And talking of DSLRs...

I have a Nikkor AF 70-210 lens I bought probably 6 years ago.

Does anyone know if I am right in thinking that this lens would be compatible with something like the D50?

And if so, is it a lens worth building a DSLR system around?

Cheers
Jeff

 

Should be all right - I use a variety of pre-digital AF Nikon and Sigma lenses with my D70. At worst you may lose a metering mode or two (but to be frank if you're into photography enough to buy a D50 you 'll likely be able to meter anyway without these superadvanced hypermultidimensional modes....people managed for long enough with center weighted..). This chart will also help:
http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/nikon_articles/other/compatibility.html

 

Yes.

If it is a 70-210 F2.8 ED or something and you are big on long-lens work then maybe. If it's a 70-210 F4.5-5.6 that cost about £200 new, then if there are compelling reasons to change systems for some or other killer feature, I'd say no.

 

Isaac,

It is an f4. my budget is a bit tight and was wondering how much an equivalent lens for the Canon might be, otherwise just seemed a bit of a waste of a lens TBH.
Have lenses moved on much in that time?

 

Lenses have and have not moved on. Developments like cheap-to-produce hybrid aspherical elements have made cheap wide angle zooms a far better proposition than they were 10 years ago.

However, the 70/80-200/210 is one of the very easiest zoom lens ranges out there. It's pretty difficult to make a bad one, and even the cheap ones give a decent image. The expensive ones (eg Canon 70-200 F4L, 70-200 F2.8L IS, Nikon AF-S VR 70-200 F2.8G) are phenominal and almost make primes in this range redundant (I say almost, because some of the most amazing primes ever produced exist in this range also, such as canon's 135 F2L and 200 F1.8L. I'm sure nikon have outstanding primes in this range also but I am less familiar with their offerings. No doubt at least one of nikon's legendary micro-nikkor fall in this range).

I had an uber-cheap all-plastic Canon 80-200 F4.5-5.6 that gave good enough image quality. I sold it to buy a sigma 70-300 APO because I wanted the range. The image quality of the sigma was fine, and it was solid enough. The autofocus, however, was loud, slow and had vast amounts of the external parts of the lens spinning this way and that. In the end I bought a 300 F4L IS (which kicked the sigma into the weeds), sold the sigma and replaced it at the short end with the 70-200 F4L (which I'd now love to replace with the long-awaited 70-200 F4L IS).

 

Not sure, if it matters to Jeff, but wouldn't the 70-210 become more like 100-300 when used with the D50?

 

All nikon AFs work with a D50. You'll even get metering.

 

The 70-210 if its the one I am thinking of fetch around 70 quid on eBay if in excellent nick.

I certainly would not build a system round it, on the other hand a D50 is 350 quid and quite frankly superb, it would come with a 18-55 lens and you have a longer range, seems like a no brainer. That particular lens is handy.

 

Well I have apparently just won a D50 kit on Epay for £310. A good price I think. Am a bit chuffed.

Off to Inverness next month to visit parents so will give it a good test then.

Thanks for all your advice. I doubt it'll be the last q from me on the subject

Jeff