35-70 f/2.8D!!!

[richardHaw]

https://richardhaw.com/2020/11/26/repair-af-zoom-nikkor-35-70mm-f-2-8d/

always hazy

but it earned me some money back then

[Erik Lund]

Thank you!
My first PRO zoom, together with the AF-D 20-35mm and AF 80-200 MM f/2.8
Loved it although it on F4 and F5 but it was kind of longish focal length on D1 and D2Xs was replace by workhorse 28-70mm AF-S f/2.8 come D3 and it was replaced by 24-70mm AF-S f/2.8 then the E - OMG so many lenses   

[John Geerts]

Good review Richard!  Thanks for the write-up.  I still like the lens on the 'modern'  Nikons

[richardHaw]

do your samples flare terribly? all of the ones that i used throughout the years flared 

[John Geerts]

My earlier samples did.  I have now a very late sample, and the flare is acceptable and useful.

Probably Nikon changed something to the drawbacks over the years.

[David H. Hartman]

do your samples flare terribly? all of the ones that i used throughout the years flared 

Think of the flare as a "feature" of the AF-D 35-70/2.8 and you'll enjoy the lens more. 

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After buying an AF-D 28-70/35-4.5 Nikkor I found I could tell all too frequently which lens, the AF-D 28-70/3.5-4.5 or AF-D 35-70/2.8 I'd used by the flare. This didn't require having the sun in or near the frame for the AF-D 35-70/2.8. A large bright area in front of the 35-70/2.8 was enough to cause problems. The AF-D 28-70/3.5-4.5 has 8 elements in 7 groups with one aspherical element and is pleasingly sharp with low flare and ghost. I get excellent images at f/5.6 to f/8.0 with the 28-70/3.5-4.5. f/8.0 probably tightens up the edges of the image. I haven't been using it much as my D800 performs AF better with AF-S, G lenses.

Dave

My AF-D 35-70/2.8 has an alignment problem and as I recall the upper left quadrant exhibits image smearing until about f/5.6~f/6.3. It now serves as a paper weight. I probably bought the AF-D 28-70/3.5-4.5 to fill the gap. The review at http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_zoom_02.html#AF28-70 gave me the confidence to buy the 28-70/3.5-4.5.