Laugh if this is a stupid question ...

Charlottefitz

Charlottefitz

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charlotte
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I'm just sat here now before I have even bought my D-SLR yet and I was just wondering how I would know whether a lens would fit onto the front of my camera once I buy it. What I mean by fit is , will it screw on or will it be to big, I guess I mean the circumference of the lens rather than the depth ? . I'm racking my brains trying to work our the answer to my own question but don't have a clue. I'm such a newbie ! :D
 
Charlottefitz said:
I'm just sat here now before I have even bought my D-SLR yet and I was just wondering how I would know whether a lens would fit onto the front of my camera once I buy it. What I mean by fit is , will it screw on or will it be to big, I guess I mean the circumference of the lens rather than the depth ? . I'm racking my brains trying to work our the answer to my own question but don't have a clue. I'm such a newbie ! :D
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Same brand lenses should fit, just make sure it says 'For (brand)', with (brand) being your camera brand - e.g. Nikon, Canon.
 
If you buy a Canon DSLR you will need to buy a Canon lens or a Canon fit lens made by the independent manufacturers.
 
You will have to purchase further lenses that are specifically designed to fit your particular make and model of camera. This is one reason why you should consider your camera choice carefully. Not all cameras have the same number of lenses available to them.
 
Charlottefitz said:
I'm just sat here now before I have even bought my D-SLR yet and I was just wondering how I would know whether a lens would fit onto the front of my camera once I buy it. What I mean by fit is , will it screw on or will it be to big, I guess I mean the circumference of the lens rather than the depth ? . I'm racking my brains trying to work our the answer to my own question but don't have a clue. I'm such a newbie ! :D
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As above! It doesn't matter how big the lens is at the front end, where it meets the camera it'll always be the same size. All new Canon lenses fit new canon cameras, and the same with Nikon, Olympus etc. If you're buying gear that's over 20 years old, watch out though, as each (edit: ONE) manufacturer has had older mounts that aren't compatible with newer ones.

Then there are the '3rd party' lens manufacturers like Sigma, Tamron, Tokina etc. They make lenses and will have a canon fit variant, and a nikon fit etc. For example:

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-sigma-70-300mm-f4-5-6-apo-macro-super-dg-lens-canon-fit/p1008569

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy...6-apo-macro-super-dg-lens-pentax-fit/p1008567

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-sigma-70-300mm-f4-5-6-apo-macro-super-dg-lens-nikon-fit/p1008565

This is the same specification lens, but listed differently for each brand of camera.

Hope this helps :)
 
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chris321 said:
If you're buying gear that's over 20 years old, watch out though, as each manufacturer has had older mounts that aren't compatible with newer ones.
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That'll be Canon you're thinking of, Chris. A 20 year old Nikon lens will still fit a modern Nikon dslr.....
 
Flash In The Pan said:
We have cookies too :naughty:
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Ignore him Charlotte, he's trying to lure you into the Nikon camp with promises of cookies. Empty, empty promises :nono:. There are no Jaffa cakes either, regardless of what they say.

Seriously though, before you decide what camera to get, go and have a play with all the ones you can afford. They're almost all very good nowadays, so see which one feels most comfortable and intuitive and go for that one (as long as it's not a Nikon :naughty:)

:D
 
chris321 said:
Ignore him Charlotte, he's trying to lure you into the Nikon camp with promises of cookies. Empty, empty promises :nono:. There are no Jaffa cakes either, regardless of what they say.

:lol::lol::lol: that gets my vote for funniest post of the day :thumbs:
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chris321 said:
Ignore him Charlotte, he's trying to lure you into the Nikon camp with promises of cookies. Empty, empty promises :nono:. There are no Jaffa cakes either, regardless of what they say.
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You forgot to mention that Canon make much better coffee mugs!!!:D

1pcs_24_105mm_Le_4c12de487f959.jpg
 
Just to add to your confusion, be aware that not all New Canon lenses fit every new Canon DSLR, the same goes for Sigma/Canon mount lenses too.
 
Charlottefitz said:
I'm just sat here now before I have even bought my D-SLR yet and I was just wondering how I would know whether a lens would fit onto the front of my camera once I buy it. What I mean by fit is , will it screw on or will it be to big, I guess I mean the circumference of the lens rather than the depth ? . I'm racking my brains trying to work our the answer to my own question but don't have a clue. I'm such a newbie ! :D
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Charlotte, do you mean different lenses, or do you mean screw-on filters?

Lens
Each manufacturer usues their own mounting system, sometimes more than one (but not many do this) but sometimes there are subtypes.

If I take Canon as potentially the most confusing (hopefully someone will chip in later with Nikon and someone with Sony, Olympus, etc).

All Canon DSLRs use the EF mount. So any Canon EF lens will fit any Canon DSLR.

Most Canon DSLRs use the EF-S mount (a sub-type of the EF mount) and will take any Canon EF lens and any Canon EF-S lens. These are the most common bodies and include the 1000D, all the XXXD bodies (e.g. 500D), all EOS XXD bodies (e.g. 50D) and the 7D. If you stick to these bodies then any recent "Canon fit" lens will fit.

The only ones to watch for with Canon that won't fit are the old Canon FD lenses that crop up very cheaply on Ebay, etc. As long as you always look for EF or EF-S you'll be fine.

All the above only applies to Canon, this is the bias of my experience. I'm not familiar with Nikon etc which all have their own quirks (perhaps someone who knows such things can explain the Nikon focus designations for lenses as this is very relevant to entry-level models like the D3000 and D5000).


Filters
As you mention the diameter at the front.. could it be you're thinking about screw-on filters? the diameter of the filter thread is usually written on the front of the lens, or if not it's on the side of the lens. It's also written inside the lens cap. As long as you get a filter with the matching millimetre diameter it will screw on the front as the thread is standard for all manufacturers.


PS
+1 on ignoring the false promise of cookies from the Nikon camp. Yes, there are what appear to be jaffa cakes on the plate, but they are cheap Morrisons immitations and they've sucked out all the orange.. it's just a hollow chocolate shell of a promise..
 
Yardbent said:
...my 40year old Nikon 50mm pre-Ai fits my 2010 Nikon D5000......:thumbs:
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But before anyone gets the idea that Nikon is all gravy.. can you autofocus with any Nikon lens on your D5000? or any third-party Nikon-fit lenses?

This isn't to stoke the tired (and pointless) Canon vs Nikon debate, but to point out that nothing is simple with either manufacturer and lenses.. these things are important to someone that hasn't bought their first DSLR yet..
 
hi charlotte, and welcome to tp. :wave: the simple answer is go into a camera shop and ask for a demo, they,ll be happy to explain all. :thumbs: hth mike
 
chris321 said:
Ignore him Charlotte, he's trying to lure you into the Nikon camp with promises of cookies. Empty, empty promises :nono:. There are no Jaffa cakes either, regardless of what they say.
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What?! :eek: No Jaffa cakes with Nikon? Well I'll have to rethink my options now...

Charlotte - all explained above, but its a perfectly reasonable question. I remember when I first started thinking about a DSLR (still haven't got one yet but hopefully soon!) I was confused by all the lenses... starting to make a bit more sense now! Its probably easiest to start with the kit lens that you get with the camera, then after a while decide what other lenses you might want.
 
chip said:
If you buy a Canon DSLR you will need to buy a Canon lens or a Canon fit lens made by the independent manufacturers.
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In fact and not meaning to confuse the issue, you can buy a mount that allows you to fit Nikon lenses on a Canon.

For some specialist applications this can be useful.
 
Thank you for all your kind words ! And mostly for not laughing at me and my silly question. Its all making so much more sense to me now . Thanks for your advice Chris I'm very glad I've been set straight on the fact there is no offer of cookies from the Nikon people ! Flash In The Pan you shouldn't have teased me something so serious as cookies , they are my favourites :D .
Alistair thanks for setting me straight and for dividing up lens and filters into two categories, I wasn't totally sure if they were a separate thing or not Lol :)

I think I'm going to stick with the lens that comes with the camera for now and then upgrade when I'm a bit less of a beginner :D
 
Alastair said:
If I take Canon as potentially the most confusing (hopefully someone will chip in later with Nikon and someone with Sony, Olympus, etc).
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Sony: All Sony DSLRs use the A-mount (also known as alpha mount). The A-mount was introduced by Minolta when they introduced the first autofocus DSLR in 1985, Sony bought the camera business from Minolta a few years ago and kept the same lens mount.

Any Sony DSLR lens will fit any Sony DSLR. Any Minolta autofocus lens will fit any Sony DSLR. Older non-autofocus Minolta lenses will not fit without an adapter (these are often described as MC or MD mount). Sigma, Tamron and Tokina lenses made in A-mount will fit Sony DSLRs, although a few very old ones are not detected by the camera so the camera will not release the shutter. http://www.dyxum.com has a database of lenses and ones that may be incompatible are noted.

The new Sony NEX cameras use a different lens mount which is not compatible.
 
Charlottefitz said:
I think I'm going to stick with the lens that comes with the camera for now and then upgrade when I'm a bit less of a beginner :D
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That is the best way to do it. Before you let yourself buy all the lens under the sun. Use the one(s) you have and when you come across something you really want to do and can't unless you buy a new lens then is the time to think about a new one.

I try to live by this rule but shimmering class gets the best of me!
 
Well it is the classic good v evil...

:canon:
 
Charlotte, IIRC, you're getting an Olympus DSLR which takes Four Thirds lenses. When purchasing any lens from any manufacturer, make sure you specify what camera it's for, since then, if there's a problem with compatability, you can reject any problematical purchase on the grounds that it's not suitable for the purpose it was supplied.

One other point, Jaffa cakes aren't cookies (the clue's in the name!). The manufacturers actually took it to court (cookies/biscuits attracted a higher rate of VAT than cakes) and proved that the orangey snacks are cakes rather than biscuits. As a Nikon user, I can honestly say that if I promise cakes, I will supply!
 
Charlotte come to the dark side with us Nikon users.

(In my best Yoda impression voice) pleased you will be with your new Nikon, photos good they will look, easy use of camera you will find.
 
Alastair said:
can you autofocus with any Nikon lens on your D5000? or any third-party Nikon-fit lenses?.
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yes - any Nikon AF-S will AF on D5000 or any non-motor body
and any Sigma marked HSM

but you are right --- enough of the technicalities when a person is starting out
 
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