Shapenss, satuation and contrast, no color fringing problem with D-1X, very rugged, focus speed is blazing.

Focus ring has slop, hood+lens is very much on the big side, distortions at short end, kinda pricy.

Big and Bulky, but between that and optical compromise, I take big and bulky anytime. Optically stunning. Sharp as a tack. A little bit more ditortion at 28-35mm range than the 17-35 AF-S. The lens extends during zoom, but only by about 1/2 as much as Canon''s EF 28-70 f/2.8. It is built much more solidly than the Canon, and more soild then Minolta''s 28-70 G also. The focus ring developed a little slop, which is a little annoying for a $1500 lens..

Customer Service

None for this lens. normally too slow but thorough.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 35-70 f/2.8, Canon 28-70 f/2.8EF, Minolta 28-70 f/2.8G.

Zoom range; size and weight, vr, sharpness.

Faster Autofocus would be much better

Excellent for nature and some sports photography. I have used this lens for birds on the wing, at soccer and football games, and a wide variety of wildlife. The VR works and the lens, particularly at f8 at the 400 range is very sharp. I have made good 11x14" prints @400/5.6. It has become my long lens when traveling or in the field.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikons: 80-200 2.8; 300 f4

Very fast operation. Silky smooth. Top-notch optics. Manual-override autofocus operation. Extremely effective lens hood. Beautiful finish.

Big, bulky lens. Somewhat heavy. It''s a rather conspicuous lens to use for people subjects - they tend to react to its size. Almost always have to use the hood which only makes the lens look bigger. On my F100 the lens does not perfectly mount to the camera. There is a *very* slight play once the lens locks to the mount. This doesn''t appear to affect performance any, but I still do not like it. Considering the price of the mechanism, it should have tighter tolerances than that. I''ve tried the lens on an F5 and there is no play at all.

Basically this lens feels like a solid brick, it is so well built. The finish is perfect. The operation is silky smooth. The silent-wave motor, as expected, is very fast, hushed quiet and only makes a slight noise when it brakes the rotation during focusing. Battery drain is not noticeably bad with this lens (unlike the 80-400mm VR!). The size of the lens, especially using the accompanying hood, is large. People WILL notice it. Most people will assume it to be some sort of huge super-telephoto lens if they don''t know cameras well. The lens extends slightly at 70mm, and a bit more at 28mm (at 50mm it''s flush with the barrel). This shouldn''t matter at all since the hood will almost always be on the lens. The hood is mandatory to prevent flare, which is a real problem with such large optics. Keep a good Heliopan or B&W filter on at all times, it''s better to be safe than sorry.

Customer Service

Never used.

Similar Products Used:

None.

very fast auto focus...finally as it should be
Sharp lens...thoughnot as much as others that are less expensive

range is a little limited
very heavy and bulkyas well...especially the lens hood
God awfully expensive

On my first day I experienced some problems with the auto focus just quiting????? Must have been a gremlin just fixed itself a few days later and never happened again. This lens was number 1 on my wish list, but Ithink I over estimated it's usefulness for me...Though it is a very nice lens. If it had just a little more range I think Iwould love it. Maybe 24-85 (just dreaming I guess). Because of it's price tag you must be very sure that this is something you can justify. All in all, I still enjoy that it is in my bag when I need it.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

other nikkors

Very sharp especially at the edges for this type of lens. Build quality just can't be faulted.

None really. A little heavy but what do you expect with this type of quality.

When combind with F5 the weight balance becomes perfect and unsharp badly exposed frames nomatter what the subject are hard to come by.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 35-70 2.8, 24-120 3.5-5.6. Canon 28-70 2.8

I recently purchased this lenses and find it to be fast, extremely sharp and with exceptional optics. One of the sharpest and well built lenses Nikon has put on the market.

None so far. Some may complain about its size and weight, however, I use it on my F100 and it makes for a very well balanced easy to handle package. Once you get accustomed to its proportions its very comfortable to use and certainly not nearly as large, heavy or cumbersome as the 80-200 ED AF-S zoom that seems to be so popular with so many Nikon users.

One of the best, sharpest lenses I ever owned. I only wish I had discovered it sooner. I would recommend it to anyone who is a professional or serious amateur.

Customer Service

I have never needed to use Nikon customer service for this lens.

Similar Products Used:

I have owned and used a full range of Nikon equipment, which has included; the F2, FM2, F3HP and more recently the F5 an

Sharp, Constuction, Fast Maximum Aperature, Silent Focus...

Price, Weight.

This is the only lens I've ever come across that was actually sharper in the corners than the center! ( Tested on F5 becuase of 100% viewfinder ). I really can't explain why that was but I was impressed.

Construction and build is to die for; perfect.

Only problem with this lens is it's relatively useless focal range; I could see myslef only using it at 28 or 70mm, not taking advantage of anything in between. Oh yeah, then there's the price (ugh!).

Beautiful lens to look through and at. Simply stunning!

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

16, 17-35, 20-35, 20, 24, 24-120, 28 f1.4, 35-80, 60 Micro, 70-180 Micro, 80-200 f2.8, 80-200 AF-S, 300 f4, 300 AF-S.

Sturdy, easy-to-use, quality construction

Image quality falls apart at apertures wider than f8. Acceptable F8+. Very disappointing.

I think that my problem with this lens was because it was one of the first ones that hit the mark. It was totally unacceptable in image quality. In retrospect I should have returned it to Nikon. Unfortunately I have lost faith in Nikon, not only with this lens but others as well

Similar Products Used:

35-70 F2.8 Nikkor, Sigma 28-70 F2.8 EX, 24-120 Nikkor,

Very Sharp, even wide open. Very fast and smooth AF. I can't notice any difference in image quality between this and my old primes at any aperature up to f/2.8.

Weight, but this is to be expected.

This may be my most versatile lens. Despite the weight (to be expected to some degree), the sharpness and AF speed/smoothness make this an excellent general purpose lens.

Customer Service

None needed yet.

Similar Products Used:

Various Primes: 28, 35, 50mm as well as AF-S 80-200mm f/2.8, AF-S 400mm f/2.8.

Tack Sharp, extremely fast, very well built and very reliable.

Only one, the weight, it is too heavy.

This is one of the most versatile lenses I have ever owned. When I am going out the door to shoot, 90% of the time it is the lens I have attached to my F5. No complaints, except the weight, and the results I have gotten so far have been outstanding. This is a VERY SHARP lens under all situations, and while it is on the expensive side, it is well worth the investment. I also shoot with 80-200 2.8 non silent wave lens, and while it is almost as fast, the focusing on the 28-70 is just incredibly quick. Overall, this is a perfect lens for the serious amateur or the professional photographer looking for superior results.

Customer Service

Have not needed to use it, no problems.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 80-200mm 2.8 AF-D
Nikkor 105mm macro