A budget quality built S/H Nikon digi body for a camera killer. which one?
 

I'm off to do some Rugby shots tommorrow. Contax bodies and Tamron loaded up, and plenty of film
But...........

I can't help thinking I would seriously benefit from using a digi body:rolleyes:

I've been looking at 'budget' secondhand bodies for a while. I don't want to spend thousands, and the justification simply isn't there yet to change all my Tamron adaptall2 lenses...some of which cost a small fortune.

Basically, due to lens mount combatibilty I've narrowed it down to Pentax and Nikon. The few contax N digi bodies around are purely collectors items, command silly money, and aren't compatible with my older MF contax mount bodies..
So my favoured being Nikon, also partly due to how My old F3 lasted and partly due to Jacky's (wife's) electrics going wonky on her old Pentax.

Ideally I'd like something where the slightest bit of moisture in the air didn't trigger a blind panic from me, worrying that it could damage the camera..and, something that if it picked up a dink on the prism housing wouldn't gaurantee me to send it off for a repair....
Basically I'm after a digi body that has the same, or similar build quality to the old F3 ........If I was staying with film an F5 body would seem the natural progression. Therefore, by logic a D1, D1h or D1x (F5 based) digi body, especially a D1x might fit the bill?? D2 series stuff is way to expensive for me just yet!

Anyone with D1x experience in the field out there?
Will the 5.7 mpixel resolution be seriously limiting?

Or should I forget this option...D80's are still too expensive and new a model for secondhand, so how about a S/H D70?

Eventually I may well get some AF nikon lenses, but for now full compatability with manual Tamron lenses is essential.
17mm,
24mm
28mm
28-70mm
35-105 f/2.8
90mm macro
135 f/2.5
200mm f/3.5
70-210mm
60-300mm
180mm f/2.5
300mm f/2.8
1.4x
2x convertors
....i really don't want to have to bin all these Tamron lenses in the household just yet!

Would value some seriuos Nikon user views out there?
What do people think?

thanks, Joe

You could also use the Tamron lenses on Canon DSLRs via ADII>Nikon/M42/Olympus/Contax mount then the corresponding adapter to Canon EF. You don't get AF confirmation or open aperture control though so you need to do stop down metering in manual or AP mode. There are slos some direct ADII to CEF mounts but these are rare and have no ability to keep the aperture open for focussing so thw double adapter method works better in my experience.

For Nikon you need a D2 range or D200 to get full metering with manual lenses. They only support AI mount and later so old F mounts will not fit.

I have used my Tamron 90/2.5 on my D2HS. It gives full aperture control and metering plus aperture readout in the viewfinder. You need to plug the max aperture into the menu though so that it knows, a bit like using the old Nikon F with the Tn head. :)

Thanks Tricky.
I have an eos fit Adaptall2 mount already, which I use for film eos, but hate the manual aperture.

I'm glad you mentioned the metering with the Nikon D bodies. Sorry, I forgot to mention it here. I tried one of my Tamrons on a D50,D80, and then a D200, and found it only worked properly on the later. Wasn't sure why.. Haven't tried a D2 tho.....

I had assumed D100 and D1 series (which I haven't tried) would be same type of metering with AIS or AI tamron mounts as D200 and D2 series!? (I already still got an AI mount from the F3 days) this was another reason why I'd narrowed my potential choice to the D1x
Do they have a different coupling to the film F5 then?

Oh dear, this puts a different reflection on things...my head hurts :(

Hi JoeJac,

Pretty impressive range of lenses you have here and I fully understand your view on retaining their use.

I am not sure that we have a D1X user on the forum to give first hand info, but this camera was certainly highly rated before the D2 series came out.

My first question, as you have mentioned the F3, is your adaptall mount an AI, I will assume it is. Here is a link to info on the Nikon Lens mount. http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography...ount/index.htm

Metering is the big issue as you have found out. DPR review says Non CPU lenses are useable in A or M mode with centre weighted or spot metering so it is worth persuing some info links

I have not owned a D1X so I am going to have to do a bit of digging around for some info links. Here are two to keep you going.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D1X/D1XA.HTM

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2001_.../nikond1x.html

I'll be back. :D :D :D

Don

Scroll down to NIKON SLR CAMERA - LENS COMPATIBILITY chart

The D1x gives similar functionality to the D2 series. No matrix metering with AI mount. The D200 gives similar too.

cheers

JoeJac

I see tricky just beat me to it, but I will post this anyway. :D :D

Confirmed. The D1X has the meter connection prong to allow metering with AI lenses.

This linkage is not fitted to D100, D50, D70 or D80 but as you have discovered is fitted to the D200.

I will take a pic of the F3 and D2X mount tomorrow so you know what you are looking at.

Don

Link to D1X instruction manual. http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D1X_en.pdf

Don

Wow, loads of info. kind of overwhelmed with it all!
thanks for all the quick replies. Yes the mount I have is the AI one...I did have the AIS version too, which I needed for a very brief foray I had with a Nikon FA.
It's certainly the answers I wanted to hear....I can live with loss of matrix metering for the time being.

I'll read through all the links, and gather the info

then comes the small matter of finding a reasonably priced one.

thanks everyone....so glad I joined here :)

As promised pics of the meter coupling lever. F4 and earlier can be swung back to allow use of non AI lenses hence two images.

Don

Thanks Don,

Of course!...now I've seen the pics I see what I should've realised in the first place.....I was scratching my head for ages wondering why the metering wouldn't work on the D80 I tried!

Having just finished processing this afternoons rugby shots...the faint but lingering wiff of E6 chemicals in the back bedroom courtesy of Jobo drum processor reinforces the desire for digital...

ah well, time to save those pennies :)

thanks again