The Controversial 43-86mm f/3.5 Zoom-Nikkor, Part Two

I wish I had felt better during the 10 days that I tested the worst lens Nikon ever made. I really wanted to give this lens a good workout, but I came down with a nasty respiratory thing and was just miserable. So other than a few shots taken at a local wine tasting before I fell ill, I stayed close to home—in my yard, around the house and a quick walk downtown.

As I said in Part One, this lens is well made and was nice to use…not too big and heavy. I shot Kodak TMAX 400 with the lens mounted on my Nikon FM. I found the focal length range of the 43-86 really quite handy as a walk around lens. I can see why photo journalists of the day would’ve found this lens useful, covering the almost wide angle to medium telephoto focal lengths. Here are my snaps…

I am not a super technical guy when it comes to testing lenses. I either like the pictures I get or I don’t and for the most part I, I liked these. I honestly prefer any of my Nikkor primes to this lens but if was just out taking pictures for fun and wanted one lens that covered a nice range of focal lengths, I wouldn’t hesitate using it. And they are almost free. Based on what I have read, this lens is better than the first version so if you are going to get one of these, get this version. To find out which is which, read part one of this review.

Now that I have tested the worst lens ever made by Nikon, I am going to try one of their best; the 35-70 f/2.8 AF-D. It was Nikon’s go-to pro zoom back in the day. I got a great deal on one and I think I’ll pair it with my F5.