nikon d3200 New DSLR owner

[Matthew S.]

Hi All,

 

Just purchased my father a new DSLR for fathers day (he will actually be receiving it either this week or next).

My mother and I bought him the Nikon D3200 18-55mm kit and it also includes the 55-200mm nikor lens.  

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for accessories, he owns a Nikon F-301 (N2000, from the 80's :P) with a 55mm nikor "puck" and a *can't remember brand* telephoto lens. 

 

This will be his first DSLR.

[The Evil Overlord]

Have a word with Draconian Guppy, and shozilla (there are many other members who can help also, but they are the ones I know about who do tinker in photography, on my friends list)

[TAZMINATOR]

Nice.

 

I have D5000 and same lens as you mentioned..  

 

You can see my photos in the digital lab thread.

 

You might want to check 105VR lens out... this lens is great!

[Chasethebase]

At present you should be covered, at this point I would recommend a good bag, but don't just dive in, figure out what he wants in terms of the style of bag. Personally I prefer either a holster if I just want one camera/lens, or a backpack if I want the whole of my gear.

 

The other thing is to look at the 50mm prime lens that is probably f1.8, like the Canon the Nikon is probably a good buy as well.

 

Once you have the kit, zoom and "nifty fifty" you should be set for everything until you feel you outstrip your gear.

[Matthew S.]

Oh forgot to mention it also came with the nikon messenger style bag lol :P and he's planning on using the 55mm lens from his n2000 (there all F-Mounts so it should still be compatible)

[Snoopy2005uk]

I'd get a nice bag for it and maybe a spare battery and memory card? Then start looking at the 35mm and 50mm f1.8g lens. Remember to get the "G" version though as that body doesn't have a autofocus motor built in.

[Elliot B.]

I'd get a nice bag for it and maybe a spare battery and memory card? Then start looking at the 35mm and 50mm f1.8g lens. Remember to get the "G" version though as that body doesn't have a autofocus motor built in.

Does the D3100?

[Snoopy2005uk]

No. Non of the 3xxx or 5xxx do. Luckerly most modern Nikon lens come with the motor built into the lens.

[TAZMINATOR]

Oh forgot to mention it also came with the nikon messenger style bag lol :p and he's planning on using the 55mm lens from his n2000 (there all F-Mounts so it should still be compatible)

 

Nikon bag is not bad but I prefer the best backpack such as Lowepro backpack or shoulder bags depends on how often he uses the camera.

 

If he doesn't take pictures often, then shoulder bag is best choice. Otherwise backpack is best for everyday uses which this backpack can carry extra lens in it and extra storage for accessories such as memory cards, batteries, etc.

[Draconian Guppy]

I would research if his old lens work with his new camera, IIRC he can but some might damage the mirror.

[Matthew S.]

The 55mm f/1.8 should still be compatible, this is based on the fact that the lens is still sold.

[Draconian Guppy]

The 55mm f/1.8 should still be compatible, this is based on the fact that the lens is still sold.

That fact that the lens is sold doesn't mean it's compatible, auto focus might not work, metering also, work case scenario, mirror might even break!

 

 

here:

 

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

[Matthew S.]

The 55mm f/1.8 he has is an AI-s lens

Actually all his lenses are AI-s.

[HawkMan]

Get him Scott Kellbys digital photography 1-4 box set books.

If his 55 lens was made for the old F series cameras it probably won't have a focus motor built in. There also some issue with the optics and coatings. Old film camera leses sent the light into the film at an angle from the last optic. Digital camera lenses actually sent the light in straight parallel lines from the last lens optic. It's not a major thing and won't greatly affect image quality, but on digital camera the digital lenses give slightly more light since so every pixel on the sensor is in a tiny little well.

[HawkMan]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/36984-GREY/Nikon_1442_Macro_55mm_f_2_8_Micro.html

This was the only 55 nikon that came up when I searched. So then it's a completely manual lens anyway. I'd get a new 50 1.8 with autofocus instead, or a used 1.4 if you want proper shallow DOF, though it can get a bit extreme.

Just remember than on a DX sensor camera the 50 is a ~80mm lens at about f2.8.

[Matthew S.]

Colour me blind it's actually 50mm -.-' http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/singlefocal/normal/af_50mmf_18d/index.htm <thats the new version of his lens.

 

And he actually prefers Manual focus to AF (he's old school).

[HawkMan]

At low f stop manual focus is virtually impossible. Especially in portraits which is where the 50 really shines.

With auto focus you can put the spot focus on the nearest eye and get the correct focus with manual it's hard to get that exact focus point where the eye is in focus.

[Chasethebase]

Again, check the old lens fits and works correctly, there may be a way to make it work well but you may lose some features. I've got an old mirror lens which weighs a good 8kg or so (It's 500mm) which has an adaptor put onto it so that it fits Canon EF.

[Draconian Guppy]

according to ken rockwells table,that lens won't autofocus (as pointed above) and also will default to a certain mode. I'd go with Hawkmans recommendation and get a cheap 50mm, that said, both kit lens you bought cover that range, i'd weather it out a bit and fiddle around with the 50mm (that doesn't meter) and see if he really would use a prime lens or not.

 

 

 

Link again: 

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

 

 

 

"OK" means everything works as originally intended. "As intended" means a feature supported by both the camera and by the lens. AF lenses will not autofocus on manual focus cameras, and manual focus lenses won't autofocus on any camera, which is as intended, so that's OK. The invasive fisheyes never had any had metering and never had through-the-lens viewing, so for them, that's also OK.

Newer cameras have more potentially incompatible features than older cameras. A newer camera may have more incompatibility warnings below than an older camera, but may still provide more features than an older camera with an OK. For example, I mark when a matrix-metering camera loses that capability, but older cameras that never had a matrix meter are marked OK since they never had it. For instance, I mark the ancient invasive fisheyes as OK on some cameras, but these lenses offer no through-the-lens viewing, no metering and no focusing. You have to use an external meter and clip-on viewfinder with the first fisheyes of the 1960s!

 

P, S, A and M refer to Program, Shutter-preferred, Aperture-preferred and Manual exposure modes. On cameras on which a mode is supported by the camera, but not with a lens you've mounted, the camera will default seamlessly back to a mode which is supported. For instance, if Program mode isn't supported, the camera usually defaults to Aperture-preferred mode.

 

Also, the lens DOES NOT meter with that body.

 

Matrix Metering, introduced in the 1983 FA, is Nikon's magic metering system which gives perfect exposures over many difficult conditions, including pointing directly into the sun. All Nikon's pro cameras have had it since the F4 of 1988, and all digital cameras have it. Only the FA manual focus camera has it, and most of the AF film cameras have it. See my individual camera reviews for details.

 

http://www.bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm

 

http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/45467/why-will-low-end-nikons-not-meter-with-old-lenses

 

 

And to add a bit moar:

 

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-metering.htm

 

A light meter is an instrument inside your camera that tells you if the amount of light reaching the film will be enough or too much to properly expose your image. The light meter takes into account your shutter speed, film speed, and aperture settings.

Your camera's light meter shows you the amount of light in aperture settings. Each dot on the meter represents a partial "stop", or aperture increment. The numbers represent whole stops. Even though your F-Stop setting controls the aperture itself, the meter readings will also change if you change your film speed or shutter speed.

 

Even though most of the time you will want to keep your meter reading in the center, there are times you will need to deliberately overexpose or underexpose your images slightly. Sometimes this is for artistic effect but usually it is because you are shooting in conditions that can confused the meter.

Examples of times to overexpose

• Subject is very dark in comparison to background
• Snow
• On a bright day if your subject is in shadow

Examples of times to underexpose

• Subject is very light in comparison to background
• To achieve a silhouette effect
• On a overcast day to increase color saturation
•  

 

http://photography.about.com/od/camerabasics/ss/metering.htm

 

 

In short, if your father is a newcomer, I wouldn't bother with his old lens, too much hassle it seems

[Matthew S.]

Anyways, the camera arrived today, just waiting on the battery to charge then gonna go take some photos.  might call in "sick" for work tonight too.. (though I am actually sick lol)

[Matthew S.]

So I've uploaded a few photos taken with the new camera (and one taken with my iPhone, hush.) of the old N2000 and it's equipment and one with the old NIKKOR 50mm (again hush) http://500px.com/FusionOpz

[HawkMan]

turn off auto iso. or use P modes to avoid auto iso. at least some of those pictures are cranked up to 6400 ISO. granted the ISO noise in that narrow DOF shot actually sort of works(would work better in B&W) but still :)

[Matthew S.]

I was just playin around with auto mode when I took those, no where near how I would normally shoot those.

 

I put that heavy ass Vivitar (The 55-300) lens on just a few moments ago, god I actually forgot how heavy that bitch is >.< (none of his old lens had any electronics so yea, yay manual...)

[TAZMINATOR]

I was just playin around with auto mode when I took those, no where near how I would normally shoot those.

 

I put that heavy ass Vivitar (The 55-300) lens on just a few moments ago, god I actually forgot how heavy that bitch is >.< (none of his old lens had any electronics so yea, yay manual...)

 

Yeah, some lens are heavy...  especially this lens I use once a while:

 

[Matthew S.]

^ No, just... No... lol