Camera lenses and compatability

So yesterday I tried to capture a few shots of a Great Heron flying around a mountain pond that we hiked to. The only lense I have could not zoom in enough to get any kind of a good shot. Need a decent telephoto.

I have a Nikon D5000 DSLR. I think somebody old me some of the older SLR lenses may be mountable? I have seen some decent buys on some older lenses. I have no problem focusing manually, etc.
Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.

Comments

  • oldmodman
    oldmodman Posts: 740
    They work just fine provided that your Nikon is a full frame camera. I think that the mount on the small chip cameras is different than what was on the lenses from the film era cameras.
    I use a 500mm Mirror Lens from Nikon on my Nikon digital camera body all the time.
    Manual focus and manual diaphram control too.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 2015
    Virtually any F mount lens can be used on virtually any F mount Nikon -- it's one of the best things about Nikon, IMO (and Luddite that I am)! Most of them will even still be "automatic" (i.e., wide open when you're composing/focusing, but will stop down to the selected f-stop when the shutter's tripped).

    Virtually any lens designed for "full frame" (i.e., 35 mm film format, which, if memory serves is 24 x 36 mm) will work on a "DX" format camera like the D5000. A lens made for a DX camera will vignette on a full-frame format camera, though.

    The only drawback, of course, is operation will be totally manual -- you'll have to set the D5000 to "M" and set shutter an aperture manually... but you can get instant feedback by looking at a photo & adjusting based on what you see, and you can delete the bad ones!

    About those "virtuallys" above :- ) There's at least one very early autofocus Nikkor for 35 mm cameras that cannot be safely used (directly attached to) on any later autofocus Nikons (film or digital) other than the one for which it was designed -- there're workarounds, but the lens is fairly rare so it's more of an academic issue ;- )

    ... and it is possible that the rear element of some lenses (most likely extreme wide angle lenses) could stick too far back into the mirror chamber of the D5000 and render it not usable with that particular lens -- but, again that would be a small number of lenses out of the constellation of F-mount Nikkors since 1959.
  • daddyjt
    daddyjt Posts: 2,307
    oldmodman wrote: »
    They work just fine provided that your Nikon is a full frame camera. I think that the mount on the small chip cameras is different than what was on the lenses from the film era cameras.
    I use a 500mm Mirror Lens from Nikon on my Nikon digital camera body all the time.
    Manual focus and manual diaphram control too.

    I shoot Canon, and it's the other way around for them (and I suspect for Nikon too). Some of the newer lenses are designed ONLY for digital cameras, as they sit farther into the camera body, to be closer to the APSC sensor (In the Canon line, these lenses are denoted with an "S"). The base of one of these "digital" lenses would actually strike the sensor on a full frame camera body.

    Your older lenses will function on any Nikon body, but you may not have full functionality with all of the focusing/metering technologies in your new camera body.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 2015
    Here is an example. My son collects lenses, and I helped him acquire this bizarre late-1950s F-mount short telephoto lens, the so-called "Mountain Nikkor". It is a slow (f 4) 105 mm triplet (three-element) lens that was originally meant for use as a very compact telephoto lens for rangefinder cameras (e.g., for hikers and mountainclimbers to carry along without adding a lot of weight and bulk)!

    For whatever reason, Nikon made a version in the then-new "F" mount; these are fairly uncommon and thus somewhat collectible among a certain class of lens nerds.
    http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/RF-Nikkor/RF105mm/index1.htm

    16562114652_321f48af7c_b.jpgDSC_0198 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr


    It's a goofy lens -- but it works just fine on a D5000 (manually, of course). :- )

    15943881434_f515674b21_b.jpgDSC_3315 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr


    16540370606_613ce060ae_b.jpgDSC_0201 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    The D5000 isn't the easiest camera extant to use for manual focus -- the view's a little dim, and there's no split-image rangefinder center spot in the viewfinder to help with critical focus.

    Oh, and did you say great (blue) heron? :- )

    20165795493_78f96d6618_b.jpgGBH by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    This photo was taken earlier this summer with a modern 70 - 300 mm VR Zoom Nikkor, though.
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,963
    that Yammy brings back memories. That's the bird, I think we disturbed his afternoon nap and it flew back & forth about 5 times before disappeaing over the hills. I have yet to download the shots, maybe I got lucky.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 2015
    That's a CA-800; it's a good sounding amplifier. If I have to listen to a soiled state amp, I can think of far worse choices than the CA-800, 'specially switched to class A bias on the power amplifier section :- )


    Speaking of "500 mm mirror lenses", I took this photo of the eee-clipse on 27 Sept. with our other DSLR body (an old D40 "entry level", cast-off from my son to me) and a little, older (and rather cheap, actually) 500 mm f 5.6 Orion "cat" (catadioptric, i.e., mirror telescope) with a Nikon F adaptor. A little more magnification than the 70-300 mm VR zoom, but on a body with a lower-resolution detector :-P What was I thinking?

    21869977508_33ac7794e8_b.jpg030 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    EDIT: heh. good old google. I couldn't remember the exact Orion scope/lens, but google did :- ) It was called a MAK-500 as sold by Orion; Adorama apparently sold a version of it, too: http://www.shallowsky.com/pro-optic500.html
  • WagnerRC
    WagnerRC Posts: 2,138
    nm49ttvyjc12.jpg


    We have em here too.
  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    We have them and these too. They are storks but everyone calls them Florida chickens.

    While I am not quite as sophisticated as some of you shutterbugs I use a Sony A65 with a Tamron 18-270 with Piezo focus drive. It also works great for video as the AF drive is silent and you don;t hear the whir of the AF. Tamron makes versions for all popular manuf's and they are not that expensive and are of nice quality. I believe they OEM this lens for most manuf's that charge more for it.

    8pjv1t6dxd9x.jpg
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 2015
    Are those spoonbills? They don't look like storks per se -- but I am not the birder in this household. She is off in Southern California this week, birding! :-P
    EDIT: No, the bills don't look spoon-y :-P

    Nice photo, btw!

    One of the weird/neat offshoots of modern digital photography has been the proliferation of an astonishing array of adaptors to use so many different lenses (including some very vintage ones) on modern bodies. Some vintage glass made for film cameras can be astonishingly inexpensive, so it's a (potential) big win-win.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    ahh, they're white ibis! :- )

    ibis_gsvijimeena.jpg

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_white_ibis

    The funny thing is, there are wood storks in Florida, too; only stork that breeds in the US, I think... but they have dark bills (and "bald" heads) :-P

    wost_gellatly2.jpg
  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    edited October 2015
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Are those spoonbills? They don't look like storks per se -- but I am not the birder in this household. She is off in Southern California this week, birding! :-P

    Nice photo, btw!

    One of the weird/neat offshoots of modern digital photography has been the proliferation of an astonishing array of adaptors to use so many different lenses (including some very vintage ones) on modern bodies. Some vintage glass made for film cameras can be astonishingly inexpensive, so it's a (potential) big win-win.

    So I thought they were storks, but they are a common ibis. Definitely not spoonbills as they have a curved pointed beak. If you have them in your yard it means you have grubs. The pest control services will make a point to stop and call on you to let you know your lawn is under attack.
    laze87qfuu5u.jpg
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

    Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |

    ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4

    Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |

    Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |

    Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |

    Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's

    Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    We actually have bald eagles in my town and one just died... It was on the news for like a week. We also have burrowing owls which are protected. Many hawks too. I got to see a hawk pick a snake up and fly away with it earlier this year. Amazing...Florida, especially South Florida has amazing wildlife. I've been traveling between SW and SE Florida for some time now and have seen gators, lizards, tons of birds (vultures are some ugly MFers) armadillos, tortoises, turtles. They have been catching invasive monitor lizards in my town. A beautiful dog was killed by a rattler and I have a 5' black racer living in my landscaping. I have seen him and his skins but have not caught him on cam yet.
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

    Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |

    ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4

    Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |

    Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |

    Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |

    Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's

    Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

    Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |

    ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4

    Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |

    Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |

    Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |

    Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's

    Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    The raptors (hawks, eagles, and such) have made an astonishing comeback after DDT was banned. Saw an eagle soaring over our house yesterday -- too high to get a good photo even with the 300 mm tele. I did try :-P

  • WagnerRC
    WagnerRC Posts: 2,138
    we have several eagles on the island here. It is a beautiful sight to see.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    There's a pretty good population of them along the Connecticut River here, which is not very far from us as the ahem eagle flies.

  • Here is a link to a bunch of info on Nikon lens compatibility.
    http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm
    Sunfire Theater Grand IV
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature
    SRS 2.1TL
    SDA 2BTL's
    CSiA6
    FXiA4
    FXiA6
    SDA 2A's
    Monitor 10A's

    http://www.douglasconnection.com
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,963
    Thanks Doug, everything I need to know and then some!
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,963
    m9x0mkyyfeia.jpg

    Playing around with some filters when I took this one. I love the convenience of digital but it seems I took much better photos with my old Minolta 35mm.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    I cannot tell what manner of filter that would've been; was it a circular polarizer?
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,963
    good eye, yes it was. A cheapie Vivitar CPL.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 2015
    I've been using one in my fall foliage photos, too -- to fairly good effect, I'd opine.
    (as have you)

    :- )

    21909635520_0d90b3d63f_b.jpg004 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
    21909904458_9bd32dca3b_b.jpg061 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
    22090690621_a5d2007c26_b.jpg071 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr