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Home >> Photography >> Film Equipment Nikon 18-35mm f3.5-4.5D AF
Sometimes I astound myself as to how stupid I am. I bought the Tamron 20-40mm f2.7-3.5 AF lens in the spring of 2000 in the midst of a revamping of my 35mm kit and I had finally addressed the need for wide-angle lens coverage. The Tamron was bought because it was only 2/5 the price of the outrageously expensive 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S lens and also because there was no low cost alternative from Nikon. This was a sticking point for many Nikon users who would love to own a Nikon brand, consumer oriented wide-angle zoom. The Tamron is a fine lens in most respects except a couple. Color rendition and saturation were not up to Nikon standards even compared against lower cost Nikon lenses such as the 24-120mm lens. It also does not have “Nikon” on it and I’m only half joking here. I’m a miserable snob when it comes to third party lenses even though the Tamron is the only one I’ve tried on my Nikon bodies. There is a subjective component to equipment purchasing and owning that is neurotic but many will not ever contemplate owning anything other then the original manufacturer’s lenses even if these lenses are made in other companies’ factories. The Nikkor 24-120mm, 28-200mm and the 70-300mm are all lenses that some suspect as being assembled in the Tamron factory (not to mention the 80-200mm f2.8 non AF-S lens supposedly made in the Tokina factory). This may or may not be true but if it is, it does seem that Nikon at least supplies the glass to ensure the family “look”. So, I have the Tamron 20-40mm lens and after seeing that it doesn’t match the Nikkor lenses in color fidelity I’m a bit disheartened. If it seems like a minor issue, it actually is but coupled with the subjective component it becomes subjectively and personally a big issue and one that I want to address by just going out and buying the 17-35mm AF-S and be done with it. But just because you have that kind of money does not mean that you should or could as I found out when having discussions with my wife on my bad spending habits. Along comes the 18-35mm from Nikon (only several years too late) and it seems to address most of my concerns and neurosis’. The stupidity factor I mentioned at the beginning of this report has to do with me trying to sell the Tamron 20-40mm lens so soon after buying it in favor of the “Nikon” branded 18-35mm lens. If I do sell the Tamron, I’m going to take a beating especially if I sell via consignment at a local store and lose a minimum of 20% in fees on top of the reduced value by selling used. Third party lenses just don’t command much value even if in mint condition. This is the game that a lot of photographers play when new equipment is introduced into the market and the neurotic tendencies come into play of wanting the newest, biggest and perceived best. I suffer from it and I bet you do too. I don’t have much respect for others who look down upon this affliction since it simply is human nature to want the latest and greatest. To deny that they suffer from it is an insult since even the most secure person in the world is going to be interested in what is offered. This is also related to those who always announce that it’s the photographer and not the equipment to create images and brag about being able to create exactly the same photo as with a FM2 as a F5. Well no shit it’s the photographer who creates the images but do they actually practice what they preach? These are the same insufferable people who go out and buy F5 bodies instead of FM2s. Why? Because they like playing with and buying the new toys just like I do, I just admit that I’m a hopeless neurotic (although it doesn’t really me make any better them). Back to our regular program… About the lens The 18-35mm is a lightweight in terms of build quality given its predominantly plastic build but it does have a decent amount of heft to it. However, of all the zoom lenses I have, the 18-35mm is the lightest and the Tamron 20-40mm is certainly the better-built lens. I have little doubt, which lens will survive years of being thrown around a camera bag and it is not the one that starts with the letter “N”. The 77mm filter size is a bit misleading as the rest of the lens is actually of smaller dimension, more like a 62mm size lens that has had a step up ring adapter mounted with a larger filter. It looks as if Nikon could have gone with a 72mm filter size but went with 77 to minimize vignetting. To its credit Nikon is at least including the dedicated lens hoods for all of its newer lenses instead of making us pay $40 CAN for a piece of plastic Tupperware as it does with the older designs. If you’ve seen or have the lens hood for the 24-120mm lens, you’ll laugh at the ridiculousness of it as the non-scallop design makes it so much larger then it needs to be. I’ll probably pay out another $40 to buy the hood meant for the new 24-85mm lens to use with the 24-120 since it’s scalloped and would at least provide better protection against flare beyond the wide-angle settings (If I don’t just up and buy the new 24-85mm as it seems like a real winner for focal length coverage and lens speed). The lens handles well on the F100 and I imagine that it would make for a fine compact kit with the F80 body. It does seem that the 18-35mm was meant to be a part of a kit comprised of it, the 24-85mm and the 70-300mm ED lenses. All are very plastic and lightweight (relatively speaking for the 24-85mm as it has good heft actually) and all should be capable of fine performance (I assume with the 24-85 and 70-300 lenses since I have not used them) for a consumer to serious amateur photographer. The lack of speed is also not a particular loss since most landscape photographers are not going to be shooting wide open anyway and will stop down to the sharpest apertures of f8-f11 for increased depth of field. Some Anal Retentive Testing of the
Lens
For those who like using Cokin P filter systems, be prepared to hack off all the filter slots on your filter mount except for the first one otherwise major vignetting will occur. I have not done so yet to my own Cokin filter mount so cannot confirm if this will alleviate the problem at the 18mm focal length. My subjective testing of the lens indicates that the optimum aperture to use between 18mm to 24mm is f8 and f11 from 28mm to 35mm. This corresponds to the general rule of thumb of stopping down two apertures from maximum for best resolution. I’m not big into architectural photography so can’t comment much about the distortion aspects of the lens but will note that they are apparent especially at 18mm. Again, check out Thom Hogan’s review for a more thorough technical look at this lens. For general purpose and outdoor photographer such as myself, the distortions of the 18-35mm will not be an ongoing concern except perhaps when photographing a stand of trees. Oh yes, be sure to take care with this lens when photographing people of groups of people, as with all wide angle lenses, the lateral distortion at the edges will NOT do wonders for the people stuck at the edges of the frame. Just try to orient the slimmest people at the edges and the less slim in the middle otherwise your group shot may be more fitting for a Weight Watcher’s poster than for an album. Conclusion
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Correspondence & About this website Copyright © 1998-2008 Edwin Leong |
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The
18-35mm is a very wide-angle coverage zoom lens that seems to be a
chip or element off of the not so old 17-35mm AF-S. Take away the
expensive brick outhouse build quality and the technology of the Silent
Wave lens but put in as much of the optical quality of the bigger
and more expensive lens as feasible within the limitations of the
18-35mm price point. The glass is where it is at and the 18-35mm is
a decent performer. I’m not going to lead anyone around and suggest
that it’s on par with the 17-35mm since I have no experience with
the 17-35mm lens and it would not have been the design goal of Nikon
to put every last bit of 17-35mm quality into the 18-35mm. But check
out 
The
lens will not vignette with a normal sized filter at the 18mm focal
length, meaning go ahead and protect that front element with a B&W
UV filter but when you want to polarize at 18mm, be sure to take the
first filter off, otherwise the lens will vignette at 18mm. This check
was done with slides so the slide mount may have actually hidden a
slight vignette with one filter but unless you use negative film instead
of slides, it should not be an issue.
