AF or AFS

[markyboy.1967]

Whats the difference in the Nikon AF and AF-S lenses.I am keeping an eye on an AF lens but i noticed other AF-S lenses available at a higher price.

 

[Markk]

Major difference would be the Silent Wave Motor in the AF-S lenses. They're meant for cameras (D40 D60 range) without a built-in drive motor.

 

[Markk]

And they're usually higher priced. There's not too much of lens variety in the AF-S Nikon primes although Sigma offers a few.

 

[markyboy.1967]

Would the AF version focus etc on a D50 ?

 

[puddleduck]

D50 will autofocus any AF lens, no worries.

 

[markyboy.1967]

Thanks for your help.

 

[StewartR]

Major difference would be the Silent Wave Motor in the AF-S lenses.

To amplify that a bit:

When Nikon first started doing AF, they decided to put the drive motor in the camera. There's a mechanical coupling in the lens mount - a little rotating spindle - which translates the motor's movement from the body to the lens. That's how the older AF lenses work. Some newer Nikon bodies such as the D40 don't have the drive motor (to save money), so they can't AF with these lenses.

But at some point relatively recently, Nikon decided to do what Canon have been doing since 1987, which is to put the AF drive motor in the lens. The coupling is purely electronic. The advantage is that the focussing is much faster and much quieter. This is AF-S. But older Nikon bodies don't have the electronic contacts, so they can't AF with these lenses.

 

[puddleduck]

The advantage is that the focussing is much faster and much quieter.

Not necessarily faster. Before AF-S, Nikon used to put heavily torqued motors on their bodies. A D1X will autofocus an AF-D lens faster than many AF-S lenses.

With less powerful motors in newer bodies, its no longer true, but there is nothing inherantly fast regarding AF-S. Actually some AF-S lens, eg the Nikkor 300mm f/4 AF-S aren't that fast to focus.

A non AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 will focus faster than the Canon 85mm f/1.2 USM.

 

[Blapto]

AF-I lenses also have built in motors and will autofocus on the D40/60.

 

[PsiFox]

Major difference would be the Silent Wave Motor in the AF-S lenses. They're meant for cameras (D40 D60 range) without a built-in drive motor.

They are not meant for the D40 D60 range.

They are simply lenses containing the focus motor for use on Nikons.

I can't see many D40 users spending 6 grand on the 600mm F4 AFS nor Nikon building it solely for their entry level cameras but then again

 

[olv]

A non AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 will focus faster than the Canon 85mm f/1.2 USM.

But have you seen the size of the canon? It's freakin' huuuge. The glass is big and heavy, so yeah it's not that fast to focus