cboysen Loc: Homewood, IL

I have a Nikon D80 camera with a bunch of DX lenses and I have two questions: (1) What are the differences between FX and DX lenses? (2) If I were to buy a newer model Nikon DSLR would my DX lenses work on the new camera?

gatorjim

Simple answer is if you buy a 3xxx, 5xxx or 7xxx DX camera, the DX lenses will work fine.

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

The support section of Nikon will tell you what lenses will work with what cameras.

Some FF cameras (D610 for example) have an option to set to DX mode.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

While you CAN use DX lenses on a Nikon FX camera, you lose a lot of pixels by using the DX crop option or get vignetting at some focal lengths.
The D610 is a 24mp FX camera, but in DX mode it gives you 10MP....that's more than half.
Also, with a few exceptions, the Nikon FX zooms are going to be sharper than any DX zoom
(The 17-55 2.8 DX is the exception but it will still vignette at anything shorter than 24mm).

cboysen Loc: Homewood, IL

Thank you for your reply. I seem to recall that years ago (when I had a F3 or F4 film camera) Nikon used to brag that their older lenses would work with their newer cameras, but I guess those days are gone forever. Very quickly, what is the difference between DX and FX lenses? Thanks again.

tamalero Loc: Mexico

Dont forget to mention that, they will lose a big portion of the Megapixels due to DX cropping mode.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Image coverage for starters.
DX lenses are optimized for a sensor that's 15.8 x 23.6 mm.
FX lenses are made to cover 24 x 36mm.

The better pro-level lenses are made for FX.
(The exceptional and expensive 17-55 2.8 DX was made back when Nikon didn't have a Full frame camera)

The older legasy lenses can be used on the newer bodies with some exceptions.
Nikon did not change its mount, just some of the ways it transmits info from/to the lens and body.
HERE is a site with a list of Nikon lens compatibility.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Not nearly that simple actually. The D80 had an internal focus drive motor and would AF all the old film lenses that were autofocus. The D3000 and D5000 series newer cameras do not contain that AF drive motor and will only autofocus with AF-S type lenses. The D7000 series bodies all have the AF drive motor and will still AF any lens that the D80 would AF.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

All Nikon lenses will indeed fit onto any Nikon SLR or DSLR - that is what you are referring to in your comment here. The older lenses (from the film days) fit on the camera flange on your new Nikon DSLR. However, as to whether it will auto focus or have the electronic connections to enable auto-exposure is a separate issue - Nikkor lenses built before some of the new technologies obviously cannot be retrofitted to them, and as has been mentioned the lower-priced Nikon bodies today do not have the "screwdriver" motor in the body and so cannot focus the lenses that require that (which include all the lenses you had with an F3, for instance - as in those days that's how auto-focus was accomplished). So the only reason "those days are gone forever" is that technology has marched on.

And ALL of that has nothing to do with the DX/FX thing. FX lenses are designed to cover the "full frame" of 24x36MM that was the dimensions of a film image of yore. In other words, all of your Nikkors that you used on the F3 are inherently "FX". But years back, when sensor technology was getting started and manufacturing issues made it very difficult (read: expensive) to make sensors as big as 24x36MM, the sensor size was smaller than that - these are referred to as "DX". You can use any film lens on a DX-sensored camera as the lens projects a cone of light behind it that is larger than the sensor (since it is made to project that cone over a film frame). But DX lenses are designed to produce a smaller cone of light - this allows them to be physically smaller as well as less costly to manufacture - so DX lenses became a "thing". However, since the cone of light projected behind a DX lens is smaller in diameter than a film lens' is, an FX sensor will not get illumination to the corners.

I hope that clarifies this for you.

OviedoPhotos

what f8lee says

MtnMan Loc: ID

They might all include that option. It can be set to automatically detect a DX lens and shift to using just the DX sensor area.

However some DX lenses will work in intermediate picture area modes and or limited zoom ranges to full FX size. For example my 10-24 works on my D800 from about 18mm up in the FX, 15mm up in 8x10, and 3x4 image areas and of course full range in DX mode.

BTW, I received a fabulous sale notice on the D610 this AM: new U.S. for $500 off....under $1,500.

tamalero Loc: Mexico

Someone reported that the D810 is also 300$ off as well.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

They still work mechanically. I am still using lenses from my Nikon film cameras. But if you go to an FX sensor, the lens just can't cover it optically.

I still can't see the quality difference to justify the cost and heavier weight of the FX cameras. IMHO you have to be in a very rarified atmosphere to enjoy any benefit in real life. I can print 20x30 prints with my D7000 that are tack-sharp. If I get out my magnifier and look from 2-3 inches--yes they are less sharp. But these have been in art shows and no one came with a magnifier.

Of course, as the car people say, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

This is incorrect - the lenses designed for film will indeed cover the entire FX sensor, since the entire concept of FX is that the sensor is exactly the same size as a frame of 35MM film (24x36MM).

It is when you use a newer DX lens that the lens cannot cover the entire FX sensor (which is why the bodies will automatically switch to read only the DX sized section of the sensor when a DX lens is mounted).