Lense/Body Conflict...

[jiminyale]

How do I go about checking to see if I can mount a new 300mm lense on my old Nikon Nikkormat FT3 ('77) 35mm? If understand it correctly, my camera has an F mount. Will any new F mount lense fit? Thanks!

-Jim

[JSPhoto]

I can't help ya with the Nikon issue, but check with Old Timer in the sports forum and see if he can answer that, he's a Nikon user.

JS

[another view]

Will any new F mount lense fit?

Short answer: Yes, with very few exceptions.

Long(er) answer: There are a few wierd ones out there like the 6mm fisheye (that's about a foot in diameter and basically a museum piece) that will require mirror lockup but I don't think that there are any 300's that fall into this category. Obviously, an AF lens won't autofocus on this body. Some AF lenses have a shorter "throw" than the MF versions (less turns of the lens barrel from minimum focus distance to infinity) but that's more of a problem with shorter focal lengths.

There are a ton of bargains on manual focus lenses out there - if you want a great one look at the Nikkor 300 f4.5 EDIF AIS. This is the one with the gold band around the lens barrel near the far end of the lens. The "non-ED" version doesn't have the gold band, and at today's prices the difference can't be too much. I used to have one and it's really an incredible lens.