Review Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm 1: 3.3 ~ 4.5 AI-S

Nice manual Native Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 can even after many years show excellent image quality.

Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor Review

TTX Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 Zoom-Nikkor
Focal length: 35-70mm
Diaphragm: F / 3.3 at 35mm, F / 4.5 at 70mm, closes to F / 22.0, with the ability to set values ​​3.3, 4.5, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22.
Optical design: 8 elements in 7 groups
MDF: 0.5m@70mm and 0.35m@35mm
The weight: 255g
Number of aperture blades: 7 pieces
Front Filter Diameter: 52mm
A TYPE: AI-S

Please note that this model is also called Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5s MACRO Are one and the same thing. The Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 lens can shoot macro, not real macro, but with quite normal magnification. The lens was released in 1983 and still works well.

View Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor

Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor has a whole cohort of brothers:

• Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f / 3.5-4.8s AI-S with a little less aperture, very light zoom, weight is only 200g
• Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f / 3.5 AI with constant aperture
• Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f / 3.5s MACRO  AI-S - very similar to the previous one, but has a slightly larger front filter diameter and macro mode
• Nikon Series E 36-72mm f / 3.5s Zoom (AI-S) a special lightweight E-series lens (does not have a Nikkor attachment)
• Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 AF Nikkorautofocus option

View of the Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor on a modern Nikon D40 camera

The Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor is a very lightweight 35x zoom lens. It was specially designed to be very light and compact, therefore the Nikon 70-3.3mm f / 4.5-XNUMX Zoom-Nikkor has a very small aperture. For example, fast autofocus analogue Nikon 35-70mm f / 2.8 AF-D ZOOM-NIKKOR weighs 670 grams.

Example photo on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 Zoom-Nikkor. 70mm bokeh

Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor is really very compact and small lens and at the same time, the lens provides good image quality. Focusing with the Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor is easy. The focus ring rotates 90 degrees, while the front lens rotates and travels a centimeter forward. Due to the creation of compactness and lightweight body, the lens can not boast of a fixed front element. But the focus ring is very convenient, much better in control than in the autofocus version Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 AF Nikkor. The diameter of the front filter is standard, small and 52mm

Example photo on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 Zoom-Nikkor. Macro.

There is a special area on the focus distance scale, indicated by a yellow bar; in this area, the lens operates in macro mode. The macro is not bad, but compared to the real 1: 1 magnification, this is more of an additional property of the lens than a real functional thing, especially since there is no hint of macro photography in the name of the lens.

Example photo on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 Zoom-Nikkor. 70mm bokeh and MDF

Lens Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor is not fast, however, the aperture of F / 3.3 is slightly brighter than the classic value of F / 3.5. The lens has a nice Made in Japan inscription. Although the lens is very light, the lens mount is metal.

Example photo on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 Zoom-Nikkor. Short end

Image quality:

The lens produces a sharp image throughout the field. Chromatic aberrations insignificant. The lens gives a good contrast and is practically not afraid of backlight. The lack of image quality is the strong distortion at the short end and strong vignetting at 35mm, especially when focusing on MDF. A good feature of the lens is good bokeh. At the long end, you can even shoot portraits.

Example photo on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 Zoom-Nikkor. Distortion.

Sample photos on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor

All photos taken on Nikon D700, RAW -> JPEG, Q = 80%, 2MP. No processing, only reduced size and imprinted data from EXIF. The aperture values ​​that are imprinted in the photo may not correspond to reality, since the lens at different focal lengths has different apertureand the non-CPU lens function does not take this into account. You can still see autumn gallery on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor.

How to use on modern Nikon cameras?

This is just an old Nikon lens, you can simply mount it on any Nikon camera and start shooting. True, some cameras will be able to work with this lens only in manual camera control mode. Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor is AI-S lens, and how to use such lenses on any Nikon CZK camera you can read in the section about AI-S.

Example photo on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 Zoom-Nikkor. Wide angle.

Personal experience

Such a small and compact Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor surprised me a lot, it is a really sharp, well-assembled manual lens. It's funny, but such a simple, cheap manual zoom can do some modern lenses. Of course, the lens has a very small zoom, but when used on full frame (and on film) the lens has a very convenient focal range.

Example photo on Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3 ~ 4.5 Zoom-Nikkor. Bokeh lens

List of all Nikon FX 35-XXX autofocus lenses:

1. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-70 mm 1: 2.8 (MKI)
2. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-70 mm 1: 2.8D (MKII)
3. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-70 mm 1: 3.3-4.5 (MKI)
4. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-70 mm 1: 3.3-4.5 (MKII)
5. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-80 mm 1: 4-5.6D (MKI)
6. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-80 mm 1: 4-5.6D (MKII)
7. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-105 mm 1: 3.5-4.5 (MKI)
8. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-105 mm 1: 3.5-4.5 (MKII)
9. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-105 mm 1: 3.5-4.5 D (MKIII)
10. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-135 mm 1: 3.5-4.5 (MKI)
11. Nikon AF Nikkor 35-135 mm 1: 3.5-4.5 (MKII)

The catalog of modern universal lenses for Nikon can be look at this link.

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Conclusions

The Nikon 35-70mm f / 3.3-4.5 Zoom-Nikkor is a decent old manual zoom. Unfortunately, interest in this kind of lens is fading away due to the emergence of faster autofocus lenses with a larger zoom ratio. On the other hand, Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm 1: 3.3 ~ 4.5 AI-S got into TOP worst lenses Nikon from antiquity Ken.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram