Nikkor 35mm f/2 from 1970s on D5100 Success

Sandpatch

Senior Member
My brother recently sent me our Dad's Nikkor 35mm f/2 lens from the mid-1970s. It's in excellent shape and I coupled it onto my D5100 with perfect success. I'm uncertain if other camera brands allow this kind of lens adaptation that spans generations, but bless Nikon for making it possible and without any fuss.

Focus and aperture are manual with no electronic indication. Shutter speed is adjustable and shows in the viewfinder; ISO remained fixed at 100. I took most shots at 1/125th Sec. at f/5.6, but found myself bracketing depending on the result. Images are extremely sharp. It was a lot of fun and it took me back to my Kodachrome days, although even back then I had match-needle light metering! Here are some of my shots from this afternoon with heavy overcast.

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Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
This is the main reason I came back to Nikon from the Red side (Canon). I felt betrayed when I found out that I wouldn't be able to use my old FD lenses on the Canon dslr. Since then I've bought quite a few of these old manual lenses and using them is a pleasure.
 

KJProX

Senior Member
Very nice photo's.

I'm really liking Nikon for making it possible to use old legacy lenses and part of my decision to try Nikon.. In the same vane was one of the reasons I bought my Sony Alpha as my first DSLR because I could buy old Minolta Maxxum lenses to use on it, I was able to assemble a nice collection of lenses for not much money. I'm looking forward to buying a manual Nikon lens to try out.
 

STM

Senior Member
I have a 35mm f/2 AIS that gets a fair amount of use on both the D700 and D7100. It is a tremendous lens and made to the very highest optical and mechanical standards. Unlike Canon, Nikon has stayed true to their F mount since the beginning, Canon left their loyal breech lock and FD users holding the bag.
 
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Sandpatch

Senior Member
In the late '70s my Dad had all of his lenses converted to AI by Nikon and this 35mm f/2 was one. Does the AI feature play any role in this lens' ability to work with my D5100? I'm guessing not, but I'm not at all sure. Thank you.
 

SkvLTD

Senior Member
In the late '70s my Dad had all of his lenses converted to AI by Nikon and this 35mm f/2 was one. Does the AI feature play any role in this lens' ability to work with my D5100? I'm guessing not, but I'm not at all sure. Thank you.

Basically, if the overall diameter of the lens is such that it would bind with the little indexing tab on the edge of the mount, then yes and you would have to file it yourself, but that's only present in the prosumer/semi-pro bodies like 7x00 and then the triple digits. All 3x00 and 5x00 bodies can't use the Auto-Indexing feature at all, but thus can use any and all glass "blindly" without any worry.
 

Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
In the late '70s my Dad had all of his lenses converted to AI by Nikon and this 35mm f/2 was one. Does the AI feature play any role in this lens' ability to work with my D5100? I'm guessing not, but I'm not at all sure. Thank you.

Nikon claims that the DF is the only DSLR that can use non-AI lenses. My D3200, my three old non-AI lenses,and I disagree with Nikon on this point.

As @SkvLTD says, the only issue with the use of non-AI lenses on modern DSLRs appears to be the conflict between the camera's AI coupling lever, and the unnotched aperture ring of a non-AI lens. The D3?00 and D5?00 bodies don't have an AI coupling lever, so no conflict. Nikon's statement on the subject notwithstanding, non-AI lenses work just fine on D3?00 and D5?00 bodies, albeit with the same expected limitations as any non-CPU lens.
 

SkvLTD

Senior Member
I'm pretty sure Nikon meant with metering, and likewise for bigger bodies with the Ai coupling that cannot use non-Ai glass. Df has a foldable coupling piece, but can still meter with non-ai glass unlike the 3 and 5x00 bodies.
 

Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
Here is page 169 from the manual that came with my D3200.

Note that “Non-Ai lenses” are the second item listed as “Incompatible Accessories and non-CPU Lenses” that “can NOT be used with the D3200”.

In fact, non-AI lenses work just fine on the D3200, with exactly the same limitations that apply to all non-CPU lenses, stated at the top of this page. The same should be true of @Sandpatch's D5100, or of any other D3?00 or D5?00. Without an AI coupling lever, there is simply no way for the camera to know or care whether a non-CPU lens mounted and used with it is AI or non-AI.

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