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I love this model of the 28-70 and have had a few. They suffer from focus motor issues over time and unfortunately Nikon no longer has parts. They are a joy to use, albeit a bit heavy, but are built like a tank. Unlike the more modern versions, this model has an aperture ring which I like coming from a film background. Sadly, this will likely be my last and I will be forced to switch to the larger, more plasticy and aperture ringless 24-70 model. All good things must come to an end someday I guess. This one came from KEHOutlet with a focus squeak. I let them know and they discounted the purchase fairly. I just hope I can get a few years out of it before it fails.
Verified purchase: No
Similar lenses used: Nikon 43-86mm f/3.5 Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 Sigma 35-70mm f/2.8 to f/4 (Nikon F mount) Kiron 28-70mm f/3.5 to f/4.5 (for Pentax ME) Tamron 28-200mm f/3.8 to f/5.6 (Nikon F mount) Fuji 16-55mm f/2.8 (on Fuji X it has angle-of-view equivalent to 24-82mm on full frame) Background In my film only days, I primarily used prime lenses. The two lenses I used the most were 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/1.8. The first zoom lens I purchased was a Nikon 43-86mm that I wanted to use when I only wanted to carry one body and one lens. However, this lens was a big disappointment for me. The lens was too slow, its images were not sharp, and there were many times when 43mm was just not wide enough. This lens was such a poor performer that I dumped it and refused to use zoom lenses for decades. Thirty years later, I was still primarily a prime lens shooter. My general purpose two-lens Nikon kit had not changed much. I was using a 35mm f/1.4 and an 85mm f/1.8. However, when I began shooting DX digital, my manual focus primes did not allow me to focus as quickly and as accurately as I could on a film body. Rather than replace my manual focus primes with auto focus primes, I decided to rely on auto focus zoom lenses on my DX digital bodies. Since a 24mm focal length produces the same angle-of-view on a DX digital body as a 35mm lens on a film body, I used a 20-35mm f/2.8 auto focus zoom to substitute for my 35mm prime lens. Since a 57mm focal length produces the same angle-of-view on a DX digital body as an 85mm lens on a film body, I used a 35-70mm f/2.8 auto focus zoom to substitute for my 85mm prime lens. This year, I finally decided to replace my 35-70 with the newer Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8. I did not want to replace my 35-70 with the newest 24-70mm f/2.8 because the 24-70 is a G lens that does not have an aperture ring and I need an aperture ring for exposure control in my older Nikon film cameras. *** Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 pros: 1. Image quality -- excellent 2. Auto focus -- faster and quieter than the 35-70mm f/2.8 lens that it replaced. 3. FX lens -- lens works on FX & DX bodies. This is very important to me because I want all my lenses to work on my full-frame film bodies and my APS-size digital bodies. 4. Zoom Range -- 28-70mm is good range for FX body; range is ok for DX body 5. Construction -- rugged, lots of metal, well made 6. Constant f/stop -- f/2.8 constant aperture is a very important feature for me. 7. Aperture ring -- presence of aperture ring necessary for lens to function on older film Nikons. Newer 24-70mm f/2.8 lens does not have an aperture ring. 8. Compatibility -- the 28-70mm f/2.8 and the 20-35mm f/2.8 on DX make a good two-lens combo. The 28-70mm f/2.8 works well between the 14-24mm f/2.8 and the 80-200mm f/2.8 in a three-lens kit for DX or FX. 9. Usefulness -- serves as a general purpose FX lens; also makes a good DX portrait lens on the beach and in the studio. Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 cons: 1. Lens hood -- plastic petal-shaped bayonet hood is its weakest feature for me. 2. Availability -- discontinued lens that is only available on the used market. 3. Obsolescence -- makes my Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 lens and my Tamron 28-200mm f/3.8 to f/5.6 less useful. 4. Vibration reduction/Image stabilization -- none 5. Size & weight -- the large size and heavy weight contributed to the lens' nickname, "The Beast." 6. Repair costs -- about $400 to repair and replace silent auto focus motor. 7. Price -- high when it was brand new and high on the used market; but well worth it. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
A very good lens but after traveling with it for 3 weeks i have realized how right some reviews i read before purchasing it when they said that it is not a "tourist lens". A bit to big and heavy for the quite limited zoom length, especially as i am not even using a full frame camera. I will most likely keep the lens for whenever i need the larger aperture (and for whenever i upgrade to a full frame camera) but will definitely also add a lighter smaller travel zoom like Nikon's own 18-200mm.
To go with a D800, I wanted a midrange zoom, the 28-70 is heavy, but that is a stabilizing feature that helps tame my fine tremor. As a shooter it is as fast as I can need given the camera's ISO range. It shows no distortion across the frame, no color fringing, great saturation. Mechanically it is bulletproof, lightning fast focus and totally silent. As far as value, it is half the price of the 24-70 and I can find no advantage to the newer lens. I use mine for travel, architecture, and family groupings. This is my only AF lens besides the 50G; all the others are MF Nikkors, Leica and Zeiss. This lens far exceeds my expextations. WOW!
This is a great lens especially for portraiture under low light conditions. As long as not shot at too slow a shutter speed, the pictures are very sharp. Its newer replacement option from Nikon has VR which this older version lens does not, but sells for well over $2000.00. The other concern is that when I brought this same lens to Nikon for focusing repair, they were unable to repair it telling me that parts are no longer available. It is such a good lens at a very reasonable price that I have taken a chance on another used model.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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