Nikon Showcase Nikkor AF-D 28~105 F3.5~4.5, Aspheric Optics, Internal Focus

Brian

Product of the Fifties
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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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Color rendition and Bokeh. I find this lens pleasing.
Regular focus mode.
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Does this mean that there will soon be a flood of Prime Nikon and Leica lenses hitting the forum soon?
Not a Chance.
It just means that next Vacation I'll not be changing lenses as often.

This lens is now dirt-cheap. Deemed a "Consumer Grade Lens" maybe? I am not one for paying 3x the price to get a fixed-aperture F2.8 Zoom. If I want fast, I'll grab a prime- F2 and faster. For this lens- I'll just set the ISO to 400 or above if I need a faster shutter speed. The High-ISO of the Df and newer cameras is incredible. I'd rather save the money, size, and weight of a fixed-aperture F2.8 zoom by upping the ISO.
 
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That was the last straw - honestly, I've had GAS for that lens several times before, but after the recent rather pleasant experience with the old screwdriver primes, I think this is the lens to bridge the gap for as long as I wait for the Nikon Z 24-105mm to come out. I'll have to use it on the D750 with AF, but that doesn't bother me after our April challenge; on the Z6, the 24-70mm is a very nice fit for most shooting, but it's too short for my liking. Actually, thanks for reminding me. I already have two of them on my watch list - shouldn't be too long before deciding on a purchase.

Apart from everything else, the weight and size of this lens are decisive for me; my Sigma 24-105mm f/4 Art is twice as heavy - great lens to work with, but it certainly weighs you down. Sure, the D750 is one of the best cameras I've ever used to put big, heavy glass on - but the combo still is a burden and a half.

M.
 
Can concur - its a fantastic lens. Nice on film too. I use it on my F100 & D700.
I was shocked at the price too - so cheap now, but oh so good. I'd use it more but managed a good price on the 24-85 f2.8 which is a nice step-up up in terms of brightness.

I find the nice zooms make up for the added bulk of a DSLR - one nice lens can cover most functions. Whereas on my m43 system I tend to take 2 or 3 cameras & primes just because I can.
 
Well @MoonMind I'll feed your GAS. But I'll also note that this lens is part of what started me down the road of m4/3. My wife and I were headed out on a road trip and the smallest kit I had was D700 and the 28-105. I ended up picking up a refurb E-PM1 kit for the trip that was smaller and lighter than 28-105 alone.

Here are a few and a gallery on my site.
 

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Well @MoonMind I'll feed your GAS. But I'll also note that this lens is part of what started me down the road of m4/3. My wife and I were headed out on a road trip and the smallest kit I had was D700 and the 28-105. I ended up picking up a refurb E-PM1 kit for the trip that was smaller and lighter than 28-105 alone.

Here are a few and a gallery on my site.
Thanks all, and I know you're all right in your praise of this lens. Still, I've reconsidered. The reason is simple: The Olympus 12-45mm f/4 PRO. It does most of what the 28-105mm would do for me in a much smaller package. I don't need to invest in Nikon AF glass (if it's not Z glass) to get what I want. The lenses I feel I need for the Z6, however, aren't out yet - let's just hope Nikon gets around to releasing them now at all ... We'll see, I'm prepared to wait out the crisis and the consequences before I decide.

But all this certainly doesn't take away from the qualities of the 28-105mm. Let's put it like this: Had I bought this lens a couple of years ago, I may not even have bought the Z6. As things stand, I have, and I'm glad I did - and the 24-70mm f/4 absolutely *is* a very good starting point. For anything longer, yet small and light, my :mu43: has all the options (I even have a "superzoom" I like, the 14-150mm II).

But mainly, even with the 28-105mm, the D750 won't feel light OR small. It barely fit my daily bag with the primes. It wouldn't fit it with the 28-105mm attached (I checked, using a slightly smaller lens). So, all in all, it's not a lens that'd see much use, if at all - because for anything serious, I'd still pick the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 Art (fast, silent AF and OIS). So, the 28-105mm would end up being a drawer queen - and that's not a sensible use case for a very good lens.

M.
 
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Here are my thoughts on this lens:


I liked it when I had it, but honestly preferred the IQ of the Nikon 28-85/3.5-4.5 over it...just slightly.
I’d considered getting one of these older zooms again, but honestly I think I’m going to spend money on the Nikon 24-200 z mount lens for every day walk about. As much as I love the Df, it is getting less and less use nowadays. The Z6 can handle all my manual focus needs.

really, the only thing theDf is being the Z6 in right now is battery life.
 
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There is a reason why small cameras are popular. Shooting film, I had every Nikon from the EM/FG through to the F2AS+MD-2/MB-1+DS-1. Put a 300/4.5 Nikkor-H on that one, Photography outing and Gym workout all in one airshow.

No argument on me about the AF-Nikkor 28~85. I prefer the feel of the zoom action on it over this one. I'll probably fall into another one.

I do not like the AF-S lenses, they just do not feel right in my hands and several that I've used are optically inferior to the lenses they replaced. I am also soured on them from the experience of my friend at work, one of the Secretaries setting up a portrait side-business. Her $2000+ AF-S zoom required a $600 replacement of electronics. The VR died. A quick look on lensrentals.com indicated that failure on this lens is common. Her new AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105 was "just not as sharp as she hoped". I tested it next to my older AF-D 105/2.8.

(Many of the Flickr Folders gone with the changed TOS)

The new lens is no where near as good as the earlier version. It's no where near as good as any of the other Micro-Nikkor lenses.

With anything new coming out of Nikon, I would wait until it is out for a while. Not decades- as I usually do, but at least 1 year.
 
Here are my thoughts on this lens:


A very good read.

The Companion Lens for longer reach for my lens is the AF-D 70~180 Micro-Nikkor-Zoom.
 
Thanks all, and I know you're all right in your praise of this lens. Still, I've reconsidered. The reason is simple: The Olympus 12-45mm f/4 PRO. It does most of what the 28-105mm would do for me in a much smaller package. I don't need to invest in Nikon AF glass (if it's not Z glass) to get what I want. The lenses I feel I need for the Z6, however, aren't out yet - let's just hope Nikon gets around to releasing them now at all ... We'll see, I'm prepared to wait out the crisis and the consequences before I decide.

But all this certainly doesn't take away from the qualities of the 28-105mm. Let's put it like this: Had I bought this lens a couple of years ago, I may not even have bought the Z6. As things stand, I have, and I'm glad I did - and the 24-70mm f/4 absolutely *is* a very good starting point. For anything longer, yet small and light, my :mu43: has all the options (I even have a "superzoom" I like, the 14-150mm II).

But mainly, even with the 28-105mm, the D750 won't feel light OR small. It barely fit my daily bag with the primes. It wouldn't fit it with the 28-105mm attached (I checked, using a slightly smaller lens). So, all in all, it's not a lens that'd see much use, if at all - because for anything serious, I'd still pick the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 Art (fast, silent AF and OIS). So, the 28-105mm would end up being a drawer queen - and that's not a sensible use case for a very good lens.

M.
The new 12-45 Pro is on my list, I don't think it will replace the 12-100 Pro on my E-M1.2 other than around the house. But it will be great on the Pen F.

I really like what Nikon has done with the Z series (bodies and glass). The glass is still not small enough to get me to swap, but it's still nice.
 
Macro mode or close-up, would be a good enough reason for me to own this lens. Much better option than my 28-85mm, which has macro on 28mm. I've been close to buying this lens a couple of times, and finally settled for 28-85mm. After seeing Brian's images taken @105mm in macro mode, I might give it another try.
 
A Two Gator Day, Nature walk at Hilton Head SC.

First 2 shots- at 105mm, that close!

The baby Gator, last 2 shots- 100% crop.

Next time I am bringing a longer lens!
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I'm already at my third(!!!) copy of this lens! I had to clean the back elements from fungus, but since reassembling the lens, I'm not happy with the performance @105mm. I have to stop it down considerably to get anything satisfactory. I wonder if anybody else had these problems.. I read a lot about copy variations. Maybe, I haven't reassembled the lens properly (although it works fine at wider focal lengths).

105mm f5.6
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@105mm f8
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First copy I had. Lots of fungus inside, but still, @105mm f4.5 it's night and day compared with the first image above.
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