Compatible with 62mm filters on 70-300 ED

See above

I selected this lens to go with my N80 and 70-300 ED (shares the same 62mm filters) to shoot photos to accompany articles I write for magazines. After using both for a year, I would have found the 24-120 to be a much more useful range (28 was often not quite wide enough and 105 frequenty was a tad short) when shooting on-the-water sailing action. It also became apparent the images from the 70-300 ED were consistently being published larger. This may be due, in part to the "warmer" tones from the ED glass element in the 70-300 ED, but I also noticed the lens was "soft" when shooting wide open with slow slide film (e.g., Velvia 50). I took a flashlight and looked through both the front and rear of the lens. When looking at the back of the front elements, I noticed what appeared to be incompletely polished grinding marks on the backside of the front lens elements (maybe lens #2). Ken Rockwell noted this in his review of the 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/80200afs.htm). Ken Rockwell notes in his review of this lens (28-105) there may be an AF error that could account for the softness when shooting wide open (see http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/28105af.htm). All and all I was rather disappointed with it's less than sharp performance wide open so I sold it. Casual users may not notice this at all, but for magazine work it was unacceptable when you're competing with photogs using 35mm primes and pro lenses. Since the 70-300 ED range is much more useful for sailing action photography (see my review elsewhere on this site), I replaced the 28-105 with three primes for shooting static images (24mm f/2.8D, 35mm f/2D and 50mm f/1.8D, which I am much happier with them). Price was after rebate.

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Not needed on this lens.

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Very low distortion,probably the least distorted Nikon zoom (consumer grade). Very very sharp at 28mm I compare it to prime 28mm when step down between f5.6-11.0 with 8.0 optimal results. Great sharpness from 5.6 down. Color excellent also, but not as contrasty as my 18-35mm ED lens.

Colors cooler not as warm as with ED lenses. Little softness at 105mm, but this is typical to zoom lenses. As lens elements move away from one another sharpness will be lost, more or less depending on the overall lens optical design.

This lens in absolutely awesome for the price. I originally bought china cheap 28-80mm but quickly replaced it with 28-105mm, because it was soft and not any better than my Canon $30 P&S camera. I used this lens for over 4 years now with N80 and F100 cameras and have many great pictures to prove it. Very nice combo for any Nikon AF SLR.

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Never used

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28-80mm made in china dinky lens 18-35mm ED , nice lens 70-210mm constant F4, sharp,quality optics. 50mm 1.4D

-Very good quality for a zoom -Macro (not perfect, but better than none) -Wide zoom range -Fine build quality (made in Japan!)

-A bit heavy, perhaps. (steadier?) -Pricey, £270 sterling new- you get what you pay for.

I have not had this lens long but I am very impressed. I part exchanged my 28-100G lens for this and still had to pay £160 for a used! Having gotten the first slides back I am very impressed, it knocks spots of the G lens, being better in every possible way, except perhaps weight. The colours, with Fuji Sensia, are astounding, It almost, but not quite, equals my 50mm 1.8D, and, from 28-105, its versitility justifies the weight and reletive slowness. With Macro to boot! Goes great with the F(N)80. A real cracker, the best Nikon zoom for less than £1,000.

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No required

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Nikon 28-100G Nikon 50mm 1.8D

all /macro focal lenght build quality zoom handling low noise etc.......

little distortion on 28 mm..maybe in bothe ends..but look at the price!!*

Please note that this item is one of the most reviewed products at all! and the rating is very high as well. And for sure the nikkor 28-105 is so good and versatile that in some focal lenghts is like a very good prime. Go and invest your money in this pearl ,you can use it on any cam with more than very good results. Absolutely a prime zoom of extraordinary good quality ,buy it with the new F75 and you will be very very surprised ! its high end for low money! pure pro qualities on a budget.

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many others form canon minolta etc

It's just a fantastic all around lens. Very sharp with little distortion, great macro function. Nearly as good as a prime lens in the wide-angle focal lengths. It also uses the handy 62mm filter size.

Slow at the long end. I usually carry an 85mm 1.8 along with this lens. Manual focusing mechanism is not real robust or well damped. The lens hood is downright bizarre. It's best used without a screw-on filter to avoid light fall-off.

This is an update to my previous post. I've used this lens for three years for a variety of applications. Much of the shooting I do is 100-speed slides for stock photography (books, magazines, greeting cards, calendars). I really like this lens, and it has become my primary lens. At 28mm it compares well to Nikon's 28mm prime, and is only 1/2-stop slower. For this reason I don't carry a wide angle prime lens. I've found the lens to be sharp through-out, but the slow speed of 4.5 beyond about 70mm is a limitation. Shooting 100-speed film I usually have no trouble using the lens at the longer focal lengths, but usually cannot get the background blur that I sometimes would like. To me, the moderate maximum aperture is the only real flaw of this lens. Well, that and it could use a more robust manual focusing mechanism. My standard kit currently includes the 28-105, 85mm 1.8, and 180 2.8. Be careful in your use of screw-on filters with this lens. They sometimes cause noticable light fall-off and/or vignetting.

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Nikon is typically rude.

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Too many to count.

Uses 62mm filters. Fast AF. Amazing macro feature. Sharp as a tack. Little distortion. Solid construction.

Macro doesn't work at all focal lengths. Manual focus of this lens would be difficult due to the short focus throw. The monstrous hood is awkward and obtrusive. Also, the hood is made of plastic so I think its durability could be suspect.

This is now my favourite lens. It covers my most commonly used focal lengths. It is sharp, well constructed, and when it comes to AF it is FAST! It is economical -- I paid $250 US for a mint used version. This lens is the swiss army knife of lenses.

Customer Service

Never had to use it for this lens. I have used Nikon Canada customer service for my cameras and they do excellent work.

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Nikon 70-210 AF, Nikon 70-300 ED, Nikon 28-85 MF, Nikon 28-70 AF, Nikon 24mm AF, Nikon 50mm F1.8

* Sharp images * Useful range * Macro is added bonus

* Quirky macro function *

Head and shoulders above the Nikon 28-80 3.5-5.6. Images are extremely sharp and the focal length covers a very useful range along with a well balanced feel on the F100. The price is definitely justified. If it were faster, I'd sell my prime lenses and just use this.

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Haven't needed and don't anticipate any problems for a long time(yeah!!)

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Nikon 28-80 3.5-5.6 Nikon 50 1.8

very versatile (e.g. focal lrngths) macro feature lightweight

I found it a little difficult to judge hyperfocal distances since the distance scale goes from 2,3,7 then to infinity. However, I believe all the AF zoom lenses (especially with internal focus) today have the same feature. Would not keep me from rating this an excellent lens though.

Excellent lens for price. I just got the first couple of rolls ( prints) back and was quite surprised at the overall quality. This is definately an upgrade from the original 28-80 G lens I purchased for my N80. The macro capability is good too except for some softness around the edges. Then again, I didn't buy the lens for that feature but it's a plus to have on this lens. Every picture inside (with flash) and outside using 200 speed is very sharp. After much research on this site and elsewhere, I decided on this focal length lens for an upcoming Alaskan cruise. This one is definately the right choice.

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not used

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70-300 Nikon Vivitar 90-230

Sharp and contrasty images for a zoom of this focal length. Build quality is better than most but I still would not like to drop it. A very versatile lens.

Short travel focussing ring is harder to manual focus than a normal lens but hey... it is meant for autofocus.

After much research and sleepless nights I opted for this lens over the 24-85mm AF-G lens and the Tamron 24-135mm. I wanted the Nikkor lens but I have both the FM-3a and the F100 so the 24-85 would have been wasted (cannot be used on FM-3a). I had heard bad things about this lens but the positives out-weighed the negatives and so far I have not seen many. On the F100 the focussing is very quick and accurate thanks to the IF design but you have to be careful with a manual camera as the focussing ring travels a very short distance. The results I have had so far are excellent, the slides jump out at you under the lupe! This is my first zoom lens for a long time and they have come a very long way. I am impressed with the results, not bad for £269!

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Fingers crossed!

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Various Nikon lenses Pentax 28-80mm (oh dear) Nikkor 35-70mm f2.8

Zoom range covers common focal lengths. 1/2 Macro comes in handy. Lightweight. Sharp.

In order to make a 1/2 macro zoom lens in this range, Nikon gave up tolerances. Either buy a thin polarizer or one with a step-up (such as Nikon's), and stay away from the max stops, or you'll vignette. This *is* a consumer lens, and feels like it.

Extremely flexible consumer lens with minimal drawbacks. 1/2 macro is an undersold bonus (missing altogether in the current Nikon catalog). Tight tolerances can lead to vignetting. A great starter lens and probably the best lens to have if you can have only one.

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