Not very familiar with Nikon stuff but I'm hoping to get a D80 when budget permits.

I see a lot of film lenses that are quite cheap on the net. What do you lose when you use old lenses?

MF is fine for me since I usually pre-focus on long telephoto shots anyway, with primes naman for portraits, MF is just fine for me as well.

I'd most probably still get a modern carry-around lens for daily use but those old, prime/extra long teles are quite attractively priced.

you might want to check out kenrockwell's site here http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/index.htm

he has an interesting collection of past and present nikon/nikkor lenses he has some reviews/comments about them. AF and AI lenses included.

cheers!

its all a matter of convenience. the newer lenses have more advanced internals and motors that allow almost seemless focusing, others also have cpu chips that greatly improve metering. the older manual lenses or AI are still very much viable on our modern cameras. you do lose the convenience of on camera metering and blitzing auto focus but if that doesnt botehr you then by all means go ahead.

i have a several older manual nikkors purchased for cheap but they are easily as sharp as my more modern lenses. good luck

Metering. Thats what you lose out on when you use the older nikon lenses. You'd need a D200 or higher to be able to meter with the older nikon lenses.

MF is easy. Metering is tougher, especially since you come from digital p&s. Unless you have a handheld incident meter or are well versed with metering rules of thumb, then the older Nikon lenses will be tough to use unless you get a D200 up.

Note that by older we mean old. As in probably older than me :Grin:. 1990's up and I think you will be fine.

Hi David, I point you to an old thread about "old" lenses.
http://www.digitalphotographer.com.ph/forum/showthread.php?t=2552

I think that if you just want one "all around" lens, you may want to get the 18-200VR. Once in a while, a pre-owned lens gets advertsed.

Thanks for the inputs guys, much appreciated.

Given a choice, should one go for a kit lens? Or get a body and lens separately? I am guessing that for every kit lens, there would be a "better" one available?

Any comments on Nikon lenses with plastic flanges (G?) vs those with metal ones? They ought to be lighter but have anyone experienced damage to the plastic flanges?

Thank you for your inputs.

If you're just starting out, why not try the lens kit first to get a feel of what you want and need on the quality and range in the future unless you already have something in mind.