I have decided to buy my mother-in-law/photographer a nice birthday present from Nikon.

She has an ol' Nikon 2020 and some non pro lenses.

Can anyone tell me if the 35-70/2.8D will work with the 2020, and to what degree,
OR,
do you think an N70 or an N90s is a better idea, given that aging body of hers.

Speaking from my Canon experience, I'd rather have my old EOS 630 and my 28-70/2.8L than a EOS 5 and a cheaper lens.

-- mike c (mike@eagleriver.com), August 07, 1999

Answers

The lens you mentions will work fine on the 2020, although AF will be nearly useless. Except for the truly sad AF on the 2020 it4s a fine camera. I would also prefer a pro lens instead of a new body!

Happy shopping! Ola

-- Ola Fredin (olala@natgeo.su.se), August 07, 1999.

The 35-70mm f/2.8 is a lovely lens and capable of producing technically stunning result. My only gripes with it are its weight and slightly limited zoom range. The lens should work fine with the N2020, except for the autofocus speed pointed out by Ola, and the D-metering technology (the current version of the lens is the AFD version) which the N2020 can't make use of (but the N70 and N90 can). For general amateur use, I think the 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 or the 24-120 f/3.5-4.5 might be a more versatile choice, but if your mother-in-law is a pro, semi-pro or very advanced amateur, I think she'll be very happy with the 35-70mm f/2.8. A final note: even though I'm a Nikon fan, I'll have to say that the N2020 is no match for your EOS 630 in every aspect, especially when the latter is paired with a L-series lens.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), August 08, 1999.

Unless you've heard you've heard her complaining about the N2020, I'd say that the lens would make for a better gift. The user interface of the N2020 is very staightforward with good old fashioned dials. An N70 or even an N90s would take some getting used to.

-- Geoffrey S. Kane (grendel@pgh.nauticom.net), August 09, 1999.

Get the lens... (assuming you haven't by now!)

The 2020 is a fine camera aside from the poor autofocus (although at the time, long ago, when I was shooting with a 2020 I had no idea how to even turn AF on -- probably for the better!)

-- Mark R. Wilkins (mark_wilkins@yahoo.com), March 19, 2000.