Great range, sharp images, reasonably fast, and love the macro feature for close ups.

Wished it used a scalloped hood rather than the large HB-18.

This makes a great ONE lens kit! It does it all and it does a great job, not as good as my primes but very, very close.

Customer Service

I've never needed cs for a Nikon lens!

Similar Products Used:

I currently own and use the following: Nikon 24-50/3.3~4.5, Nikon 28-70/3.5~4.5, Nikon 35-70/3.3~4.5, Nikon 35-80/4.0~5.6, Nikon 70-210/4.0~5.6 zoom lenses. I also own and use the Sigma 24/2.8, Nikon 28/2.8, Nikon 50/1.8, and the 85/1.8 prime lenses.

all 'round excellent for the price

combined with the N80, a little slow to focus sometimes (still faster than me) but relatively, none

I purchased this N80 with this lens based on reviews in here. I could not be more pleased. I just finished taking 148 candid photos at a friends wedding and the results are perfect. I suspect it has something to do with the combo of supra 800 &400 film, the N80, and the lens. I should point out I did not use any filter because of the vignetting comments in here. I have also shot numerous rolls outdoors with the same wonderful results. My wife is a pro and might be able to get ever so slightly better shots with her primes, but I'm not even sure of that sunce she examined all of these and declared them perfect. Many thanks to all the reviewers in here. I just take photos for fun and boy, am I having fun. It's off to my grandson's birthday party now!

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

several zooms and primes

Nice range
Macro
Sharp

I don't see any, so far

Sharp throughout the range, almost as my 24/2.8 and 50/1.8, better than 24-120. I might be lucky, but I can't find any vignetting, even wide open ( I didn't use any filter).

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon and Canon lenses
(primes and zooms)

expensive for a 28-105 lens- you can find a decent Sigma/Tamron for $100
sharp
compact

fuzzy corner macros
expensive

This is a good lens, but I wouldn't buy it again because you can get an off brand one for really cheap. At 28, there is noticeable vignetting or falloff-whatever you call it- dark corners when wide open- I think some fall off. The macro funtion only works manually engaged- somewhat strange and then the corners are not focusses when the center is. This is an unremarkable range- most P&S have this range and more. Very expensive, I could have bought a new N80 body for this price.

Similar Products Used:

None

Good sharpness
Good color, contrast
Useful zoom rnage
Light weight

Macro focusing

I like this lens for its sharpness, color rendition and good contrast. I note some vignetting between 28-35mm with two filters (81A & circular polarizer). To me, the main weakness is the macoro focusing. I photograph orchids quite frequently, and the difference between a good photo & a less good one is often precise focus. I always focus manually. Manual focusing has a good "feel," but the focusing helical on this lens is simply too short to be precise, or to be very useful in the macro range. (I haven't tried it with a focusing rail.) Bottom line: this is a very good lens for the money when used in the non-macro range. However, if you plan on doing a significant amount of macro photography, it would be better to invest in a true macro lens (in addition to this zoom).

Customer Service

Haven't used.

Similar Products Used:

Quantaray 35-70
Sigma 70-200 (great lens)
Sigma 50 macro

Sharp
build quality
range (carry-around lens)
IF
Macro

Not that I am aware of

Very good lens. Covers the most often used range. Really like the build and balanced feel when mounted. IF is very convenient for use with a CP. I use this lens mostly for portrait, and occasionally for travel/landscapes. I still yet to encounter the vignetting problem other posts mentioned. (I use soft focus, circular polarizor, and UV haze filters). I have expectations for this lens though. But considering the features and price, I'd give it:

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Tokina 28mm f/2.8

wide range lightweight sharpness

none

This is a very good lens compared to other wide range zoom lenses like the sigma. It offers far better sharpness and contrast and has almost no distortion. This zoom lens is a compromise you can easily live with! Visit my homepage: www.troeszter.com

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sigma 28-105

Nicely constructed with good optical performance for the price. Low distortion at the wide end, for a zoom. Nice zoom and focus action. Macro is useful for learning and experimentation. Nice contrast-colors reproduce very nicely with this lens. Very good focal length range (incidently, Nikon doesn't offer this focal range in a professional f2.8 lens, nobody does).

Not fast, but only one stop +/- slower than an f2.8 pro lens. I wish Nikon would develop image stabilization technology for their semi-pro lenses. I'd pay an additional $100.00 to get this feature. I also like Canon's full-time manual focus, which Nikon doesn't have.

I grew up using prime lenses in this focal length range (28mm and 50mm). As reluctant as I am to admit it, this has become my primary lens. I find the range adequate for the majority of my shots. When it's not, I have a long zoom and a 24mm prime to supplement. The color reproduction of this lens is my favorite part - very contrasty. I find sharpness to be very good. I use my equipment outdoors about 80% of the time, so I almost never shoot this lens wide open. When I'm taking serious photos, I almost always throw it on the tripod and stop it down to f8 or smaller. At those apertures, it is very sharp, and it doesn't give up much to my primes. When I do shoot indoors, wide open, I am usually taking snap shots that aren't viewed as critically or enlarged. For this use, the sharpness at f3.5 is fine. Autofocus speed is the same as my other Nikkors, which is fine, but obviously not as fast as USM Canons. The weight and handling of the lens is very comfortable. Bottom line: I find my 24mm to be noticeably better for wide angle composition than the 28mm end of this lens, and there are some shots you just can't take without a long zoom. My 50mm 1.8 is much faster, with a much brighter view finder image, and is my low light choice, but for everyday shooting, it has almost been obsoleted by this lens. If I had to sell 3 of my 4 lenses, this is the one I would keep. I recommend it to any photographer who wants a "ready for anyhthing" lens that produces high quality results. One last thing: If you have a choice of systems, Canon makes a 28-135 IS USM lens, that has more features for about $150.00 more. If I shot Canon, that is the lens I would buy, rather than Canon's 28-105, which is very comparable to this Nikkor. I do like the subjective "feel" of the Nikon lenses better, though this may just be the feel that I'm used to.

Customer Service

Not needed, but the 5-year Nikon warranty is reassuring.

Similar Products Used:

My system consists of: N80, N60, 24mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5, 70-300mm f4-5.6. I learned on Canon FD equipment.

Good Construction and quality for "New Style" AF lens. As good as eye can see sharpness.
Nikon Optics.
Haven't yet noticed the vignetting,and I've looked, though I've heard about it.

Aperture ring seems sloppy and underdone, (plasticky)
Noisy AF
Doesn't compare to my old Pentax manual SMC lens quality with thier heavy duty constuction

This is my first "semi-pro" lens used. I had purchased a Nikon N80 to upgrade my equipment from my old (and very satisfactory) Pentax equipment, along with a Quantaray 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 to "try". After an honest and objective evaluation, the lens optics and performance don't even come close to the 28-105 2.8-4.5, even to my relatively inexperienced eye. The constuction - beyond the glass quality - and is of utmost importance to me - convey quality, with metal mounts and frame, and real rubber zoom and focussing rings. I've shot about 20 rolls of film through this lens since I've been using it with the only disappointments being operator error with a new, unfamiliar camera. If you need one all purpose lens this is it. In addition, and contrary to what I've heard, I've been able to achive perfect (and auto) focus from about four inches or so with the 'Macro' function. This isn't even advertised, but I've seen it with my own eyes! This is THE first lens to buy if you want to evaluate your camera - and take a few great photos!

Customer Service

None Needed

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K1000
Pentax ME Super
Pentax-A SMC 50mm 1.4
Pentax-A SMC 35-105 3.5

Zoomrange

shaky frontelement. Inceased strength necessary to turn zoomring between 35-28mm towards 28mm and a klick in the mechenism. That leads to a moore or less blocked focussingring.Transfer of focal lenth to flashlight reflektor often fails.

Amond over 30 lenses the worst lens mechanism I ever had. Six times in service since new. First service necessary from the counter (klick noise when zooming). 2nd servive took 11 weeks to repair the same defect as in fist service, a blocking zoomring and elektronical problems. 3rd sevice to replace frontlens scratched during 2nd service. 4th to 6th (lasts in the moment) always with the same problem. The lens was moore than 20% of the warrantrytime in service. Demands for changing the lemmon and questions about the costruction died away. For the future I'll take it as an expensive paper-weight.

Customer Service

very varying, also see summary.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma EX 28-70, Tokina SZX 28-70; Leica Elmarit 28-70, some primes from Nikon, Olympus and Leica in the same range of focal length.