D40x lenses

cowasaki

cowasaki

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How do I know if a lens will work with the D40x ie how do I know if the lens has an autofocus motor in it so it does not rely on the camera. Looking at surprising my wife with a new lens for christmas.
 
Any lens with the abbreviations AF-S, AF-I or HSM will autofocus with the D40x.

HSM stands for Hyper-Sonic Motor, Sigma's version of the autofocus motor.
AF-S is the latest version of Nikons in lens autofocus.
AF-I is the previous version of Nikons in lens autofocus.
 
Thanks that really helps with my decision.
 
This has been confusing me for a while but do all lenses not have motors in then? How do they focus if the motor is in the camera? And why is it the D40x is one of the only cameras that actually has a problem with this?
 
IRCC they have a slotted screw drive which uses a motor in the body to focus the lens, the D40x (and d40 before it) are recent additions to the nikon range designed as budget cameras, the cost saving by removing the motor from the body must make it worthwhile but it does seem to restrict the lens choice available (and probably causes a bit of confusion as well!!). the ability to remove the motor from the body probably allows them to package the camera tighter reducing its size.
 
Amp34 said:
This has been confusing me for a while but do all lenses not have motors in then? How do they focus if the motor is in the camera? And why is it the D40x is one of the only cameras that actually has a problem with this?
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The D40 and D40x dont have screw driven autofocus pin on the lens mount. It is normally in about the seven or eight O'clock position as you look at the camera with no lens on it. Not all lenes have motors in, the 50mm f1.8 doesn't have a built in motor so won't auto focus with the D40. As for your question about how do they focus if the motor is in the camera, I'm not sure how it works, maybe somebody else does :shrug:?
 
The is a downloadable PDF on the Nikon website listing all lenses for all Nikon cameras. I've got a copy somewhere but can find it at the mo. Bloody useful though :)

OK, I've found the PDF, if a mod wanted to let me know how or where to upload it I'll get it posted :thumbs:
 
Thanks :)

So for example a 400D will have a motor in the body and will use that to focus the lens? Why is there USM and HSM then, is the motor in the body used as a last resort if there is no motor in the lens?
 
Somebody correct me if I wrong (and I'm sure you will ;) )
Canon have aways had their motors built in to the lenses and have done ever since they first went to the EF lens mount many years ago. Therefore there is no AF motor built in to any Canon body.

The USM bit on Canon lenses basically refer to the fact they have a quiet motor (I beleive it stands for Ultra Sonic Motor) - some of the early EF lenses were noisy and it was a marketing tool to convice people to buy new lenses. I beleive that the majority of Canon Lenses are now USMs.

HSM is the Sigma term for saything they have the motor in the lens and it's quiet (I beleive it stands for Hyper Sonic Motor).
 
Amp34 said:
Thanks :)

So for example a 400D will have a motor in the body and will use that to focus the lens? Why is there USM and HSM then, is the motor in the body used as a last resort if there is no motor in the lens?
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canons dont have a motor in the body, never have had, the lens has always had the motor (a ring motor) in it, nikons have a motor in the body and in some lenses (quite which motor they use if the lens has a motor in it i dont know), only those lenses with a motor in them will work on a nikon d40/d40x. although i presume the older lenses will work but will only have manual focus
 
whitewash said:
although i presume the older lenses will work but will only have manual focus
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Correct. Although some quite old (Pre AI I think) lenses might also require manual metering, but this is more a limitation of the lens, not the body. I have a D40X, and I don't see the lack of an internal focus motor as a huge restriction. Sure I miss out on some older bargain lenses, but there is a huge range of AF-S/AF-I and HSM lenses out there (See the link in Slapo's post) and im quite sure that all future Nikon lenses (And quite possibly Sigma's Nikon fit range) will be released as AF-S/HSM as its quiteter and faster than mechanical focusing. A sub £100 50mm f1.8 AF-S would be nice though.:thumbs:
 
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