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Intermediate

Which NIKKOR Lens Type is Correct for Your DSLR?

Revised September 2016

Reading about all of the different lens types and abbreviations might be a bit overwhelming, and so we'll try to simplify this equally much every bit possible. You lot're interested in one of the latest NIKKOR lenses, but aren't sure if it will work with your photographic camera. Well, there's an piece of cake way to know—past checking the abbreviations that brand upwardly the proper noun of each NIKKOR lens.

Nikon makes two different types of DSLR photographic camera bodies—those that accept a built-in focus motor, and those that don't. The cameras that don't have a focus motor born need to use a lens that has a focus motor built-in to it. There are ii types of Nikon lenses that have a born focus motor: AF-S lenses and AF-P lenses. Lenses that do not have a focus motor incorporated into information technology are simply chosen AF NIKKOR lenses.

AF NIKKOR lenses utilise a mechanical coupling betwixt the lens and the camera body. On several Nikon DSLR camera bodies, the focus motor is in the camera and a series of gears drives the lens' focusing mechanism, which allows the lens to focus.

AF-S NIKKOR lenses characteristic Nikon's Silent Wave Motor (SWM). This engineering converts "traveling waves" into rotational energy to focus the optics. This enables high-speed autofocusing that'south extremely accurate and super quiet.

AF-P lenses use a "Pulse" motor or "Stepping" autofocus motor and are even quieter and smoother to autofocus than an AF-Due south lens, making these lenses ideal when shooting video with a DSLR.

The DSLR camera bodies that exercise feature a focus motor can utilize AF and AF-Due south lenses. Or, in other words, because AF-S NIKKORs have the focus motor built into the lens, they can be used on any current Nikon photographic camera torso, whether the body has a focus motor or not, considering the lens itself controls the focusing function.

Consumer level Nikon digital SLR cameras are designed without born focus motors, which allow them to exist smaller and lighter than the larger, more professional models. Consumer DSLRs that do not incorporate a born focus motor, therefore need to use an AF-Southward or AF-P NIKKOR lens to get the total autofocus capabilities from the lens.

Only what if you own one of the aforementioned consumer level camera bodies and really desire to employ an AF lens. You demand to know if your camera tin can accept the lens—and the reply is yeah. An AF NIKKOR lens tin exist used on a consumer camera, with limited functionality. You volition have to manually focus the lens, using the focus ring on the lens butt. The electronic rangefinder, which is visible in the lower left portion of the viewfinder, will confirm that your discipline is in focus. Rotate the focus ring on the lens and when it lights upwards dark-green, the subject is in focus.

AF-P Lenses

The newer AF-P lenses allow you ready certain settings from the camera's menu arrangement, such as VR (Vibration Reduction) and the AF/MF mode. Older lenses have switches on the lens barrel for turning VR on and off, besides as switching between manual focus way and AF mode.

Because the focus mode and VR are fix using the camera menus, not every Nikon DSLR is compatible with AF-P lenses, and those that are may need to have their firmware updated so they'll show the correct menu items.

E-Blazon NIKKOR Lenses

Select newer NIKKOR lenses comprise an electromagnetic diaphragm machinery in the lens barrel to provide highly accurate electronic diaphragm or aperture blade command when using automobile exposure during continuous shooting, peculiarly when shooting at loftier frame rates. This is dissimilar from Thousand or D type lenses, in which the diaphragm blades are operated mechanically. Older digital SLR camera bodies too as movie SLRs tin not employ E type lenses.

Legacy NIKKOR Lenses

One of the great aspects of Nikon's camera systems is that most of the legacy lenses—those that you may have used with your motion picture-based Nikon SLR camera—can exist used on your digital SLR camera. There may be some limitations, depending upon exactly which NIKKOR lens you're looking to apply with your DSLR, just we'll get into that in a minute.

An AIs lens, the Micro NIKKOR 105mm f/two.8 lens is a manual focus lens.

AI Lenses

What if you've got older lenses that y'all used to utilise with a Nikon film-based SLR camera—well yous can use those lenses every bit long as they were made after 1977. That'due south when Nikon began manufacturing AI lenses. AI stands for "Automated Maximum Aperture Indexing" system, which is the mechanical system for coupling the lens to the photographic camera'due south exposure system.

AI lenses are manual focus, and tin exist used on any Nikon DSLR with a few exceptions. In full general, the higher-end camera bodies will be able to meter through the lens of an AI NIKKOR. The prosumer and consumer level bodies can accept an AI NIKKOR lens, but the exposure will need to be determined manually, using a light meter, not through the lens.

The AIS lens, which came later, immune for automatic aperture control; which controlled the aperture more precisely.

An AI-P lens is a manual lens that has a CPU (basically a reckoner) built into it; which is used to transfer metering data from the lens to the camera.

An AF-I lens uses a born D/C coreless focus drive motor for speedy autofocus performance and were Nikon's first lenses to offer the now popular K/A focusing mode.

Then regardless of the other abbreviations you may meet on NIKKOR lenses, certain consumer Nikon DSLR cameras require the employ of AF-S lenses for full functionality. The higher-end pro DSLR camera bodies need only an AF lens for autofocus functionality. An AI lens tin be used, when focusing manually, on virtually all Nikon DSLR cameras, only tin can only meter through the lens when paired with the higher stop DSLR models.

Nikon Ai NIKKOR lens. (r.) A Nikon Ais NIKKOR lens, with lens type signaling pin notch, highlighted in red.

Differences betwixt Autofocus and Manual Focus Lenses

Now that we've gone through a petty history of NIKKOR lenses, we'll discuss the differences between autofocus and manual focus NIKKOR lenses.

Nikon currently offers lenses that have autofocus functioning and others that offer only manual focus operation. Because you lot sometimes desire to be able to control the focus yourself you lot can actually manually focus any autofocus NIKKOR lens, just by setting information technology to the manual focus mode.

We know there are iii series of autofocus lenses: AF NIKKOR, AF-S NIKKOR and AF-P NIKKOR. They can all be used in manual focusing mode.

The AF-Southward version of the Nikon 24-120mm lens; (r.) the AF version of the Nikon 24-120mm lens.

The AF NIKKOR 35mm f/2nd lens is an example of a D-Type lens.

D-Type NIKKOR Lenses

A D-type lens relays subject field-to-camera-altitude data to Nikon DSLRs that feature 3D Color Matrix Metering (all versions), 3D Matrix Metering, 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Wink and i-TTL Balanced Make full-Flash. Many D-Type lenses have an aperture control ring and tin be used on older Nikon SLR cameras that allow for manual command of the aperture, as well equally on DSLRs—particularly useful for adjusting aperture while recording D-Movies on college finish models. When used on a DSLR, the aperture control band needs to be locked at the smallest possible aperture (generally designated in orangish), and the aperture control is maintained through the camera's command dial.

One thousand-Type NIKKOR Lenses

A G-type lens does not have an aperture command ring and are intended for use on Nikon DSLRs that permit the lens aperture to be adjusted via the camera's command dial. Because One thousand-type lenses relay discipline-to-camera-distance information to the camera, where information technology is used to help determine ambient and flash exposure, they are likewise considered to be D-type lenses. The lack of an discontinuity control band is possibly the easiest fashion that you lot can tell if a lens is a K-Type NIKKOR or non. [The AF-South NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens, shown above is an example of a G-Blazon lens. Note there is no aperture ring on that version of the lens, while there is an discontinuity band on the AF version, above right.]

Manual Focus NIKKOR Lenses

Manual focus NIKKOR lenses, on the other paw, don't have the capability to autofocus at all. Manual focus lenses can be used on all electric current Nikon DSLRs, in the transmission focus fashion.

With the inclusion of HD video capture in many new Nikon DSLRs, manual prime (or fixed focal length) lenses are experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Transmission focus lenses will non apply the in-photographic camera metering systems on several DSLRs so make sure to review your education manual to empathize the compatibility of manual focus NIKKOR lenses and your particular camera. [The Micro NIKKOR 105mm f/ii.8 lens, which is shown equally an example of an Ais lens, is a manual focus lens.]

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