Nikon 75-150 f3.5 Series E zoom lens

I picked up one of these manual gems dead cheap last year and will be trying to use it regularly for my 52 in 2015. I am really amazed by the optical quality of this lens, and the fact that it is constant 3.5 is great. The Bokeh is beautifully soft. The only problem I have with it is with the zoom creep (one piece focus/slide zoom). If anyone has any great ideas about solving zoom creep on such a lens the please post (insulation tape on the barrel is the only option I have at the moment).

Anyway, here a couple of pics:

Nice images! I wasn't aware any Series E lenses were made as zooms, but I'm also not that knowledgeable about manual lenses.

Supposedly Lens Bands work to help prevent that from happening. A cheaper solution would be to use the silicone bracelets that kids (and some adults) wear.

hark said:

Nice images! I wasn't aware any Series E lenses were made as zooms, but I'm also not that knowledgeable about manual lenses.

Supposedly Lens Bands work to help prevent that from happening. A cheaper solution would be to use the silicone bracelets that kids (and some adults) wear.

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Hi Hark,

many thanks for your suggestion but this wont work for this particular lens, it is a sliding zoom mechanism and not a rotary one.

Englischdude said:

Hi Hark,

many thanks for your suggestion but this wont work for this particular lens, it is a sliding zoom mechanism and not a rotary one.

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I know what you mean but don't know if it would work. Have you tried putting a few heavy rubber bands on just to see if it would tighten the zoom at all? If so, then the silicone band would work, too. The idea is that it will compress the outside part a little which will offer a little more resistance. The tighter the band, the more resistance.

hark said:

I know what you mean but don't know if it would work. Have you tried putting a few heavy rubber bands on just to see if it would tighten the zoom at all? If so, then the silicone band would work, too. The idea is that it will compress the outside part a little which will offer a little more resistance. The tighter the band, the more resistance.

Click to expand...

dont think that would work Hark, the outer sliding cylinder is made of metal and slides back and forth over a metal inner cylinder, the resistance between the two is in the form of a felt ring which in the case of my copy is now worn.

Here a link to a review of this lens where the zoom creep is explained:
Review: Nikon 75-150mm f/3.5 Series E - Photography Gear - ishootshows.com

Englischdude said:

dont think that would work Hark, the outer sliding cylinder is made of metal and slides back and forth over a metal inner cylinder, the resistance between the two is in the form of a felt ring which in the case of my copy is now worn.

Here a link to a review of this lens where the zoom creep is explained:
Review: Nikon 75-150mm f/3.5 Series E - Photography Gear - ishootshows.com

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Ahh...yes. I see what they say about using gaffers tape. Good luck with it--your images look terrific!

Does anyone else know of a solution to prevent lens creep with this particular lens?

Many thanks Hark for your kind feedback. The first pic is of my youngest daughter who had just finished her croissant, thats why she looked so satisfied . I did take some pics of her AFTER cleaning the remnants from her chops, unfortunately however this was the only one where i nailed the manual focus...... gotta practice some more. All in all a fantastic lens which can be had very cheaply.

The entire E-series of glass is one of the best-kept secrets in the Nikon world. Although marketed as economy lenses (hence the E), they perform outstandingly well, even on todays' top-end bodies.

480sparky said:

The entire E-series of glass is one of the best-kept secrets in the Nikon world........

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Until now

Oh man, I want to be buried with this lens!

Today was the first time I have managed to get out and shoot a little with the 75-150, the sharpness from a telezoom which is 30 years old is astounding. Here a few pics:

Popcorn on the boil



Birds, check out the sharpness of the wing outlines



Swan - unfortunately I did not nail the focus on the eye, but look at the detail in the water droplets on the breast



Birds again.... love the gull at the top of the frame



finally a portrait of my daughters friend. The detail in the hair is wonderful and beautiful bokeh




This is the main lens I plan to use for my 52-2015. I really need to practice manually focusing, more than half of the images I shot today are garbage due to inaccurate focusing.

If anyone else here uses this lens I would really love to see your pics.

Some shooters go so far as to collect all the E-series lenses. It's not that hard, nor expensive.

28/2.8, 35/2.5, 50/1.8, 100/2.8, 135/2.8 primes and 36-72/3.5, 75-150/3.5 and 70-210/4 zooms.

480sparky said:

Some shooters go so far as to collect all the E-series lenses. It's not that hard, nor expensive.

28/2.8, 35/2.5, 50/1.8, 100/2.8, 135/2.8 primes and 36-72/3.5, 75-150/3.5 and 70-210/4 zooms.

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May just join them. I need some primes that do not break the bank. Thanks for the idea.

was at my daughters yearly carnival variety show today. I took the 75-150 instead of the 24-70 for fear of not having enough reach. I was sat quite far back in the audience so my caution was justified. Had to pump up the ISO due to the lighting conditions in the theatre, but the pics cleaned up nicely in darktable. Here a couple of shots. I really cant recommend this lens enough!

and a couple more from my current favorite lens!

im still enjoying this lens!!