Nikkor 75-150/3.5 'E' series

[james]

I picked one up a few weeks ago for US$60 to see for myself, finally had a chance to shoot with it for a weekend and derive some preliminary impressions. This lens was made between 1980-1983 by Kiron for Nikon's less-expensive E line and appeared in various cloaks (Vivitar, Kiron) as an ƒ/3.8 and ƒ/4 versions, respectively. Has the reputation as the best of the 'E' series, just ahead of the 100/2.8. The materials and build are not at the level of typical Nikkor MF lenses, focus is smooth but without feedback or resistance and aperture ring is solid enough but without the tight precision one has come to expect from legacy Nikkor lenses. The push-pull zoom is just not sufficiently damped, even in this better sample; at the smallest angle off horizontal, the barrel will move. The matte paint finish is a dull, thin, single-coated affair and easily scuffed. It is not the heavily-laid down, multi-coat satin lacquer typical of Nikon MF lenses.

My sample is a later model and shows less zoom creep than the earlier ones are noted for (and have personally tried). I have a spit-circle Katz Eye screen and focusing was aided by this as this isn't the fastest of lenses. it's a much lower contrast lens than I'm used to these days, its (? single) coatings being flare-prone and the color is noticeably desaturated; really a stark contrast to modern optics, especially Zeiss. Sharpness is very, very respectable by ƒ/8, more so at ƒ/11 and acceptable though somewhat underwhelming at ƒ/3.5. Either the coatings or glass impart a greenish cast to open sky. Strongly back-lit subjects don't fare well, and it doesn't handle reflected sunlight either, probably due to the rudimentary coatings. It is compact + light and sits nicely on a D700, delivering solid detail for a 12 MP sensor. Makes a nice walkabout lens for casual shooting. From my limited experience thus far, I do not believe it will provide sufficient resolution for a 36 MP sensor. Likely acceptable on a D600 or D4.

Most of the images below were ƒ/5.6-11 unless otherwise indicated. Variety of FL's across the zoom range but I did not keep track of them.

The colors of the pipes were deeper green and without the grayish cast:




This one is at ƒ/3.5. OOF blur isn't well-developed but at least it's not harsh:



Crop:




Center crop. Not too shabby:



Center crop:


Doesn't handle difficult lighting well:

[philslizzy]

The photos look good, how big is the lens? The e-series are quite small. I'm looking for a small zoom in that range.

[luisalegria]

I have one.
It is quite small.
Its about the size of a smallish 135/2.8, maybe a touch longer.
To be fair though the common Vivitar (Kiron) 2-touch 75-150/3.8 is about the same size, just as sharp and doesn't creep.

If you want a really small long lens the Tokina SD 70-210/4-5.6 compact zoom is quite something.

[james]