75-150 Series E

[richardHaw]

There is only one 50-135mm, and it is a f/3.5. It's a very good lens, possibly a little better than 75-150mm E.

Maybe you saw the 35-135mm.

yes, the one with a macro mode. 
is that the 35-135? at some point they all become similar looking to me 

[John Geerts]

35-105 has a macro mode as well. 

[Bjørn Rørslett]

50-135/3.5 also has a "macro" mode.

This model is very well built and beautifully finished. It is substantially heftier and with more girth than the 75-150. In optical terms it is even better.

[richardHaw]

http://richardhaw.com/2016/03/20/e-75-150mm-f3-5/
OK, here is the tear down 

[richardHaw]

50-135/3.5 also has a "macro" mode.

This model is very well built and beautifully finished. It is substantially heftier and with more girth than the 75-150. In optical terms it is even better.

i was looking at all these zooms nikon made and they all look pretty similar to me. i cannot differentiate them now  maybe i need to sleep ZZZzzzz....

[wesstl]

I have the chrome ring version of the 75-150 and it has the creep problem. Still, very nice lens. I once read somewhere that the 75-150 was made by Kiron in Japan and similar versions are also available branded as Kiron and Vivitar. I recently bought the (alleged) Vivitar version which is a 70-150 3.8. I have yet to compare them optically but the Vivitar does have a couple of advantages: it's even a bit smaller than the Nikon 75-150 and does not suffer from the creep. Anyone know if that rumor is true? I'll do a comparison one of these days.

[richardHaw]

the vivitar is a rebadged kiron if im not mistaken.it seems vivitar does not develop or make their own lenses because there are many clones of what they have under a different brand. as for the nikon lens being made by kiron. it is possible
if you read my blog post, i mentioned that nikon subcontracts stuff to other companies. this is what we usually do here in japan, subcontract to smaller companies

[Matthew Currie]

I was at the shop today and could not resist a series E 75-150 for five bucks.  It's pretty decent, though this one has serious zoom creep.  It's reasonably sharp, and comfortable to use.

I have long had the 35-105 AIS, which is reasonably sharp, and a nice length for walking around on a full frame, but has to be one of the most ergonomically awkward lenses ever made.  The macro mode only works at wide angle, the zoom creeps, it's of course not a constant aperture, and it's wildly far from parfocal.  Considering that it came out at about the same time as the splendid 80-200 F4 AIS zoom, it's curious, as if Nikon forbade its engineers to talk to one another. 

[David H. Hartman]

Matthew,

If you are using the 35-105mm on an autofocus camera you might consider an AF 35-105/3.5-4.5D Nikkor. It has a single aspheric element and turns in a very nice performance. The focus throw is maybe 50 degrees so it's not comfortable for manual focus.There is also an AF 28-70/3.5-4.5D Nikkor with an aspheric element with very nice performance that has about a 100 deggrree focus throw. That's  acceptable for manual focus though perhaps not ideal. Both of these lenses are well made by today's standards. They are also small and light so they make great walk around lenses.

Dave

Please note that only the AF-D model of the 35-105mm has the aspheric element.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The AFD 35-105/3.5-4.5 also has the advantage of being excellent for IR. The same can hardly be said of its manual predecessor.

[richardHaw]

I was at the shop today and could not resist a series E 75-150 for five bucks.  It's pretty decent, though this one has serious zoom creep.  It's reasonably sharp, and comfortable to use.

I have long had the 35-105 AIS, which is reasonably sharp, and a nice length for walking around on a full frame, but has to be one of the most ergonomically awkward lenses ever made.  The macro mode only works at wide angle, the zoom creeps, it's of course not a constant aperture, and it's wildly far from parfocal.  Considering that it came out at about the same time as the splendid 80-200 F4 AIS zoom, it's curious, as if Nikon forbade its engineers to talk to one another.

knowing how japanese corporation works, its most probably that it was a different team who worked on the other lens. and communication between teams is not so good sometimes and the only way the 2 communicate is on the pub

the 75-150E is a superb lens. i am thinking of fixing the zoom creep (mine developed one pretty quick) now that i got the proper material for that

[Matthew Currie]

By the way, I barely had time to do anything with this lens, as I was actually supposed to be out getting supper not rummaging at the camera shop, but I did stop long enough to aim it at a back lit pussy willow, and found it rather pleasing.

[richardHaw]

"I was actually supposed to be out getting supper not rummaging at the camera shop"

i know the feeling, man. my curse is that the grocery is close to the camera shop and i pass by that shop multiple times a day

so far, i have tried all of the series E lenses and i likes the 70-210 and this lens the most. the 36-72E was such an under-performer (at least the one that i have). this also makes for a great portrait lens. try it.