# Lenses for nikon D40



## EZzing (May 13, 2008)

Greetings! I was wondering the other day about how nice it would be if it was possible to use older Nikon lenses made for film cameras on the newer D40 digital cameras.

I know the D40s are auto focus. Is it possible to use older manual focus Nikon film camera lenses on the D40?


zing


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## JimmyO (May 13, 2008)

If they are F mount u can use them but  you wont have autofocus unless there AF-S


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## dEARlEADER (May 13, 2008)

In short... yes you can use old Nikon lenses with the D40... you will need to focus the lens manually...

this is really not an issue for macro or wide angle lenses... since for these one would most likely manually focus anyways..

I find the autofocus useful for midrange zooms, and family style impromptu shooting...


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## hoevesruperd (May 13, 2008)

hi. i'm new here. i bought a nikon D40 in december. now i want to experiment with lenses. i'm on a budget so i wanted to find something used. i was thinking of a fast 50mm prime and something to do wider shots.

i just went to the shop and asked if there was anything i could buy thats used and would fit my D40. they said only AF-S fits. reading over the forums gets me confusing

i understand AF-S has a different focus mechanism (and i dont mind focusing manually) but what are the mounting differences between AF-S AF-S and others? 

what is compatible with my D40? is there a really popular/common fast 50mm for this camera

what is the common lens upgrade for a D40?

thanks


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## theadamsociety (May 13, 2008)

Nikon doesnt currently have a AF-S 50 mm 1.4 or 1.8 but there is a Sigma 50mm 1.8, and 1.4 (to the best of my knowledge). The sigma one will autofocus on the d40. There's a Nikon 50mm 1.4D or 1.8D but wont auto focus, everything else seemed to work for me tho. 

I'd go for a 55-200 before going close focus but thats what I would look at for those.


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## JimmyO (May 13, 2008)

The lens labeled AF-S have focus motors built into the lens, while AF uses a motor in the camera. Now for most nikons af-s just means fast focus speeds, but the thing is the d40 does not have a focus motor built into the camera, this means only lenses with the motors build in will autofocus on this camera. 

I have a 50mm f/1.8 that i love to use on my d40x, i just have to manually focus it.

As for common upgrades you can look at the 55-200mm lens. Theres are versions with and without Vibration Reduction (VR) but i hear the one with VR is well worth the extra 50 bucks or so. Another option is the 70-300mm af-s VR lens. Dont get this confused with the old non-af-s version that sells for only $150. The new version is over $500. 

You can also look at sigma lenses. Their lenses labeled HSM will also autofoucs with the d40. They have a wide range of lenses, the ones i would look at are the 10-20mm, the 50-150mm, 70-200mm and the 50mm f/1.4 prime. All of these will work perfectly on your camera


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## Garbz (May 14, 2008)

hoevesruperd said:


> i just went to the shop and asked if there was anything i could buy thats used and would fit my D40. they said only AF-S fits. reading over the forums gets me confusing



Don't ask sales clerks, mostly they are complete idiots. The D40 has one of the best support for lenses of all Nikon DSLRs. It can use any AF-S AF AI AI-S Lenses which pretty much covers every lens made in the last 35 years.

Autofocus will only work with AF-S lenses. AF lenses will not autofocus with the D40. Read the pages towards the back of the manual. There is a section which discusses lenses.


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## hoevesruperd (May 17, 2008)

Garbz said:


> Don't ask sales clerks, mostly they are complete idiots. The D40 has one of the best support for lenses of all Nikon DSLRs. It can use any AF-S AF AI AI-S Lenses which pretty much covers every lens made in the last 35 years.
> 
> Autofocus will only work with AF-S lenses. AF lenses will not autofocus with the D40. Read the pages towards the back of the manual. There is a section which discusses lenses.



thanks so much. i'll read a little more and go to another store which has more used stock!
cheers


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## hoevesruperd (May 17, 2008)

i have found a site that explains it well!!
here it is for who ever, searching through this forum, would want more info
http://www.bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm


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## Michael.McBee (May 17, 2008)

Very nice thread, alot of my lense questions have been answered.  I'm a newb to the D40 as well.

Thanks guys!


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## EZzing (May 18, 2008)

Thanks guys. Its nice to have so many options.

bill


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## hoevesruperd (May 21, 2008)

i bought a nikkor 50mm H.C. prime f2 converted to AI for 46$ on ebay.. 
it fits and i love it!


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## JimmyO (May 21, 2008)

Congrats!


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## 151proof (Jun 1, 2008)

very informative thread thanks for the info guys...


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