Accompanying the other 2x zoom in the “consumer” grade Series-E lenses from Nikon, the 36-72mm E is another no-frills, simple optic for general photography. On film/FF sensors, the optical range goes from kinda-sorta-wide to a short telephoto; a useful range for sure. However, on APS-C cameras, the field of view equivalency covers “normal” to medium telephoto: about 54-108mm. Combined with the pretty slow maximum aperture of f/3.5 (less depth-of-field control) and the painfully far close-focus distance of 4 feet/1.2 meters, the usefulness is much less here.
In other words, I have a pretty hard time getting excited when going out with this lens. I can’t do macro with it. It’s hard to get “pop” on subjects (new visitors to my site may not know I have a knack for shallow depth of field). For icing on top of the cake, ISOs have to increase in low light for handheld shots. Though…I have to remind myself this is a $40 market price lens, so I cannot really expect that much from it.
Of course, sometimes it’s a nice exercise to work under difficult conditions, to try to still be creative even when the big visual tools of photographers are absent. With that said, I don’t see this lens seeing much future use on my NEX-7, despite its wonderful pancake design (leading to increased compactness, of course). What you see above is the longest the lens goes; as the focal length increases, the entire front lens assembly collapses, ending up as a kit similar in size to the 100mm f/2.8 E mounted on the camera.
For the most part, I use this lens as I did with the 75-150, either at the wide 36mm or long 72mm end. I just can’t shake my knack of shooting with primes. 🙂
Heading Downtown
36mm, ISO 100, f/22, 61 seconds
Sunset, Moonrise Solace
72mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/200
Total Control
72mm, ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/200
Abstract Blue Moon
36mm, ISO 200, f/11, 30 seconds
Drumline
72mm, ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/50
Off the Top
72mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/500, Horizontal Orientation
(This picture has recently been added to the random header images at the top of the page)
That’s all for this post guys and gals, sorry for taking so long, I’ve been pretty busy lately. That combined with the aforementioned “un-excitedness” that I get with this lens has made it difficult to go out and shoot. Regardless, I’ll keep on-a-keepin’ on. Thanks for dropping by, and have a great day! 🙂
Matthew Durr Photography 