it would be cheapest, easiest and best to use a card reader and download from the SD card to computer. I do then transfer my must keep pics to a flash drive from the computer as well backup all my pics from the computer to an external hard drive.

 

[salty joe]

If you are going to be away from your computer for an extended time, then I guess a handful of SD cards would be the way to go.

In my mind's eye, I saw a female usb port on the camera. I'd think it'd be a piece of cake for the wizards who make the cameras to get it wired right. Insert the flash, tell the camera yes, this is really what I want to do and everything goes to the flah drive and your SD card is cleared.

Thanks for that response.