Goes as wide as 24mm, zooms up to medium telephoto (120mm), makes a good travel and general-purpose lens (but more co$tly than the N70 it's attached to), size (diameter) keeps camera pointed straight ahead when you rest in on a flat surface (other lenses make it point down) - a neat trick!

Too slow for low-light situations (actually loses speed very abruptly), vignetting happens in some shots at 24mm, not as snappy image quality as 70-300 (due to lens speed and ED glass)

While this lens has stayed on the camera for 50% of the shots that I've come across, the results are a little murky and lack a certain snap and brilliance to them (could be the slowness and/or the number of elements). But as the first lens that I bought for my N70, it has served me well. In hindsight, however, I probably would have been better off with a faster lens with less elements and a narrower range (ie.: less trade-offs). I think that this thing tried to cover too many bases at the same time (like the 28-200 from Nikon and Tamron). And the $40 lens hood is an absolute joke!

Kind of a mixed bag, this is. Flexible, but the trade-offs show. If the price was lower, it wouldn't be quite as bad (value-wise).

Customer Service

Haven't tried for this lens

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Rather unique lens, so not much to compare to. Didn't try the 28-200 offerings because the range wasn't where

Very wide range, which starts at 24, a focal length i find very useful for crowded coverage and landscapes

I've had this lens for a year and it seems the center has come loose from whatever holds it to the barrel. there is now 2-3 degrees of play at the end- which probably affects the optics.

I think this has something to do with the weight of the lens.

Very slow AF performance at the long focal range end.

A very impressive focal range but I figure it wasn't designed to be as rugged as a lens of this weight should be. I don't like the slow AF performance. I feel like I've been cheated by Nikon.

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Nikkor 28-200
Tamron 24-70

WIDE ZOOM RANGE
SOMEWHAT COMPACT TRAVEL LENSE
REASONABLE PRICED

DISTORATION AT WIDE END
SOFT IMAGES AT LONG END, MUST BE STOPPED DOWN FOR AVERAGE PRINT IMAGES
HEAVY FOR A TRAVEL LENSE
SLOW AUTO FOCUS IN DIM LIGHTED AREAS-DUE TO VARIABLE APETURES
NOT UP TO PRIME LENSES
FILTERS ARE COSTLY

I SOLD MINE TO PURCHASE TWO PRIMES THAT COVER THE SAME RANGE.SHARP IMAGES IS WHAT I LOOK FOR IN MY LENSES& THE 24-120 CANT MATCH THE PRIMES.I AGREE WITH HARRY O LEAN FROM SEATTLE WHO MENTIONED POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY EXCELLENT RATING OF THIS LENSE.
MINE CERTAINLY DID NOT RATE THAT KIND OF RATING. OVERALL ITS AS GOOD AS ANY WIDE RANGE ZOOM NOTHING SPECIAL. I JUST THINK THAT THIS ZOOM CRAZE IS GETTING OUT OF HAND & THAT PEOPLE ARE LED TO BELIEVE THAT THEIR CONSUMER ZOOM LENSES ARE EQUAL TO PRIME LENSES,WHICH ISNT TRUE. TAKE IT FROM SOME ONE WHO HAS HAD THAT EXPERIENCE. IF 4X6 QUICK PHOTO LAB PRINTS IS ALL YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THAN THE 24-120 WILL BE JUST FINE.

Customer Service

NEVER USED

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TAMARON 28-200

Excellent zoom range, sharp when stopped down.

Distortion at wide end. Size (big). Slow at 120mm

An excellent lens for travel. Superb focal length range. I find that 24mm is more useful to me than 28mm which is common in standard zooms. It is a little bulky, but certainly onvenient considering its range and the lenses that can be left in the bag when you take it along. I consider it to be one of the finest all purpose lenses available. Excellent sharpness at middle apertures. This lens coupled with the small/sharp/fast/cheap 50mm f1.8 covered 90% of my shooting needs on a recent trip to Asia.

Customer Service

n/a

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Nikkor 28-105

great focal length choice. Extremely versatile for general purpose use. It's sharp and contrasty enough to use for publishable shots.

A little soft at the long end; anything past about 90mm. Worse at bigger aperatures. Zoom collar turns in the opposite direction than most other Nikkor products, which is kinda weird.

Most versatile range I've used. Ideal travel lens: because it tops out at only 120mm, it forced me to interact with people instead of "poaching" from afar with a longer focal length, which is rude and defeats the purpose of travel in the first place. The extra 4mm on the back end is more useful than an extra 80mm on the front. Would like another 4mm if Nikon would give it to me. Best in bright light and stopped down past f8. I don't find it's slower speed much of a factor with new pushable films such as Fuji RMS.

Customer Service

none needed so far

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Tamron 28-200: Too slow w/F100.

A great range for a single lens. Zoom doesn't slip. Well made, reasonable price.

Huge range means compromise in optical performance.

I bought this lens for its 24mm wide low end and its range to short telephoto. I didn't buy it thinking I'd get performance similar to the bagful of prime lenses the range covers. That said, I'm quite impressed with the image quality this lens offers in a reasonably compact zoom. If the range appeals to you and you don't expect a zoom to equal the performance of 5 or 6 prime lenses, you'll enjoy this lens. Be aware that the lens grows to more than twice its shortest (24mm) length when extended to 120mm. The zoom ring requires a good grip and more torque to operate than your average zoom, but the focal length stays put when you point the lens up or down. I'd be happy with a 24-80 zoom if it were more compact and offered more performance, but the choice is this lens or one that provides a mild 28mm or 35mm wide angle. For my shooting, the wide angle is worth the compromise.

Customer Service

N/A

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Lots of zooms, but none with this range.

wide ranging
great travel

chunky
heavy
big filters

here's my beef:Pop. Photography rates this lense excellent and have some amazing scores on the 120mm end with 90+ scores wide open at 20x24. This is impossible!!! All my images are soft and especially the edges at 120mm. I sure wish I had their lense because I can't get any decent contrast for portraits at the long end. I agree with PopPhoto. on some tests like the 80-200f2.8, but the 24-120 test is way out there. If they are right (the tests), then this zoom is better at 50mm than my 50f1.8 at the same aperatures- I find that ridiculous- I can see the difference in 4x6 prints from 1 hour Walgreen's. I am sure if I blew those up to 20x24, it would be like day or night. I don't trust those test anymore. Who's right anyway? Checkout Photodo.com, they rate my 24-120 a 2.3, which is worse than the 35-135 I still have (a 2.6). In some ways, the 35-135 is clearly better, but it is not a 24. Pop P. also says that the 28-105 is average at 105, but I find that it is pretty good wide open- looks 'sharp' at 105, whereas teh 24-120 looks washed out. Yes, there are many choices out there- all pretty mediocre because zooming has become the default. I'd throw it all away if I still had my Contax system until it was stolen. Just try out those lenses and you'll see what I mean- I can tell in magazines which used German glass and which used Nikon or other glass.

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None

Reasonably compact for its range; quite sharp at mid-range focal lengths, especially if you stop down to about f8 - f11.

Somewhat heavy; a bit soft at the long end; Front element and filter mount rotate so that polarizers have to be re-set.

Very flexible and useful lens. Not as sharp as a prime lens, but it's what I take if I'm going to carry only one lens on a trip.

Customer Service

Not needed.

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Nikkor 35-135 AF

Incredible range. Aesthetically beautiful.
Great all-purpose lens.
Good for getting used to different focal lenths, and then when you find the perspective you like, you can get those primes.

Slow variable aperature.
Kinda heavy. Filters are exspensive.

Great all-purpose lens. Great images at f8-11.
Incredible range.

Customer Service

Never needed

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None

I've been amazed at the sharpness of the photos.

A bit slower than I would like; however, I can't afford the faster lens

If you only have one lens for your camera then this is the lens to have.

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I tried the Sigma 28-105 in the store; but, it didn't seem to be built as well