Nikon 35-70 2.8 ...Any good?

doublemint76

doublemint76

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Has anyone on here owned this lens and can give an honest opinion of it?

I currently have a D300 with a Tamron 17-50 2.8, 50mm 1.8 and an 80-200 2.8 both Nikon

One day I hope to switch to a ff body so want to carry my current lens over to that.

I can no way afford the 24-70 or even the 28-70 but I have been looking at the 35-70 2.8 which seems to have good reviews and most importantly should be able to get for a fraction of the previous 2's price.

I have considered Sigma but I would rather stick to Nikon because of build and iq but saying that I've never owned a Sigma so could that be an option as I think they are quite cheap used also?

Would appreciate any input on this.
 
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I owned one of these and was very impressed with it.Built like a tank and images were very sharp from it.
 
Solid, old school "D" lens. Proper aperture ring (not that you need that with modern cameras). Crap for manual focusing though, and it's AF is driven by the camera, but that's not an issue with a D300, but it does mean it's both noisy, and slow compared to AF-S lenses.

Sharp when stopped down.. not bad when wide open, especially at the longer end. It was great back in the day on my F5.. not sure I'd invest on one now though. Nothing wrong with it, but there's better to be had.


The older 28-70 f2.8 D is a better lens.

The Tamron 24-70 f2.8 is a much better lens though. Don't assume you're getting the best quality because it says Nikkor on it. It's an old lens now.
 
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My personal view is that you already have pretty much most of the range covered at f/2.8 or greater, I don't see the point in getting another zoom to fill the small gap, especially as on DX 35mm really isn't wide enough for me for general use.

Seems like spending money for the sake of it really...
 
I kind of agree with the above.
 
I own a 35-70 nikon f2.8 and have owned the tamron 28-70 (75?) f2.8.
I use a d700.

Yes the nikon is an old d lens. But it is all metal and glass. Very well built and will last forever. And yes, sharp. Especially at 70mm end. Does not need to be stopped down. Sharp at the edges too and little distortion at any focal length. Great £200-£280 lens in my opinion. Not too big either, but heavy.
This lens replaced the above tamron which was not good. Sharp in the middle yes. At the edges, no. And one side was very soft. Needed f11 before it was acceptable. Maybe I had a bad example. Everyone raves about them ( maybe they are trying to sell one?)
I chose not to sell mine here, because I would not have been able to write honestly about it.
The nikon spends a lot of the time on my d700.
Get the nikon. I doubt you'll be disappointed.
 
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Another very satisfied user of the Nikon 35-70 f2.8 - solid, sharp inexpensive lens used by pros before the 28070 came on the scene ... with the added benefit of a macro :)
 
I know I have most of the range covered and openly admit that it probably is a bit of a whim but its been too long since I've had some new glass.

I don't use the wide end of my 17-50 that much and i'm hoping to go ff soon which is why i'm considering this. I would probably end up selling one if it really got that little use.

So the general feel is that this is a good lens despite its age, now to find a decent affordable copy :)
 
gramps said:
Another very satisfied user of the Nikon 35-70 f2.8 - solid, sharp inexpensive lens used by pros before the 28070 came on the scene ... with the added benefit of a macro :)
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Forgot about the macro. Used it once just to see if/how it worked. And it does. But as I have the 105d macro. I tend to use that.
 
Another happy user, I use mine on my D700, I'm a people shooter mostly so the range suits me quite nicely.

If you've already got a push-pull lens you'll be fine, takes a little getting used to, the biggest thing for me is the fact that it's widest when it's extended (the opposite to every other lens I've used)

Some people say they suffer from zoom creep but I can honestly say I haven't, I'm guessing it was a little used example and is perhaps a little stiffer than some. I managed to pick up a minter for £200.

When I was looking it was a toss up between this and the Tamron 28-75 and I'm happy with my choice. I didn't want to go down the path of trying to find a good example of the Tamron, I'm sure there are plenty of good examples but I didn't want to play that game, buying new is different!
 
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andy1868 said:
Another happy user, I use mine on my D700, I'm a people shooter mostly so the range suits me quite nicely.

If you've already got a push-pull lens you'll be fine, takes a little getting used to, the biggest thing for me is the fact that it's widest when it's extended (the opposite to every other lens I've used)

Some people say they suffer from zoom creep but I can honestly say I haven't, I'm guessing it was a little used example and is perhaps a little stiffer than some. I managed to pick up a minter for £200.

When I was looking it was a toss up between this and the Tamron 28-75 and I'm happy with my choice. I didn't want to go down the path of trying to find a good example of the Tamron, I'm sure there are plenty of good examples but I didn't want to play that game, buying new is different!
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Never used a push/pull lens before so I know I will have to get used to it, but think it will be worth it.
 
Ahhh sorry, I assumed your 80-200 was one of the push-pull versions. You soon get used to it to be honest.

I've only had mine a short time but I've been impressed!
 
They make a nice solid clink as you "hit" each end of the push/pull. I guess it's all that metal!
Easy to use. Never had any issues with push/pull technique.
 
Thegreatroberto said:
Sharp in the middle yes. At the edges, no. And one side was very soft. Needed f11 before it was acceptable.
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We talking about the SP Di USD VC version (A007)? It's a superb lens.

If one SIDE was very soft... I'm afraid it was faulty, simple as that.
 
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