AF Nikkor 35-70mm f2.8 D vintage lens review

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The lens is made of metal, it weights around 620g, it is 9,6 to 12,4cm long and it has an external diameter of 72mm, with a 62mm front thread.

The iris has 7 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f2.8 to f22  without half steps.

The focusing ring is rubberized, it turns a little less than 90 degrees and minimum focusing distance is 60cm. By pressing this button, it can focus closer, but only at 35mm.

The autofocus uses the screw drive system.

The Nikon F mount has a flange distance of 46,5mm.

Although on the heavier side, it operates pretty smoothly. The focus throw is short but precise and the only real complaint I have is the same for all the lenses in this series: the aperture ring is awkward to use.

Sharpness wide open is good at 35mm, with some softness in the corners, but it loses a lot all over the frame at 70mm. By f8 it gets much sharper and it has more detail on the long end than the wide.

There is some chromatic aberration, but it is mostly barely noticeable.

Colors are a touch cold and de-saturated but with good contrast.

Specular highlights have hard edges and some radial gradients, while backgrounds are not the most soft but don’t really feel busy.

 Flares are bright green but not too strong and it doesn’t lose much contrast when shooting towards a source of light.

Given my past experiences with Nikkor, I was afraid this would be one of their lenses that promise a lot but don’t fully deliver and I’m glad I was wrong.

It could use some more sharpness wide open at 70mm and it is kind of heavy, but overall it’s good.

I didn’t even mind the push pull zoom and the 60cm minimum focusing distance most of the times is enough.



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