Beginner Nikon AF VS AF-S VS AF-P explained?

MythicalSnapshots

MythicalSnapshots

Suspended / Banned
Messages
103
Name
Joe
Edit My Images
Yes
Hey guys really struggling to understand the difference between these, I am wanting to buy a 70-300mm lens for my NIKON d3500. Looking on ebay and amazon there are lots that to me would be the same but I assume they are different so I tried looking into them a bit and now I am confused as to which would work on my camera and which is best.

Would a Nikon AF 70-300 work on a D3500?
Would a Nikon AF-S 70-300 work?

Do I need to get vibration reduction using a lens that goes to 300mm?


Thank you in advance for any advice, I have had such great reccomendations on here already.

Kind Regards

Joe
 
They are simply terms for AF systems; AF-S stands for 'Auto Focus Silent wave motor', and AF-P is 'AF Pulse motor'. Basically just marketing terms really*. AF-P lenses are supposedly quicker at focussing or summat. Both types will work on your D3500. Yes, Vibration Reduction is very useful especially on telephoto lenses.


"The AF-P designation means that a lens uses a pulse motor, hence the "P." The pulse motor relies on stepping motors to move elements inside the lens to achieve focus. This is in contrast to AF-S lenses, which use Nikon's Silent Wave Motor (SWM) and rely on rotational energy to focus a lens's optics."

*An AF-P lens I had was noticeably quicker at focussing than the AF-S version I'd had previously (which wasn't slow anyway). It's generally a good idea to get the latest tech. It wouldn't matter too much if you didn't though, and if the AF-S version is cheaper, then that's money that can be spent on summat else. I wouldn't lose sleep over it though; the VR function is far more useful in terms of aiding picture taking, imo.
 
Last edited:
You also need to make sure that the lens has a built in AF motor. The AF-S and AF-P will, but if I remember correctly the older model that’s just AF doesn’t, despite being a G style lens without the aperture ring. I’m happy to be corrected on that though!
 
So for my camera the D3500 I need to get an AF-S or AF-P if I want auto focus (which I do)?

Kind Regards

Joe
 
MythicalSnapshots said:
So for my camera the D3500 I need to get an AF-S or AF-P if I want auto focus (which I do)?

Kind Regards

Joe
Click to expand...

Pretty much yes. To confuse things further, there are also AF-I lenses which (I think) would also work but don't worry about them. Get either an AF-S or -P version, with the VR.
 
andy1868 said:
You also need to make sure that the lens has a built in AF motor. The AF-S and AF-P will, but if I remember correctly the older model that’s just AF doesn’t, despite being a G style lens without the aperture ring. I’m happy to be corrected on that though!
Click to expand...

AFAIK; all 'G' designated lenses are AF-S. IE they have an internal focus motor. But yes; the older AF and AF-D lenses don't have the internal motor, so won't AF on the D3500. Aren't Nikon wonderful for making things so simple for us? (Looks wistfully at Canon...)
 
So I plan to use the zoom for mainy taking pictures of animals (Not birds) and usually still such as cows and goats etc. Also during daylight, I take it in that case the VR wouldnt be very important?

Kind Regards

Joe
 
AZ6 said:
AFAIK; all 'G' designated lenses are AF-S. IE they have an internal focus motor. But yes; the older AF and AF-D lenses don't have the internal motor, so won't AF on the D3500. Aren't Nikon wonderful for making things so simple for us? (Looks wistfully at Canon...)
Click to expand...
Not all G lenses are AF-S - G simply means there’s not aperture ring - but there are some g lenses that use the mechanical af linkage with the camera.
 
There are 7 versions of the 70-300 I know of (including a G lens with 'screwdriver' AF):

1 AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D
2 AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED
3 AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G

4 AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
5 AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED
6 AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR
7 AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR

1-3 won't autofocus on the D3500 (they need bodies with a 'screwdriver' AF motor).
4-7 will be fine.

AF-P (5-7) is Nikon's latest compatibility-breaking innovation, with a stepper motor that's meant to be particularly good for video.
AF-S (4) has wider compatibility with older digital bodies, and even several film bodies (none of which work with AF-P).
DX lenses (5-6) are of course only designed for DX sensor bodies. The others will work on both DX and FX sensor bodies.
VR (4,6,7) is worth having on a telezoom like this.
 
Retune said:
There are 7 versions of the 70-300 I know of (including a G lens with 'screwdriver' AF):

1 AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D
2 AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED
3 AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G

4 AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
5 AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED
6 AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR
7 AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR

1-3 won't autofocus on the D3500 (they need bodies with a 'screwdriver' AF motor).
4-7 will be fine.

AF-P (5-7) is Nikon's latest compatibility-breaking innovation, with a stepper motor that's meant to be particularly good for video.
AF-S (4) has wider compatibility with older digital bodies, and even several film bodies (none of which work with AF-P).
DX lenses (5-6) are of course only designed for DX sensor bodies. The others will work on both DX and FX sensor bodies.
VR (4,6,7) is worth having on a telezoom like this.
Click to expand...



Thank you very much this is awesome!
 
toohuge said:
Not all G lenses are AF-S - G simply means there’s not aperture ring - but there are some g lenses that use the mechanical af linkage with the camera.
Click to expand...

You see how confusing all this is?? I've been using Nikon equipment for nearly 30 years, and I'm still baffled by all the acronyms! :LOL: Yes; the 'G' designation means there is no mechanical aperture control (so such lenses cannot work in Manual or Aperture Priority modes on older film cameras). I wasn't aware of any 'G' lenses that weren't AF-S; there can only be a couple, surely? I'd be interested to know which 'G' lenses don't have internal AF motors; every day's a schoolday!

Anyway. Back to the OP:

If you just want a lens that works with your current camera, then 4-7 in Retune's helpful post will be fine. The other issue of confusion is the 'DX' designation; this relates to camera sensor size. Your camera has a 'DX' or APS-C sensor. Therefore, 'DX' designated lenses are perfect for your camera. These won't work properly with cameras with larger sensors, though, so if you plan to upgrade to the larger format in future, then those DX lenses won't be much use. So there is the AF-P 70-300mm zoom, and the DX AF-P 70-300mm zoom, just to confuse you more. Both will work fine with your camera, but only the non-DX version will work properly with 'FX' or 'full frame' cameras with the larger sensors.

Sorry, this is just getting really bogged down in details. But either of those will be fine; the DX version is a lot cheaper.
 
Last edited:
Isn’t AFP also designated E not G for electronic diaphragm apperture control rather than mechanical like G models are ?
 
Nikon themselves sometimes seem confused about compatibility. This spreadsheet ought to be the final word on the issue for the dSLRs:

https://nikonsupport.eu/europe/images/5532/LCC_En.xlsx

But it doesn't entirely agree with this page on the AF-P lenses:

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/eu/BV_article?lang=en_GB&articleNo=000035705

The spreadsheet says that the D800 won't autofocus with the AF-P DX lenses, whereas the AF-P page (I believe correctly) says it will (with limitations, and only if you have the latest firmware). This may be a minor point, as most people wouldn't want to use a DX lens on an FX camera like the D800 (as above, it won't cover the full sensor area, and although you can select DX cropping with a viewfinder mask, that's like shooting through a letterbox on FX). But Nikon really should get this stuff right.

Ken Rockwell, above, is also wrong about this and several other things (e.g., he incorrectly states that AF-P in general won't work on the D800).
 
Last edited:
AdamSi said:
Isn’t AFP also designated E not G for electronic diaphragm apperture control rather than mechanical like G models are ?
Click to expand...
These are separate things. Versions (5) and (6) are G, but (7) is E. Electronic aperture control is another technology that breaks compatibility with the film cameras and early dSLRs.
 
Last edited:
AdamSi said:
Isn’t AFP also designated E not G for electronic diaphragm apperture control rather than mechanical like G models are ?
Click to expand...

Good lord. Even more confusion. I hadn't even thought about that. :LOL:


Retune said:
Nikon themselves sometimes seem confused about compatibility.
Click to expand...

You're not wrong. It's a nightmare.


Retune said:
The spreadsheet says that the D800 won't autofocus with the AF-P DX lenses, whereas the AF-P page (I believe correctly) says it will (with limitations, and only if you have the latest firmware).
Click to expand...

I bought a D3300 actually on Dec 31st 2016. It came in a kit with the then brand new AF-P lens. The camera's firmware was the latest version and allowed full function with the lens (albeit in either DX mode or with a heavily vignetted image). A firmware update also allowed full function on my older D600, which is only slightly younger than the D800. I think the caveat was that you can't turn the VR on or off, as that's an in-menu command. I can't remember. I do know that it did work fine with my D600 in all other respects, certainly AF.

"The camera does not offer the "Manual focus ring in AF mode" custom setting for enabling/disabling focus ring operation in autofocus mode."

According to that spreadsheet. Meh. I only mounted it on the D600 to see if it would work. It did.


Retune said:
Ken Rockwell, above, is also wrong about this and several other things
Click to expand...

Ken tends to do a LOT of cutting and pasting of specs, but doesn't actually use a lot of the gear he 'reviews', beyond praps handling stuff in a shop. So much of his stuff is just utter guff. I stopped considering him a source of reliable content very soon after I discovered his site. He can sometimes be helpful, in the way that a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day....


Retune said:
But Nikon really should get this stuff right
Click to expand...

Over at Canon:

Can this lens work on this camera body?

-Is it an EF mount lens?

Yes: Then it can, yes.
No: Then it can't, no.

Feel free to point out if stuff like VR etc works/doesn't work on whatever cameras, but AFAIK, ALL EF lenses work on all EF mount cameras, going back to the first EOS film cameras of the late 80s...
 
Canon's 'break compatibility once' was a bold move, but has paid off for them. With Nikon, if you have an older body and newer lenses, or an entry-level body with older lenses, you have to navigate the whole G/E/AF/AF-S/AF-P maze of annoying incompatibilities. But that said, with a recent single digit or triple digit dSLR body, you can use nearly anything made since the late 70s (or much earlier if the lenses have been AI-converted). With a Df, you can even use unmodified pre-AI lenses going back to 1959.
 
AZ6 said:
You see how confusing all this is?? I've been using Nikon equipment for nearly 30 years, and I'm still baffled by all the acronyms! :LOL: Yes; the 'G' designation means there is no mechanical aperture control (so such lenses cannot work in Manual or Aperture Priority modes on older film cameras). I wasn't aware of any 'G' lenses that weren't AF-S; there can only be a couple, surely? I'd be interested to know which 'G' lenses don't have internal AF motors; every day's a schoolday!
Click to expand...

Nikon 28-100mm AF
NIkon 28-80mm AF

These are G-type lenses without an AF-S motor.
There are also a few AF-S lenses that are not G-type lenses too just to add to the confusion - although these are far more common.
 
Retune said:
Canon's 'break compatibility once' was a bold move, but has paid off for them. With Nikon, if you have an older body and newer lenses, or an entry-level body with older lenses, you have to navigate the whole G/E/AF/AF-S/AF-P maze of annoying incompatibilities. But that said, with a recent single digit or triple digit dSLR body, you can use nearly anything made since the late 70s (or much earlier if the lenses have been AI-converted). With a Df, you can even use unmodified pre-AI lenses going back to 1959.
Click to expand...

In fairness though, Canon have actually had more lens mounts over time; 7 at least, since their early days; R, FL, FD, EF, EF-S*, EF-M, RF and the rangefinder lens mount (* fair enough it's the same mount but there is a compatibility issue one way and not the other). Nikon have had what, 4? S-mount, F-mount, Z-mount and Nikon-1? Don't count the Nikonos it's not fair. But Canon definitely pulled off a top move in the late 80s. One mount to rule them all! Well until RF anyway....
 
AZ6 said:
Feel free to point out if stuff like VR etc works/doesn't work on whatever cameras, but AFAIK, ALL EF lenses work on all EF mount cameras, going back to the first EOS film cameras of the late 80s...
Click to expand...

You missed something AZ6.... Imagine buying an EOS 4000D, 850D or 90D with an EF-S and then get an EF-S telezoom. Then the upgrade itch is scratched and you buy a 6D or 5D, then those lenses cannot be used on the FF bodies. That's right isn't? EF-s lenses cannot be used on FF bodies - you have to buy EF lenses.

At least with Nikkor F and Pentax K, DX/DA lenses can be used on the FF bodies with a crop function.
 
welshwizard645 said:
You missed something AZ6.... Imagine buying an EOS 4000D, 850D or 90D with an EF-S and then get an EF-S telezoom. Then the upgrade itch is scratched and you buy a 6D or 5D, then those lenses cannot be used on the FF bodies. That's right isn't? EF-s lenses cannot be used on FF bodies - you have to buy EF lenses.

At least with Nikkor F and Pentax K, DX/DA lenses can be used on the FF bodies with a crop function.
Click to expand...

No I was aware there was a compatibility issue between EF and EF-S; that's why I've seen them as 2 different lens mounts. I know it's confusing though. But anyone with any EF lenses from their film days, could use them on any EF (or EF-S) body today. I do prefer Nikon because you can use the older MF lenses, and because Nikon's build quality is generally a bit better than Canon's, overall, so there's a lot more choice.
 
I know of a people who kept their film era EF lenses when buying the new Eos aps-c cameras...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top