According to Bill Gillespie  <greywullf@canada.com>:

    Hmm ... You're saying "A1" bracket, not AI bracket (it should be
the letter 'I', not the numeral '1').  Are you perhaps referring to the
half-moon clip on the aperture ring which coupled to the Photomic T and
Photomic Tn finder prisms?  If so -- that is *not* what is needed to
couple to (or even to *mount* on) the D70 or D200 (and presumably also
the D80).  The "AI" aperture ring has interruptions in the skirt of the
aperture ring closest to the lens mount.

    I have an older Vivitar zoom of similar range (though without
the macro capability) and the T4 adaptor for it does *not* have the AI
ring -- only the half-moon clip for the Photomic finder/meter.

    And *which* 105mm Nikkor?  I see two listed in the old

    _Nikon F/Nikormat Handbook of Photography_ (Copyright 1968)

    One is a 105mm f2.5 and looks like a very nice lens.

    The other is a 105mm f4 *preset* (not even an auto diaphragm).

    Neither of them have the AI aperture ring, and the preset one
could not be adapted to have it.

    So -- it is certainly possible that you could have ones without
the AI aperture ring.

    I've just found that the fellow who does the chip fitting to
older lenses is back in business, and he includes a 105mm f1.8, and a
105mm f4 macro.

    Check out http://home.carolina.rr.com/headshots/Nikonhome.htm
for the fellow who does the chip modification.

    I have an 180mm f2.8 which he installed a chip in for my D70.

    Pacific rim camera <http://www.pacificrimcamera.com/> has AI
conversion kits for quite a few Nikkor lenses, but not for any 105mm
version.  However, go to the URL above, click on "catalog", scroll down
to "NIKON", and click on it.  Scroll that page down to the "NIKON REPAIR
PARTS" section, and click on "NIKON LENS AI CONVERSION KITS".  Scroll
down to the first entry with a pink "PHOTO" entry, and click on that to
get an image of a typical AI aperture ring.  Notice how much of the ring
is standing clear of the surface on which it was photographed.  Starting
at the f22 marking, and going to the left, you can see one of the tabs
which enage the camera sensors.  The other is just barely visible to the
right.  If your aperture rings look like this, you can mount the lenses
on a D70, a D200 (and presumably a D80).  If not, you will have to have
the lens modified.  (Unfortunately, the web site above keeps displaying
the home page URL and uses frames to select areas, so I can't simply
post the URL of the ring itself.)  (The AI kits also have the half-moon
clip for the older cameras with the Photomic finders.  You can see it
beside the ring, but not yet mounted on it.)

    I apparently never bookmarked the site which will modify
existing aperture rings to AI style -- but a web search should find it
for you if you need it.

    Now -- you do know that your existing lenses will give coverage
on a digital as though they were longer focal length?  The 105mm would
give coverage as though it were 157.5mm, and the 70-210mm would give
coverage as though it was a 105-315mm.  So -- your need for a new lens
will probably be towards the wide angle end of the spectrum.  I actually
got my D70 as body only, and later, as I discovered how well received it
was for the price, I got the D70's "kit" lens -- the 18-70mm (equivalent
to 27-105mm on a film camera).

    If they do not have the AI ring -- you will not be able to
*mount* them without probably breaking the sensor on the camera body --
unless you get the aperture rings modified.  

    The 18-70mm is a very nice lens for the money, and might be a
good one to start with, at least.

    Good Luck,
        DoN.

Well, the D80 should be all right for a manual shooter such as yourself, but
I suspect you would be a lot happier with the D200, which has much more
accessible controls.

That said, the best walk-around lens I have yet seen is the 18-200mm AF-S VR.
Although it is a little slower than some of the other lenses, the VR allows
you about four stops slower shutter speed. So unless you are shooting
subjects that move around a lot in dim light, this lens makes a lot of sense.
If you want wide, the 12-24mm Nikkor works well. I have even used the 10.5mm
fish eye DX as a walk-around lens. It is very light weight, has an extremely
wide field of view, is dirt simple to use, and with care the distortion can
be turned into an asset (or edited out as necessary).

Hello Don and thank you for the information and links you provided.

I have taken a closer look at my 105mm f.25-f32 lens and at my Vivitar
zoom lens and they *appear* to have the same ring as shown in the
pictures you referred to.  In any case, at least I know there is a
distinct possibility that my older lenses can work with a new Digital
SLR, even if they require modification.

As for my dilemma, I was debating between the DX 18-135 and the DX 18-70
lens, but the debate has grown to include camera bodies as well.  I am
now leaning towards the D200 rather than the D80 because of the
advantages of using my older lenses.  As for the difference in price,
well I have to consider my own experience in that the last camera body I
bought lasted 30 years.  So if you consider the difference in price
($750) over 20 years it costs about $37.50 per year.  Not much to think
about.

If only I was as convinced when it comes to lenses.

According to Bill Gillespie  <greywullf@canada.com>:

    [ ... ]

    It depends on how many older AI lenses you have and wish to use
in a convenient manner. (Or whether you are willing to modify any pre-AI
lenses which came with your original Nikon-F.)  And -- on whether you
wish to use the metering in the camera body, instead of just a hand-held
meter.  (Compare the cost of replacing those lenses with the cost
difference between the two bodies.)

    I have a few AI lenses, and am hoping to move up from my D70 to
a D200 so I can use those lenses with metering.  (The D200 did not exist
when I got my D70.)

    I also have quite a few pre-AI lenses, which I hope to
eventually modify (especially the more extreme focal lengths) so I can
mount them on the D70, and eventually meter with them on the future
D200.

    Enjoy,
        DoN.

That depends on how much you use the camera, and what you shoot.
If you shoot several hundreds of exposures per month, and/or
tend to shoot objects that are not static (children, sporting
events, etc.), you might want to think about AF lenses and maybe
the more expensive body too.  You'll find that AF lenses are
well worth the cost when objects are moving when you shoot.

Non-metering with Ai (or with a D200 or D2 body, pre-Ai lenses)
is a significant inconvenience that perhaps is not tolerable as
a day in day out problem.  But for occasional use where it would
otherwise not be possible, it certainly is something that can be
done.  For example, modern long telephoto lenses with AF and VR
are very expensive; but Ai lenses cost less, and pre-Ai lenses
even less.  If you have occasional need for an 800mm f/5.6
lense, the fact that the metering on the camera does not work
may not be nearly as significant as the several thousands of
dollars difference in price of the lense!

I'm not exactly certain to what you're referring, so I'll presume you
mean to ask what the 18-70 has to offer over the 18-135.

If so, the 18-70 offers better image quality with similar sharpness
but better across the glass, less CA, and nicer contrast. Don't get me
wrong, the 18-135 is no slouch, but the 18-70 is a bit better. It also
has a ring SWM that allows full-time manual override of focus control,
and a metal lense mount (18-135 has a plastic mount).

Also, I'm not positive but I think the 18-135 lacks a weather seal at
the lense mount as well - if it does, I just don't recall seeing it,
while I know the 18-70 has a seal at the mount.

Overall the 18-70 is a great lense, and embarrasses most, if not all
other "kit" lenses from other DSLR manufacturers. I'm comparing this
to a 17-40 f/4 L I used with my Rebel XT for a year...the 18-70 is
virtually its equal (except for vignetting at 18mm but we're comparing
an APS-C designed lense to a regular full frame 35mm model).

I don't think you'll find a better deal from Nikon. The 18-200 VR
comes close with its extra features like wide zoom range and VR, but
it's not as cost effective unless you want only one lense.