Nikon focus confirmation with manual lenses

I've recently purchased a Nikon D600 and would like to use my old Minolta Rokkor 50mm f/1.4 on it. However I am quite confused as to the functions of a "chipped adapter". While I know that with Canon EF Focus confirmation will not work at all unless the adapter/lens is chipped (the camera has to know that there is a lens attached), I have not found information in this respect regarding Nikon's focus confirmation. Some say that chipped adapter's lets the camera "remember" the lens and allow focus fine tune.

Therefore my question is whether will focus confirmation work with an adapter that is not chipped, putting aside the ability to fine tune focus?

Answer

Focus confirmation does indeed work. I have a D7000 (which is ergonomically very similar to a D600 - think of a D600 as a D7000 with an upgraded sensor) and have been using a Nikon 80-200mm f/4.5 AI on it perfectly fine. I just rotate the focus dial until the green confirmation dot shows up on the screen.

An important concept to realize about a camera's phase/contrast detection system is that it works fine even if the lens does not have autofocus, because it is an optical, not mechanical, feature. Basically, your camera "knows" how to autofocus with any lens; the only thing keeping it from actually autofocusing with manual-focus lenses is the lack of a physical connection between the AF motor and the focusing ring. That's where your hand comes in: when you move the ring back and forth, the camera knows what you're doing and can detect when to stop.

Now, what a chip does allow for is the recording of EXIF information regarding the aperture on the D3000 or D5000 cameras. However, for anything D7000 or higher, the camera can record the aperture even without a chip.

As for AF fine tune, that is still possible. If you are only using one non-chipped lens, then just adjust the AF fine tune default value (which will be overridden by all your other lenses, as long as you've taken care to register them in your AF fine tune system). If you have multiple non-chipped lenses and their AF fine tune values differ, then you'll have to remember to update the default value each time before switching lenses.