D40, D40x, D60, D7600, D3000 and D5000 series bodies: Good news! Virtually any Nikon-mount lens will fit safely on the camera with no need for conversion. You will have no TTL metering with manual focus lenses but you can set the body to M (Manual) mode and make the shutter speed and aperture settings by guessing or using a handheld meter. Your exposure can be checked in the LCD almost immediately, of course.

Special note on the D40 series, D60, D3000, D3100, D5000 and D5100: Although these relatively inexpensive  bodies have lots of great features, they do not have the autofocus motor. Thus, they need  the lenses that contain the motor in order to use the autofocus. These lenses are marked as AF-S or AF-I. Other AF lenses can be used as-is. They will have metering but focusing will be only manual.

D90 and D80 (and bodies with similar lens mounting/coupling systems such as the D100, D70, D50, N80, N65, N60, N5005, N4004 and older Fuji digital SLRs and Kodak DCS Pro models):

Lenses that are AF, AI-s, AI, Series E and older ones that were converted to AI by Nikon can be used as-is on these bodies. You will have no TTL metering with manual focus lenses but you can set the body to M (Manual) mode and make the shutter speed and aperture settings manually. Your exposure can be checked in the LCD almost immediately, of course.

Pre-AI Nikon lenses (ones made before 1978) need my Type B conversion ($35 each) in order to be used on the D70 and D100 in the manner described above. See the Prices and Shipping page for details.

Unconverted lenses should not be mounted on these bodies because of the interference between the aperture ring and the minimum aperture sensing switch (at about the 8 o’clock position outside the lens mount as you face into the mirror box). This warning also applies to lenses I converted to AI in the past. Any of those lenses can be brought up to the Type B level for $10.

D4, D800, D600, D7000, D750, D700, D300, D200, D1, D2 and D3 series (which includes the D1, D1H, D1X, D2H, D2Hs, D2X and D2Xs and more recent Fuji digital SLRs)

Lenses that are AF, AI-s, AI, Series E and older ones that were converted to AI by Nikon can be used as-is on these bodies. You will have TTL center-weighted metering at full aperture in the M (Manual) and A (Aperture-preferred) with manual focus lenses but not in P (Program) or S (Shutter-priority) mode. TTL flash metering is supported if you have the appropriate flash.

Pre-AI Nikon lenses (ones made before 1978) need at least my Type A conversion ($25 each) in order to be used on these bodies in the manner described above. See the Prices and Shipping page for details.

Unconverted lenses should not be mounted on these bodies because of the interference between the aperture ring and the sliding aperture sensing tab (at about the 2 o’clock position outside the lens mount as you face into the mirror box).

General Notes

In any case, my conversions will not affect the use of the lenses on any older bodies like the Nikon F Photomic models, the early F2 Photomic and the Nikkormat FTN and FT2.

Once converted and mounted on these newer bodies, your older manual lenses will give you a feature that Nikon calls "electronic rangefinder." It is a signal in the bottom left corner of the viewfinder that indicates when the lens is in focus.

Owners of all but the top-end Nikon digital SLR cameras (like the D850 and D5 series) should know that the size of the sensor is smaller than a 35mm frame of film so the apparent focal length of a given lens will be approximately 1.5 longer. Aperture is not affected. Thus, 200/4 lens becomes a 300/4 and a 24/2.8 becomes a 36/2.8.