Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8D AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

by Nikon

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005LEOD
• Item model number: 1963
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 9, 2006

Product Description

35-70mm D-Series Zoom lens for the Nikon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Razor Sharp, Great Contrast and Superior Colour Reproduction, February 11, 2007

By 

R. Kheng - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8D AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

Am a freelance journalist and some of my assignments require pictures along with text. Have been shooting and writing for a living for about 8 years.

Have had this lens since 1996 and have used it extensively for film. Since Nov 2006. I finally bit the bullet and made the transition to Digital (Nikon D80). In 35mmm film format, this lens was my "standard" on-camera lens on a Nikon N90s (had a Nikon 50mm f1.8 on a Nikon FM2 as backup). The 35-70mm produced really sharp images, especially above f5.6.

Was seriously considering the popular Nikon 18-200 VR but decided to test out my 35-70mm F2.8D before committing to DX glass.

Was pleasantly surprised at the quality this lens offers for the digital format.

It is razor sharp above f5.6 and even at f2.8, gives decent results. I have had no complaints from my clients in 8 years of shooting professionally with this lens. The new 10.2 mp sensor is supposed to be very demanding in terms of the optics it is mated with but I feel this lens has more than met expectations.

With the 1.5 telephoto effect of the digital sensors in current Nikon DSLRs, this lens acquires a 52.5mm to 105mm (in digital) focal range. It is a pretty decent portrait lens with very nice bokeh. Macro ability is an added bonus.

Colour capture is truly excellent, with little chromatic aberration and/or fringing. Contrast is outstanding and there is no noticeable distortion.

Build quality is excellent. This lens is constructed like a piece of military use hardware - tough tough tough; yet its heft only adds to the tactile experience that oozes Nikon quality. No major plastic bits to "cheapen" the experience. But I don't intend dropping this baby to test its robustness though!

All in all the real world results and build quality speak for themselves. Very good value for money.

I highly recommended this lens, if you have one, don't let it go. If you're looking to buy one, good luck.

I'm quite sure there'll be no regrets.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite lens. An excellent lens for the price., June 27, 2007

By 

Kate Stokes (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8D AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

This is probably the best value out there for a professional level Nikon lens. It is my favorite lens and most of my best pictures have been taken with it. I consider it to be my lucky lens, in fact, for that reason.

Pros: Excellent contrast and clarity and virtually no pincushion at any focal length. Beautiful optics/output at a professional level. Market value extremely low, relatively speaking of course. (that last one of course is a pro for a buyer. for a seller I guess it would be a con)

Cons: Telescopic (AKA "push-pull") focal length adjustment takes more time and energy and is more herky-jerky, weighs about a ton, and the bokeh is so good it's almost too much in certain instances!

The cons here are really just getting into minutia for the sake of being thorough and objective. This lens is a slam dunk for the price it can be found regularly on the used market. I picked up this lens for exactly 1/5 of the price of the much lauded 17-35mm or 17-55mm "photojournalist" lenses. I realize the focal length range of 35-70mm is not as desired for many people as the 17-35mm or the 17-55mm, but at 1/5 the price c'mon! I am not able at this stage to afford the 17-35mm/17-55mm or I might have bought it instead, but I really don't feel like I got the short end of the stick by any means. This lens holds its own just fine thank you very much. Plus, I rarely have the need to shoot at a focal point less than 35mm. The vast majority of my work is between 35mm and 55mm. Also, I would be very surprised if the optics of the 17-35mm is noticeably better than this lens, at least by 99% of people looking at it. The output quality of this lens really is beautiful. When I first got the lens I spent several hours trying to find a place where I could be disappointed with the output, even zooming in with Photoshop to super close ranges. I was not able to disappoint myself. I found no negative issues with the optics/output of this lens then, and I still haven't at this point. If I do in the future I promise I will come back and edit this review, so if you are reading this now I haven't found any yet!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must get lens!, October 25, 2007

By 

Gerald Khoo (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8D AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics)

I got this lens 2nd hand at about USD$300, and I love it! This f/2.8 lens is sharp and contrasty. The 35-70mm range translates to 52.5-105mm in the 1.5 crop factor format. It is like having 3 portrait lenses in 1, i.e. the 50mm, 85mm and 105mm. At the 35mm end is the ability to press a knob and go into macro mode, which is useful when you need it. Compared to the Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 lens, this lens is a mere fraction of the price, may not have the silent wave motor, but it produces comparable pictures.