Nikon Lens - Compatability

[rpsmith79]

Sorry for the Noob question, but i'm after some advice as to the compatability of lenses onto a D300

Basically i am looking at buying a second hand D300 so i've started looking on ebay for second hand lenses, now i know the 18-55mm VR is the normal kit lens for the D300, but while i'm looking i thought i'd see what i could get for around £100, ideally with a bit more zoom, but how do i know if it will be suitable for s D300

Is there any list/website/resource that i could check against if/when i find any potential bargains

And while on the subject, any suggestions for a starter lens for the D300 for around the £100 mark, i will however definitely be buying a 50mm prime, but looking for a general purpose lens as well

 

[gramps]

As per Ken Rockwell:-

The Nikon D300 works great with every lens made since 1977, especially every autofocus lens made in the past 20 years.
For manual lenses, enter the lens' focal length and aperture as you do with the D200, and you'll get matrix metering and A and P exposure modes. Yay!
No ability for pre-AI lenses; you'll have to have these 1959-1977 lenses converted at a machine shop.

No full-time mirror lockup, so forget the ancient fisheyes and 21mm that poked into the body.
That said, every manual and autofocus Nikon lens made in the past 30 years is compatible. The D300's ability to correct lateral color fringing automatically means your old lenses will work better on the D300 than they have ever worked on any other camera.

and for reference:-

Click and scroll down to the chart

 

[PsiFox]

For around £100 the Nikon DX 18-70mm lens is considered to be just about the best of the consumer level DX lenses. It punches well above its weight and has excellent IQ.

 

[fracster]

Agree with Mark, the 18-70 is pretty good value for money.

 

[rpsmith79]

Thank you Gramps and Mark, i will certainly have a good look out for an 18-70mm

 

[gad-westy]

Agree with Mark, the 18-70 is pretty good value for money.

Another small advantage of the 18-70 over some of the other offerings is it's metal construction. The D300 is fairly heavy and something like an 18-55 on the front will feel quite unbalanced. the 18-70 is usefully heftier and great IQ to boot. No VR but not a massive deal at these focal lengths and it does counter by having a max aperture of 4.5 rather than the more common 5.6 so two thirds of a stop more light will always help shutter speeds.

If you have any change left over, a 50mm 1.8 AFD would be a fine addition.

 

[rpsmith79]

Another small advantage of the 18-70 over some of the other offerings is it's metal construction. The D300 is fairly heavy and something like an 18-55 on the front will feel quite unbalanced. the 18-70 is usefully heftier and great IQ to boot. No VR but not a massive deal at these focal lengths and it does counter by having a max aperture of 4.5 rather than the more common 5.6 so two thirds of a stop more light will always help shutter speeds.

If you have any change left over, a 50mm 1.8 AFD would be a fine addition.

Cheers for the advice, and the 50mm is already on the shopping list

 

[Yv]

Pretty much what gramps quoted, you shouldn't be having problems with compatibility unless looking at some older oddities, but another 'AYE' for the 18-70 here too, I still have mine and it is still a cracking little lens with great IQ and a perfect 'walk about' lens. Your D300, whilst not up there with the full pro bodies, is still fairly good at noise handling, so pushing your ISO a bit to compensate for the slower apertures when needed isn't a problem and you will get plenty of use from it

 

[rpsmith79]

Cheers everyone, looks to be quite a few 18-70's floating about on ebay too at quite reasonable money

 

[cambsno]

Yes, the 18-70 is one of the best lenses you can get in terms of value for money. Well built and pretty good performance and available for £100 or so. That and a 35/50/85mm depending on what you shoot is a good starting point.