Chinon Lens on a Nikon?

I know it's possible I just need some help finding the right adapter. I have a Chinon Auto MC 50mm f/1.7 from an SLR camera, and I have a Nikon D7100. I can't find a straight answer anywhere as to which adapter i would need.

Well maybe you do not know

Only auto-focus lenses with a Nikon mount will fit your fine D7100 camera.

If the Chinon does not have a Nikkor AI mount, you will not be able to meter your shots using that lens

If you add any adapter, it will rob you of 1 full stop from the indicated lens aperture of f/1.7. It may also be that you can't focus that lens at infinity.

You neglected to tell us what camera mount the Chinon lens has now.

There's a really good reason why you can't find a straight answer, because you are leaving out some information.

What mount is the Chinon lens?

The Nikon D7100 is an F mount body and here is a chart of all the various F mount lenses it does and does not work with and what functions are lost with older F mount lenses:

http://imaging.nikon.com/...lity02.htm

Chinon made lenses in many different mounts, they are a "third party lens maker". They made lenses that fit Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, etc. So the BRAND of the lens, as you are emphasizing here makes absolutely no difference.

Figuring out what mount the Chinon is may or may not be difficult. Usually it will be marked on the original rear cap for the lens. F or N for Nikon, PK for Pentax, C or FD for Canon, O or OM for Olympus and there are others. If you have a rear lens cap for a Nikon F mount lens (like the one that came with your camera) you can try to put it on the Chinon. If it fits, and the Chinon is not a Pre-AI F mount (has a metal prong on the top and NO second set of aperture numbers) then the lens will fit the camera.

Here is a run-down on using old manual focus lenses with Nikon DSLR's and the history of variations on the F mount:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/...kortek.htm

So all this information is good to know as you may want to take advantage of some of the cheaper, higher quality manual focus lenses of Yesteryear with your camera. I wouldn't typically recommend going to much trouble, like buying an adaptor etc if this Chinon 50 is not a Nikon mount though.

50mm lenses by nearly all manufacturers are all usually pretty excellent in terms of use and image quality. But for the cost of an adaptor to put this on your camera, you could just buy an actual Nikon lens which would be higher quality. I would recommend the a Nikon 50mm 1.8 AF (if you want autofocus) or a Series E 50mm 1.8 (if you want a really cheap manual focus Nikon) used from KEH.com, both for less than $100.