Is the 35-70mm f2.8 AF D any good and what uses do people buy this lens for?

Just bought, although not yet received, a mint and boxed with everything very late example of the now discontinued 35-70 f2.8 AF D. I know I should have asked the question before purchase but what is this lens's main purpose and is it any good? Please forgive my ignorance as a newbie. Thanks very much in advance for any replies.

Excellent lens with great optical qualities. At 2.8 is fast. Good for portraits and is also good with it's closeup ability. The range is limited though. The push/pull design can be awkward at first. Enjoy it!

Richard
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Equipment: 1 camera, 1 lens, 38 years
http://www.pbase.com/rgthompson

I have never used the lens myself, but it seems to be well liked by those that have copies of this older design. Bjorn seems to like it, which is usually a good sign.

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_zoom_02.html#AF35-70D
http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/121/cat/13

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Aaron Killen

Hi I have the lens like it and it really shines in certain situations, but honestly use it rarely since getting the sigma 18-50 2.8 macro.

This is a pro-grade lens, as far as IQ is concerned. Extremely sharp from f4 onwards, wonderful color and bokeh. Downside? Susceptible to flare and AF speed is a little slow. Great for portraits.

Was my fav lens till i got 17-55. Still plan to keep as alternate and FF lens.

I think you will be very happy with the lens. Good copies are hard to find because they are susceptible to fungus due to the push pull focus design. If you take care of the lens you should have no problems.

I like this lens because it is light and small. A great walk around lens that is unassuming and less intimidating than the other Nikon 2.8 mid ranged zooms. It does not cover the same wide range and it is not nearly as sharp wide open but if you know you are going to use it in slightly below to great light you will have no problems. I will carry a prime for when it gets dark so I don't have to use f/2.8. It was a photojournalist lens and I used it on my D3 until I could afford the Nikon 24-70 (which has more micro contrast but a much higher price tag). Stopped down to f/4 and above will give you great contrasty images. Fast Auto focus, at least it has never been a problem in my work, and did I say compact.

David

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Photography is freedom
http://www.davidmylesphotography.com
http://davidmylesphotography.blogspot.com

I use it mainly for portraits. The f2.8 provides sufficient shallow DOF and optics are sharp.

Lens is solid, though the zoom is a little strange - push out for wide and pulll back for tele - and takes a while to get used to...

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Your 4 'Cees' for photography: Crisp, Clean, Composed and Colourful
http://tigadee.fotopic.net

in good condition it is an excellent lens and at normal market prices it's a great value

on a FF it makes a great walk-around or single lens for a vacation; it's not super wide or long but it is pretty versatile across the mid focal lengths

I've used 17-55, 28-70, 50 and other popular lenses in this range and the 35-70 delivers a great combination of flexibilty and IQ in a reasonably small and light weight lens

It's not perfect but not too many lenses are; chances are you will enjoy it a lot

I have heard about some with fungus but It sounds like you are confusing the delamination that can happen to one or more of the elements within the lens. The outer plastic coating starts to separate because of a weakness in the glue probably. I'm guessing that the problem is a weakness in the single lens element itself and probably not the push pull design- but I could be wrong.

It's a medium expensive repair if needed no matter how it is caused and some people have simply gone for another used lens for the same cost that the repair would have been.

Guy Moscoso

MylesDavid said:

I think you will be very happy with the lens. Good copies are hard to find because they are susceptible to fungus due to the push pull focus design. If you take care of the lens you should have no problems.

David

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As others have already said, it is a very good lens. I use it as a general walk around lens even on DX format camera.

One thing I would add, it has very little distortion so it can be used quite nicely for archetectural shots, assuming the focal range suits the composition.

-Suntan