Ever heard of an AF NIKKOR 28-80mm f/2.8D ED ?

Someone on another Nikon forum pointed out a listing for this lens on Yahoo Japan Auctions. I've never heard of it, and neither, it seems, has the English-speaking internet! Here are a few pictures from the auction listing:

 

 

My guess is it was a prototype for a lens that Nikon never brought to market. It shares the exact design language of the AF 80-200mm f/2.8D two-ring lens. Perhaps it was intended to be the normal-zoom complement to that lens, but then development of the AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8D finished ahead of schedule and management decided to just launch that lens instead of this one. Again, just a guess!

 

Anybody know anything about this fascinating lens? I'm actually tempted to place a bid on it, but I feel certain the price is going to wind up in the stratosphere—despite the obvious fungus!

Interresting .... ;)

Nikon probably realised they were onto a loser compared with Tamron's smaller, lighter and far cheaper 28-75mm f/2.8 SP AF zoom.

That really is a fascinating piece.

 

The "Hammertone" finish(as I've heard it called) is consistent with a lot of late 80s/early 90s designed pro AF lenses.

 

I'm not a player now, but I'd sure like to have it too.

 

Back in the day, it would have been a useful expansion of range as compared to the 35-70mm f/2.8.

As far as I can remember, there has never been any FX, constant f2.8 zoom that starts from either 24mm or 28mm and ends past 70mm. (I believe that is true not only for Nikon but also for Canon, Sony, Sigma, and Tamron.) Earlier Nikon had the 28-70mm/f2.8 AF-S and currently various 24-70mm/f2.8 AF-S for the F mount and Z mount.

 

Back in the 1990's, the f2.8 mid zoom would be the 35-70mm/f2.8 AF, followed by the AF-D version. This 28-80mm/f2.8 AF-D is probably some kind of prototype from the mid 1990's, after the 1992 35-70mm/f2.8 AF-D and before Nikon started using AF-S on this type of lenses with the 80-200mm/f2.8 AF-S in 1998 and 17-35mm/f2.8 AF-S in 1999. 80mm does break the 70mm upper bound for these constant f2.8 mid zoom. Perhaps the quality was not good enough such that Nikon never officially introduced it.

 

I would imagine that it is really rare that these prototypes would be available outside of Nikon themselves.

As far as I can remember, there has never been any FX, constant f2.8 zoom that starts from either 24mm or 28mm and ends past 70mm. (I believe that is true not only for Nikon but also for Canon, Sony, Sigma, and Tamron.)

Yes, there was: Tokina AT-X PRO PRO AF 28-80mm f/2.8 SD MF Aspherical IF AF

 

I'm actually tempted to place a bid on it, but I feel certain the price is going to wind up in the stratospher

The listing describes the item as "junk" with unconfirmed AF operation and fungus on the optical elements.

Yes, there was: Tokina AT-X PRO PRO AF 28-80mm f/2.8 SD MF Aspherical IF AF

 

I was reminded of that lens as soon as i saw this one. I dare say the would-be Nikkor would have been quite a bit better than the Tokina!

Yes, there was: Tokina AT-X PRO PRO AF 28-80mm f/2.8 SD MF Aspherical IF AF

I already mentioned the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. Does that not count?

 

That Tamron built a fair reputation for itself as one of the sharpest zooms in its class. I can't say the same for Tokina's 28-80 offering. My copy must have had a soft-focus filter implanted in it somewhere.

This must be a prototype. The styling matches mid-late 1990s lenses like the AF 80-200/2.8 D ED (new version with tripod mount). It is a screw-drive AF lens, no built-in AF-S motor, so obviously precedes the AF-S 28-70/2.8 which appeared in 1999.

 

Obviously, Nikon was trying to improve on the old AF 35-70/2.8 D by expanding the zoom range in both directions, going to a more useful 28mm wide-angle and increasing the long end to 80mm to bridge the gap to the 80-200/2.8 zooms.

 

This lens is a highly developed prototype, it looks like a finished production lens. So why was it never produced? Maybe the 28-80 zoom range was pushing things too far and the optical quality was not good enough. Or maybe it was judged to be too expensive for the market. Or they decided to introduce the new AF-S motor, and for various technical or economic reasons they had to reduce the zoom range.

 

Interestingly, the zoom ratio of the 28-80 is 2.8x which is about the same as current 24-70 and 70-200 zooms.

 

Hopefully the new owner can clean the lens and restore it to good working condition, it would be interesting to know how it performs.

I already mentioned the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. Does that not count?

Didn't seem to have registered with me - probably still too low on caffeine at the time.

There's also a Tamron 28-105mm f/2.8: Tamron 28-105mm f/2.8 LD Aspherical IF SP AF Review

Sold for $785.

Well, at least the AF-S motor won't die in it

Sold for $785.

 

Yes. That's less than I expected, but more than what most 28-70mm f/2.8D sell for these days. Considering the obvious fungus this 28-80mm had, the respectable ending price indicates the bidders knew this is no run-of-the-mill lens. But perhaps it's not as special as I thought it was.

Well now, here's a bit more information. On Facebook's Learn Camera Repair forum, a gentleman named Mark Ho said he repaired this lens--I'm assuming this *very* lens, as he said in response to a question that the problem with the lens was fungus--and that it was one of only two samples known to exist. Here's the original post from the FB Classic Nikon Maintenance group that he shared to Learn Camera Repair: Classic Nikon Maintenance.

Well now, here's a bit more information. On Facebook's Learn Camera Repair forum, a gentleman named Mark Ho said he repaired this lens--I'm assuming this *very* lens, as he said in response to a question that the problem with the lens was fungus--and that it was one of only two samples known to exist. Here's the original post from the FB Classic Nikon Maintenance group that he shared to Learn Camera Repair: Classic Nikon Maintenance.

 

Oh wow. Lucky buyer!

For those that do not have FB accounts, there is not much discussion on the post about the lens but here is the photo the owner posted.

 

Eric

 

I kinda wish I had bid on the lens. But I lack the skill to clean a major fungus infestation in an AF zoom. I suspect if I had sent the lens away to be cleaned, it might have gotten "lost" when the repairman realized what he had.

For those that do not have FB accounts, there is not much discussion on the post about the lens but here is the photo the owner posted.

 

Eric

 

That photo was taken by the gentleman who repaired the lens, who I would gather from what little information was posted on FB is not the current owner. There was another post, I can't remember on which of the two forums, where a photo showed the lens partially disassembled, and it was captioned, "Servicing the unicorn lens." So as other folks speculated, I'm guessing this one--and the other specimen out there somewhere--must have been prototypes that Nikon decided not to bring to market.

 

Bit of a shame, because that looks like a b*tchin' lens!

Edited February 22, 2021 by BernardMiller

And here's another image posted in Classic Nikon Maintenance on FB--it's titled "A very rare lens."

 

The discussion, such as it is (if you have access to Facebook) is here: Facebook.

 

The repairman is Richard Haw, who has a large collection of excellent repair how-to's on his website. I thought he was a member here, but perhaps he's only on NikonGear and Facebook.

Looks like this 28-80 2.8 lens has clearly explained where the following lens came from ...

The repairman is Richard Haw, who has a large collection of excellent repair how-to's on his website. I thought he was a member here, but perhaps he's only on NikonGear and Facebook.

You can read Richard's blog about this lens here:

Repair: “alleged” Ai AF Zoom Nikkor ED 28-80mm f/2.8D (IF)

That's very interesting. I have gotten used to 24-70 now but I would have preferred a range like 28-80mm for a bit tighter portraits at the long end. Nice images in Richard's article.

That's very interesting. I have gotten used to 24-70 now but I would have preferred a range like 28-80mm for a bit tighter portraits at the long end. Nice images in Richard's article.

Nikon 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G

Sure, but I'm talking about a lens with an f/2.8 maximum aperture. I don't really have a use for a zoom that is 80 mm f/5.6 at the tele end. Those variable aperture zooms tend to lose a lot of focal length towards close focus, though I don't know if that's the case for that specific lens. Edited February 25, 2021 by ilkka_nissila