Marco Aries

Between the 70s and 80s, zoom lenses were rising in popularity and, after three years of development, Nikon released the 35-200 in 1985. Allegedly, it was a technological marvel at the time, created with the aid of rapidly improving computer processing, allowing manufacturers to push the boundaries of what was previously possible. The lens is made of metal and hard plastic, it weights around 700g, it is 11.9 to 17cm long and it has an external diameter of 70mm, with a 62mm front thread. The iris has 7 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f3.5 at 35mm or f4.5 at 200mm to f22 without half steps. It uses a push pull zoom and focus, with a wide textured grip and it turns 150 degrees. Minimum focusing distance is 1.6 meters throughout the zoom range but if you push this button and turn the barrel it can focus up to 30cm at 35mm and 1.3 meters at 200mm. The Nikon F mount has a flange distance of 46.5mm. Overall build quality is great, but there are a few things that I don’t like ...

The F series were the first autofocus lenses produced by Pentax around 1988 to 1991. They used a screw-drive type autofocus, meaning that the motor was in the camera body, which surprisingly is still supported by modern Pentax digital cameras. At the same time, being able to focus manually and having a physical aperture ring means that they can also be used with older analog bodies, like the k1000 or this p30. I just love how Pentax engineers have managed to keep everything compatible for, what, 40 plus years now? The lens has a plastic body, it weights 500g, it is 116 to 160mm long and it has an external diameter of 72mm, with a 49mm front thread. The iris had 9 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f4 at 70mm or f5.6 at 200mm to f32 with half steps plus auto. The small green dot indicates the actual aperture at 200mm. The focusing ring is small and not really meant to be used manually and it turns 240 degrees. Minimum focusing distance is 1,1 meters and the front turns whe...