Series E 75-150 vs 70-210 F4

[steve_chan5]

Hello,

I'm looking to pick up a good, affordable zoom to go along with my

Nikkor primes.

The 75-150 seems to get incredibly high marks, but some people

(maybe being contrarians) saying that it is very good, but not

"legendary".

There are also a bunch of people who like the 70-210 F4, who claim

it is almost as sharp as the 80-200 F2.8.

 

I wondered if anyone had both, and had a an opinion about which one

is preferable? These would be for outdoor shots. I care most about

optical quality - if it turns out that the 70-210 is pretty much equal

to the 75-150, I'd take the extra 50mm over the half an f-stop.

 

Thanks for your advice!

Steve

[nate_merz1]

I have the 70-210 lens but I have tried the 75-150 and did not like it as much because of the shorter zoom range. In my oppinion, get the 70-210 because it is very sharp, or at least mine is.

[larry n.]

I have the 75-150 Series E lens, and am very happy with it. Never leaves my bag.

[alex_lofquist]

How do you photograph with it then?

 

Alex

[larry n.]

The power of suggestion, Alex. Just having it in my bag gives my camera the ability to record light on film. It truly is a remarkable piece of glass, that 75-150.

[wayne_crider4]

I can't compare the two, but do still have the 75-150 F3.5 which

was probably my most used lens till I sold the camera. 52mm

filter, attached lens hood and very light. I don't think you can

complain about it unless it's going on a AF camera. Have you

checked the various lens rating sites to compare between the

two?

[ian_gordon_bilson]

kenrockwell.com reviews both these lenses..

[larry n.]

http://www.photo.net/photo/1177060&size=lg

[larry_miller5]

Not a question at all. The 75-150MM If you need the extra 60MM worth of lens, just let your feet do the walking!!

[msitaraman]

Letting your feet do the walking at telephoto distances usually means that you end up losing a lot of weight...!

 

The 70-210 is as good as the 75-150. Its less well known because only a few were built and sold, being the most expensive of the E series Nikon lenses and being introduced late in the life of the Nikon EM.

[larry_miller5]

Walking and losing weight is good Mani.....

[albert_smith]

I do have both, and the 70-210 is a very fine lens, but for me the 75-150 is used almost every time when I use a zoom in this range. I like the size difference, as well as the filter ring being the same 52mm as my most used lenses. The optics are not too far apart, but I would give the nod to my 75-150. It is more than usable at f/3.5, and by a stop down, you couldn't ask for better sharpness or contrast.

 

I don't have a digital camera, so I put both lenses on my flat-bed scanner, both set for infinity and both set to the shortest focal lenghts (as they will be when you carry them due to zoom creep). There is a size difference, and I choose to use the smaller, lighter lens... especially when you give up nothing optically.<div></div>