Old Lens, New Camera

[Lindsie Nicole]

Hello

I have a Minolta 70-210mm lens that my parents had a long time ago and used on their non-digital slr camera. I was wondering if it would work on a digital camera? I'm hopefully buying the Nikon D5000 this week and I was just wondering if it might work on it.

I also have a Minolta Program 3500xi flash. Would that work also? haha

Thanks for any help!
Lindsie

[StillFocus]

My google-fu tells me that you will need an adapter to use that lens on a Nikon body.

[inkista]

Err, might want to get your google-fu a checkup.

Doubtful you can adapt that lens for F mount, particularly if it's a Minolta MD/MC vs. an AF. The MD/MC are as problematic to adapt as the Canon FD/FL mount lenses. Nikon is one of the hardest mounts to adapt for because the distance from the lens mount hole to the sensor is deeper than nearly every other mount out there. Which means, that any lens you'd want to adapt for it has to be sunk in past the mount (usually not physically possible) so that the lens can achieve focus to infinity, or the adapter has to have a glass element and act like a teleconverter so you can achieve infinity focus. Because a simple ring adapter would act like a shallow extension tube.

The glass element in an adapter is usually of low quality and robs you of sharpness. So, in most cases, this would only be worth it if you were adapting a macro or portrait lens for close up work and weren't planning on focusing farther away.

If the lens is a Minolta MD/MC mount (manual focus), I'd say forget it. The only cameras that can be adapted to that lens are the micro four-thirds. If, however, it's a Minolta AF lens, then you may want to give at least a little consideration to getting a Sony Alpha dSLR, as the Minolta AF mount is what the Sonys are using.

If you do want to adapt old non-Nikon manual focus lenses to the F mount, it usually involves replacing the lens's mount with a Leitax kit, and they exist only for Leica-R, Contax/Yashica, or Olympus OM lenses.

The flash has a sync voltage that's save to use with digital SLRs, but if you don't get a Sony Alpha, you'll have to buy a hotshoe adapter, and chances are good you won't be able to do anything other than shoot with the flash in Manual mode even on a Sony Alpha. The Sony/Minolta hotshoe is shaped differently from a standard hotshoe mount. But yeah, it should be usable.
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Addendum. Crap. My google-fu needs a checkup, too. The 3500xi doesn't have a manual mode. So, you're limited to full power or 1/4 power. That makes it quite a bit less usable.

[Lindsie Nicole]

Ok thanks!! So basically I cannot use either on a new DSLR camera? Ok. Haha. My dad was pretty sure I could use the flash. He even put new batteries in it and everything and I haven't even bought my camera! Oh well!

Thanks again!
Lindsie

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Lindsie Nicole

So basically I cannot use either on a new DSLR camera?...

No, that's not what I said.

If it's a manual-focus lens, then no, you can't use it, unless you're getting a µ4/3 camera. Then, you could use it with an adapter.

If it's an autofocus lens, you can use it without an adapter, but only on a Sony dSLR, not a Nikon.

The flash is usable, but limited to blasting away at full or 1/4 power; so of limited use. And to be used on a Nikon hotshoe would require an adapter.