Old Lens - New Camera (dSLR)

1422 Views 19 Replies 7 Participants Last post by silversx80, Mar 24, 2009

silversx80

Discussion Starter · Mar 9, 2009

New thread idea for photo-hacks like myself.

About a year ago, I bought my first digital SLR camera. I have an Olympus E-410. It has been a great hobby and I wish that I had this camera on some of my earlier expeditions (while USAF Active Duty).

As I learn more about the camera and photography I'm starting to do things on a more "manual" level. I have always used "Aperature Priority" with auto focus but have started to lean toward a manual mode with manual focus.

I have 2 lenses right now which give me coverage from 28-300 mm (14-150mm not considering the crop factor). I'm finding myself wanting more lenses for wider angles, bigger aperatures and longer reach. The problem is that I don't have much disposable income (too many hobbies and the full carbon road bike comes next).

I have the perfect solution. When my dad was younger than I am right now, he was studying to get into medical photagraphy. He ended up having to support a family instead, but still has all of his old equipment. Olympus OM-10 and several lenses. This is NICE gear, all manual stuff. Olympus makes an adapter to fit OM lenses onto E-series cameras.

Here's the issue: When I was a kid, that camera was among the "forbidden fruit." Touch it and promptly recieve my ass, handed to me by my father. I've talked to him and he's willing to let me "borrow" his glass. I still haven't gotten over the stigma of touch the gear and getting a beatdown.

Anyway, I'll be heading up to my parents' this weekend (if I can get the adapter ring) and will have some nice glass for future pics.

Post up some pics if you have legacy glass on a digital SLR!

1 - 20 of 20 Posts

LSCYCLING

· #2 · Mar 9, 2009

at least you have your priorities right. Carbon road bike first, camera second....

My wife has so many camera new and old. Funny when she started her business people started giving her their old SLR's and other old camera's she got a neat collection now.

silversx80

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 9, 2009

LSCYCLING said:
at least you have your priorities right. Carbon road bike first, camera second....

My wife has so many camera new and old. Funny when she started her business people started giving her their old SLR's and other old camera's she got a neat collection now.

Yeah, definitely the bike first (Madone 5.2 ;D). The milestone was 10,000 miles on the current frame to warrent the new bike. I'm at almost 11,000.

I just got off the phone with my dad, he's all for me taking the glass. So far it's the Zukio 55mm @ f/1.8, Zukio 200mm @ f/3.5, Carl Zeise 24mm (don't know f-stop) and a Tamron 70-150mm @ f/2.8... all of this IIRC. I'll probably be ganking the OM-10 too, so I may venture into a bit of film.

frick

· #4 · Mar 9, 2009

I have my dad's old Nikon N90s. He had a ton of lenses and other stuff for it. I'm interested in getting a digital Nikon and hope to be able to use the lenses with it. Anybody familiar enough to know if this is possible? I haven't done much research into it yet, but I'm hoping.

I miss doing photography, too.

TomServo

· #5 · Mar 9, 2009

frick said:
I have my dad's old Nikon N90s. He had a ton of lenses and other stuff for it. I'm interested in getting a digital Nikon and hope to be able to use the lenses with it. Anybody familiar enough to know if this is possible? I haven't done much research into it yet, but I'm hoping.

I miss doing photography, too.

"..old Nikon N90s." man I remember selling those when they first came out. In fact I remember selling F3's, FM2's, 4004's (terrible POS btw). Just struck me funny as the N90s was so cool & high tech at the time... showing my age...

LSCYCLING

· #6 · Mar 9, 2009

Frick the old lenses will work with the new DSLR's but they won't do all the automatic stuff so you'll have to do it all manually. So as long as you don't care about auto focus and that stuff it should be fine.

TomServo

· #7 · Mar 9, 2009

frick said:
I have my dad's old Nikon N90s. He had a ton of lenses and other stuff for it. I'm interested in getting a digital Nikon and hope to be able to use the lenses with it. Anybody familiar enough to know if this is possible? I haven't done much research into it yet, but I'm hoping.

I miss doing photography, too.

If the lenses he had for the N90 are autofocus, you should be fine with most any of them on the current Nikon DSLR's. Most of the manual focus ones will work as well in manual exposure mode just fine. Now the very old (non-AI) lenses from the 60's and early 70's will not mount on most Nikon DSLR's as the aperture ring will break the AI ring on some DSLR's equipped with it (not many). The pro bodies had a little release on the AI ring so that you could mount old non-AI lenses on the without damage and some of the very new bodies I thing do away with it entirely so they may mount.

silversx80

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 10, 2009

Nikon D40, D40X and D60 do not have AF motors built in so the lens has to be AF-s or AF-i to work. Other than that, all your lenses should work.

frick

· #9 · Mar 10, 2009

Thanks for the infos. Now to find out which camera I should get...

Iakayak81

· #10 · Mar 10, 2009

you may want to check out some of the used nikon digital bodies, they are still great equipment, at a reduced price. The d90 is also a pretty nice body.

tk1971

· #11 · Mar 10, 2009

I use my trusty 105mm f2.5 Nikkor on my Nikon D200 all the time. It was my favorite portrait lens when I used film (F4s, F3HP, and F2A). Get a Pro-summer level Nikon (D200, D300, etc), and you can use any AI or AIS manual focus lens. You can even go and get a Katz manual focus split-prism screen. I'll get a picture up when I get a chance.

tk

yakimushi

· #12 · Mar 10, 2009

My dad had (still has) an OM-10 while I was growing up. In high school I started shooting like crazy and he got tired of me "borrowing" his gear so he bought me one for my 15th birthday.

I really should dig it out and shoot a few rolls for old time's sake.

G

· #13 · Mar 10, 2009

I sold my Yashica FX2000 with a bunch of lenses and other items for almost nothing. Nearly cried but the value of the old stuff has dropped so much in the last 5-10 years. It had been sitting in the closet for close to 5 years so it's not like I had been using it.

My father-in-law gots teary-eyed when he found out his Nikon F5 might only fetch $500 on eBay. He's also got a bunch of nice older glass for it.

TomServo

· #14 · Mar 10, 2009

silversx80 said:
Nikon D40, D40X and D60 do not have AF motors built in so the lens has to be AF-s or AF-i to work. Other than that, all your lenses should work.

Ohh yeah. forgot about that. The lenses would still work in manual focus though wouldn't they? I'm not sure that was a great idea to remove the old motor & cam on the body, but i guess it saves them money.

Oh.. and check out KEH.com for used gear. I've bot lots & lots from them over the past 10-15 years.

Iakayak81

· #15 · Mar 10, 2009

I believe Nikon did the lens servo for faster auto focusing. I have a d60, and to run some of the older lenses you have to stop them down quite a ways ( i think i was at f22 on the plastic fantastic). if you want use older lenses, going prosumer is definatly the way to go.

TomServo

· #16 · Mar 10, 2009

Iakayak81 said:
I believe Nikon did the lens servo for faster auto focusing. I have a d60, and to run some of the older lenses you have to stop them down quite a ways ( i think i was at f22 on the plastic fantastic). if you want use older lenses, going prosumer is definatly the way to go.

Oh undoubtedly they did to improve AF speed. Initially they stuck with motor on the body to help keep cost per unit down in lenses. Canon was really the only one who decided to go with an entirely new mount and from the start had motors in their lenses (not counting lenses for the F3AF, and some of those horrible vivitar self focusing lenses). It's a shame that they are essentially saying NO to people using AF lenses from older cameras on some of their newer DSLR's. Plenty of great glass out there, but I suppose they need to sell new glass too

Iakayak81

· #17 · Mar 10, 2009

i agree it sucks, its keeping me away from new glass :'( its hard to justify the cost considering the amount i shoot. 450+ seems like a lot of money for a 50mm lens for the d40/60

G

· #18 · Mar 10, 2009

While I like my Nikon 18-200mm VR lens a lot, I really, really love my 50mm f/1.4D. Gray market versions are about $325 and sometimes cheaper. They also have a 50mm lens in a f/1.8D version for about $135, which is a far better deal, and is 99% as good as the f/1.4 version. If I were to do it over, I'd buy the 1.8. For that money, you won't find anything better for low light situations.

Here's a good article on the f/1.8 version:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/5018daf.htm

Iakayak81 said:
i agree it sucks, its keeping me away from new glass :'( its hard to justify the cost considering the amount i shoot. 450+ seems like a lot of money for a 50mm lens for the d40/60

silversx80

Discussion Starter · #19 · Mar 23, 2009

OK, so I finally went to pick up the lenses from my dad. I don't have any pics online to post, yet (maybe Tues evening). My lens list is now (crop factor is 2X, so a 14-42 is really a 28-84):

Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-42mm (f/3.5-5.6)
Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm (f/4-5.6)
Olympus Zuiko (legacy) 50mm (nifty-fifty) (f/1.4)
Olympus Zuiko (legacy) 70-150mm (f/4)
Makina (legacy) 24mm (f/2.8 )
Tamron (legacy) 200mm (f/3.5)

So far, I LOVE the nifty-fifty. Super-bright, sharp and a milky-smooth bokeh. I'll probably splurge on a split-prism focus screen and an auto-focus confirm chip (beeps when manual focus is on mark).

Looking on fleabay, I can get the OM lenses really cheap. I think I saw a fifty going for about $35 at one point.

Again, wait until Tues... you'll be surprized.

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silversx80

Discussion Starter · #20 · Mar 24, 2009

5

OK, pics as promised. These were all taken with the Nifty Fifty, f/1.4, Zuiko OM lens. I can't remember all the settings.

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