Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Had a play with something interesting? Got something that we all covet? Found a real lemon? Write a few lines about it, and share your experiences.

Moderator: Moderators

Forum rules
Please ensure that you have a meaningful location included in your profile. Please refer to the FAQ for details of what "meaningful" is.

Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby TonyH on Wed May 28, 2008 4:45 pm

I'm looking at buying a good secondhand copy of this lens.

Are there any major drawbacks to consider before buying, I'm talking about the model not the fact of being secondhand.

I'll be using it primarily on a D200 body at the moment and will be upgrading to a D300 or D3 in the not too distant future.

Thank you for all feedback.


Cheers


Tony
All I know, is that I don't know enough.....
TonyH
Senior Member
 
Posts: 856
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:39 am
Location: Brisbane, QLD Nikon D200 & D70

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby chrisk on Wed May 28, 2008 5:31 pm

awesome lens. fast, sharp...beautiful.
as long as you are aware of the size/ weight of it and that doesnt bother you its a great investment in quality glass.
EM1 l 7.5 l 12-40 l 14 l 17 l 25 l 45 l 60 l 75 l AW1 l V3
User avatar
chrisk
Senior Member
 
Posts: 3317
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:50 pm
Location: Oyster Bay, Sydney

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby Bob G on Wed May 28, 2008 5:54 pm

What Rooz said.

I had one for many years and had no trouble getting a very reasonable price for it when I moved on to the 24-70.

It is a very robust high quality bit of kit.
Bob
"Wake up and smell the pixels!"
User avatar
Bob G
Senior Member
 
Posts: 1035
Joined: Tue Mar 14, 2006 1:52 am
Location: Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Qld.

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby TonyH on Wed May 28, 2008 5:58 pm

Hi Bob,

Can I ask how much you got for yours? To give me an idea if I'm possibly paying too much :D

PM if you prefer...

Cheers

Tony
All I know, is that I don't know enough.....
TonyH
Senior Member
 
Posts: 856
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:39 am
Location: Brisbane, QLD Nikon D200 & D70

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby Bob G on Wed May 28, 2008 8:18 pm

TonyH wrote:Hi Bob,

Can I ask how much you got for yours? To give me an idea if I'm possibly paying too much :D

PM if you prefer...

Cheers

Tony


Sold it from this forum and I just went back to look at the PM's. Must have been prior to launch of the new format forum and I can't now locate the info. - Sorry.
Bob
"Wake up and smell the pixels!"
User avatar
Bob G
Senior Member
 
Posts: 1035
Joined: Tue Mar 14, 2006 1:52 am
Location: Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Qld.

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby Oneputt on Wed May 28, 2008 8:41 pm

Tony I have this lens and love it. As stated though it is heavy and deserves its nickname of the beast. I use it as my walkaround.
"The good thing about meditation is that it makes doing nothing respectable"

D3 - http://www.oneputtphotographics.com
User avatar
Oneputt
Senior Member
 
Posts: 3174
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2005 3:58 pm
Location: Stuck in traffic Maroochydore.

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby blackD200 on Wed May 28, 2008 9:04 pm

Depends on what type of shooting your after.

I was deciding on a 17-55 vs 28-70
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=27513&p=308868&sid=76df050e36c3792d90326e369f4bde07#p308868

Eventually I decided on a 28-70

First thing I noticed with the 28-70 is the CA.... Tried it on different body and tried another 28-70 from a forum member and it showed the same results -- hence i put it down to lens feature, which I can easily live with :
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=27973&p=313278&sid=76df050e36c3792d90326e369f4bde07#p313278
Its a bulky piece of gear and yes its heavy, weight all adds up when you have the body + grip + lens + flash, and multiply that by 2 if your shooting with 2 boddies and a zoom on the other.

I then used it for a couple of weekend for wedding, using 12-24, 28-70 combo on two bodies. 12-24 will get changed to 80-200 when needed..
I found the 28-70 not wide enough for the type of events I shoot, hence having to switch over to 12-24 quite often. Not too much of a problem as am using 2 bodies but I didn’t like how the 12-24 distorts the pics, not very nice for people photography - have to be very careful w/ the angle you shoot at.
so in the end I sold it here in the forum 3-4weeks after I bought it.
viewtopic.php?f=38&t=28375&p=317531&sid=76df050e36c3792d90326e369f4bde07#p317531

It would have been perfect in the FX format but what i needed at the time was really a 17-55.
The 28-70 is prob still the best lens I've owned and as for portrait use - its unreal. I just couldn’t justify keeping a 28-70 and a 17-55 at the time. Having said that, I have not looked back and the 17-55 is my main work horse even with the D300 - its an unreal piece of glass..
I'd say I shoot 70% of an event with my 17-55..

Hope that helps. :D
blackD200
Member
 
Posts: 118
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 6:08 pm
Location: Hills District

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby whoalse on Wed May 28, 2008 10:44 pm

Tony, I have been using this lens since 2006 and loving it still. Used it on my d200.

you can look through my photos on my site as they are mostly 28-70.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
whoALSE => Allen
One form of time travel is thru Captured Moments
User avatar
whoalse
Member
 
Posts: 109
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:14 pm
Location: Richmond, VIC

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby Yi-P on Wed May 28, 2008 10:46 pm

Its great lens, just that you can justify the size and weight of this beast.

I use this as my main lens but it will put you to some constrains as 28mm on a DX is not wide enough, but the quality and performance of this lens is great... I like the 70mm end of this for portraiture works.
User avatar
Yi-P
Senior Member
 
Posts: 3579
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 1:12 am
Location: Sydney -- Ashfield

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby TonyH on Thu May 29, 2008 10:26 pm

Does $1100 for a VGC-Mint condition sunike a good deal
All I know, is that I don't know enough.....
TonyH
Senior Member
 
Posts: 856
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:39 am
Location: Brisbane, QLD Nikon D200 & D70

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby TonyH on Thu May 29, 2008 10:32 pm

Does $1100 sould like a good deal for one? VGC-Mint..... :D
All I know, is that I don't know enough.....
TonyH
Senior Member
 
Posts: 856
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:39 am
Location: Brisbane, QLD Nikon D200 & D70

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby Bob G on Thu May 29, 2008 10:47 pm

Mine was $3k new 8 years ago when it first came out - seems pretty good to me
Bob
"Wake up and smell the pixels!"
User avatar
Bob G
Senior Member
 
Posts: 1035
Joined: Tue Mar 14, 2006 1:52 am
Location: Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Qld.

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby Old Bob on Thu May 29, 2008 10:58 pm

I use mine on a D70, and I love it. I hope to be able to try it on a D3 at some stage, and take advantage of the wide end. I purchased mine on Ebay in August 2007 for about $1660.
Bob
User avatar
Old Bob
Member
 
Posts: 389
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:18 pm
Location: Parkes NSW

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby who on Fri May 30, 2008 12:43 am

That's better than what I got mine from Bob G for (not by much).....
Old D200+extras
who
Senior Member
 
Posts: 543
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2007 4:38 pm
Location: Ulverstone, TAS

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby TonyH on Sat May 31, 2008 5:17 pm

Paid $1122 for the lens, so far excellent results....

Get to try it out at my son's engagement party tonight...... :D

I'm sure by the end of the night I'll feel like "Arnie" with the weight of this beast.
All I know, is that I don't know enough.....
TonyH
Senior Member
 
Posts: 856
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:39 am
Location: Brisbane, QLD Nikon D200 & D70

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby Killakoala on Sun Jun 01, 2008 6:36 pm

It is a great lens. I use mine as a 'kit' lens and it is the lens in my collection that spends the most time on either of my cameras. I am sure you will love it.
Steve.
|D700| D2H | F5 | 70-200VR | 85 1.4 | 50 1.4 | 28-70 | 10.5 | 12-24 | SB800 |
Website-> http://www.stevekilburn.com
Leeds United for promotion in 2014 - Hurrah!!!
User avatar
Killakoala
Senior Member
 
Posts: 5398
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2004 3:31 pm
Location: Southland NZ

Re: Opinions Nikon 28-70 2.8 AFS

Postby StarForge on Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:01 pm

TonyH wrote:Paid $1122 for the lens, so far excellent results....

What a steal! I paid near that price for a new 17-55mm f/2.8 DX!
User avatar
StarForge
Member
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:10 pm
Location: Croydon, Adelaide


Return to Equipment Reviews