Construction - very heavy duty. There is no equivalent from Nikon today. Canon has a 70-210 f4 for $600-700. Nikon should update this lens. This is A good travel lens without the bulk of the more expensive a newer 80-200. It is the best bargain in my inventory of Nikon lenses.

Yes, it's slow to focus compared to todays AFS, but it still does the job. Not available new today, getting hard to find used. It needs an update!!

I'm not going to give you a lot of technical jargon - just the results. This is the one lens that always goes with me, I'll never sell it. The images, taken with Reala 100, are crisp, clear, and full of vibrant color. It gives very good background blur for outdoor potraits. It can focus fairly closely for a tele-zom - it can almost be used as a macro. Used on my new F100 I have no problems with focus errors, back-focus, or any other problems. Best results are with a tripod.

Customer Service

N/A, haven't had to use.

Similar Products Used:

24, 50, and 85 AF primes; 28-105 AF zoom; 28, 50, 135, 200 AIS primes

Very sharp throughout focal range; Much more bang for the buck than current consumer Nikkors in this focal range; Much more affordable than pro Nikkors in this focal range.

Cold color cast -> desaturated colors

I can sum up this lens in three words: SHARP but COLD. On a sturdy tripod with the aperture stopped down you can zoom out to 210mm and get tack sharp slides. But compared to multi-coated lenses made in more recent years this lens has a distinctly cool color cast. The colors of the slides I have taken with this lens are shifted towards cyan and they just aren't nearly as saturated as they are with my other Nikkors. And I've done plenty of side-by-side comparisons. This effect is more pronounced when using Fujichrome Provia 100F, which has a bluish color palate already. A good polarizer helps, as does using the lens hood (HN-24), but a warming filter would probably do wonders for this lens.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor AF 35 f/2D Nikkor AF 50 f/1.8D

Very, very good optics, even exellent. Why doesn't Nikon remake it with ED and ASPH, AF-S, VR? With price~$900 it will be extr. hot!

Super zoom mechanism. Constant F4 Sharp from 70-210 Great contrast Aperture ring, so it can be used on manual bodies too.

Many are prone to autofcus errors at a repair charge of $185 from Nikon...test before you buy!

This is an excellent quality lens even at 210mm. sharpness and contrast are far above the 4-5.6. However, beware that there was a batch from Nikon that do not accurately focus on some of the newer AF bodies. Many focus just a little too close at 210mm. Nikon wants over $185 to repair the focus error....that's as much as the lens sells for used!

Customer Service

Nikon's customer service, in my dealings with the autofocus problems, has been terrible...slow, & expensive.

Sharpness, contrast, beauty of every image and nice ''bookeh''.

Old system, slow, annoying sound of AF.

Best of the best zoom, ever produced by Nikon. Better than ANY 80-200, newest or old.( I did not work with 70-200 VR yet )

Customer Service

Never used.

Similar Products Used:

Every Nikon zoom since end of 60-s

Cheap buy, super sharp Nikon optics. Solid construction and mass(750g. Can be controlled from F80, F100 body just like newer lenses accepts 62mm filters.

AF somewhat slower due to long focus ring travel. Some samples have AF errors when used on F80,F100.

This is a one great legendary piece of optics from Nikon. Although not in production since the mid-80's I happened to buy one in mint condition on Ebay. Very well made, outside plastic shell but inside its all metal. Zoom design is 100% internal, but lens extends sligthly when focused. AF speed is a little slow, focus ring has a long travel and rotates about 270 deg. from min. dist to infinity, I heared its not any slower than new 70-300 G lens so its a matter of personal preference. Constant F4.0 is great especially when you compare todays cheap line on entry level variable ampeture Nikon lenses apparently made by Tamron. I could not believe beautiful pictures this lens can produce, very sharp, great contrast. I think its sharper than my 28-105 f3.5-4.5 and 18-35mm 3.5-4.5 Nikons, and I read on other websites its just as sharp as 80-200mm f2.8. Great buy. I may replace it in the future for 80-200 f2.8, I find myself in situations where I need brigther lens.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 28-85mm(china made$99lens)this lens sucks avoid it. Nikon 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 Nikon 18-35mm 3.5-4.5

Size, compared to the f2.8, sharpness.

Error in AF.

It has been noted that the AF of some of these lenses is not accurate when used with F100 or N80. I happened to get one of these from eBay. I kept it because I thought it was inaccurate only when I tried to focuse very close. Later I learned that it is also inaccurate when focusing on something far away. The MF works, but as many have already noted that the focusing ring is small and situated all the way at the end of the lens, making it difficult to hold. The lens is very sharp, but the color is on the cold/natural side. I wanted to use this to replace the 80-200 f4.5 lens so I compared the two side by side. The color from the good old 80-200 is rich and warm and much to my liking. The 70-210 probably needs a warming filter to achieve the same result, but that will take away the 1/3 stop advantage in speed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 80-200mm f4.5

Outstanding optics Large and smooth zoom ring Constant f4 aperture Nice size with a very solid build Works Excellent as a Macro with the Nikon 5T close-up lens

Tiny MF ring! AF a little slow No "D" chip

A beautiful lens. Very solid feel. It is a very smooth lens. And sharp looking too! The optics are fantastic. It out performed the similar products listed bellow. Colors were true and the sharpest of the bunch. I shoot a lot of Macro stuff so I was looking for a macro lens I could afford! This lens with the Nikon 5T close-up lens is a great combo. Gets down to 1:1.5 ish. Using the zoom, this combo allows you to frame your macro shots with out having to move the tripod much. Also has a great working distance! The f4 aperture allows for lost of light to focus by!

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 75-300 f4.5-5.6 Sigma 180 macro f5.6 Sigma 75-300 DL Macro f4-5.6 D

Excellent image quality. Lightweight. Uses cheaper 62mm filters.

A bit slow at focus even on my F100. Good examples are hard to find.

Everyone seems to want a lens in this range."Many" years ago I wished for but could not afford the Nikkor 80-200 F4.5. I finally bought one used & It was a dog. Later i found yet another one in near mint condition;another failure.With its excellent reputation I was dissapointed. I moved to auto focus & tried again ,this time with the 70-210 f4.Another failure as it would not focus properly.Undeterred I bought yet another 70-210 F4 & finally found a winner..This lens is brilliant & rivals good primes including my 85mm F1.8.It is lightweight & reasonably small & above all produces excellent image quality. This lens cures my desire for the 80-200 F2.8. The latter lens may have only one advantage over the 70-210 & that is focus speed. Buyer beware with this & any used auto focus lens!!They do not allways focus correctly.(new ones too)

Customer Service

Not required

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 80-200 F4.5 (two examples) Vivitar 90-180 (an excellent,big ,heavey lens.

Sharp.?xD;?xA;No vignetting.?xD;?xA;Accurate focus.?xD;?xA;Easy zoom action.?xD;?xA;Very good bokeh.?xD;?xA;f4.

Slow AF action (other than F5, F100).?xD;?xA;Noisy.?xD;?xA;Worst MF feel.?xD;?xA;Rather bulky (Is EF70-200/4 smaller?)

Who jealous of EF70-200/4? Nkon made it 15+years ago. It should be one of the best AF Nikkor non-pro zoom even produced.

Customer Service

-

Similar Products Used:

80-200/2.8?xD;?xA;75-300?xD;?xA;75-150?xD;?xA;50-135