Canon or Nikon for ai and ais manual focus lenses

[penduboy]

Hi

I just acquired bunch of Nikon manual focus lens. Does it make sense to buy adapters and use these on my Canon 5D Mark III or should I sell it (getting really good price for it) and buy a Nikon D800 or D810.

I totally understand that these will be totally manual focus and all the controls will be manual, but in order to mount these Nikon lenses on Canon or any other brand DSLR or Mirrorless cameras, I need to use an adapter whereas these can be mounted directly on Nikon body without any adapter.

By the way I have ai and ais lenses.

I have used couple of these with an adapter on my canon 5d and love that. But I was reading on Internet that not all Nikon manual focus lenses are compatible with canon cameras. I can see one big plus that I can use these lenses without any adapter and I can mount all ai and ais lenses on Nikon camera. I am just wondering if there is any other advantage of using these on Nikon D810. I also have some Pentax m42 lenses which I can mount on my canon DSLR but I am not sure if I will be able to use these on Nikon with an adapter.

Tanks, Pendu

[y]

You can't use M42 lenses on a Nikon camera with a standard adapter - they will focus only at close distances. If you want to explore the world of MF lenses you better stick with the Canon EOS or go for a Sony full-frame mirror less camera...

[DConvert]

If you already have a Canon camera (presumably with lenses & some familiarity) then the adapter seems the logical choice to me.

I've never heard of any Nikon lenses that can't be used with an adapter at all & find it hard to think of any reason why there should be any that make them totally unusable. There are a couple of factors that restrict the performance of adapted lenses that might be what you've heard about:

More modern Nikon lenses do not have aperture rings so aperture control becomes difficult (or impossible) with these lenses when adapted.

Short focal length lenses are tricky to use with adapters as the adapter length becomes more critical. - I have a 10mm lens that I can only use adapted. When I first tried it I had to turn the focusing ring nearly all the way to minimum to get infinity focused. Shimming the adapter (it was ~0.6mm short) has drastically improved this.

I wouldn't expect either of these to be an issue with your AI type lenses, which should have aperture rings & will probably be at least 24mm in focal length.

If you take the route of getting a Nikon body you've have to spend quite a bit more, have considerably more to carry if using both sets of lenses on the same trip & You'll have to master a whole new set of camera controls.

As mentioned above M42 does not work well on Nikon, a corrective element is needed in the adapter for lenses to focus to infinity. This is actually the case with nearly all other mounts as Nikon have an unusually long registration. Conversely nearly all SLR mounts are adaptable to Canon.

[penduboy]

Thanks for the quick response.

It seams like Canon system is more favourable when it comes to adapting lenses.

Yes all my ai lenses are 24mm and up. I have 24, 28, 35, 50, 85, 105, 135, 180, 200mm and 50 and 100 macro fast prime Nikon lenses. I have already sold most of my canon L lenses except 24-70.

I love using manual lenses and the images they produce.

I have an offer on my Canon which will allow me to buy a D810 by putting couple of hundreds from my pocket.

But as you said there will be no issues using these lenses with an adapter on my canon 5d mark iii and there is no real advantage of buying D810, I am now leaning to keep my camera.

Thanks, Pendu

[calvin83]

If you use exclusively Nikon lenses, D800 or D810 may be better as you will be benefit from auto aperture coupling and focus confirmation. Otherwise a Canon 5D Mark III with Magic Lantern(Google if you never heard of it) may be better.

[penduboy]

[calvin83]

Sure. If you set the Non-CPU Lens Data on D800/D810, you will get focus confirmation and other functions(see the video below).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J8fFQwt7pc

Even you don't set anything, it seems the metering and focus confirmation will work but less accurate? I can't remember as I have not used a Nikon camera for a long time.

[visualopsins]

Buy inexpensive $15 Nikon to Canon adapter with auto-confirmation chip...

[penduboy]

[visualopsins]

I've used several generations of af chips without any problems. Please speak up anybody here has had problems. Note more recent Canon models require more recent af chip version.

A Chip can be purchased separately & easily glued to your existing adapter.

Depending on camera model, there is alternate camera firmware available from Magic Lantern with focus peaking features. Of course camera must already have for capability.

I use chip but always focus by eye. It's nice to have af confirm that.

You know Canon needs fast focus screen to actually see focal plane with apertures less than f3.5?

[cooltouch]

I've been using MF Nikon lenses on my Canon DSLR, with great results, for as long as I've owned that DSLR -- eight years and counting. Yeah it's old, so what. Anyway, you've got a really nice collection of Nikon glass. I can see why you might be tempted to use it on a more modern Nikon DSLR, but the Canon 5D III is a great camera and an adapter is only gonna set you back maybe $15. If it were me, I'd get the adapter and give those lenses a thorough workout on the Canon. Then and only then would I consider making the system switch to Nikon.

[Gardener]

I keep a Nikon body just to be able to shoot my Nikon lenses on their native mount. The ability to use automatic aperture, have correct metering and EXIF data are priceless. I am less in awe with the precision of focus confirmation.

But. For me Canon has a better ergonomics and the interface, and I would never give it up for general photography.

[penduboy]

[penduboy]

[penduboy]

[Pete]

Yes, Nikon is not the best for adapting other lenses but if you are mainly using Nikon AI/AIS lenses then a Nikon camera is the best. The lenses will work on most modern digital cameras just as well as they did on old film cameras. Focus confirmation, auto aperture, indexing all work properly and most cameras have MF lens selections so you get the proper EXIF information. Also, CPUs can be easily added to many AI/AIS lenses. The only caveat is pre-AI lenses as they will damage the indexing tab on most cameras. You may find a bargain on D800/D800E cameras now that the D850 is out. I have a Df that I use almost exclusively with old Nikon lenses.
Pete

[penduboy]

[jamaeolus]

If you like the manual focus experience I definitely recommend Sony alpha. The a7 series are mirrorless and can be used with nearly all different kinds of interchangeable camera lenses and even many projector lenses. IQ on the A7Rii is supposedly on par with the very best from Canon OR Nikon and the price seems competirtive with them. They have the additional advantage of in body image stabilization which is worht 2-4 stops of light. I switched from the Canon 60D (admittedly aps-c) to the a7ii and have not regretted the change. Something to consider anyway.

[Pete]

[tomasg]

Long time Nikon user here, more than 30 years, with many mf lenses, Nikors and other 3rd patry brands. Two months or so i went mirrorles, Sony A7II, i can t be more happy. All the positives about Nikon that have being said are true and i am keepeng my D700, but mirrorless has numerous advantages, focusing aids like peaking and instant magnification (plus some tricks), exposure works perfect even better than with Nikon and a live view histogram as a bonus. Although i never minded much about size, after a week of using the A7II taking the D700 was a real "shock". Don t forget one thing, your Nikkors will become stabilized on a body with IBIS!
Yes there are disadvantages, the EVF takes time to get used to for example, but going FF mirrorless opens up the possibility of mounting almost any lens on the camera, quoting a commercial: priceless!

Tomas

[visualopsins]

[james]

All the commentary about better usability of old AI lenses on Nikon bodies is spot-on but green dot focus confirmation on the Nikons isn't all that reliable, especially for super-fast glass. The focus screens on them are optimized for ƒ/2.8 lenses.
I'd have to agree re: Sony a7 iterations and use of MF lenses. You'll get a higher rate of properly-focused images.

[Lightshow]

Currently A7 series is the most adaptable, you can go P&S small if you want, or go super tele, freedom of choice is liberating.
With Canon and Nikon rumours of FF Mirrorless coming this year, things could get very very interesting.

[james]