Nikon 70-210mm f4: mini-review (9 photos)

[TBaraki]

I picked up this lens a couple months ago but haven't really had a chance to put it through it's paces until now. I had been struggling with a slight AF error on my D70. Fortunately, my supreme reverse engineering skills (some lubrication and a rubber mallet :lmao recently resolved the issue. I thought I'd post a short little review. Who knows, it might be useful to somebody.

It is very sharp; the constant f/4 is great. The zoom range of this lens is nice. Sports shooters? You might as well stop reading now. The AF is slooooooow. Real slow.

If you can find one of these, aren't bothered by slow AF, and don't need the extra stop of a 2.8 lens, then this lens is worth considering. I paid under $200 CAN for mine which was 100% mint. It wasn't even dusty until I got my hands on it.

I was considering saving up for the 80-200 AF-D. Both these lenses are comparable in dimension; the 70-210 is a bit lighter. For the price, it is easy for me to forgive the ancient AF and dinky manual focus ring.

Some sample photos I took today out on a short walk. All shot at f/8.

 

[Patrice]

Looks like a great lens. Just goes to show you don't have to spend $2000 to get a good zoom. How does it behave at it's aperture extremes?

 

[TBaraki]

Just goes to show you don't have to spend $2000 to get a good zoom. How does it behave at it's aperture extremes?

Exactly. As much as I'd love the 70-200VR, I am in no position financially.

Wide open it stays quite sharp with practically no light falloff. Stopped down to f/32 seems to be where this lens is at its softest. I was really surprised how narrow the DOF is in the 100-210mm range.

 

[LWW]

I had one and sold it. I wish I had it back.

LWW