Nikon DSLR’s have a high amount of abbreviations for their lenses, they distinguish between auto-focus motors and sensor size. The three lens types for Nikon DSLR’s are AF, AF-S and AF-P.

Nikon lens compatibility is simply broken down into two categories. Firstly, camera bodies with a full-frame sensor and cameras with a crop APS-C sensor.

Unsure of what sensor your camera has? There’s an effortless way to find out: Nikon cameras with an APS-C sensor appear as smaller rectangles reflected in the mirror, these are referred to as “DX”. Nikon cameras with a full-frame sensor usually have the ”FX” logo on the lower front part of the body, to the bottom right of the mount. You’ve probably worked it out, these are referred to as “FX”. The second way that Nikon categorizes their lens compatibility is by auto-focus motors, they make two types of camera bodies - those that have built-in focus motors, and those that don’t.

Nikon AF

Nikon AF lenses were introduced in 1986, they use a mechanical coupling (a flat or crossed pin in the mount of the body and a screw head that it slots into on the lens) to turn the auto-focus motor. These lenses will only work with a body that has a focusing motor.

If you own one of the following cameras it does not have a focus motor and cannot be used with Nikon AF lenses:

Any Nikon model between D3000 and D5600, D40, D40X, and D60.

Nikon AF-S lenses feature Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor (SWM) which converts “traveling waves” into rotational energy to focus the optics. This results in quiet, accurate, and high-speed auto-focusing.

All Nikon DSLR’s can be used with AF-S lenses, the only thing worth noting is that camera bodies with an APS-C sensor will have a crop factor of 1.5x.

Note: The AF-S lens type is not to be confused with autofocus single mode, also called AF-S.

Nikon AF-P lenses are newer and designed for the consumer range of DSLRs. They feature Stepping Motor technology which is a form of autofocus motor that is quieter and smoother than other types. This makes these lenses perfect for recording video on a DSLR.

Due to the modern technology in these lenses, and their compatibility with more recent DSLR bodies, there are some features that are unique to these lenses. The ability to control functions such as VR and focus settings is controlled in the menu system, as opposed to switches on the lens or camera body.

If you own one of the following cameras it is fully compatible with AF-P lenses:

Nikon D500, D3300, D3400, D3500, D5500, D5600, D7500.

AF-I, the ‘I’ indicates that the lens has an internal motor, these lenses are some of the first to have the AF motor built into the lens and have since been replaced with more modern technology. These lenses are almost exclusively long primes with a 400mm and 300mm f/2.8’s and a 500mm and 600mm f/4’s making up the range.

Nikon Ai

Nikon Ai lenses are manual focus lenses that were designed for Nikon analogue F mount bodies and due to Nikons foresight they can be used on most Nikon SLR’s (with some limitations). Ai stands for automatic maximum aperture indexing and the aperture can be controlled on the lens. Nikon Ai lenses can easily be identified by the semi-circular coupling prong that extends out from the aperture ring. Most of these lenses give only center weighted or spot metering but there are some limitations, see this compatibility chart for Nikon lens to body compatibility.

Nikon Ai-S

The Nikon Ai lenses were superseded by the Nikon Ai-S which allowed for greater aperture control from within the camera, rather than on the lens.

An easy way to identify a Nikon Ai-S lens is their minimum aperture (usually f/16 or f/22) is identified in orange.

Nikon AF-D

Most would assume that the D in AF-D stands for digital, but it actually means that these lenses let the camera know the distance at which the lens is focussed. This can greatly help with flash exposure, and if you’re shooting a lot of fill flash it would be beneficial to have an AF-D lens in your camera bag. All lenses introduced since 1992 are technically D lenses.

Note: Nikon AF-P lenses will work with other bodies not mentioned above but with limited compatibility.

Still unsure? Check out our compatibility table