Will a Nikon body with a built-in AF motor autofocus manual-focus lenses?
Asked 4/1/2015
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I'm considering a Nikon camera body with an internal autofocus motor. If I mount a Nikon lens that does not have its own autofocus motor, will the camera body autofocus it automatically? Or do only certain Nikon lenses support autofocus from the body, while older manual-focus lenses remain manual focus only?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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Actually, it's kind of the opposite. You need a lens with autofocusing capabilities--you just don't need one with a focus motor. That is, you'd still need AF lenses, they just don't have to be AF-S or AF-I lenses. AI lenses, for example, were designed before Nikon added autofocus to its cameras and lenses, and can only be manually focused, regardless of whether the camera body has a focus motor or not.
However, these AI lenses were only made by Nikon until 1986. So, if you're looking at purchasing a new lens, it's unlikely you'll run across one. There are still some manual lenses in the Nikon lineup, but none of them have the AF or AF-S designation.
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
11y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
No. A Nikon body with a built-in AF motor will not make manual-focus lenses autofocus.
For autofocus to work, the lens must be designed for autofocus in the first place. On Nikon, some AF lenses rely on the camera body’s motor and are driven through the body-to-lens mechanical coupling (often called the screw drive). Those lenses can autofocus on bodies that include that motor.
But older manual-focus lenses such as AI/AI-S were never designed for autofocus, so they remain manual focus only, even on a body with an AF motor.
In short:
- Manual-focus Nikon lenses: manual focus only
- Nikon AF lenses without their own motor: can autofocus on bodies with an internal AF motor
- Nikon AF-S/AF-I lenses: have their own motor and autofocus on compatible bodies
So the body motor helps only with autofocus-capable screw-drive lenses, not with every non-motorized lens.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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