Are All Lenses Compatible with All dSLR Cameras?

[SolracSelbor]

I am thinking of getting a pentax K10D, and I hear good things about the Nikkor lenses and I wanted to know if they were compatible. If not, what lenses are?


P.S: Whats better Pentax K10D or Rebel XTi?

 

[Westside guy]

No, generally speaking you need to buy lenses made specifically for the camera brand you're buying.

Some third-party lens makers, such as Sigma and Tokina, make their lenses with several different mounts - so those can be purchased for multiple brands of cameras. But Nikon and Canon lenses can only be used for Nikon-mount and Canon-mount cameras.

A couple of camera makers do use the Nikon mount, and can use Nikon lenses. Fuji's digital SLRs use the same Nikon mount and even the Nikon body style. Kodak no longer makes digital SLRs; but when they did I believe they were Nikon compatible.

As far as your "P.S." goes - if everyone agreed that one brand was better, no one would buy anything else.

 

[Cave Man]

I am thinking of getting a pentax K10D, and I hear good things about the Nikkor lenses and I wanted to know if they were compatible.

No.

If not, what lenses are?

Only those that have mounts (or adaptors) for your camera.

P.S: Whats better Pentax K10D or Rebel XTi?

Well, the Canon, of course.

 

[SolracSelbor]

Thanks a lot for the help, people on these forums sure are nice!

 

[.JahJahwarrior.]

For what it is worth, I know the poster above was being sarcastic, but the Pentax line of cameras has a decent amount of stuff to offer and should not be casually overlooked.


And, for what it is worth, I believe you will find that all Pentax lenses are compatable with the modern Pentax dSLR. Of course, you might need a $30 adaptor, but I use atleast one M42 screwmount lense with my Pentax *ist Ds. However, I do not use any Nikon or Canon lenses. I had one Canon lense, given to me by a relative. I gave it to a friend who uses a Canon Rebel, and he was unable to use it, as it was "too old" of a lense, even though it wasn't very old at all. Of course, he takes better pictures than I do, but it's a talent thing.


If you do not know enough to know that not all lenses are compatable with all SLRs, then I do NOT suggest you spend the money on the newest models. Buy something two years old and learn on it. It'll be 6mp for certain and will be just fine for you to learn with. Don't buy the fighter jet if you don't have your pilots license, don't buy the Porsche when you've only driven a gokart, and don't buy an XTi when you don't know anything about SLR's. Infact, I'd advise you to spend $100 on a film SLR and $20 on any old book about photography first.

 

[SolracSelbor]

For what it is worth, I know the poster above was being sarcastic, but the Pentax line of cameras has a decent amount of stuff to offer and should not be casually overlooked.


And, for what it is worth, I believe you will find that all Pentax lenses are compatable with the modern Pentax dSLR. Of course, you might need a $30 adaptor, but I use atleast one M42 screwmount lense with my Pentax *ist Ds. However, I do not use any Nikon or Canon lenses. I had one Canon lense, given to me by a relative. I gave it to a friend who uses a Canon Rebel, and he was unable to use it, as it was "too old" of a lense, even though it wasn't very old at all. Of course, he takes better pictures than I do, but it's a talent thing.


If you do not know enough to know that not all lenses are compatable with all SLRs, then I do NOT suggest you spend the money on the newest models. Buy something two years old and learn on it. It'll be 6mp for certain and will be just fine for you to learn with. Don't buy the fighter jet if you don't have your pilots license, don't buy the Porsche when you've only driven a gokart, and don't buy an XTi when you don't know anything about SLR's. Infact, I'd advise you to spend $100 on a film SLR and $20 on any old book about photography first.

Lol, love the analogies. But ive been using my buddys Cannon Rebel XT for a few months now with only the stock lens. I have never purchased anything for this camera since it is not mine. I have learned a lot about the methodology of taking pictures and the efficacy of a good camera however I have not used any lenses except for the kit lense. Im thinking about getting my own SLR, particularly the Pentax K10D with FA 50mm f 1.4 lens becuase I hear the lens is very good. However, I wanted something more along the lines of 18-200mm with a good maximum aperture. Thanks for the help (and I wasnt being sarcastic )

P.S: Anyone know of any good sites to buy a pentax K10D for cheap and the lens as well?

 

[JFreak]

Nothing is ever perfect.

Of your choices, the Pentax is a better camera; the Canon, however, has better lens selection so you need to think about what glass you want to buy as probably you'll buy another body for the same lens(es) in 5(ish) years.

I'd recommend a 2nd hand Canon 20/30D if you want a Canon.

 

[cube]

However, I wanted something more along the lines of 18-200mm with a good maximum aperture.

Sigma has a 18-200 for Pentax (without stabilization, as the K100D and the K10D already have it in the body).

 

[valdore]

I figured out a while back that a Canon EF lens will work on all Canon cameras, but a Canon EF-S lens will not work on Canon film or full frame digital cameras.

 

[cube]

I figured out a while back that a Canon EF lens will work on all Canon cameras, but a Canon EF-S lens will not work on Canon film or full frame digital cameras.

Canon EF can only be used on EOS cameras.

 

[valdore]

Canon EF can only be used on EOS cameras.

Stop the confusion!

 

[cube]

Your confusion?

 

[valdore]

Thank you Sergeant Serious.

 

[cube]

Don't want to confuse the OP.

 

[Cave Man]

Sigma has a 18-200 for Pentax (without stabilization, as the K100D and the K10D already have it in the body).

The non-stabilized 18-200 is optically different (and inferior) to the stabilized version. If one goes with the non-stabilized lens, one shouldn't expect to make many good prints above 5" x 7" without substantial post processing.

 

[Cave Man]

Im thinking about getting my own SLR, particularly the Pentax K10D with FA 50mm f 1.4 lens becuase I hear the lens is very good. However, I wanted something more along the lines of 18-200mm with a good maximum aperture. Thanks for the help (and I wasnt being sarcastic )

The 50mm f/1.4 will be a nice lens, but your options on superzooms are pretty limited. If you really want such a lens (I have one), then you should expect to use it principally for daylight walkaround and vacations. Don't expect to use them for sports or birding or such because they generally don't have the greatest of focusing mechanisms.

P.S: Anyone know of any good sites to buy a pentax K10D for cheap and the lens as well?

B&H Photo has it for $700, plus a $100 rebate.

 

[cube]

Tamron has a 18-200 and a 18-250 for Pentax.

 

[Alex72]

"P.S: Whats better Pentax K10D or Rebel XTi?"

From a photographic standpoint, neither one is better than the other -- they're both fine cameras with a wide variety of capabilities.

Feature-wise, the K10D is probably the better value, as it offers things such as a glass pentaprism finder (brighter, bigger, and easier to focus with), weather sealed body, and in-body anti-shake, which essentially gives added stability to ANY lens attached to the camera. All of this is theoretically available for $600.00 or less with a rebate currently in effect.

There may not be as many lenses available for the Pentax, versus the Canon; but there are all the ones you're likely to need right now as well as some real gems that no other company has, like the line of compact "pancake" lenses.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

I hope you were kidding about the 18-200 mm sigma being only good enough for a 5 x 7" print Cave Man. That's seriously the worst piece of information I've ever read on this board (or any other for that matter). It's a hot seller, gets good reviews, and goes for $379.00, I know for sure that you can get much better images with it than you would imply.

Tamron does indeed make an 18-250 for Pentax, Pentax has their own as well.

Pentax also makes a 75-500 mm lens, and a 50-200 mm, and I think a 28-200 mm. I own a Sigma 28-200 and it's real nice.

Sigma also makes the 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX APO EX DG HSM for Pentax, it doesn't get much better for birding than that. I know a lot of pro's who bypassed the Nikon and Canon versions and went instead to this lens.

Don't worry about which system has the most lenses, do you want a system that is full of lousy selections to complement the nice ones (Canon), or a smaller system of only high quality lenses. Pentax doesn't make any plastic mount lenses, or any that feel like they will fly apart on their own. They only make high end lenses and that's why their selection is smaller. But even at that, last time I checked Canon had 56 selections in their "currently in production" list while Pentax had about 30. Pentax just partnered with Hoya, Hoya makes Nikon's lens blanks, and has made some of Canon's in the past. I think it's safe to say that the lens lineup will get considerably larger in the near future.

SLC

 

[cube]

Pentax has less lenses because a lot were discontinued because of RoHS.
There are many more used models, but there's less availability than Canon or Nikon.

 

[Cave Man]

I hope you were kidding about the 18-200 mm sigma being only good enough for a 5 x 7" print Cave Man. That's seriously the worst piece of information I've ever read on this board (or any other for that matter). It's a hot seller, gets good reviews, and goes for $379.00, I know for sure that you can get much better images with it than you would imply.

No, I wasn't kidding. I used to own it and was happy with it. But I understood its limitations. (I only sold mine when the OS version came out.) It is a nice lens, especially from 18mm to about 135mm, if you can get one or two stops down. After that, IQ suffers a bit and its focusing abilities diminish, often requiring a focus-refocus. Not an issue for static subjects, but for moving ones it becomes quite challenging. If one is aware of these constraints, then one can get good images from this lens, and make large prints if one is prepared to do some postprocessing, particularly sharpening and a bit of contrast or saturation boost.

The OS version of this lens is optically-exceptional for a superzoom. I have made 13x19 inch prints from it without any pp.

 

[termina3]

No.

You must buy a lens specific to your camera brand; Canon doesn't make Nikon-compatible lenses; however, 3rd party lens manufacturers make lenses for most cameras.

 

[Clix Pix]

Sigma also makes the 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX APO EX DG HSM for Pentax, it doesn't get much better for birding than that. I know a lot of pro's who bypassed the Nikon and Canon versions and went instead to this lens.

I don't know what "pro's" you know who "bypassed the Nikon and Canon versions..." and use the Bigma for birding. I know quite a few photographers, both professionals and serious amateurs, and the Bigma is NOT their first choice for a birding lens. In the first place it is waaaay too slow for quickly capturing BIF. Using a TC on it for extended reach is problematic, too. Most photographers who are serious about shooting birds or wildlife choose a 300mm, 400mm, 500mm or 600mm lens plus TCs in their preferred brand (Canon, Nikon, etc.).

In any case I think that the OP has a long way to go before he'll be contemplating bird or wildlife photography, as first he has to get a handle on the basics.....

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

The pro's I'm referring to are most of the moderators at popular photography's forums. They claim that the price difference to performance ratio is not enough to justify the extra cost. F6.3 is plenty fast when shooting against the sky.

SLC

 

[RaceTripper]

Sigma also makes the 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX APO EX DG HSM for Pentax, it doesn't get much better for birding than that. I know a lot of pro's who bypassed the Nikon and Canon versions and went instead to this lens.

That claim is contrary to anything I've heard. That lens is too slow for wildlife, especially birding. Those who are using this lens for that are doing so to "make do" because they can't spend the $4K+ for professional quality wildlife lenses (300/2.8 ... 600/4 + TCs). The Sigma just isn't going to cut it on a consistent basis for low-light motion photography.

I would love the 50-500 range for the shooting I do (motorsports), but it's just too slow for regular use. Even if you shoot stopped down, you want wider maximum apertures for the best AF and metering performance.

It doesn't mean you can't get great shots with this lens. One of the best racing photos I shot was with a 18-200/3.5-5.6 Nikkor lens at 200/5.6. Go figure, a slow consumer lens. I normally use a "pro" 70-200/2.8 VR.

But Sigma lenses are capable of being quite good. I had their 150/2.8 macro and just loved it. Wish I still had it.