Rating Reviewed by: jk (Unregistered User)
(Intermediate)
Review Date September 8, 2003
Overall Rating 2 of 5
Value Rating 2 of 5
Used product for More than 1 year
Visitors rate this review 3.50 of 5,
4 votes
Review 1 of 32
Price Paid:
$0.00
from London On
Summary:
At first I thought this lens was alright. However after my camera failed I used an Olympus point and shoot camera in the same environment. When I got the pictures back the Nikon images were not as sharp, However they had better colour.
I really dont like this lens when I am trying to take a serious shot.
Strengths:
Good for birthday parties, Fun snapshots. It's easy to use and light.
This lens admitteldy takes some very decent photos, especially for the price. But I can't get by the construction. I feel totally ill-at-ease using it. Manual focus is a nightmare, the zoom feels toy-like and there's plastic plastic EVERYWHERE. I've bought a Nikon 28-105 and the 35-80 is being sold.
Strengths:
OK photos for very cheap price
LIGHT weight
Weaknesses:
CHEAP FEEL, CHEAP LOOK, CHEAP ACTION
OK, this may be petty of me, but I can't live with it...and you may not be able to either.
Somewhat limited range for zoom.
Similar Products Used:
Nikon 50 1.8 mf
Nikon 28-105 af
Nikon 70-210 af
Soligar 95-310 mf (nice lens surprisingly)
I got old one with metal mount. Frankly I have to admit to say this lens is very good. Over the years, I have accumulated so called Finest 35mm lens,mostly prime,for minolta(my wife's system),Nikon, Canon. My favorate 35mm prime are 85/1.2 USM, 90/2.8 TSE, 200/1.8 USM,100/2.8 Maxuum macro AFD, 100/2 DC AFD Nikkor, 50/1.4 Maxxum AF, 400/4.5 Maxxum AF,35/1.7 Ultron Voight lander,70~200/2.8 IS USM(yes this is only zoom lens I own), 85/2.8 PC macro Nikkor, 500/4 EOS ISM IS, 85/1.4 A pentax(Not FA version), 85mm/1.4 MM Zeiss. and Finally I just ordered 100/2.8 leica macro. What I am interestin in here is Comparing cheapest consummer zoon lens against fineast prime at same aperture !. Guess what? Shadow detail, color redering was slightly noticible. But sharpness was almost undetectable up to 8 by 10. Dont believe me. well My wife don't. So I tested her 100 of 5 by 7 Pictures half of them pictured by cheap zoom. Well She could pick only 12 that she is sure of it took by the prime. 78 picture she wasn't sure. But the problem is that 12 out of 4 was took by the cheap zoom. Test shot was took on the heavy tripod with mirror lock up and same illumination and same object distance. Well I don't know what to say. You be the judge.
I'm writing this review with respect to amateur quality lenses. The Nikkor 35mm~80mm f/4.0-f/5.6 is an excellent lens in terms of sharpness when compared to, say, a point and shoot lens. It is extremely well priced and you won't have difficulty finding one of these second hand for under $100. Optically, distortion and flare is not overly dramatic. Lightweight, versitile, and affordable, you won't want to kill yourself if you lose or damage this lens!
Strengths:
Well priced, good price/quality ratio, better than point and shoot lenses, multi-coated elements, lightweight.
Weaknesses:
Plastic EVERYWHERE, hard to manually focus due to small focus ring, a tad slow - could have been made as f/3.5-f/4.5 pretty easily, with perhaps a slightly larger barrel - not really suitable for night photos, very badly sealed - dust can get in easily and clog up the gears.
Similar Products Used:
Tamron 28mm~80mm f/3.5-f/5.6D, AF Zoom-Nikkor 28mm~80mm f/3.5-f/5.6D, Minolta 35mm~70mm f/3.5-f/5.6
Customer Service:
Never needed it. It would be perhaps easier, quicker, and cheaper to get another identical lens!
Optically a reasonable lens. Even performance through zoom range and across frame. Not spectacular but you wouldn''t expect it at the price and just fine for up to 7x5 prints (haven''t tried larger I have to admit).
Mechanics are fragile. It dropped, with F50 body which is light, about one foot (30cm) onto a wooden floor and the zoom ring seized up. The dealer informed me he has had others returned with the same problem. Lets face it, over a couple of years, the chances of a standard zoom taking a couple of minor knocks are quite high. I''ve used a Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8AF for about 8 years and although about 7 times the cost it''s taken far more than 7 times the battering (accidentally, I''m not some kind of lens beater)
Nikon really need to fill the gap between these super-cheap standard zooms and the 35-70mm f/2.8 or 24-85mm f/2.8-4D (Nikon discontinued the 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 AFD).
Strengths:
Low cost. Light and small.
Weaknesses:
Feels horribly cheap and not precision instrument like (should this matter to you).
Dreadful mechanical quality. I know it''s cheap but wonder if just adding a cost of say $5 to strengthen the mechanics would help Nikon preserve their reputation and save customers hours of time replacing a broken lens!
Similar Products Used:
Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AFD
Customer Service:
Not worth the bother at this price. Consider it a disposable.
Sample Images
More Products from Nikon
Link to this page
2 of 5
4 of 5
5 of 5
3 of 5
