digitally optimized lenses

Question
I own three old Nikon AF lenses from the days when I was shooting film with a 35mm Nikon (N80) camera. Last week, I bought my first digital SLR, a D90. The old lenses work fine with it, but my dealer said that new Nikon DX digital lenses would provide better image quality. How much of a benefit would I really get with new digital lenses? R.H.

Answer
Before answering your question R.H., I’ll discuss some recent developments. The newer AF Nikkor lenses come in two distinct types. The DX series was designed exclusively for cameras with a small DX-size (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor, so they are quite compact. The multi-platform AF lenses — now called FX format — are larger, so they’re suitable for 35-mm SLRs, digital SLRs with the DX size sensor, and with the Nikon cameras that employs a much larger (36 x 23.9 mm) sensor. (Your old lenses can be defined as multi-platform as well). (more…)