Nikon AF Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 D

A beauty of a beast Similar lenses used: Nikon 43-86mm f/3.5 Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 Sigma 35-70mm f/2.8 to f/4 (Nikon F mount) Kiron 28-70mm f/3.5 to f/4.5 (for Pentax ME) Tamron 28-200mm f/3.8 to f/5.6 (Nikon F mount) Fuji 16-55mm f/2.8 (on Fuji X it has angle-of-view equivalent to 24-82mm on full frame) Background In my film only days, I primarily used prime lenses. The two lenses I used the most were 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/1.8. The first zoom lens I purchased was a Nikon 43-86mm that I wanted to use when I only wanted to carry one body and one lens. However, this lens was a big disappointment for me. The lens was too slow, its images were not sharp, and there were many times when 43mm was just not wide enough. This lens was such a poor performer that I dumped it and refused to use zoom lenses for decades. Thirty years later, I was still primarily a prime lens shooter. My general purpose two-lens Nikon kit had not changed much. I was using a 35mm f/1.4 and an 85mm f/1.8. However, when I began shooting DX digital, my manual focus primes did not allow me to focus as quickly and as accurately as I could on a film body. Rather than replace my manual focus primes with auto focus primes, I decided to rely on auto focus zoom lenses on my DX digital bodies. Since a 24mm focal length produces the same angle-of-view on a DX digital body as a 35mm lens on a film body, I used a 20-35mm f/2.8 auto focus zoom to substitute for my 35mm prime lens. Since a 57mm focal length produces the same angle-of-view on a DX digital body as an 85mm lens on a film body, I used a 35-70mm f/2.8 auto focus zoom to substitute for my 85mm prime lens. This year, I finally decided to replace my 35-70 with the newer Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8. I did not want to replace my 35-70 with the newest 24-70mm f/2.8 because the 24-70 is a G lens that does not have an aperture ring and I need an aperture ring for exposure control in my older Nikon film cameras. *** Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 pros: 1. Image quality -- excellent 2. Auto focus -- faster and quieter than the 35-70mm f/2.8 lens that it replaced. 3. FX lens -- lens works on FX & DX bodies. This is very important to me because I want all my lenses to work on my full-frame film bodies and my APS-size digital bodies. 4. Zoom Range -- 28-70mm is good range for FX body; range is ok for DX body 5. Construction -- rugged, lots of metal, well made 6. Constant f/stop -- f/2.8 constant aperture is a very important feature for me. 7. Aperture ring -- presence of aperture ring necessary for lens to function on older film Nikons. Newer 24-70mm f/2.8 lens does not have an aperture ring. 8. Compatibility -- the 28-70mm f/2.8 and the 20-35mm f/2.8 on DX make a good two-lens combo. The 28-70mm f/2.8 works well between the 14-24mm f/2.8 and the 80-200mm f/2.8 in a three-lens kit for DX or FX. 9. Usefulness -- serves as a general purpose FX lens; also makes a good DX portrait lens on the beach and in the studio. Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 cons: 1. Lens hood -- plastic petal-shaped bayonet hood is its weakest feature for me. 2. Availability -- discontinued lens that is only available on the used market. 3. Obsolescence -- makes my Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 lens and my Tamron 28-200mm f/3.8 to f/5.6 less useful. 4. Vibration reduction/Image stabilization -- none 5. Size & weight -- the large size and heavy weight contributed to the lens' nickname, "The Beast." 6. Repair costs -- about $400 to repair and replace silent auto focus motor. 7. Price -- high when it was brand new and high on the used market; but well worth it. Read full review

Intermittent Item worked, it seems not to auto focus smoothly, a couple of times I had to use my other lens instead because I couldn't get it to auto focus. It seemed to work intermittently. I'll keep it, as it's too much trouble to send back.

Running out of time I love this model of the 28-70 and have had a few. They suffer from focus motor issues over time and unfortunately Nikon no longer has parts. They are a joy to use, albeit a bit heavy, but are built like a tank. Unlike the more modern versions, this model has an aperture ring which I like coming from a film background. Sadly, this will likely be my last and I will be forced to switch to the larger, more plasticy and aperture ringless 24-70 model. All good things must come to an end someday I guess. This one came from KEHOutlet with a focus squeak. I let them know and they discounted the purchase fairly. I just hope I can get a few years out of it before it fails.