Reading about all of the different lens types and abbreviations might be a bit overwhelming, so we'll try to simplify this as much as possible. You're interested in one of the latest NIKKOR lenses, but aren't sure if it will work with your camera. Well, there's an easy way to know—by checking the abbreviations that make up the name of each NIKKOR lens.

Nikon makes two different types of D-SLR camera bodies—those that have a built-in focus motor, and those that don't. The cameras that don't have a focus motor built-in need to use a lens that has a focus motor built-in to it. The abbreviation for lenses that incorporate a built-in focus motor is AF-S. NIKKOR lenses that do not have a focus motor incorporated into it are simply called AF lenses.

The D-SLR camera bodies that do feature a focus motor built-in are: D70, D70s, D80, D90, D100, D200, D300, D300s, D700, D7000, D1-series, D2-series, D3-series and D4 models. These D-SLRs can utilize both AF and AF-S lenses. Or, in other words, because AF-S NIKKORs have the focus motor built into the lens, they can be used on any current Nikon camera body, whether the body has a focus motor or not, because the lens itself controls the focusing function.

Consumer level Nikon digital SLR cameras are designed without built-in focus motors, which allow them to be smaller and lighter than the larger, more professional models. Consumer D-SLRs that do not incorporate a built-in focus motor (and therefore need to use AF-S lenses) include the following: D40, D40x, D60, D3000, D3100, D5000 and D5100. If you own one of these cameras, then you need to use an AF-S NIKKOR lens to get the full autofocus capabilities from the lens.

But what if you own one of the aforementioned consumer level camera bodies and really want to use an AF lens. You need to know if your camera can accept the lens—and the answer is yes. An AF NIKKOR lens can be used on a consumer camera such as the models listed above, with limited functionality. You will have to manually focus the lens, using the focus ring on the lens barrel. The electronic rangefinder, which is visible in the lower left portion of the viewfinder, will confirm that your subject is in focus. Rotate the focus ring on the lens and when it lights up green, the subject is in focus.

A benefit of the AF-S NIKKOR lenses is that they use a "Silent Wave" motor and focus quieter than do the AF lenses.

Legacy NIKKOR Lenses

One of the great aspects of Nikon's camera systems is that most of the legacy lenses—those that you may have used with your film-based Nikon SLR camera—can be used on your digital SLR camera. There may be some limitations, depending upon exactly which NIKKOR lens you're looking to use with your D-SLR, but we'll get into that in a minute.

AI Lenses

 

An AIs lens, the Micro NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8 lens is a manual focus lens.

What if you've got older lenses that you used to use with a Nikon film-based SLR camera-well you can use those lenses as long as they were made after 1977. That's when Nikon began manufacturing AI lenses. AI stands for "Automatic Maximum Aperture Indexing" system, which is the mechanical system for coupling the lens to the camera's exposure system.

AI lenses are manual focus, and can be used on any Nikon D-SLR with a few exceptions. In general, the higher-end camera bodies: D1-series, D2-series, D200, D3-series, D300 series, D700, and D7000 models and the D4 will be able to meter through the lens of an AI NIKKOR. The prosumer level bodies: D70, D70s, D80, D90, D100; and the consumer level bodies: D40, D40x, D50, D60, D3000, D3100, and D5000 and D5100 can accept an AI NIKKOR lens, but the exposure will need to be determined manually, using a light meter, not through the lens.

The AIS lens, which came later, allowed for automatic aperture control; which controlled the aperture more precisely.

 

(l.) A Nikon Ai NIKKOR lens. (r.) A Nikon Ais NIKKOR lens, with lens type signaling pin notch, highlighted in red.

An AI-P lens is a manual lens that has a CPU (basically a computer) built into it; which is used to transfer metering data from the lens to the camera.

An AF-I lens uses a built-in D/C coreless focus drive motor for speedy autofocus operation and were Nikon's first lenses to offer the now popular M/A focusing mode.

So regardless of the other abbreviations you may see on NIKKOR lenses, certain consumer Nikon D-SLR cameras require the use of AF-S lenses for full functionality. The higher-end pro D-SLR camera bodies need only an AF lens for autofocus functionality. An AI lens can be used, when focusing manually, on almost all Nikon D-SLR cameras, but can only meter through the lens when paired with the higher end D-SLR models.