Quote Originally Posted by hurdgurl07
I have a question...may sound dumb to some folks and for that I do not apologize for because you never know until you ask


I am thinking of purchasing a dslr.........do you have to purchase dslr lenses or will the stard nikon or canon lenses fuction on these cameras as well?

Thanks!
"Standard" Nikon and Canon lenses (intended for 24x36mm film frame) will work with DSLR's. In fact if you buy a 24x36mm sensor DSLR (Nikon D3, Canon EOS1Ds, 5D) you need lenses that cover the format.

Let's assume your're going to buy a DSLR with an APS-C size sensor (All Nikons except D3, all Canons except 1D, 1Ds and 5D). The light-sensitive components on the sensor are smaller than film grains. If your 24x36 lens is not top quality then you may find that your image quality is less than with designed-for-digital lenses. I've tested some of my lenses and these are my results:

1 (best) : My Nikon Pro f2.8 constant zoom lenses
2. My designed-for-digital Nikon lenses 18-70 and 18-200, my more expensive prime lenses (50mm, 85mm)
3. My designed-for-digital Tamron zoom
4. One of my cheaper prime lenses (28mm f2.8)
5. My cheaper zoom lenses (24-85mm)
6 (worst) : my plastic kit lens (28-100mm)

Note that more expensive prime lenses are really awful wide open at f1.8. They improve by f2.8 but then they are little better than the zoom lenses I listed so why bother.