FX vs DX Lenses

Hello all, I am planning to buy the Nikon D600 which is a Full Frame (FX) format, right?

So, my questions:

1. How do you identify Nikon lenses Full Frame ?
2. How do I know if this lens "28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED Nikkor Lens" is FX ?
3. If I buy Sigma or Tamron Lenses how do I identify them if they are Full Frame for my future D600 ?

Thanks for your help,
H

Nikon uses the term DX on their lenses. They do not put Fx on Full frame lenses, so just stay away from Dx. The 28-300 is a Fx lens. 3rd party lenses have their own designations, just read the product descriptions to make sure they are not Dx. The term Dx is a Nikon term, so other parties won't use it, they will say something like "APS-C size sensor" for Dx.

And yes, the D600 is full frame.

namerg said:

1. How do you identify Nikon lenses Full Frame ?

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Normally, a Nikon lens without the DX designation will be FX compatible. You can also look at the charts from Nikon USA for compatibility. Either lenses will work on both DX and FX cameras. DX lenses will still work FX cameras with lower resolution and some vignetting.

namerg said:

2. How do I know if this lens "28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED Nikkor Lens" is FX ?

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AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR from Nikon

namerg said:

3. If I buy Sigma or Tamron Lenses how do I identify them if they are Full Frame for my future D600 ?

Thanks for your help,
H

Click to expand...

Sigma uses DC which is equivalent to DX.
Sigma Lens Chart

Tamron uses Di for DX.

Owning a FX camera opens up the possibility of using AI and AIS manual focus lenses too. They have a really solid build quality and a fantastic manual focus "feel". These lenses are not that expensive ATM so be quick before everyone joins the FX changeover!

What they said. "APS-C" is the most consistent designation I've seen, though it's usually only in the product description and not on the product itself. The D600 will work with DX lenses, though it will adjust so that you only get the cropped portion of the sensor losing almost 1/2 your MP's. Still, if you have a DX lens that you particularly like (I have a Sigma 8-16mm that I love) then there's no reason to part with it.

Thank You Very Much, Guys

nzswift said:

Owning a FX camera opens up the possibility of using AI and AIS manual focus lenses too. They have a really solid build quality and a fantastic manual focus "feel". These lenses are not that expensive ATM so be quick before everyone joins the FX changeover!

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You can use Ai and Ais lenses with any Nikon DSLR and with some of them you can use the non Ai lenses too!

That is the beauty of the D600,. and Nikon,,, it opens up the whole 50 year catalog of lens to choose from.

Actually, due to the sheer number of Nikor cameras DSLRs sold that can use old lens, Used prices have climbed and climbed. More and more people have learned the value of their lens. So, sometimes you have to hunt to find the deals.

If you use EBAY,, look at the closed listings to determine what the average going price is.

Also,,, get those ED lens before Nikon phases them out, typically way less then the current G lens, for high quality build, and
great optics,, for example... Nikkor 60 mm ED.. so so nice. or say a 50 mm 1.4 non G... Your camera has the drive for auto focus,
so,, no issue for you.

Also, you can even use NonAI lens, but you have to sometimes have it converted which is a simple as grinding some metal off (I pay 30 dollars at a local shop for this), but, while the nonAI build and focus is often fantastic, often they are just a bit (and I am talking small amont) less sharp then the later AI versions, but you got to remember, non AI lens are like 50-60 years old, which is simply amazing! I have a 135 in which the build quality just blows the mind, its more a work of art actually.



Don't bet me wrong, G lens are fine, I am slowly adding those too, just more money,, often more bulkier, and well just incremental optically in some cases.

All three of my non Ai lenses 28, 105, and 135 are exactly the same lens formulas used in later Ai and Ais versions. Ai is just and indexing feature. SOME Ais lenses are superior to their non Ai counterparts (28/2.8 is one that immediately comes to mind) but for most they are the exact same lenses just with/without indexing.

Please buy Ai or Ais lenses if you need them and try not to convert non Ai unless you use Nikon conversion kits (which are becoming extremely rare nowadays) Someday the non Ai lenses may become more valuable (at least to collectors) than the Ai or Ais because so many have been converted.

gqtuazon said:

Tamron uses Di for DX.

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Actually for DX specific DSLR cameras di-II lenses are Tamron's designation. di is their designation for lenses designed for lenses that are meant to work with digital and film or dx and fx digital. just as DG does the same thing within the Sigma line.

di fyi stands for digitally integrated.