[jeffg]

I currently have a Canon A80 and have been wondering whether to move up to a s/h 300d but remembered that I have a Nikkor AF 70-210 lens I bought probably 6 years ago.

Does anyone know if I am right in thinking that this lens would be compatible with something like the D50?

And if so, is it a lens worth building a DSLR system around and whether that would be a better option than going with the Canon option (I do think the 300d is a great looking camera though )

Cheers
Jeff

[Dave]

Hi Jeff & welcome to Pixalo . I had exactly the same lens as you recently, working on a Nikon D70.

I'm just about to pop to work, so I'll try & answer your question in more detail later this morning

[stepheno]

Hi Jeff and If you feel like introducing yourself we have a Welcome Forum. Back to the question. This lens was introduced in 1986 with an F4 constant aperture and superceded 18 months later with the f4-5.6. Either way the lens will have been designed and made for a film camera. I'm not saying it won't work with a D50 but I think the likelihood is it won't. Even if it does it may be OK as a stop-gap but not a lens to get the best out of a D50.

I'm Canon so not the best person to answer - hang around and one of the Nikon guys will look in.

Edit - Dave beat me to it. He'll give you the best answer

[Dave]

This will help re lens :- Compatibility Table

Your lens shold be fine with the D50 . As statewd I had this lens with my D70 & found it to be incredibly fast focusing....much faster than currebt lenses. I did howere sell it to make way for a 70-210 f/2.8 Sigma. From memory I got around £150 form EBAY for it. Note they sell from £100 upwards.

So back to your question re which camera. The 300D is good camera but getting on a bit now. I had one myself & have to say the latest Nikon D50 or Canon 350D are much better built. According to what budget you have , the best prices for D50 seem to be around £320 mark with Canon 350D being a tad more.

[Toonie]

Keep the lens & buy a Nikon body ie D50 or D70 or D80 It will work perfectly & give the equivalent of a 105 to 315 mm zoom range. If it's the f4-f5.6 it's better than some of the newer one's. I still use mine which i bought about 10 years ago

[stevec]

I own a D50 all my old lens work well some over 20 Years old fully manual hope this helps

[jeffg]

Firstly thanks to all for their replies

Confession time - I was attracted to the Canon range for their more portable size and also the memory card is compatible with my A80 and the 300d/350d are such a good looking cameras.

Your advice re my existing lens swayed me more towards the D50, however, and I appear to have just won a D50 kit on ebay for £300 which I am well pleased with. A bit of a bargain I think.

I'm off to Inverness to visit parents at the end of the month and we'll see what it can do with some decent scenery (not much here in Harrow TBH).

I suspect that this won't be the last you'll hear from me on the subject though

Cheers
Jeff

[Dave]

Congratulations on a good choice of camera

[Steve]

Sounds like you have got yourself a bargain there

Both the D50 or equiverlant Canon camera would have servered you well, I am sure you will be very happy with the Nikon and look forward to seeing some of your shots.

[stevec]

Well done that man