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The recent Thread on the AF-Nikkor 28~85 F3.5~F4.5 made me miss my old lens, traded off almost 25 years ago against my first Nikon Rangefinder Kit. That lens was ~$450 in 1991. I have zoom lenses, but not an AF wide~short telephoto. Last Summer vacation- such a lens would have been handy. It's incredible how the prices of older zoom lenses drops, but Primes retain value. I picked this Nikkor AF-D 28~105 F3.5~F4.5 up for under $90, including shipping. Before clicking the BIN button- did a quick search on it, online reviews stated it had very low distortion compared to many zoom lenses. That's what I missed about the 28~85 compared to my other zooms, and why the hefty price 30 years ago. Lots of elements. Other contemporary lenses, the 24~120: lots of distortion.
The lens looks like it had never been used. No caps, mounted on an F-Mount to C-Mount adapter. My guess, it was Lab Surplus from somewhere.
The lens arrived today, had been raining all morning- Sun popped out. It is well balanced on my Df. This lens is a Zoom with a close-focus mode. The Orange Lines and Switch with an Orange Tag: being fluent in Nikon, without a manual- immediately knew that the Close-Focus feature was limited to 50mm~105mm At that setting, the continuous movement of the focus ring was from "very-Very close to Infinity. The Zoom cannot be used from 28~50 when in macro mode. Switch from "macro" to normal, the full zoom range is available and close focus is limited to 0.5m. The Focal Length MUST be between 50 and 105 to switch into Macro mode. The Focus MUST be between 0.5m and infinity to switch out of macro mode. Never force the switch. 62mm screw in accessories, and "HB-1" bayonet hood- which I picked up 20 years ago for when I replaced the 28~85.
Think of this lens as being two in one, a 28~105 Zoom OR a 50~105 Macro-Zoom.
Just in case you wonder how much bigger an SLR zoom lens is compared with a prime: a Leica Mount Nikkor 2.8cm F3.5 and a Nikkor-T 10.5cm F4 posed next to the new zoom. Convenience and flexibility comes at a price.
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