Why don’t entry-level Nikon DSLRs meter with AI/AI-S manual-focus lenses?
Asked 11/28/2013
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Some Nikon compatibility charts say cameras like the D90, D5200, and D3200 will not meter with AI/AI-S lenses, while higher-end bodies such as the D7100 or D200 do. Since the camera has an internal light meter, why can’t it meter with any lens? What is missing on the lower-end bodies, and why do the higher-end models work with these older lenses?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
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The details you are looking for are provided in the note on the first link you gave. The camera bodies require that the microprocessor in the lens inform them of the aperture information (and possibly other information as well). The problem isn't the light sensor, but rather that without knowing the current aperture of the lens, it isn't possible to tell how much light there actually is, so it can't make automatic adjustments.
That information was previously communicated with a mechanical linkage and the higher end Nikon bodies still have the hardware necessary to interact with that mechanical linkage while the cheaper bodies have dropped it for cost savings and thus rely on the microprocessor.
Originally by user11392. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11392
12y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The issue is not the light sensor itself. The camera can measure light, but for metering to work properly it also needs to know the lens’s aperture information.
With older Nikon AI/AI-S lenses, that information is passed mechanically, not electronically. Higher-end Nikon bodies include the mechanical coupling/prongs needed to read the lens’s aperture setting and maximum aperture, so they can meter with those lenses.
Many lower-end Nikon bodies omit that mechanical coupling to save cost and complexity. Those cameras are designed to work with lenses that send aperture and other data electronically through CPU contacts. If an AI/AI-S lens has no electronic communication, the body can’t combine the light reading with the lens aperture data, so built-in metering is disabled.
In short:
- AI/AI-S lenses: mechanical aperture communication
- Modern CPU lenses: electronic communication
- Higher-end bodies support both
- Entry-level bodies usually support only electronic communication
Also note that pre-AI lenses are a separate case and may be incompatible or risky to mount on some bodies.
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