Nikon Nikkor 70 mm-210 mm F/4.0-5.6 AF D Lens

Photography as with any art is subjective. Everyone has their opinion of what is a great tool or junk. This lens is one of the best built optics in a zoom lenses. All metal construction, real glass optics and precision mechanics. But can it take pictures? The answer there is yes!!! It produces uniform images over the entire zoom range from fully open to fully closed aperture. Best results are in the mid-aperture range. It works with both film and digital Nikon cameras. I use it with both old F2's and D100's. Now newer digitals may only allow use as a manual lens, it can still produce wonderful images. If you are using a normal 18-55mm zoom or 35mm to 50mm fixed lens, this will cover just about any situation requiring a long lens. Close focus is in the less than 5' range, great for filling a frame close up. It can be hand-held in normal daylight but with a max F4-5.6 a tripod or mono-pod is suggested.

As far as can it take great photo's, sure it can, but can the person holding it see the picture that is waiting? That is the difference between art and just a lot of pictures. This lens gives you the opportunity to capture those images and the flexibility to be creative at the same time. For the price you will be hard pressed to find a better product! I have been using Nikon cameras and lenses since the 1960's and still have every Nikon lens purchased over that time. This has become one of my most used lenses, for close detail work to portraits and wildlife. The AF Nikkor 70-210mm is a great lens to have in the bag along with a good fixed wide-angle, you don't need more than that.

Most likley you won't find a new one, they were discontinued around the end of 1999. Saying that, I expect it will be still working like the others after 40 years. Think of something else you can say that about.
If you can find one, buy it.

Like many others, I bought this lens after reading Ken Rockwell's review. I can completely confirm everything he wrote - in a situation with ample light, where one does not need f2.8, this lens delivers almost indistinguishable performance in terms of autofocus and sharpness with less weight hanging around your neck. Its aperture is generous as Ken mentions - remains f/4.5 out to ~135mm and then increases to f/5.6.

I have noticed a bit of a cool color cast to photos taken with this lens, but it is consistent and easily correctable with a program such as Lightroom. If you don't have Lightroom, don't worry about it (just tweak your white balance a bit warmer as you shoot).

Look closely at eBay listings without the 'D' specified - sometimes people fail to note that, and the 'D' version autofocuses twice as fast. Those listings can be blazingly good deals. Considering that the used going rate on this lens has come down from Ken's boost a few years ago, in the $100-$200 range I will go out on a limb and say there is no better telephoto to put on a Nikon body.

Don't even consider the 70-210 constant f/4 as an alternative; its autofocus is so slow in comparison that you would miss the shots that needed f/4 at 210mm. If you need a faster lens than this one, jump straight to the 80-200mm f/2.8.

This is an excellent all around lens: Well built with outstanding Nikon optics in a managable size, weight and price point. Autofocus is fairly quick and accurate. My images confirm that this is an overall excellent lens. These lenses are readily available so finding a quality unit should not be difficult. It is unique with a push pull style zoom which is new and different to me but works well. One would have to spend hundreds more dollars on a bigger and heavier lens to surpass the image quality produced by this gem. A fixed 4.0 aperture would be nice, and is available on another outstanding Nikon optic 70-210 F4, but that lens is not a D lens and focuses a bit slower I have read. For $200-300 you can have an excellent example of this lens. It would be great for travel as it is not overly bulky, is light but well constructed, and the 70-210 zoom is extremely versatile. If you can get one with the Nikon lens hood, specifically made for this lens, get it as these lens hoods are scarce. With the speed of autofocus it would seem this lens would be well suited for some outdoor sports but I haven't been able to test its' capabilities in that venue yet. I am very happy with my particular lens and recommend it to all except perhaps professional photographers.

I would have to agree with what the respected Ken Rockwell writes on his website.

"This is an exceptionally great lens at what used to be a very, very low price before it became a collectible. It was discontinued in the US around 2000. I love it because it focuses much faster than any other telephoto lens priced under $800 today, it's super sharp, has very little distortion, focuses very close and is super compact and well built.

Because it focuses so much more quickly than any other telephoto zoom this side of the f/2.8 professional models its used price has skyrocketed to around $500. One guy was even getting $750 on eBay! None of the new models under $800 focuses anywhere near as fast. This is no big deal for portraits or landscapes, but is very important for sports, kids, pets or anything that moves fast. "

I bought my lens based on Mr. Rockwell's review and was completely blown away by the build and results that Nikon delivered with this lens. I would buy one again if I lost it.

I didn't expect such a great picture quality with this older design lens. Of course, AF is slow comparing to modern motor driven lenses. Push-pull zoom design may seem to be outdated too, but it's also present on some high-end lenses even today (e.g. Canon EF100-400L). It takes some time to get used to it.
Build quality is very good.
In terms of image quality, the lens is capable of delivering sharpness, contrast and boke that easily matches that of more expensive lenses. I used this lens with Nikon D300, and there was no much difference when comparing to 80-200/2.8D (same F numbers, of course). Now I am wondering which of these two should I keep. May be both?

My verdict - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, not only to low-budget amature photographers, but also to pro's who seek to justify every penny spent on equipment.