Nikon FM Film SLR Lens Fit on D3000???

98olds · June 21, 2010

Hi,

i recently inherited my grandfathers old Nikon FM Film SLR.

I have a 50mm and 85mm lens for it.

I am looking forward to using it alot I havnt used film in years!

My question is, Can those lenses work with my Nikon D3000???

Thanks

cab.in.boston · June 21, 2010

First off, if "I recently inherited" means that your grandfather recently passed, I'm sorry to hear that.

As for the lenses, from what I understand, you should be able to use them, but they may or may not meter properly, depending on the age of the lenses. I'm assuming that these lenses are MF, but if they're not, don't expect them to autofocus on the D3000, which lacks the screw drive that the older AF lenses use. So either way, they're MF on a D3000!

Have fun, new (to you) toys are always neat.

Thom Hogan has a lens compatibility chart. He hasn't updated it yet with the D3000, but that should be the same as the D40/D5000 category.

ziggy53 · June 21, 2010

I believe that the Nikon D3000 should safely mount just about any Nikon "F" mount lens (except for some fisheye lenses), but you will lose any sort of metering using an older manual focus lens. I think that focus confirmation will work.

Just use an external meter or the "sunny 16" rule for outdoors.

98olds · June 21, 2010

Thanks for responding to me.

I actually made a mistake i think... I believe its actually the Nikon FE camera.

But I do belive that the lenses should still work because i believe those cameras are basically an updated version of each other.
The last time the camera was used was in 97 before my grandfather passed heck theres still a roll of film in there that I should see if it will even be able to be developed.

I havebeen doing some research and believe that you are right that they should work with my d3000, but yes will not auto focus but thats alright. I dont use auto focus anyway.

Thanks

98olds · June 21, 2010

What is the "Sunny 16 Rule" Im not sure I have heard of that before.

ziggy53 · June 21, 2010

98olds wrote: »

What is the "Sunny 16 Rule" Im not sure I have heard of that before.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_16_rule

Also see:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=30235

98olds · June 21, 2010

^ Thank you Ziggy.

frewhl · June 21, 2010

I had not come to ask this question myself, and here it is at the top of the stack today.

My mother had a Nikon and a bag of lenses.
The only one left is a 500mm and now she is into bird watching (at the house)

I have her ready to just get a new Cannon kit, I told her to expect it to be a zoom, and only 300mm.
She is ok with that.

Back to nikon, knowing that it will not autofocus,
can you suggest the cheapest digital body to host this thirty old lens?

thanks

michswiss · June 21, 2010

ziggy53 wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_16_rule

Also see:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=30235

I hadn't heard of this before. What a useful concept. Thanks!

ziggy53 · June 21, 2010

frewhl wrote: »

...

My mother had a Nikon and a bag of lenses.
The only one left is a 500mm and now she is into bird watching (at the house)

..., knowing that it will not autofocus,
can you suggest the cheapest digital body to host this thirty old lens?

Specifically what lens(es) do you want to use and for what purpose? (Be as precise as possible in your lens description. If you don't know for sure, take some clear images of the lens front, lens mount, and any markings on the lens and post the images.) (98Olds, sorry for the hijack. I'll break this into a new thread later.)

Do you need automated metering?

98olds · June 21, 2010

No need to apologize!! This thread is turning into something useful, and I'm learning from it. No need to branch it into another thread.

craig_d · June 21, 2010

From a lens compatibility perspective, the Nikon FM and FE are identical. They're almost the same camera; the FE is basically an FM with aperture-priority mode added and electronic shutter control (and a nicer meter display). There are other differences, but they're minor.

The best explanation of what Nikon lenses work on which Nikon cameras is on Ken Rockwell's site:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm

I suggest reading that and then asking any further questions here.

The quick answer is that manual-focus lenses will mount on any Nikon DSLR, but you will only get metering with the D200, D300, D700, and the professional D1/D2/D3 series. Without metering, you will need a separate light meter, or you will need to rely on rules of thumb such as the Sunny 16 rule that Ziggy mentioned.

frewhl · June 21, 2010

ziggy53 wrote: »

Specifically what lens(es) do you want to use and for what purpose? (Be as precise as possible in your lens description. If you don't know for sure, take some clear images of the lens front, lens mount, and any markings on the lens and post the images.) (98Olds, sorry for the hijack. I'll break this into a new thread later.)

Do you need automated metering?

Wow, that big thing has not been out in a long time.

Nikon
Reflex-NIKKOR.C 1:8 f=500 55xxxx

It is about 4" wide and 7" long.

there are about 4 colored filters that screw into the back end, the tripod mount is on the lens.

I was old enough to handle all of the equipment when she got into it.
Her camera was packed for years with a broken meter or something, and never got back into it.

I got back from college and got a FE to use the 55macro, 135, and this big thing.
My rig disappared in Fla. with the 135.
I later had an FG, it was hosting the 55macro ( my favorite ) , now it is gone.

This 500 went on a lot of shoots with me. The most memorable was when I forgot all of the other lenses and the tripod.
I still shot a roll, setting it on picnic tables and such.

Olds, thanks for the ride.
I do not get here a lot, I wanted to make sure this question had not been asked 205 times.

She looked at the big box store today.
Our pro shop only handles Cannon anymore.

If she goes for a new rig, it will probably be a Cannon, with a zoom up to only 300mm.

It is just for birds in the tree tops in the next yard over.
I guess she will relearn how to meter,

I just need to know if the focus is through the LED, we still prefer view finders.

frewhl · June 21, 2010

craig_d wrote: »

The best explanation of what Nikon lenses work on which Nikon cameras is on Ken Rockwell's site:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm

I suggest reading that and then asking any further questions here.

nicely done, I can not get into it now, but will check it out later.

ziggy53 · June 21, 2010

The Reflex-Nikkor 500mm, f8 (catadioptric/mirror) is a fairly good version of its breed, but all reflex/mirror lenses suffer from 2 primary problems:

Low contrast
"Donut" bokeh

While I do believe that the lens may be used on almost any Nikon camera, I also believe that a FF camera is required to get the most from this design. A FF camera will have much a better noise signature at any ISO compared to a crop camera. The reason this is important is because the image from a reflex lens is low contrast, meaning that you need to boost both local and global contrast when processing the image and both of those operations also increase noise. If you start with the higher noise factor of a crop camera it leaves less room for image detail.

FF images will also render the donut bokeh smaller and, I believe it will be more acceptable to a broader audience.

So, to answer your question, "can you suggest the cheapest digital body to host this thirty old lens?", I believe that "any" Nikon dSLR should be able to safely mount the lens, but a FF camera like the Nikon D700 will probably render the most pleasing results. At any rate I would not recommend a mirror lens for birding just because you generally want a lens with the best resolution and a lens with a larger and adjustable aperture will also provide more control over both DOF and bokeh, not to mention ease of focus.

I must suggest that you read the lens recommendations from our moderator of the Wildlife forum, HarryB:

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=39768

BTW, Nikon has a great historical perspective of the Reflex-Nikkor 500mm, f8:

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/nikkor/n13_e.htm

frewhl · June 22, 2010

thank you.
I will follow those other leads,

And shop for a whole new kit sooner than later.

ziggy53 · June 22, 2010

If you don't have a large budget for long, fast lenses, then just bring the birds to you. A very useful technique for birding is a combination of attractant/lure/bait and a bird "blind".

Find out what sort of food the desired birds eat and build a combination roost and feeder to bring them in to a closer shooting distance.

A bird blind is simply an enclosure which allows you to view the birds closely without them being frightened away by your presence.

Do these 2 things and you can succeed with bird photography even with entry level equipment.

NikonsandVstroms · June 22, 2010

98olds wrote: »

Thanks for responding to me.

I actually made a mistake i think... I believe its actually the Nikon FE camera.

But I do belive that the lenses should still work because i believe those cameras are basically an updated version of each other.
The last time the camera was used was in 97 before my grandfather passed heck theres still a roll of film in there that I should see if it will even be able to be developed.

I havebeen doing some research and believe that you are right that they should work with my d3000, but yes will not auto focus but thats alright. I dont use auto focus anyway.

Thanks

I love my old Nikon FE, you got a great camera there

Sorry for the slight thread hijack but I would buy a roll or 2 of film and just go out with that camera, being limited on your exposures compared to our 1,000+ shot memory cards today really makes you think about each shot and work on the perfect composition. Doing this can really help your photography as a whole.

98olds · June 23, 2010

NikonsandVstroms wrote: »

I love my old Nikon FE, you got a great camera there

Sorry for the slight thread hijack but I would buy a roll or 2 of film and just go out with that camera, being limited on your exposures compared to our 1,000+ shot memory cards today really makes you think about each shot and work on the perfect composition. Doing this can really help your photography as a whole.

i do plan on just taking it out with a few rolls of film, I am often out on the boat taking sunset photos, and would be interested in using this along with my d3000 one night.

I'm sorry again I got the name of the camera wrong, its actually a canon EM. dont know if that changes everyones answers from above or not.

ziggy53 · June 23, 2010

98olds wrote: »

... I'm sorry again I got the name of the camera wrong, its actually a canon EM. dont know if that changes everyones answers from above or not.

I think you mean "Nikon EM"?

98olds · June 23, 2010

ziggy53 wrote: »

I think you mean "Nikon EM"?

yes I did Mean Nikon EM haha
sorry about that.

The camera isnt sitting in front of me currently. haha

nightowlcat · June 23, 2010

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/emfgfg20/index.htm

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/reflex/500mm.htm

There are some starting points for these two items. I use this site to glean info on camera gear. Soon to be receiving some old stuff myself

YOu can check your lenses against the photos they have there for each model type.

Nikon FM Film SLR Lens Fit on D3000???

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