Nikon 40 and Nikon 70 are the lenses compatable?

Question

My father has a Nikon 70 and I am thinking about gettig into Digital SLR with the Nikon 40 are the lenses compatable?

Answer 1

Are you talking about a D70 or N70? The D70 is a great digital slr and the N70 was a 35mm film slr.

Any Nikon S series lens from the D70 will autofocus with the D40. But others will need to be manually focused.

Here's a list of current lenses that autofocus with the D40 and D40x, with more coming out soon from all lens makers.

From Sigma:
10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC
12-24mm F4.5-5.6
17-35mm F2.8-4 DG
50-500mm F4-6.3 DG
APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC HSM
70-200mm F2.8 DG MACRO
80-400mm F4.5-5.6
100-300mm F4 DG
120-300mm F2.8 DG
300-800mm F5.6 DG
14mm F2.8 EX
30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM
150mm F2.8 EX DG
180mm F3.5 EX DG
300mm EX DG
500mm EX DG
800mm f5.6 EX DG
http://www.sigmaphoto.com/news/news.asp?nID=3289

From Nikon:
Super Telephoto Lenses
300mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S Nikkor
400mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor
500mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor
600mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor

Wide-Angle Zoom Lenses
17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S Zoom-Nikkor
14-24mm f/2.8 G ED AF-S Zoom-Nikkor

Standard Zoom Lenses
24-70mm f/2.8 G ED AF-S Zoom-Nikkor
24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S Zoom-Nikkor
28-70mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S Zoom-Nikkor
High-Power Zoom Lenses
70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor

DX Nikkor Lenses for DX Format Digital SLRs
12-24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor
18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor - NEW!
18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor
18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor
17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor
55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor

Vibration Reduction (VR) Lenses
200mm f/2G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor
300mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor
400mm f/2.8G ED VR AF-S Nikkor
500mm f/4G ED VR AF-S Nikkor
600mm f/4G ED VR AF-S Nikkor
24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
200-400mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor

Close-Up Lenses
105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor

If you are truly concerned about lens compatibility, consider getting a nice used D70 or D70s.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I'm presuming that your father has the film Nikon N70 and you're looking at the digital SLR D40 or D40x? Or does he have the digital D70?

In any case, it doesn't matter. The Nikon N70 and D70 and D40 will all take the Nikon AF mount. Where the only issue of compatibility comes in is with autofocusing.

The Nikon D40 and D40x require lenses with a built-in motor to autofocus, because Nikon didn't built a motor into the camera. So you need to see if your dad's lenses are labeled AF-S (for Autofocus-silentwave motor) or if they are Sigma lenses, HSM (for "hypersonic motor").

If they don't have these designations, the lenses will fit and will meter properly (that is, they will talk to the camera electronically to aid in setting exposure), but you'll have to manually focus the lenses.

Answer 3

Great list, George. I like the inclusion of the Sigma lenses, too. Anthony, perhaps Dad has a D70 and not an N70 - not that it matters for this question.

I will add just one more bit of information in case you are scared of manual focus. You really can use a lot of older Nikon lenses on the D40 and D40X. You only loose the autofocus feature. It is true that there is a "slight problem" with older Nikon lenses not autofocusing on the D40, but if you do not own a bag full of older lenses, it is not going to be a problem. It is barely a problem anyhow. If you check www.nikonusa.com for "AF-S" lenses, which are ALL 100% compatible with the D40, you will find 23 lenses, including 7 "VR" (vibration Reduction) lenses and one true macro lens with "VR". There are another 25-plus lenses in the current catalog that provide all functions except autofocus as well as many (possibly dozens) "out of print" lenses that will work just as well. In addition, although these lens will not autofocus, most of them will still give focus confirmation. From the D40 manual: "If the lens has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 of faster, the viewfinder focus indicator can be used to confirm whether the portion of the subject in the selected focus area is in focus. After positioning the subject in the active focus area, press the shutter release button halfway and rotate the lens focusing ring until the in-focus indicator is displayed."

Answer 4

Nikon has two designations for their autofocus lenses: AF and AF-S (the 'S' stands for 'silent wave motor' and it basically means that the lens has a focusing motor in it, instead of relying on the motor that is typically in the camera).

The D40 series of cameras do not feature a focusing motor in the camera (presumably to save money and weight) consequently, if your current lenses say AF-S on the lens barrel they will be compatible with the D40 series, if they are AF only, then they will not autofocus on the D40 series.

Answer 5

Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR Nikkor Zoom Lens high-power, high-performance 4.3x telephoto zoom with VR image stabilization lens allows better hand-held telephoto shooting ED glass. High-power 4.3x Telephoto Zoom-Nikkor lens approximates the picture angle performance of a 105-450mm lens on 35mm SLR Two Nikon Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass elements deliver superior optical performance for both digital and 35mm photography. ED glass minimizes chromatic aberrations, contributing to superb contrast and resolution performance Focus as close as 4.9 ft throughout entire zoom range A Silent Wave Motor (SWM) enables fast and quiet auto focusing, along with quick switching between auto focus and manual operation (M/A and M) Vibration Reduction, engineered specifically for each VR NIKKOR lens, enables handheld shooting at up to 4 shutter speeds slower than would otherwise be possible, assuring dramatically sharper still images and video capture Internal Focus (IF) provides fast and quiet auto focusing without changing the length of the lens, retaining subject-working distance through the focus range Non-rotating front element provides for convenient use of circular polarizing filters and the Nikon Wireless Close-Up Speedlight System A nine-blade rounded diaphragm opening makes out-of-focus elements appear more natural