D70s with old (er) Nikon Nikkor Lenses

Mac

I just purchased a Nikon D70s body and I'm looking for some lenses. A fellow from the area has offered to sell me his two Nikkor Lenses at a reasonable price however I just wanted to know if it would be worth it seeing as they are older models; he said he purchased them 1990. I've read a few things saying that the older Nikkor lenses are just as good, especially for someone like me, given they are in good condition. They are as follows:

Nikon Nikkor AF 70-210mm 1:4-5.6
Nikon Nikkor AF 35-70mm 1:3.3-4.5

I'm relatively new to photography and figured someone could help me out.

Pat

Given the very reasonable prices and good performance of Nikon's current 18-55 and 55-200 VR zooms for DX cameras, I don't think I would consider these older lenses today.

In particular, the 35-70mm range is not a very useful zoom range for the D70, and this 35-70 mm lens has a poor reputation for build quality, sharpness and distortion. This was a budget zoom in its day, and there are budget zooms today designed specifically for DX format cameras that are far better optically. You might be able to find a used 18-70mm AF-S zoom around. That lens was the kit lens for the D70, and is a good partner for it, a little faster and longer range than the 18-55, though my favorite DX zoom lens today is the newer 16-85.

The 70-210mm f/4-5.6 has a mixed reputation, perhaps based on variation in the lenses. It's larger and heavier than the modern DX compact zooms, but it's more solidly constructed. It has the advantage / disadvantage of being a push-pull zoom. In my own use of zooms, I find these more difficult to use than zooms where both functions are rotating on separate rings, but some people swear by them. If the price is good, I'd go for it, but certainly not if it's approaching the price of the 55-200 VR zoom.

http://robdphotos.blogspot.com/2010/05/nikon-af-70-210mm-f4-56-review.html

It does have the advantage that it will be useful on a full-frame Nikon digital camera like the D700 if you purchase one later, while the DX-specific zooms will not. The review below created a craze for this lens a few years ago that may not be over in the used lens market.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/...021056.htm

While this lens will autofocus on the D70, which has an internal focus motor, it won't autofocus on many of Nikon's newer entry-level cameras like the D40, D3000, D3100 and D5000.

Good luck! I bought a D70 when it first came out and used it for quite a while - a very nice camera that can take great pictures.

Jeroen Wijnands

These are fine, vintage lenses which will work well on the D70. Only drawback it's not providing any wide angle.

Cian C