Nikon AF 70-210mm f:4-5.6D

[ramon_v__california_]

new to this forum. currently using the 70-300 "G" version in my D70

to compliment the kit lens. have used it in my granddaughter's

basketball games with very good results. also in my nephew's radio

control car races. haven't used the 70-210mm "D" version made

popular by ken rockwell. is it really fast? is it worth getting?

never used it in my film days. i know the 70-300 is slow but not

super slow to me...thanks.

[mawz]

I've got the non-D version of this lens and have had excellent results with it. It's not the

fastest focusing lens out there (Although I'm given to believe the D evrsion is faster than

the thoroughly acceptable non-D), but it's no slower than the G. Optical quality is

excellent for a consumer zoom, better than the 70-300's in my experience, it's really a

step up from the 70-300's all around.

 

The major differences from your 70-300 will be the push-pull zoom, good Focus Ring (It's

quite Manual Focus friendly) and the build quality. Note that it is a heavily built lens, a

match for the 35-70 f2.8 in build quality (These two were obviously intended as a

matching pair, identical look, function and build).

[jay_blocksom]

<BLOCKQUOTE><I><B>Ramon V (California), jun 30, 2005; 07:15 p.m.</B>

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new to this forum. currently using the 70-300 "G" version in my D70 to compliment the kit lens. have used it in my granddaughter's basketball games with very good results. also in my nephew's radio control car races. haven't used the 70-210mm "D" version made popular by ken rockwell. is it really fast? is it worth getting? never used it in my film days. i know the 70-300 is slow but not super slow to me...thanks.

</I></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Well...  Ken Rockwell claims that it's "much, much faster" than your 70-300, but I have my doubts.  Neither of these are "AF-S" types, so "fast" is going to be a relative term anyway.  I'm willing to believe that it is marginally faster; but also that any true AF-S lens will blow it away for focusing speed, especially on a D70 or other "low-end" body (which have weaker/slower focus motors than the various higher-end bodies, including the F100 Rockwell based his comments on).  If you want a very fast-focusing lens in this focal-length range for shooting the sorts of things you mention above, you'll need to go to a lens with AF-S or equivalent.  All of these tend to be "serious" lenses, with price tags to match -- the cheapest one you can buy new is the Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX HSM, at around $700-800.  OTOH, you also said that your 70-300G does not seem all that slow to you; so the question becomes, is this an issue or isn't it?

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Now, ignoring the focus-speed issue (or non-issue, as the case may be) for the moment, it should be noted that in all *other* respects (sharpness, flare resistance, build quality, etc. -- I'm not sure about chromatic abberation, but suspect it's also pretty good), the 70-210mm f:4-5.6D is definitely superior to your 70-300G, and not subtly so.  So if you find yourself hankering for a better *quality* lens, as opposed to simply a faster one, this may be the ticket.

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Whatever you do, *don't* over-pay for one of these things, especially via that well-known online auction site.  There has been something of a "land rush" on this and a couple of similar older models ever since Rockwell's pages on them became well-known.  Some fools have bid up the prices to well beyond what it sold for new -- which is also well beyond what it could possibly ever be worth.  FWIW, <A HREF="http://www.keh.com">KEH</A> currently has <A HREF="http://www.keh.com/shop/SHOWPRODUCT.CFM?CRID=11391452&SKID=NA07009043253N5&SID=newused&BID=NA&CID=07&SOID=N&curpic=0&dpsp=0">one listed in "Excellent" condition for $254.00</A> -- which is still more than *I* would pay for it.

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[joseph_smith3]

I own the D version of the 70-210 and used to own the non D version of this lens that my daughter now owns. I did not notice any change in AF speed between the D and non D versions. That being said, whether the Af is fast enough for you will also depend on your camera body's Af system. All you can do is try it out and see if it works for you. Image quality is great and the price of a used on is great too. Joe smith

[c_o1]

I had one. It is a nice lens. I sold mine on ebay when prices went through the roof. It is well

made, took nice images and didn't way a ton. It focused fast on my F100 and not too bad on

my F4. I hope to find a cheap one someday but I never regret selling it.

[charles_miller]

I have used the non-D version a few times, and I had to stop down to f8-f11 to get the very best sharpness from it, although f5.6-f8 works OK. Of course, the 80-200 AFD / AFS lenses have higher ultimate sharpness, as do the primes in this range. BUT, the color rendition and the color saturation from my sample of the 70-210 AF lens is, at the very least, the equal of my Nikon primes. In other words, "WOW". Geometric distortion is reasonably well controlled in this model and the OOF details are generally smooth and not "jarring". So if you have enough light to shoot with it, and don't require giant enlargements, this lens rocks.