Adam Trahan: Zoom Nikkor 35-70mm f3.5 AIS

Zoom Nikkor 35-70mm f3.5 AIS

s/n 826330 + 936814

The first one I purchased sat on the shelf. I primarily used the Nikkor 28-50mm f3.5 AIS and I continued to use it so much, I overlooked the 35-70. The end result was that I had too many lenses to chose from. I learned about “Gear Acquisition Syndrome” and I wasn’t alone… Recognizing that I had it forced me to review the way I was building my skills and the kit I was doing it with. It was a difficult time for me and I was making a lot of mistakes in my choices. Another excuse I made was that I was a lens junky. There is more truth in that statement than I want to admit to. I still am however now I am able to recognize that a new to me lens is not going to make me a better photographer.

No, I didn’t need this 35-70, I wanted it.

One day after thinking about manual focus vs. autofocus photography, I decided to commit to autofocus. I sold all of my manual focus kit, cameras, lenses, flash and everything to build a mean auto focus lens kit that I could share with the F6 and the D780. Little did I realize that the driving force in my photography was the return to film and I started that with a manual focus kit. My desire to have control over the exposure triangle was made easier by twisting the aperture ring and setting the shutter speed on its dedicated dial. Yes, my D780 and F6 have manual modes and I used them however, with a basic manual focus kit, I could choose a camera that promoted ease of use in focusing on the individual elements of control over the exposure triangle.

I had really screwed up. But this was an opportunity to review and rethink my approach. I researched the Nikon line up and I had a F3 and an FE2, both of which were really nice cameras yet there was something alluring about the articles I read about the Nikon FE. It was simple, a two needle match system with a sensitive light meter. It metered frames 00 and 0 as well as 37+. My FE2 and F3 wasted those frames. I watched videos, read reviews and found out the FE used the MD-12, my favorite motor winder.

I chose an FE and I began to carefully build a small kit of manual focus lenses. I’m at the end now and I have just a few select AI and AI-S lenses. I wanted a quality normal zoom with a fixed stop that didn’t change as I zoomed in or out. I chose the 35-70 f3.5 AI-S. This is my choice for street photography and for using with the D780 and F6. It is a focal range that I want for a combination of street and portraiture with a fixed while zoom aperture.

I found one after searching for a few days.

As I’ve written, this is my blog, I use it for my own review, I am an amateur photographer and I do this for fun. This page is to track my own progress. It is not a review of the lens so to speak, it is a brutal review of myself and the choices I make.

I share this to perhaps help others who are honest with themselves.

In the meantime, I will share examples of the photographs through this lens to also track progress and help others as well.

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My second copy of the 35-70 has arrived and it is quite beautiful and in good shape. I've mounted to the FE and have screwed around with it in the house. I am about to take it out for it's first walk with my Lucy. I take a lot of pictures on this familiar neighborhood walk. I know what I have done, the different light, the subject and it is quite hard to get innovative photographs from this walk. I still carry my camera because I love photography and I will definitely carry my FE with the 35-70 and take a few pictures of familiar things to compare and contrast with my other lenses in my kit.

I'm already thinking of my first trip downtown. I want to do some street portraiture and I'm going to see if I can start with some of the homeless. I will be kind and gentle but that is a whole story in of itself but I do want the hardened faces and I want to try to capture the emotion.