Vivitar lens from Nikkormat?

I'm looking at a Vivitar 75-300 zoom lens on Ebay. It was used on a Nikkormat camera, what year I have no idea. I have a Nikon D40 and while I know the zoom won't auto focus or set the aperture, that's no biggie because I did all that stuff by hand for 35 years before I got the D40. Knowing the old Nikon F lenses can't be used on my camera, I'm concerned whether or not the lens mount is the same between the Nikon and Nikkormat. Supposedly the Vivitar lens is AI. If it helps any, the serial number indicates it's an older Kino made lens.

I would consider Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR

5.5x Telephoto Zoom lens
Nikon VR II Image Stabilization; Tripod Detection Mode
HRI (High Refractive Index) Lens Element
2 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Elements
Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM)

I'm guessing it will work. You'll just have to do everything manually. I'm also guessing the meter won't work. Verify here.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/...y-lens.htm

I used to shoot regularly with a Nikkorex F (probably from the same era as the Nikkormat) which I used together with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF lens. It's the reverse of what you are trying to achieve. I didn't have any problems with that setup.

Acutally even if it would be pre-ai it would probably work. But, to the best of my knowledge vivitar only appeared after Ai was introduced. Yes you are on your own for metering and focussing.

Quality of these old vivitars is a mixed bag, Some are decent, some are horrendous.

I'm not sure why anyone would specifically want a 3rd party vintage zoom lens. They are notorious for yielding poor image quality and with the price of 35mm manual lenses dropping, why not just get a Nikkor? On the other hand, I know a shooter who uses many 3rd party lenses that I personally would never bother with and gets good to great results. So I'm not saying it's a terrible idea but you're eliminating much resale value and probably rolling the dice on quality of optics and build.

I think it's great you're open to using vintage manual lenses though as you can safe a lot of money, be a bit greener and get more disciplined practice from using them instead of buying a brand new automated zoom.

What you have to understand about Nikon lens compatibility is this: Generally speaking, with a few rare and often undocumented exceptions Pre-AI lenses should NEVER be used on ANY Digital Nikons as well as many 35mm Nikons which do not feature a fold-up AI tab.AI lenses and newer are fair game on all digital bodies though. Furthermore, on the D40, you will not have metering capability with any manual lens. Only from the D100 and up is this possible.

The Nikkormat and original F were pre-AI bodies and typically have Pre-AI lenses mounted but they will also accept AI lenses so you have to learn to recognize the difference in order to purchase them effectively.

Pre-AI, AI and AIS lenses all have indexing prongs on top of them. These will not be necessary, of course, on your D40 but is a first way to begin to identify these lenses. Pre-AI lenses SHOULD have prongs that are solid and resemble crabclaws, which is a common nickname, or triangles.AI lenses will feature holes in the prong to let light through to view the viewfinder aperture numbers, which leads me to…

Pre-AI lenses will have only one set of aperture numbers on them, the ones you use to set the aperture.AI and AIS lenses have two sets. The one mentioned above as well as a tiny version close to the rear of the lens, facing up in the same place as the others. These are for the viewfinder to see.AI and forward lenses all have a tiny black metal tab cast into the rear-most ring of the lens around the maximum aperture. This is the AI (auto indexing) tab and is necessary to mechanically convey the aperture range to the body. Pre-AI's do not have this.

There are also AI'd lenses floating around. These are Pre-AI lenses that have been converted to AI either by Nikon or a repair tech. These should be indistinguishable from normal AI lenses and require research on the specifics of that lens in order to recognize for sure. You can still have Pre-AI lenses converted to use on your digital body if desired.

This link will provide images describing what I've said and a few other points.

http://www.nikonlinks.com/unklbil/nomenclature.htm

Enjoy those vintage Nikkors, and other lenses, they are awesome!