Those f/2.8 Zooms of the 1970s and 1980s...

Kent said:
I dare to disagree, Scott.

There are several very good zoom lenses from that era. But when we talk about used lenses, we never know how they have been handled. It easily imaginable that an old zoom lens has an "issue" somewhere and loses its quality.
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Kent, I'm hardly authoritative, so I expect disagreement and humbly hope I didn't offend anyone with my post. The main concern with zoom lens design is that their optical design is so very complicated, with the mathematics expanding exponentially with every added element. It's no wonder that zoom lenses were rare before computers came along in the Sixties and Seventies. Also I was commenting only about the lenses I actually own, not about all zoom lenses made by these manufacturers in general. I should have been much more specific about that.

Scott
 
Such zoom lenses were fine performers when used on a heavy tripod and using a cable release cord, and then have in the camera a high resolution transparency film.
 
What's most to like about some of these older lenses, is that they're built like tanks. No polycarbonate, just plain honest glass n' brass. Optically, there are some decent ones; the Nikon 35-70/2.8 already mentioned comes to mind; my copy is at least as sharp as my screwdriver 50/1.8 over the entire aperture range from 2.8 up. I guess it owes its performance to the conservative zoom ratio. I've also got a push-pull 35-105 3.5/4.5 that's built similar to the 35-70, but that one is somewhat less convincing optically, maybe the 3x ratio is to blame. Still, it's a nice throw around lens that can take a beating.
 
pvdhaar said:
What's most to like about some of these older lenses, is that they're built like tanks. No polycarbonate, just plain honest glass n' brass. Optically, there are some decent ones; the Nikon 35-70/2.8 already mentioned comes to mind; my copy is at least as sharp as my screwdriver 50/1.8 over the entire aperture range from 2.8 up. I guess it owes its performance to the conservative zoom ratio. I've also got a push-pull 35-105 3.5/4.5 that's built similar to the 35-70, but that one is somewhat less convincing optically, maybe the 3x ratio is to blame. Still, it's a nice throw around lens that can take a beating.
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The final version Nikkor AF 35-105/3.5-4.5D (push-pull) is actually a fantastic tiny zoom even for manual focus; it's internal focus and has aspherics.

Dante
 
Dante_Stella said:
The final version Nikkor AF 35-105/3.5-4.5D (push-pull) is actually a fantastic tiny zoom even for manual focus; it's internal focus and has aspherics.

Dante
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That's the one I had in mind. Didn't know about the aspherics. The IF part is obvious though.. Bit of a shame that it results in a close focus distance of 85cm, that's sometimes a bit limiting, especially when shooting at its widest.
 
Originally Posted by Dante_Stella The final version Nikkor AF 35-105/3.5-4.5D (push-pull) is actually a fantastic tiny zoom even for manual focus; it's internal focus and has aspherics.

Dante

Yes I bought this lens after reading that it had an aspherical element and found it to be really quite good. If so it must have been one of the first, if not the first, moulded aspherical lenses made by Nikon. I think I paid less than $100 for it in which case it was a bargain. I think it was never hugely popular as newer designers were becoming available at the time this came out.


It is said to be much better than the previous (non D) versions including the MF versions due to its design including an aspherical element but I have not tried them so cannot confirm how they compare one on one. I think I read about the aspherics in Moose Peterson's book on the Nikon system but have never seen it confirmed in any Nikon literature that I can recall (This struck me as odd- I should have thought they would have shouted it from the rooftops in their marketing literature). I have however often seen this stated on the web.

I would be interested to know, Dante if you have a source just to satisfy my curiosity. The MIR site just gives its optical formula as [FONT=Trebucht MS, Arial, helvetica]"Lens construction: [/FONT][FONT=arial, verdana, geneva, helvetica]16 elements in 12 groups[/FONT][FONT=Trebucht MS, Arial, helvetica]; with close focus Design"

https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/AFNikkor/AF35105mm/index2.htm
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In any event I must get it out and use it again. like many here I have a tendency to hoard lenses that end up not being used much.
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