Looking to purchase a new camera, looking at beginner's dslr or a bridge. Main use likely to be landscapes / portraits etc.

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I like the sound of Nikon D3500.

My query concerns having a couple of old manual focus lenses and, if they be usable at all with a new dslr?

Lenses concerned are Cosina MC 1 : 4.5 - 6.7. 100 - 400mm, and Carl Zeiss MC S 1: 3.5 f =135.

I am assuming I would need lens adaptors, and hopefully they would be available.

Advice please

Thanks in advance
 
Manual lenses on a DSLR are a PITA IMO. DSLR's aren't built for manual focus and if you want to MF I'd recommend you at least take a look at a mirrorless cameras.

If you're going to be using only manual lenses I recommend you look at the Sony A7. It's the cheapest way in FF mirrorless and even though its auto focus is rather leisurely compared to the state of the art as it's an older model and lacks the rapid auto focus of newer models that wont matter for manual lenses.

Using manual lenses on mirrorless cameras is a much better experience than on a DSLR, IMO.
 
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I used manual lenses all the time on a Nikon D610, and even the purely mechanical lenses worked with the AF to give a confirmation of focus, although generally it's possible to see well enough to focus manually anyway. The viewing screen on my D610, being FX, was bigger and brighter than that of a crop camera like the D3500, so that may have helped - you should check whether the D3500 gives focus confirmation (the manual will be online somewhere).

However if those lenses you list - MC means Minolta C mount - then they will need an adapter with a lens inside because they were designed to fit a body with the mount closer to the sensor/film plane. You will lose automatic aperture control too, so that the lens will only work at the aperture set, rather than stopping down when you take the photo.

And finally, although the zeiss lens will be OK, I'm sure I've read reports that the Cosina is not a good lens and probably not worth the trouble.
 
Woof woof you state "Manual lenses on a DSLR are a PITA IMO. DSLR's aren't built for manual focus and if you want to MF I'd recommend you at least take a look at a mirrorless cameras. " Question - On what planet are you?

I have VERY successfully used a number of MF lenses on my Canon DSLR cameras, I especially like the Contax-Zeiss lenses.
For relatively static stuff my DSLR cameras are vastly superior to my MF Canon and Leica cameras, have you heard about "Live View"?. True a dedicated MF camera is better for more lively subjects but a Digital ML camera offers no advantage here.

Not certain what you are trying to get at but, at best, ML cameras are pretty crippled compared to DSLRs .
 
Woof woof you state "Manual lenses on a DSLR are a PITA IMO. DSLR's aren't built for manual focus and if you want to MF I'd recommend you at least take a look at a mirrorless cameras. " Question - On what planet are you?

I have VERY successfully used a number of MF lenses on my Canon DSLR cameras, I especially like the Contax-Zeiss lenses.
For relatively static stuff my DSLR cameras are vastly superior to my MF Canon and Leica cameras, have you heard about "Live View"?. True a dedicated MF camera is better for more lively subjects but a Digital ML camera offers no advantage here.

Not certain what you are trying to get at but, at best, ML cameras are pretty crippled compared to DSLRs .

I'm on the planet on which DSLR's aren't really built to manually focus.

They have no manual focus aids.

They often have relatively poor VF's.

They usually don't have a MF friendly focus screen.

Mirrorless offers peaking and a magnified view which any sensible person would agree help. In fact the magnified view is like doing macro at a distance.

Mirrorless allow you to focus accurately at any aperture.

Mirrorless allows you to focus accurately just about anywhere in the frame.

Want to try and focus a DSLR at any aperture? Good luck :D

Need I go on?

I've used MF lenses on Canon DSLR's and I stick by my comment. It's a PITA because they're not built for it and chances are they have no focus aids.

Yup, they're good enough for relatively small prints viewed normally and you can shoot hyperfocal or zone but for larger prints and close viewing? Really? With no focus aids?

Yes you can use life view but that is IMO a right royal pain in the rear as I don't like holding a camera in front of me and peering at the back screen. Using the VF/EVF is a much better experience IMO.

If you think DSLR's come anywhere near mirrorless and mirrorless offers no advantage here then one of us is on planet fantasy and IMO it's you :D

How about mirrorless being crippled compared to DSLR's?

You're having a :D aren't you :D I can go to bed happy now :D Thanks for the laugh :D
 
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DSLR’s aren’t great for manual focus, sure you can do it but the focus confirmation DOT isn’t 100% accurate which can lead to mis-focussed shots at wide apertures. Trying to ‘eyeball’ focus using f1.8 and f1.4 lenses is also difficult if you want tack sharp focus, unless your focal ‘point’ is large in the frame such as a head shot. It’s a shame DSLRs can’t incorporate some kind of split prism into the VF.

Tbh I don’t find peaking on mirrorless pin point accurate all the time, especially when using wide apertures. The zoom assist however works very well for me. YMMV.
 
Mirrorless offers peaking and a magnified view which any sensible person would agree help. In fact the magnified view is like doing macro at a distance.
I'm plainly not sensible. :p

I tried MF lenses on mirrorless cameras and found it an awful experience. I loathed the magnified view aid which fecks up your composition. Had to switch that off. And those nasty lines in focus peaking are too distracting. Also switched off. Saw the erorr of my ways and offloaded the manual lens adaptors and used the cameras the way they were designed to be used - with autofocus lenses.

I would suggest that no sensible person uses manual focus lenses on autofocus capable cameras. :D
 
I'm plainly not sensible. :p

I tried MF lenses on mirrorless cameras and found it an awful experience. I loathed the magnified view aid which fecks up your composition. Had to switch that off. And those nasty lines in focus peaking are too distracting. Also switched off. Saw the erorr of my ways and offloaded the manual lens adaptors and used the cameras the way they were designed to be used - with autofocus lenses.

I would suggest that no sensible person uses manual focus lenses on autofocus capable cameras. :D
Yep AF systems are so fast and accurate now that I don't understand why you'd use manual focus, except for Macro or if you have a particularly nice legacy lens.
 
Yep AF systems are so fast and accurate now that I don't understand why you'd use manual focus, except for Macro or if you have a particularly nice legacy lens.

Budget, variety ... fun! and many of us can snap into focus with a manual lens quick enough for stills. I've shot teensy birds with MF tele lenses, it' not hard with practice. I'm talking proper mechanical MF lenses though of course, not this fly-by-wire crap that can be actually painful.

We all love nippy AF, but it's certainly not always needed. I think photographers these days are way too pampered. Though I'm not giving up my touch screen or ibis!! No sireee :p
 
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I've had a minolta digital and got manual lenses for it. Worked very well if you want to try manual and cheap (in comparison to the newer lenses).
I currently (still) have a d300 and manual works well on it too. You can turn of the af and use manual on the older lenses which I have. I also still have a heft 300 tair with adapter. I lose a bit of sharpness due to the adapter but still works well.
Depends if you want to try manual and can put up with the view screens. As has been stated without a focus peak sometimes its just getting used to the view and where the focus is/indicators from the camera (which sometimes work and sometimes just blink when close in my experience).
I am unsure whether the d3500 will have options to assist but it is worth giving it a go. Having said that, not to sully the experience, reasearch the lenses you want to get. I'd recommend getting manual f mounts which should just fit straight onto the d3500, nikon lenses but perhaps older ones.
This is because of the previous post about cosinas, cheap and more for the sony alpha/minolta mount cameras, with an adapter might not give you the results you were expecting...
@snerkler = its to do with the fact that you the photographer manually did almost everything, like in the 70s and 80s. The only difference is that unlike waiting a week to find bad results you can check the picture on the back of the camera. Its a different feeling when you've set it all and taken the picture. Does take a bit longer to do though... ;)
 
About Cosina lenses more generally, this is a brand rather than lens maker (like Vivitar, and the same lens can often be found with a Vivitar badge on ebay) and quality varies considerably. Some are known to be optically good like the Cosina Macro 'plastic fantastic' and 19-35, while others were notably poor budget consumer lenses. Always do you research before laying down your money. :)

Regarding manual focussing and film camera with split prisms and other focussing aids, the viewfinders were often dim and murky, and the aids offered little more than a small amount of assistance guessing where the point of focus was. I recently acquired a Nikon F301, and to be quite honest, a clear, bright DSLR viewfinder is a much better focussing tool where you can actually SEE if the object is sharp, than whether a line of contrast lines up against a dull, grainy background. I felt that way when I bought my first AF camera in the late 80s and I still feel the same now.
 
@snerkler = its to do with the fact that you the photographer manually did almost everything, like in the 70s and 80s. The only difference is that unlike waiting a week to find bad results you can check the picture on the back of the camera. Its a different feeling when you've set it all and taken the picture. Does take a bit longer to do though... ;)
I guess it will depend on the individual, but I've done the whole manual thing and using MF or AF doesn't alter my satisfaction tbh, AF just makes it quicker and easier for me, especially without having a split prism to help. Obviously YMMV (y)
 
Thanks Guys for your inputs, please don't start an argument on my account though!
The main reason I mentioned the manual focus lenses is because they are in the loft.
I know and before you mention it, "best place for them"!
But, I am on a budget to start with hence the starter Nikon D3500 for which I would buy with the AF kit lens supplied And
hope to make use of the 2 afore mentioned manual lens.
Cheers
 
I used manual lenses all the time on a Nikon D610, and even the purely mechanical lenses worked with the AF to give a confirmation of focus, although generally it's possible to see well enough to focus manually anyway. The viewing screen on my D610, being FX, was bigger and brighter than that of a crop camera like the D3500, so that may have helped - you should check whether the D3500 gives focus confirmation (the manual will be online somewhere).

However if those lenses you list - MC means Minolta C mount - then they will need an adapter with a lens inside because they were designed to fit a body with the mount closer to the sensor/film plane. You will lose automatic aperture control too, so that the lens will only work at the aperture set, rather than stopping down when you take the photo.

And finally, although the zeiss lens will be OK, I'm sure I've read reports that the Cosina is not a good lens and probably not worth the trouble.

With the D3500 the other thing to consider is that non cpu lenses won't meter either. Need the D7xxx series for that in DX bodies
 
Thanks Guys for your inputs, please don't start an argument on my account though!
The main reason I mentioned the manual focus lenses is because they are in the loft.
I know and before you mention it, "best place for them"!
But, I am on a budget to start with hence the starter Nikon D3500 for which I would buy with the AF kit lens supplied And
hope to make use of the 2 afore mentioned manual lens.
Cheers

As I said I don't know where WW is coming from given that you asked about using MF lenses on your proposed DSLR camera. I have used MF lenses a fair bit on Canon DSLR cameras and they can yield great results. I don't know whether your lenses are adaptable unfortunately. The Carl Zeiss can be adapted to Canon DSLR cameras but I am not certain about Nikon
 
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You're having a :D aren't you :D I can go to bed happy now :D Thanks for the laugh :D

Glad you had some fun. I must be doing something wrong as I found a selection of MF lenses to work rather well on my DSLR cameras - silly me!

As to the "Planet" comment are you really suggesting the OP should buy a new and expensive camera to use a couple of old lenses that are in the "Loft"?
 
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if you havent yet bought the d3500, i`d suggest taking the lenses with you to the purchase... check out the sony and ask the sales person whether there are any cameras in stock that could use the lenses without an adaptor. Used or new bodies.
also you can test out the camera handling weight etc with the lens.
Also check out the section of the forums with used equipment. Once youve decided which body... If on a budget it might get you a better camera cheaper and still be able to use the older lenses you have
 
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