Nikon 25-50mm f/4 AIS Zoom-Nikkor Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by:

royszone
( Professional)

Review Date
June 16, 2008

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
2 votes

Review 1 of 10

Price Paid: $250.00 from Vancouver,BC

Summary:

Hi guys,,,I am a seasoned Pro and use this lens every day . I still use film with my F-4e's but mostly D2xs with all my lenses. The 25-50 F4 Nikon Zoom is my number one choice for most shots in this range,both film and digital. It produces pictures that have no distorion at all . Yes the corners are a tiny bit soft but who is looking at the corners except in a lab test. I rate this lens at 5 of 5 and against todays lenses.
I have in my bag a Tokina 17mm f3.5 AIS, Nikon 20mm f3.5 AIS,28 and 35mm f2.8 Nikon,50mm f1.4 and 1.8 AFD , 50mm f1.8 AIS,55mm f2.5 Micro Nikon,105 f2.5 AIS Nikon,135mm f2.8 AIS nikon,200mm f4 AIS Nikon,300mm f2.8 AF ED Nikon,and zooms are 12-24mm f4 AF ED IF Nikon, 25-50mm f4 AIS,20-35mm f2.8 AFD, 35-70 f2.8 AFD Nikon,35-135mm f3.5-4.5 Nikon,50-135mm,f 3.5 Nikon,80-200mm f4 Nikon,80-200 f 2.8 AF ED Nikon as well as 2 Vivitar 70-210mm f 3.5 AIS series 1 zooms and 28mm f 2.5 Vivitar AI for the rainy day shots.
Also my favourite of all time is my Nikon F-2s with MD2 and MB1 that I will never sell.
Getting back to the 25-50 ,,it is the best lens in my bag and the same fro the guys I work with shooting breaking news events and spoerts.

Strengths:

very good grip,easy to focus and zoom,72mm filters,just right wieght,built like a tank with a great finnish.

Weaknesses:

f:4 but not a problem with 200 asa and up. Hard to replace now as Niokn didn't make many of these gems. Constantly have to keep the filter clean to stop flare.

Similar Products Used:

perfect companion is the 50-135 f3.5 AIS zoom ,,20-35mm f2.8 AFD ,Nikon and 80-200mm f2.8 or f4 Nikon zooms with these lenses you can do anything with top notch results in any situation,,,,any..!

Customer Service:

Nikon only for me!

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Rating
Reviewed by: Mark Tupper
(Professional)

Review Date
June 23, 2007

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
3 votes

Review 2 of 10

Price Paid: $200.00 from kyoto Japan

Summary:

I bought this lens in as new condition, October 2006 Kyoto Japan - an amazing lens - I use it for panoramic shots on a D2x - using the The Panorama Factory software
I use 3 Nikkor autofocus zooms and 2 Nikkor fixed focal length manual lenses - very happy with all of them but...
This manual focus circa 1980 zoom beats the lot ! no distortion, no chromatic abberation, minimal flare and ghosting, smooth bokeh, sharp as you like f5.6 - 16
I can only assume that the designers sneaked this one past the accountants !

Strengths:

Just everything ! see above

Weaknesses:

Soft at f4.0

Similar Products Used:

12-24, 35-70 2.8 , 80-200 2.8, 55 3.5, 105 2.5, all Nikkors

Customer Service:

Nikon UK, used a few times, quick and friendly service

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Rating
Reviewed by:

Sanyi
( Expert)

Review Date
December 29, 2006

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5,
2 votes

Review 3 of 10

Price Paid: $200.00 from Private sale

Summary:

Paid $AUD200 for this 16 years ago. I have used this lens for night photography on a cable released Nikon loaded with transparency on a tripod as well as for daytime photos handheld and on tripod.

Compared to my other Canon, Nikon and Leica lenses this lens produces brilliantly crisp and beautifully coloured photos that jump up at the eye.

I mentioned to someone knowledgable the extraordinary colour on a par with my Leica R 180 f3.4 Apo and someone suggested that extraordinary colour is a good indicator that this lens must be Apo corrected.

I don't know how the quality was achieved but I will not be parted form this lens.

I am now debating which Nikon digital to buy to allow me to keep using it or if I should go Canon to keep using Leica. I will have to test the latest digital bodies to make that decision.

Strengths:

Easy coverage of popular range of indoor and landscape lens ranges.

Fantastic crisp and rich rendition of colour into light at night and during daytime.

The proof of the pudding is in the photos with subjects which leap off the print or slide.

Weaknesses:

Loose focusing collar but this makes no difference to photos

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AIS 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8, 300 f4
Canon FD 20mm f2.8, 24mm f2.8, 35mm f2, 50mm f1.4, 100 f4 macro
Leica R 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4, 90mm f2, 180mm Apo f3.4

Customer Service:

Never required

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Rating
Reviewed by:

mcphotog
( Intermediate)

Review Date
September 19, 2004

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Review 4 of 10

Price Paid: $399.00 from Keh.com

Summary:

I've been using this lens for street and documentary style work of late which is not the 25-50mm's best role but it performs admirably for a fraction of the cost of a modern wide-angle zoom and makes changing from a wide to a normal lens very quick. It's sharp in the centre at most apertures and this extends to the corners quite well. Focussing can be difficult if you're camera is fitted with a split image rangefinder and being only f/4 makes it difficult to judge focus at 25mm. Contrast and tonality are quite good, behind my primes but not significantly so. When you figure that this lens was designed and built in the late 1970s is very very good.

Strengths:

-Covers a good working range of focal lengths -Sharpness extends well towards the corners -Excellent build quality -Stopped down it becomes very sharp but is quite usable wide open

Weaknesses:

-Vignettes slightly at 25mm -Can be difficult to focus -Quite bulky for an f/4 zoom

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX APO

Customer Service:

None needed so far, I wonder if Nikon would even repair one these days...

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Rating
Reviewed by: DavidL
(Expert)

Review Date
October 5, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
7 votes

Review 5 of 10

Price Paid: $400.00 from From friend in Austr

Summary:

This lens is an enigma! I can find very little written about it and opinions seem to vary greatly. Bjorn Rorslett has good things to say about it on his site. Contrast is excellent. Images ‘pop.’ There is superb clarity and almost a 3d look to some slides. This is a big, solid, well made lens that covers a useful zoom range for landscape work. I would rate it at 4.5 stars for performance and 5 (or more) for value.

Strengths:

1. Solid build. 2. Useful zoom range. 3. Excellent value. 4. Constant aperture.

Weaknesses:

1. Not fast or AF. ( not as important for landscape.) 2. Some vignetting at 25 with polariser.

Customer Service:

Not used

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