Nikkor 28-50mm f/3.5 Ai-S

[richardHaw]

got to have this in the next couple of months

anybody who has one? the FL and speed is just right for street.

[John Geerts]

I have one but am figuring out how to repair as focussing is extremely stiff.

[the solitaire]

I have been thinking about one because combined with the 80-200 f4 I would have all the lenses I would need for a day out (except for any fast primes and a fish-eye of course

[JJChan]

Richard
Not a fantastic lens, but not bad either. It was made to go with the 50-135mm which is far better quality wise.
Like John's, mine is very stiff to focus - too hard to send it back to the eBay seller in Japan who did not describe this.
I too am waiting for you to take it apart and show how to lubricate it!

Pros
It is very tiny
It seems sharp corner to corner with little vignetting  and distortion not noticeable
Color is similar to other Nikons - not super contrasty, with even micro and macro contrast
Not much flare
Cheap!

Cons
Very small focus throw, almost doubles when you push it into macro mode
Lots of distortion in macro mode.

JJ

[longzoom]

Nothing good can I say about this lens. Sharp, but "dry", half-tones are very narrower, eating highlights, shadows are harsh - due to cheap glass.  Helicoid is poorly designed, unreliable and stiff. Got rid of it about 5 years ago, never regret. Avoid it.  LZ

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I happen to like this lens - a lot in fact.

It combines a small size with very capable optics. The restricted zoom range is not a deterrent against its practical usefulness, not at all. I tend to regard the 28-50 as a versatile '35' mm semi-wide lens.

The build is OK, whilst the surface finish and workmanship reflects the age and price level. Nikon could put more efforts into the construction, but on the other hand, my copy still works flawlessly, zooming is smooth, and its focusing travel is easy and positive with no play. Having a CPU in it helps a lot in metering for D3S and Df, the cameras most often used by me with the 28-50.

[John Geerts]

Beautiful examples.  Optics are very capable indeed.

[Roland Vink]

I used this lens for a short time. For a lens which is about the same size and weight as the AI 35/1.4 you get:
- useful (if somewhat restricted) zoom range from wide to standard
- not too slow f/3.5 aperture
- focuses to 0.6m, with macro mode to 0.32m thankfully at the more useful 50mm end
- good sharpness
- bokeh was ok as far as I remember, not great but not terrible either
- noticeable barrel distortion at 28mm, much less at 35mm and basically zero beyond that
- good colours and contrast
- prone to ghosting - don't use for sunset unless you like coloured blobs of light over your image

Also consider the AFD 28-70/3.5-4.5. In comparison:
- the only other Nikon 28-xx zoom with 52mm filter
- much more useful zoom range
- longer barrel but otherwise similar size and weight
- focus to 0.39m at all zoom settings, no separate macro mode
- better compatibility with modern cameras
- 9 blade apertures (not curved though)
- polycarbonate finish typical of that era, but fairly solid in the hand
- manual focusing ok for an AF lens, at least it has a nice long focus throw
- similar distortion - barrel at 28mm, less at 35mm, not much beyond
- decent sharpness, contrast and colours
- not as prone to ghosting, but not perfect either

[longzoom]

It depends. My copy of 28-85 AF was better than 28-70, and even better than 28-105. It is lottery, especially with old glass, so, you never know!  THX!   LZ

[richardHaw]

thank you everybody. looks like a so-so performer. I was expecting something better since this lens seems like it was aimed for the pro.

i am intending to use this for street photography so the only problem i think is the ghosting that some people seem to have with since i love shooting contra-light.

such a pity because it looks like it's such a lovely lens. they do not come cheap here by the way. they cost from $6-$15 max.

i am actually intrigued by the the focusing stiffness that some people claim. does the front of this lens rotate? if it didn't then the only thing that can cause the stiffness is the macro mechanism.

[Hugh_3170]

Richard, my copy has worked just fine. 

Sure it is not built heavy like say a 24-70mm Pro lens is, but on the other hand that is part of its attraction for it is a handy compact sized lens with a wide to normal field of view range with an f/3.5 fixed maximum aperture and some close up capability.  I use mine with its HK-12 lens hood which helps to lessen flaring.  Try one - that way you will know if it meets your own expectations, which maybe different to mine or others.

My understanding of the lens is that it was designed as part of the E-Series line of lenses, but was finally just branded upon its release as Nikon.

[Roland Vink]

I think it is a good lens, but it has limitations.

My copy zooms and focuses smoothly, a lovely lens to handle. There is a slight change in feel as you focus into the macro range but no stiffness.

The front does rotate with focusing (as does the AFD 28-70). The older AI 28-45/4.5 has a fixed filter ring, it does not rotate with focusing. But this lens is bigger, has an even smaller zoom range, is 2/3 stop slower and also suffers from flare in contra-lighting.

If you keep the sun outside the frame, the contrast and flare remain good. The HK-12 hood is quite useful - it fits over the zoom ring so the depth increases as you zoom towards 50mm - it's a "perfect" hood. It does increase the size of the lens a lot though.

I think the 28-50 was conceived as a compact wide lens for the enthusiast, a good companion for the 75-150. Today the AFS 18-35 fills the same niche. If you want a wide pro lens from the 1980s you need to look at the 25-50/4 instead (which also has a rotating filter)

[longzoom]

Yes, 25-50 is a completely different story. While at 4.0 it is a bit soft, already at 5.6 it's getting very sharp, with extremely deep DOF. Doesn't need 8.0, there will be no more sharpness.  I had some difficulties to focus it, so, I used a distance scale, simply like this. Very contrast lens, with good color rendition.  Some geometrical distortions are present, so one has to watch it, or improve later. Vignettes a little bit, but not as crazy as 28-50. I may recommend it with open heart, even today. Especially AIS version, with colored diaphragm scale. It has slightly improved MC, the rest is the same.  LZ       PS.  It has one small screw on the front ring. Do not let it gets loose. Otherwise, you may get two halves in the middle of the shooting! Time-to-time, make it tight! Beautiful lens it is!  LZ

[rolubich]

I'm very happy with my copy (focusing and zooming are very smooth, so I don't think stiffness is a design defect) and I have used it a lot as a middle lens in my usual three lenses kit for traveling, being it quite light and small.

I consider it a sharp lens but it has a quite strong field curvature that makes corners blurry, stopping down and a proper focusing to oppose field curvature can give you sharp pictures corner to corner.

Some links to full resolution pictures with D700 and D600.

http://www1.nital.it/uploads/ori/201307/p17upomm56h1o9hv2cp7l5c435.jpg
https://www.nikonclub.it/forum/uploads/ori/201504/52df86217a72eac7977e714b145521fb.jpg
http://www1.nital.it/uploads/ori/201108/gallery_4e40710ced858_2850mm50mm.jpg
http://www1.nital.it/uploads/ori/201108/gallery_4e406b9a4c6ed_285028mm.jpg
http://www1.nital.it/uploads/ori/201302/p17kh7n86pcse4pl1nu81sm16he3.jpg

[richardHaw]

Thanks for the feedbacks.

Now that series E has been mentioned, I was thinking a bit and the front barrel was secured using a (+) headed screw
I recall seeing this on series E lenses Was it the 70-210mm f/4E? I dont know, but the 100-300 f/5.6 lens is built and engineered almost exactly like the 70-210 f/4E, it felt like deja-vü.
it could have been, who knows? it does look like it anyway.
the 25-50mm is too big for my taste. there was one being sold really cheap yesterday, i was tempted but I skipped.