Nikon 70-210mm f/4 AF Review Round-Up

nikon-70-210mm-f4-afIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 70-210mm f/4 delivered decent but not exceptional results. The resolution is excellent at 70mm but a little soft at 135mm @ f/4 and 210mm @ f/4 so the speed advantage compared to current consumer grade zoom lenses is somewhat relativized – stopping down to f/5.6 is advisable here. Despite the full format design vignetting is a little high at 210mm at wide-open aperture but otherwise it is well controlled. The level of distortions is unusually low for a zoom lens. Lateral CAs are moderate but purple fringing can be a problem in harsh contrast situations. The build quality is relatively decent although the approach is a bit dated. … READ FULL REVIEW

Other Nikon 70-210mm f/4 AF Reviews

Ken Rockwell

I recommend this old lens very highly if you can get around the slight autofocus errors with your particular camera and your lens. Its fast f/4 aperture, low price, super close focussing and great optical performance make it very tempting. Of course if you are shooting action the AF speed of the 70-210/4 may be too slow, especially if you are still using one of the primitive single-sensor AF cameras. “¦ READ FULL REVIEW

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Combined with the 35 – 70 AF, this is really all the glass a novice needs to work on his/her craft. Good quality, good value. When you reach the point of no longer being happy with your product, you can consider yourself a serious photographer for sure. Most people can probably have a lifetime of pleasure from these two lenses The focus speed may be a little slow and noisy by todays’s standards but for the price, it’s a hard-to-beat value.

  2. My copy of the AF Nikkor 70-210mm f/4 is sharp at all focal lengths with a D700, but the images are lower in contrast and colors tend to be a bit muted compared to my 80-200mm f/2.8 (2 ring). Mine also exhibits chromatic aberration (fringing) in strong backlight and/or contrasty situations (e.g. black shirt against white background). It is a bit slower focusing and certainly noisier, but nothing that affects its day-to-day use. But despite the shortcomings, the lens is a keeper because it produces sharp images. Contrast and CA can be corrected in Lightroom, but there is no cure for soft images.

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