On Fri, 08 Nov 2002 12:45:09 GMT, "JK"
>I started looking for a used zoom lens of reasonable quality/price ratio to
>use with my Nikon FE2 and I was surprised that there isn't more choice
>available in Nikon manual focus lenses in the wide-angle to short-telephoto
>range (is there a particular reason for this?).
Actually, there are quite a few. See
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/slemn.html
for a list (many evaluated) of all the
Nikkor optical types made for SLR use
(plus a few more...).
>At the lower end, I looked at a Nikon 36-72mm f3.5 E. It seems cheap, fast
>and compact, but its range is limited in the wide-end (also, minimum focus
>of 1.2m !). Isn't this one of the decent E-series lenses ? Then there is a
>slew of 35-70mm which don't seem to offer very much additional value for the
>money relative to my limited needs.
But a sometimes-excellent 35-105, a good
35-135, a good 28-85, and a very good
25-50 were offered, among others...
>Towards the higher end of what I'd consider spending (under $200), I am
>looking at a Nikon 28-85mm f3.5-4.5 AIS, which offers a more optimal range.
>I haven't seen many reviews on this model. How good a zoom is it, and would
>there be better alternatives in this price range ?
It can be quite good, if a bit short of
the best Nikkor performance...
>Finally, should I consider third-party MF zooms (maybe Tokina ATX) or Nikon
>AF zooms ? I don't know what the trade-off would be in optical quality in
>the first case, or in ease of focusing in the second case ( I use an E2
>grid-focusing screen).
I did not find the ATX speed zooms
(more than your budget, anyway) very
good wider than about f5.6; AF lenses
can be fine for MF use - but try first
to see if the focus is too fast for
good control at some FLs; I could never
use the Nikon microprism for focus - the
plain matte screen in the FE2 is VERY
sharp in the center (and has high
magnification compared with most cameras,
so if you can see sharply around 1 meter
distance, you may find the plain-matte
screen easier and faster to use...
>My intent is to use this lens as a compromise for travel and party pictures.
>A range of 24-28mm to 70-105mm with at least f4 and without excessive
>distortion would be ideal. I would certainly appreciate any views or
>suggestions from the knowledgeable posters here.
Most zooms are f4.5 or f5.6 at the "long"
end... The 24-120 is surprisingly good,
and a good sample of the 28-105 f3.5-4.5
should be good (I have yet to see a well-
aligned sample, though), and it is VERY
low-distortion...