Camera Labs

Can i use lenses from my Nikormat Nikon F & Nikon F3 on my Digi Nikon D5000 ?

I know the APS sensor size will turn my 55mm micro-Nikkor into an 85mm & a 24mm to 50mm

BUT could they damage the Digi Nikon?

Can i EASILY manual focus??

can i change the aperture will the metering system recognise say f 5.6 ??

I dont have my Digi Nikon yet ill buy it between Christmas & new year



Up to now ive use a panasonic LX2 which has provided great images & video but relied on my Nikon F3 unfortunately i can only use that & the other analogue camers with B&W film i process myself the last colour lab has retired & the mass processing is very poor & twice as costly per print than digi prints Digi print 18cents prints from film 36 cents

Merry christas & happy new year
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Growing Marijuana

Hi Splash,
This will give you a good start.
http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20094

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"A man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth."

As I understand it, the D5000 does NOT have an auto-focus motor built into the camera body, i.e. similar to the D40/40x. If that's the case, then you can safely mount ANY Nikkor lens designed for the Nikon F (non-AI as well as AI). You cannot auto focus, and you cannot meter, i.e. Manual Exposure is the only mode which will work.

So, focus manually and guess at the proper shutter speed / aperture (appropriate for the ISO setting). Review in the LCD and adjust accordingly. I've experimented with a 50mm F/1.4 Nikkor-S (a tank of a lens) mounted onto a Nikon D40x. Works fine, like a mild telephoto.

Now, if you had a Nikon D90 or D80, a camera with a built-in autofocus motor, you CANNOT mount a non-AI lens with damaging the camera. So, don't do it! You can safely mount all other Nikkor lenses.

FYI, non-AI refers to "non - Auto Index". Prior to the introduction of the Nikkor AI lenses in the 1970s, Nikon used metal "rabbit ears" to tell the camera's built-in exposure meter the F stop setting.

Check out Ken Rockwell's web site on Nikon Lens Compatibility:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm
for a more definitive discussion.

Best wishes and by all means, use that older Nikon glass. There are many bargain lenses available, which though heavier are better constructed than many of today's Nikon lenses, especially the kit lenses.

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Only Nikon
Nikon D80, Nikkormat EL
Nikkor 35mm F/2, Nikkor 50mm F/1.4, Nikkor 105mm F/4, Nikkor 75-300mm F/4.5-5.6