Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 Review

Background

Another lens for the Nikon kit.  This is a midrange option.  This rounds out the every day carry kit.  The Tamron 20-40mm f/2.7-3.5 covers the wide end and the Nikon 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6D covers the telephoto end.

All images taken in this review were with the Nikon Df.

Handling/Weight/Size

Because this is an f/2.8 lens it is not small....but for an f/2.8 lens it is actually on the smaller side when you compare it to other f/2.8 lenses in the Nikon lineup.

It is a metal lens, so it is sturdy and robust.

This is a push/pull design lens.  It is a little awkward as fully collapsed, the lens is at 70mm and then pushed forward to extend, the lens is at it's widest, 35mm.  You'd think it would be the other way around.

Image Quality

While a little soft wide open, even stopping down a little sharpens the lens up nicely.    The focal lengths and aperture make this a good street photo lens choice.

**** UPDATE ****
2/3/2017 - After shooting with this lens for a few more weeks and running it through a lens calibration on the Df, there was a defect discovered.   Shooting at 70mm and f/5.6 there was an issue with the lens and autofocus where the image quality was always blurry.  Because of this defect, the lens has been removed from service replaced with the Nikon 28-105/3.5-4.5D.

1/125, f/4, ISO 7200 @ 70mm

1/125, f/4, ISO 3200 @ 35mm

1/125, f/4, ISO 4500 @ 70mm

Auto Focus

Pretty good considering the age of the lens, but slow by modern pro grade standards.

Bottom Line:
The lens is great for the price on the used market.  Paired with my Df, it performs very well.