Actually what you are talking about is new features
Nikon added over the years to get more functionality
out of the same lens mount. Things like P mode with no
digital contacts, etc.
As far as manual focus goes Nikon only has ever had
two mounts. F mount and pre-F mount (i am not sure
exact dates but we are talking early 70's here.. ).
All F mount lenses will mount on all F mount cameras,
period. Until Nikon introduced the N80, D100, D70
about two years ago all F mount lenses could mount on
newer cameras and give you AP and manual metered
modes. The only reason people are pissed at Nikon
about lens mount compatability are the D100 and D70
i.e. no cheap Nikon DSLR that can use their old lenses
(their pro bodies still have the aperature coupling).
--- Frantisek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> PL> Hmm interesting. Unfortunately this is
> impossible with pre-A pentax lenses
> PL> due to the non-linear motion of the aperture
> lever.
>
> PL> I assume, then, that Nikon lenses have always
> operated the same way as far
> PL> as this goes (be it linear or non-linear?
>
> Well, sorry for the Nikon excursion, but:
>
> No, Nikon was always somewhat chaotic in its system
> compatibility.
> Pentax is much easier to grasp. Nikon was
> non-linear, and used the
> little prongs (rabbit-ears) to connect to meter.
> Then came AI lenses,
> which had aperture simulator lever like everybody
> else. I *think* they
> were linear in motion, but I am not sure. To muddle
> the waters more,
> you could have the old non-AI had AI'd. But then it
> was still
> non-linear... There were no lenses like Pentax A. No
> few contacts until AF
> lenses which used CPU chip. But to make it even
> worse, there were
> original MF lenses which had the chip from the
> start. Called AI-P. And
> there are several generations of cameras and lenses
> which key
> information in different ways. Some lenses have
> drilled out keys or
> mechanical pins for telling the focal length
> ("short" "normal" "long")
> for different programs. Some lenses have mechanical
> way of telling the
> body what the physical maximum aperture is, but
> mechanically, and
> there are like two bodies (!) which use this to have
> Matrix metering.
> Now, some lenses have body motor AF, some lenses
> have lens motor AF.
> Of course some older film bodies don't work with the
> USM af...
>
> About the only fully, all features compatible body
> was the F4. Which
> is still, according to many people, Nikon's best
> body ever. Designed
> by Italian designer house, it has several options of
> motor advance but
> you can always rewind the film by hand, et cetera.
> It even autofocuses
> with the 1st generation AF lenses, which were
> similar to what ME-F's
> AF 35-70/2.8 is...
>
> All in all, it makes the Pentax compatibility seem
> overly simple.
>
> Good light!
> fra
>
>
=====
Jamie Walling
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