Advice on Nikkor AF D Prime lenses: I have a Sony a6000 which i really like and a few good emount prime lenses, 30mm f 2.8 and 60mm, and a 28mm-70mm moderate zoom. I bought a fotodiox...

Bike guy Loc: Atlanta

I have a Sony a6000 which i really like and a few good emount prime lenses, 30mm f 2.8 and 60mm, and a 28mm-70mm moderate zoom.
I bought a fotodiox lens converter Nikon G to Nex mount. Though I can use peaking focus in the camera to focus my G lenses, I found that when I use my Nikon AF 50mm 1.8 D lens where I can adjust the aperture on the lens, I have more control than with the G-type lenses. In fact my photos are pretty sharp.
So I want to try some more D type AF lenses, primes not zooms that are fairly fast, at least 2.0 f stop. Don't need super zooms since I have those for my Nikons.
There are so many on Ebay, I"m not sure where to start. And of course I can still use the newly found primes on my Nikon 7100.
I am looking for recommendations and comments for these lenses.

Not familiar with Canon lenses but would be open to looking at them and buying the appropriate convertor.
Street photograpy, portraits are my interests.
Thanks

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Some that come to mind are the 300mm f4D (Gold Ring lens), a 180mm f2.8D, and the 85mm f1.4D, depending on what you want to do. There is also a 50mm f1.4D that would be interesting to compare with your f1.8.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

Unless you're absolutely stuck on using AF Nikkors (so you can use them AF-ishly on your D7100 Nikon body), why not save yourself some money and look into some of the absolutely killer --and virtually ubiquitous-- AI primes that you can use equally on your Sony and on your Nikon? Simpler (i.e., less expensive) adapters for your Sony, the ability to set/control aperture more accurately than with the Nikon G lens compatible adapters, and did I mention that there were zillions of great prime Nikkors available for relatively cheap? Maybe not f/2.0 or less as you stated, but the 105mm f/2.8 and the 180mm f/2.8 are legendary, and for good reason. At least mine are. Plenty of others, too, and plenty that are f/1.8's or 1.4's as well, if you don't mind the extra expense.

Bike guy Loc: Atlanta

Good advice
Thanks

Cany143 wrote:

Unless you're absolutely stuck on using AF Nikkors... (show quote)

Larryshuman

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe D lens are shaft drive auto focus and requires a Nikon body with a focus motor. I can put my 80~200mm F:2.8 D AF on my D3,D810, D800 & D600 and have them all work perfect. Put the lens on a D5600 and NO autofocus. That camera has no focus motor.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Bike guy wrote:

I have a Sony a6000 which i really like and a few ... (show quote)

The D chip has nothing to do with the kind of aperture control - even a G lens can be said to be a “D type.” You didn't specify, but assuming you have the fully manual Fotodiox NIKG-SNYE-DLX adapter, any quality lens, autofocus or manual, D or non-D, with an AI or AIs F mount will do as well on the Sony.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Larryshuman wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe D lens are shaft drive auto focus and requires a Nikon body with a focus motor. I can put my 80~200mm F:2.8 D AF on my D3,D810, D800 & D600 and have them all work perfect. Put the lens on a D5600 and NO autofocus. That camera has no focus motor.

You are correct.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Larryshuman wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe D lens are shaft drive auto focus and requires a Nikon body with a focus motor. I can put my 80~200mm F:2.8 D AF on my D3,D810, D800 & D600 and have them all work perfect. Put the lens on a D5600 and NO autofocus. That camera has no focus motor.

Not so. The D chip has nothing to do with the type of motor drive.

Larryshuman

We are NOT talking about motor drive. We ARE talking about lens autofocus working with body that has a focus motor. A sure way to tell if a can if a body can focus a D lens is the slot on the lens mount that accepts the focus shaft.

1963mca

These adapters are a great opportunity to use different lens with your gear. I have a Leica M240 and the only Leica lens I have is a 35mm f2.0 Summicron. This is my everyday walk around camera, but occasionally I do like to try different lens. For this I have a Novoflex LEM/NIK-NT adapter. With this I use my Nikkor 20 f/2.8, 50 f/1.4 and 85 f/1.4, all are AF-D lens, but of course I don't use them in AF mode. I use them manually with live view and am totally satisfied with the quality of the Leica/Nikkor images using this system. For the little I use anything but my standard Leica 35mm f/2 lens, I am in no hurry to stop using my Nikkor prime lens with the adapter. Someday I may get some additional Leica lens to get the advantage of viewfinder focusing and much smaller size/lighter lens weight, but for now the Nikkors using live view works just fine. They are of course very heavy and bulky compared to the equivalent Leica lens in that range.

Bill_de Loc: US

Larryshuman wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe D lens are shaft drive auto focus and requires a Nikon body with a focus motor. I can put my 80~200mm F:2.8 D AF on my D3,D810, D800 & D600 and have them all work perfect. Put the lens on a D5600 and NO autofocus. That camera has no focus motor.

That has nothing to do with the "D". It has to do with the AF not being AF-s or AF-p.

On the lens barrel the "D" is in a spot right after the F-stop, that is typically used by Nikon to indicate something new. In this case the "D" stands for distance, information reported to the body. Since virtually all newer lenses report that info they are all "D" lenses although it isn't shown on the lens.

The spot was then used for the "G" to indicate lenses with no aperture ring. The "G" is no longer needed.

Now you will see "E" in that spot to indicate electronic aperture.

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There are a number of "AF-s", "D" lenses out there. I have 3 of them, a 17-35 F/2.8, a 300mm F/4.0 and a 500mm F/4.0. They all say "D" and all have built in focusing motors.

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RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Larryshuman wrote:

We are NOT talking about motor drive. We ARE talking about lens autofocus working with body that has a focus motor. A sure way to tell if a can if a body can focus a D lens is the slot on the lens mount that accepts the focus shaft.

If you use the “Quote Reply” button, we'd all know who you are addressing.

Bike guy Loc: Atlanta

To all of you that replied, thanks.

I understand that the D on the lens refers to the distance being listed on the lens when focusing, to get an approximate focus distance.
I don't want a G (gelded)lens but a lens that I can pick the aperture on the lens and not through the camera. I am very happy to do everything manually.
Received good information, so thanks.

Larryshuman

Distance only shows up when your meta data file is correctly checked. I could see distance in my shot at CS4. By CS6 Adobe has quit reading it even if you have it checked in preferences. On a D lens I think all you need to do unlock the aperture ring and set any f-stop anywhere you want.

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

RWR wrote:

The D chip has nothing to do with the kind of aperture control - even a G lens can be said to be a “D type.” You didn't specify, but assuming you have the fully manual Fotodiox NIKG-SNYE-DLX adapter, any quality lens, autofocus or manual, D or non-D, with an AI or AIs F mount will do as well on the Sony.

The “D” designation was added to the autofocus AF lenses when Nikon upgraded the electronics to communicate focus distance to a compatible speedlight for more precise exposure control. It has nothing to do with the focus mechanism.