Nikon D40 cannot focus to infinity with manual focus prime lens

I have a D40 and manual focus Kiron 105mm macro prime lens. I cannot
focus to infinity on the D40(all manual mode and focus of course).
Focus perfectly on old FM2 Nikon 35mm.

Can anyone get their 105mm to focus to infinity ?

I have seen on the web that no prime manual lens can focus to infinity
on the D40. But my 55mm f1/8 seems ok. So, is this a macro lens
problem or something else ?

 

If you mean fixed focal length, that's already implied by the "105mm."

I don't understand this. Do you mean you can't turn the focusing ring on the
Kiron to the infinity mark, or you can but you don't believe it's really
focused on infinity? (In either case, why?)

The correct short way of saying fixed focal length is FFL.

That's nonsense. If a manual focusing lens can focus to infinity on any
other Nikon, it can do so on the D40 too.

Dunno what's going on with your Kiron, but there is no such macro lens
problem with the D40.

Neil

 

It is probably the lens. After all the other lens works OK.

Jim

 

Is this an AI or AIS mount? Could be an older copy this lens was
produced for 20 years or so. If it is not an AI mount it could be
sitting wrong on your camera, non AI lenses have the potential for
damaging Nikon DSLRs. O ther than that the lens could be damaged in
some way.

Tom

 

I got the info that old manual primes cannot focus to infinity on
nikon digitals from here :

http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/photo/Dig_OlyE330_1.htm
"manual focus lenses cannot focus to infinity on Nikon digital SLR's
so they are out too."
I emailed that guy and he confirmed it.

If the distance from sensor to back of lens on a digital is different
from that of the old 35mm films then you will not be able to focus to
infinity. It has the same effect as putting an extension ring onto a
lens on any camera, you lose the infinity focus ability.

I can turn the focus ring fully to infinity on the D40.

If the lens was defective it would not focus to infinity on my FM2.(?)

here is the specs of the lens :

http://www.nicobastone.com/Kiron_105_macro.htm

So the question still remains.....

 

I think you misunderstood what he said. He's talking about *Olympus* lenses
when he says they "cannot focus to infinity on Nikon digital SLR's."
Evidently he means by using an adapter, since he has a lot of "wonderful
Olympus OM lenses that [he] would like to play with." That is undoubtedly
true, since an adapter necessarily puts the lens farther from the film
plane, meaning (depending on the flange to film distance of the example) the
lens can only be used for close focusing.

But it is not. How could it be? It wouldn't make any difference whether the
lens were manual focus or autofocus, if the flange to film distance were
different it wouldn't work as intended.

Exactly. That is *not* the case with Nikon digital SLRs.

Well, it seems to me the question is, Why do you think the lens is *not*
focusing to infinity when you can turn the focus ring to infinity? If it
reaches infinity on your FM2, it will reach infinity on the D40 also. There
is no difference in the flange to film distance between the two cameras.

Neil

 

Nonsense. Both of my AI-S lenses will focus to infinity and anywhere else
on my D70.
These lenses also focus to infinity and anywhere else on my F2 and F3.
I convert my 300 f4 AF lens to AI-S by connecting it to a 2x converter.
This configuration
works as well as it can on both the F3 and D70.

One problem you will have with your D40 is that it can only control the
fstop with a G lens.
This means that all other lenses definitely have limited usefulness.

Jim

 

OK, it must be the lens that is defective . At least I know now that
the D40 should be able to handle it.

thanks

 

That's not true. The D40 meters and controls the aperture with any AF
lens. For non G type lenses, with the aperture ring on the lens, you
just lock the aperture at the smallest setting.

The exposure meter does not work for manual focus lenses (except the
rare AI-P lenses, which contain a chip that provides lens information
to the camera body) so you must use those in manual exposure mode.
For that, you set the aperture using the ring on the lens.

There used to be some people who could add the lens information chip
to some manual focus lenses, so that newer cameras could meter with
them. I don't know if those folks are still in business.

The D40 will only autofocus with AF-S type lenses, which have the
autofocus motor in the lens.