Manual focus DSLR

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franatic

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I,ve mentioned previously on here that I have a number of Nikon lenses from my film slr and have queried in body motor dslr but have been wondering, If I bought a dslr body without the motor i.e. D5000 or D3100 how difficult would it be to manual focus on a dslr compared to my old F80 and F65 Nikons ?
As I have read that all other functions will operate ?
 
all other functions should work.

Its harder to MF on a DSLR, the view finder is relativly dark, and you don't have a split prism to help
 
It's feasible, but crop cameras have much smaller/dimmer VFs than film SLRs. Fresnel and split image screens helped but they weren't absolutely necessary, I used (still do sometimes) plain screens a lot of the time on the F2. You can get Katz Eye screens that restore some of this functionality but I've heard that there can be problems with metering? FF overcomes the problems, but at a cost way beyond my reach!

I've read that the old manual SLRs had the brightest VFs, because there was no loss of light to the AF system but I don't know if there's any truth in this. I've never used an AF film SLR. Of course, in the glory days of the manual cameras, a lot of people used primes which were a lot faster than the zooms that are popular now.

The VF issue is a pain, and I'm still convinced that the manufacturers could find a way to get past it if they really wanted to, but most people coming into photography now have never used MF cameras, so there probably isn't much demand for this.
 
My Nikon D40 has focus confirmation with manual focus lenses. Small dot confirms accurate focus.
I agree about the horrible dark little viewfinders on DSLRs. Switching back to my F3 or even an OM-1N is a revelation!

I love the feel of my old Nikkor lenses on the plastic DSLR. Gives it a decent heft. Of course there's the crop factor to contend with too.
 
desf said:
My Nikon D40 has focus confirmation with manual focus lenses. Small dot confirms accurate focus.
I agree about the horrible dark little viewfinders on DSLRs. Switching back to my F3 or even an OM-1N is a revelation!

I love the feel of my old Nikkor lenses on the plastic DSLR. Gives it a decent heft. Of course there's the crop factor to contend with too.
Click to expand...

Later model (my D60 has it) also have a rangefinder mode. Basically, with it enabled the gauge in the viewfinder that normal show exposure (or exposure compensation) instead shows focus.

Weather of not this is convenient depends a lot on what you'll be shooting. But a better option might be to buy an older but higher end, used Nikon digital body. Maybe a D70 or D80?

Also bare in mind that your lenses will effectively have a longer focal length on a dSLR.
 
I doubt if buying a D70 or D80 will make any difference. They're still crop cameras with small/dim VFs. I'd look for a D200 to get full metering with MF lenses if I wanted more functionality.

The crop factor doesn't increase the focal length at all. It simply changes the FOV, which isn't the same thing.
 
I thought that the D60/70/80 range of Nikon bodies had the motor built into the body as in the D90 ?
 
franatic said:
I thought that the D60/70/80 range of Nikon bodies had the motor built into the body as in the D90 ?
Click to expand...

They may have. I don't know offhand, but the motor is for AF and doesn't play any role in MF.
 
This might be the answer. I've had a shot of this particular camera and the combination of the rangefinder facility of the D60 and the Katzeye make manual focussing a breeze...
 
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