Manual focus lenses with a D70.

"John A. Stovall" wrote in message
...
How well do manual focus lenses work on the D70 (or any of the Nikon
digitals)? I see what appears to be very good prices on used manual
focus Nikon lenses.

They work quite well if you understand the limitations:
1. No autofocus (naturally)
2. No automatic exposure. You set the shutter speed and fstop by hand
(like in the good old days).

Alas, there is no E screen for the D70.

Jim

"Jim" wrote in message
om...

"John A. Stovall" wrote in message
...
How well do manual focus lenses work on the D70 (or any of the Nikon
digitals)? I see what appears to be very good prices on used manual
focus Nikon lenses.

They work quite well if you understand the limitations:
1. No autofocus (naturally)
2. No automatic exposure. You set the shutter speed and fstop by hand
(like in the good old days).

Errr, what do you mean the good old days? I use manual exposure on almost
all my shooting. For example, how do you meter off the sky to take a scenic
shot? You can use AE lock, but why bother? No AF is mainly a problem if you
are shooting moving objects, for scenes and portraits MF should be fine -
infact for high depth of field shots I only use MF.


Alas, there is no E screen for the D70.

Jim

John A. Stovall wrote:
How well do manual focus lenses work on the D70 (or any of the Nikon
digitals)? I see what appears to be very good prices on used manual
focus Nikon lenses.

I asked a similar question once about using old (in my case Tamron)
lenses on my new (and expensive) Nikon F6 film camera.

The feeling of many was that it is a waste of money to spend lots of
money on a body then neglect the lenses and that I would get little of
the functionality of the body.

Since I had not bought the F6 at the time, and I stated money was a
concern, several suggested I spent more money on lenses and bought a
cheaper body instead.

The other thing pointed out is that lenses have improved a lot with the
introduction of better computer modeling.

I must admit, having bought the F6 with 50mm f/1.4 and since added 20mm
f/2.8 and the 70-200 AF-S IF-ED VR lens, I am glad I didthed the older
lenses. It would have been a bit of a waste to spend so much money on a
body and get 10% of its functionality.

You obviously loose autofocus on MF lenses, which certainly on the
expensive 70-200 lens is faster at focusing than me. On the F6 matrix
metering works, but not 3D matrix metering. But I don't think matrix
metering will work on most bodies and this might well include your D70.

Still, if pennies are tight, you might well want to use an MF lens and
perhaps replace it for an AF one at a later date. I'm seriously
considering this on a long telephoto (400~600 mm) where buying an AF
model is just out of the question due to their price (even used).

"Jim" writes:

2. No automatic exposure. You set the shutter speed and fstop by hand
(like in the good old days).

With the one manual lens I've used on my D70, the f/stop showed as ----- no
matter what the setting was. I didn't really care about the exposure, as I
just set it to the sunny f/16 rule and then adjusted till it looked right
on the monitor.

Is there a way to get a good meter reading shown in the viewfinder? If you
set the f/stop by hand with the lens, does the D70 stop it down for you?
(The lens I used (Peleng 8mm) requires that you close down the aperture by
hand, so that wasn't an issue.)

--
Phil Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed
The Civilized Explorer | spam and read later. email from this URL
http://www.cieux.com/ | http://www.civex.com/ is read daily.

"Jim" writes:

2. No automatic exposure. You set the shutter speed and fstop by hand
(like in the good old days).

With the one manual lens I've used on my D70, the f/stop showed as ----- no
matter what the setting was. I didn't really care about the exposure, as I
just set it to the sunny f/16 rule and then adjusted till it looked right
on the monitor.

Is there a way to get a good meter reading shown in the viewfinder? If you
set the f/stop by hand with the lens, does the D70 stop it down for you?
(The lens I used (Peleng 8mm) requires that you close down the aperture by
hand, so that wasn't an issue.)

--
Phil Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed
The Civilized Explorer | spam and read later. email from this URL
http://www.cieux.com/ | http://www.civex.com/ is read daily.

"John A. Stovall" wrote in message
...

Do any of the D bodies have better screens or allow change out?

I can tell from Nikon's web site.

Yes. B&H Photo carries them.

"John A. Stovall" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 18:53:32 GMT, "Jim" wrote:


"John A. Stovall" wrote in message
.. .
How well do manual focus lenses work on the D70 (or any of the Nikon
digitals)? I see what appears to be very good prices on used manual
focus Nikon lenses.

They work quite well if you understand the limitations:
1. No autofocus (naturally)
2. No automatic exposure. You set the shutter speed and fstop by hand
(like in the good old days).

No, problem, used Lecias GE's and Contrarex SLR which worked that
way. I've even used preset telephotos.
Those things can be a pain to use. My old Practica FX came with a preset
Tessar lens. It was quite good (for the time anyway) as long as I remember
to stop it down.


Alas, there is no E screen for the D70.

I was afraid there were no good focusing screens.

My standard was a clear Fresnel with a micro prism circular and split
image in the center of it.

Do any of the D bodies have better screens or allow change out?
There are type B and type E screens for the D1, D2, and D100.
Jim

"Musty" wrote in message
...

"Jim" wrote in message
om...


Errr, what do you mean the good old days? I use manual exposure on almost
all my shooting. For example, how do you meter off the sky to take a
scenic
shot? You can use AE lock, but why bother? No AF is mainly a problem if
you
are shooting moving objects, for scenes and portraits MF should be fine -
infact for high depth of field shots I only use MF.
With the D70, you look at the LCD. It shows where the underexposed and
overexposed areas are. You also look at the histogram.

As for me, I abandoned hand held meters when I bought my Canon FT-QL back in
1968. Just one less thing hanging around my neck.

Jim

"Musty" wrote in message
...

"Jim" wrote in message
om...


Errr, what do you mean the good old days? I use manual exposure on almost
all my shooting. For example, how do you meter off the sky to take a
scenic
shot? You can use AE lock, but why bother? No AF is mainly a problem if
you
are shooting moving objects, for scenes and portraits MF should be fine -
infact for high depth of field shots I only use MF.
With the D70, you look at the LCD. It shows where the underexposed and
overexposed areas are. You also look at the histogram.

As for me, I abandoned hand held meters when I bought my Canon FT-QL back in
1968. Just one less thing hanging around my neck.

Jim

"Phil Stripling" wrote in message
...
"Jim" writes:

Is there a way to get a good meter reading shown in the viewfinder?
No
If you
set the f/stop by hand with the lens, does the D70 stop it down for you?
Yes
Jim