What happens when you fit a Nikon DX lens to a full frame body?

Keith

Keith

The best camera is one that still works!
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I have to go out and photograph a billboard of all things this afternoon and it has to be shot from eight different angles at varying distances so I figured a zoom was the best option and I don't own one. I borrowed an 18-135mm from a friend and have just noticed it's a DX which is for cropped sensors from memory. When I mount it on the D700 the camera obviously must automatically compensate and crop the sensor to match the lens I assume because after a few test shots I've noticed the raw files are down to just under less than half the normal size.

These photographs are only going to be used for an historical record of the changes to the billboard and the end result I give them will be 30mb tifs instead of the usual 70mb the D700 produces. I also have to produce an identical set of images after dark when it's lit and the catch is I'm supposed to do this in about four hours so getting another lens is not an option.

Do you think these images shot with the DX and in camera crop will be acceptable or should I give it a miss?

Worried! :(
 
As you noted yourself, when you put a DX lens on the D700, the camera adjusts itself to the lens... provided you have set it to do so already. I cannot recall if this is a factory setting, but there's something to that effect... and you'll see the framelines for the cropped sensor in your viewfinder.

Otherwise, nothing else happens! :) In other words, since you're documenting the changes, just give it a whirl.
 
I thought your D700 would give with that nice zoom (I use it too) the same an SLR would give: an image with dark corners... I'm surprised to hear the camera reduces the sensor area and file size after seeing it's a DX lens... If it does, you should get -as with DX- shots as good as to print a professional magazine cover, and bigger... I have sharp and beautiful 1 meter prints from that lens. It's very sharp stopped down...

Cheers,

Juan
 
SolaresLarrave said:
As you noted yourself, when you put a DX lens on the D700, the camera adjusts itself to the lens... provided you have set it to do so already. I cannot recall if this is a factory setting, but there's something to that effect... and you'll see the framelines for the cropped sensor in your viewfinder.

Otherwise, nothing else happens! :) In other words, since you're documenting the changes, just give it a whirl.
Click to expand...

That's cool!
 
I only just noticed the crop framelines ... very clever!

I wouldn't be concerned except the billboard belongs to the Creative Arts College I shoot gallery openings for and is at the front of their main building and changes every couple of months. I don't want to piss them off with substandard results if someone pixel peeps and isn't happy ... not a lot else I can do at this stage though!
 
Keith, you'll get the best results for anyone knowing or not about photography... Great camera and lens... And you behind them, of course! :)

Cheers,

Juan
 
DX lenses are corrected to cover the APS-C sized sensor. Anything out side of that area are not up to Nikon standards of quality. It might cover the full frame of a FX sensor but with lots of edges.

B2 (;->
 
An 18-135 range is a bit too extreme, for my tastes. I would worry about geometric distortion, especially at the wide end.

Perhaps, you could go and buy a zoom. Unless you don't see yourself using it that often.
 
It's a 28-200, and for that range there's a bit of distortion especially at the wide end, but not something I'd care for unless I'm reproducing paintings or straight lines near the borders. Apart, as it's not for wet printing or slides. any image can be treated for distortion with photoshop if it's necessary...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Are you shooting at 18? I think this DX lens only vignettes at wide angle. If you can set the camera to ignore the fact that it is a DX lens, then you can take as big a center crop as you like. I imagine that over 35mm it will cover full frame.

(sorry, I could not find the image circle size)
 
degruyl said:
Are you shooting at 18? I think this DX lens only vignettes at wide angle. If you can set the camera to ignore the fact that it is a DX lens, then you can take as big a center crop as you like. I imagine that over 35mm it will cover full frame.

(sorry, I could not find the image circle size)
Click to expand...


I definitely won't be shooting at the wide end ... in fact I was a little worried that 135mm wasn't going to be long enough as one shot is to be taken from across the road half way up a side street ... this thing is freakin' huge though ... about four times the size of a normal billboard and at no stage will I be really close to it!

I had a very nice 18-200 VR that I sold a while ago when I sold my D70 ... I hadn't planned on ever buying another DSLR ... if only I'd known! :p
 
On film Nikons, quite a few DX zooms work quite nicely except for the widest, cropped bit... YMMV with FX digitals, as sensors have a few extra problems that may affect the optical performance of a lens.
 
Last edited:
Keith
on a side note, if you set up framelines even with a FX lens mounted, you get a RF-like view with a SLR, i.e. you may see what actually happens AROUND the framed area. Think of that. I feel it's one of the trickiest and smartest way to use DX / FX framelines. Nothing bad will happen, you will only get a 5 MP image instead of a 12 MP. Who cares.
 
At minimum zoom there was definitely a tunnel in the viewfinder with a dark area around the outside of the crop area ... distracting but not important over all. Definitely a little disconcerting to have the magnificent viewfinder of the D700 reduced to something like a Fed 2 though! :p

As a postscript ... I went and did the shots of the billboard in daylight and then hung around until it got dark and starting sytematically shooting from the same locations with a tripod at around 200 ISO. About a third of the way through the process something came loose inside the head of my Manfrotto making it completely useless and then to add insult to injury I stepped in some dog p00! I was having great fun until this happened and some of the shots taken at a second and longer from the other side of the four lane road were spectacular with the headlights of the moving cars leaving long light streaks. One thing that really impressed me was how astute the matrix metering is in these conditions ... uncanny!

Back tonight to finish the job ... thanks for all the help! :D
 
Doesn't stepping in p00 mean good luck? Good luck for the rest of the job... A shame... A damaged tripod and p00 would upset anyone...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
Doesn't stepping in p00 mean good luck? Good luck for the rest of the job... A shame... A damaged tripod and p00 would upset anyone...

Cheers,

Juan[/QUOTE


I wasn't too upset Juan and going back tonight will fill in a couple of hours and keep me away from this damned computer! :D

It turns out the Manfrotto was a very simple fix ... there's three grub screws up under the bottom plate that lock it into position and all three had come loose making the head very unstable. If I'd had a small screwdriver with me I might have been able to fix it ... because I remembered to take a torch! :p
Click to expand...
 
You can put Crop/DX lenses on a FF body? That's so cool... Too bad Canon doesn't work like that... If I stick an EF-S (crop) lens on my 1D IIN, chances are I'll end up with a broken mirror or rear element.
Envy :D
 
Boy, Canon does not treat its customers too well...

With a Nikon, you can use any manual focus lens that has the AI or AIS tabs (which means, you can use lenses manufactured in the mid 70s). Not only that, your camera will at least meter with the average meter. Sure, you have to focus manually, but then, you get to use wonders like the 50mm f1.2 AIS lens... still in production!

I'd seriously consider a system switch. :)
 
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