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I was over at my parents' place this morning, and grabbed a box of my dad's photography gear, to see if I could use any of the lenses with my D70s. I was pretty sure they were just too old, but hey, there's no harm in trying!

Sadly they turned out to all be pre-AI lenses and physically wouldn't fit the D70s mount. They fit in, but wouldn't turn to lock. I was able to take a couple of photos by holding the lens to the mount and metering manually. These were taken with the Nikkor-H 85mm / 1.8



(above) a 100% crop from the middle of frame. The shot is more in focus on the RHS of frame, as you can see....



(above) A leaf - minor USM applied in PS.



(l-r) 24/2.8, 35/2, 50/2, 85/1.8, 135/2.8



(above) While I was over there, I found the very first camera that I had as a kid. No wonder I went with Nikon when I bought a DSLR late last year

It's a shame none of the lense fit as they are still in amazing condition (my dad keeps his old gear in an airtight container with a bunch of silica gel) and very good quality glass. I know you can get them converted, but probably wouldn't be worth it, after paying for the conversion and postage etc.

Can you get a conversion ring or something? I mean if you can get one that fits canon to nikon, surely you can one that fits pre AI lenses to modern bodies?


Nice jigsaw by the way, did you complete it?

just get them ai converted rather than have the metering chip. use a light meter or histogram and you should be ok.

The 35mm and the 85mm are outstanding classics! Get them converted. They are sharp as a tack with great boke.

is the 135 any good? or the 24 compared to the lastest 24 af?

1/ Get them converted but they are not cheap (with the lenses you have)and you may have to send it back if the technicians did not do good jobs.
Once you upgrade to the D200 or D2 series, then you may source these lenses cheaper on the net.
2/ Not worth it when you want to use on the D70.
3/ Mucking around them, won't make your old man happy and you're not welcome home next time.
4/ Leave them intact and they are collectible items in the future.
5/ Look inside his den and other holes inside his house, May be he forgot a Noct which he left somewhere in those locations.

We use pre-AI lenses on our D70 all the time; our 55 micro is a fine example.

What sort of body does he have to complement these wonderful pieces of glass?

Yeah, I probably won't bother having them converted.. For a start, they are not mine! But then again my dad doesn't use them, and hasn't used them in years... He has a Pentax Optio PHD that he is very happy with

Might have to make him an offer he can't refuse

Are there even people in Sydney or Australia who can do the conversion? There is one link I found online, but you'd have to post them to the US and trust that they'd survive the trip there and back.

Gary, I didn't take the cameras with me, but they are a couple of mid-60s Nikkormats. Rock solid cameras, still work beautifully.

losfp wrote:Gary, I didn't take the cameras with me, but they are a couple of mid-60s Nikkormats. Rock solid cameras, still work beautifully.

Yep. We have an FTn. Beautiful camera.

I hear that someone is working on a digital back (conversion) for them.

I think I have a similar camera to that Nikon point and shoot.