Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8
© 2007 KenRockwell.com

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8D. enlarge. I'd get it here, brand new. It helps me keep adding to this site if you use this link to get yours. Thanks!

December 2007    more Nikon reviews

Introduction     top

Intro   Specifications    Performance    Recommendations

See my Nikon Professional Normal Zoom Comparison for exhaustive side-by-side image examples.

I just got one of these to compare against the 24-70mm f/2.8 AFS. The good news is that this lens, Nikon's flagship professional midrange zoom of the 1990s, has pretty much the same optical performance as the AFS lenses on a D3, with a lot less weight. As of 2007, this 35-70mm is also available at a bargain close-out price of about $470!

The price is low, but it's not a cheap lens. It is the best Nikon could make for a decade. It sold for $700 after full NYC discount throughout most of the 1990s and 2000s.

Instead of paying $1,700 for the 24-70mm f/2.8 AFS, which is so big that it's a pain to carry around my neck even on a D300 and stands out so much that even a mentally retarded child remarked in public that "that's a big camera," I suspect that this 35-70mm f/2.8 is the midrange lens I'll use most often for wandering around with a D3.

It's much smaller and lighter than either of the AFS lenses. It weighs more than you might think looking at its small size; it's made mostly of metal and is loaded with lots of professional glass, but still light enough to make the difference between being carryable and being a pain in the neck. For me, the AFS lenses are only for use in a fixed location, not for carrying around my neck.

Compatibility: As a traditional AF lens and not crippled as a G, it works with every Nikon ever made, digital and film, auto and manual focus.

It's a full-coverage FX lens, so it works great on FX digital, DX digital and film.

It won't autofocus on the D40 or D40x, but it won't autofocus on an F3 either!

See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details for older cameras. This is an AF lens.

Production History: Nikon made about 130,000 AF versions from 1987 - 1992, and about 430,000 AF-D versions from 1992 - 2006.

Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 set at 50mm.

Specifications    top

Intro   Specifications    Performance    Recommendations

Name: Nikon calls this the Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8D.

Optics: 15 elements in 12 groups. Traditional spherical design.

Diaphragm: Traditional seven-bladed diaphragm. Stops down to f/22.

Infra-Red Focus Indices: Yes, at 35mm and 70mm.

Close Focus: 2 feet (0.6m). It has a separate manual macro mode, only at 35mm, which gets much closer.

Filter Thread: 62mm, metal.

Size: 3.725" extension from flange by 2.815" diameter (94.60 x 71.51mm), measured when set to 70mm focal length and focused at infinity. Zooming to 35mm extends the lens by an additional 0.880" (22.34mm). Focusing to 2' (0.6m) extends the lens an additional 0.195" (4.94mm). Nikon specifies 3.7" by 2.8" (94 x 71mm).

Weight: 23.430 oz. (664.25 g), as measured by me, naked. Nikon specifies 24 oz. (670g).

Hood: HB-1 plastic bayonet. The lens' bayonet and filter threads are metal.

Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 set at 35mm.

Performance    top

Intro   Specifications    Performance    Recommendations

See my Nikon Professional Normal Zoom Comparison for exhaustive side-by-side image examples.

Sharpness

Sharpness is great.

It's sharp in the center at all settings.

On the Nikon D3, it's a little softer wide open in the corners, and sharpens up a stop or two down. Even wide open it's pretty good and much better than the cheaper zooms.

Compared directly to the $1,700 24-70mm f/2.8 AFS, the 35-70mm f/2.8 is only a little softer in the corners wide open on a D3. This is only visible by setting up a deliberate test where the corners have subject material that will be in perfect focus at f/2.8 and then looking at the images at 100% on my monitor.

On film, I doubt I'd see any of the corner softening even on tests. It's only visible deliberately shooting from a mountain top at infinity, so that there are details to see, in focus, in the far corners. Real subjects we shoot at f/2.8 aren't flat like the Earth, so I've never seen this in anything but deliberate test photos.

If you sweat this, then sure, get the 24-70mm and lug it around. If you just want great photos and no neck pain, get this 35-70mm.

I shot this against the 24-70mm AFS, 28-70mm AFS, the 35-70mm f/3.5 AI-s and 35-70mm f/3.5 AI. I'll be presenting all these images when I have enough time in front of my computer to format it all.

Focusing

The front filter ring rotates during focus, but not with zooming.

AF

AF speed is fast, with one full turn of the AF screw bringing one from infinity to 9 feet.

The focus ring turns during AF action. I've never had a problem with my fingers getting in the way.

The two-foot (0.6m) close focus distance is just fine for most shooting, and if not, the macro mode also works great.

Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 set to 35mm.

Manual Focus

On digital and AF cameras, manual focus demands you move a switch on your camera.

An advantage of this corny arrangement is that I can grab the entire lens for stable hand-holding after focusing, and that I won't accidentally move the focus as I do with the 24-70mm AFS.

The focus ring is well calibrated for manual-focus cameras. It's just right and never too fast or too slow.

Zooming

The zooming is push-pull. 70mm is collapsed, and 35mm is fully extended.

The zoom range is fluid between 35mm and 50mm. It becomes a little cramped between 50mm and 70mm, requiring a little more attention to set an exact composition, since the zoom moves so little at the longer end.

Distortion

As expected, on film or an FX digital camera, it has some barrel distortion at 35mm and some pincushion distortion at 70mm. On a DX camera it almost has none, care of the crop factor.

Plug these figures into Photoshop CS2's lens distortion filter to correct the distortion. These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires me to climb a bluff on a very clear day and shoot the ocean's horizon.

© 2007 KenRockwell.com

Macro

Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 macro mode control.

The macro mode is easier to use than to explain. Just zoom to 35mm, press the left button with your thumb, and focus by rotating the entire zoom ring to the left. It gets closer than I need.

Focus is manual in the macro mode. Even if you have AF set, it is disengaged automatically, at least on my D3. This is great, because I prefer to focus manually in macro modes.

It's easy to focus manually on my D3. I look at the finder's ground glass and turn the ring. I get perfect results even at f/2.8. I could use the electronic rangefinder, but it's easier just to look at the image.

Construction and Mechanics

Filter Threads and Bayonet Mount: Anodized Aluminum.

Focus and Zoom Rings: Metal covered with waffle-pattern rubbery plastic.

Barrel: Metal.

Aperture Control Ring: Plastic.

Markings: Paint.

Internals: Looks like metal.

Lens Mount: Metal.

Serial Number: Laser-engraved on bottom of aperture control ring.

Made In: Japan.

Recommendations    top

Intro   Specifications    Performance    Recommendations

Want a screaming bargain on a fast professional midrange zoom? Get one of these while you still can. They went out of production in 2006.

Previously I've questioned the utility of any lens which can only zoom 40% either way from 50mm, and is far bigger, slower and more expensive than any fixed 50mm lens, but I've become more open minded in my old age. For those of you who need to zoom instead of move forward and back, this is a great lens.

More Information: See Nikon Japan (complete with MTF plots) and Nikon USA.

PLUG

If this just saved you a thousand dollars, if you find this as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.

Thanks for reading!

Ken