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I have a D5200 and I got a old Nikkor 35-105MM lens, it's nicer then the kit lens it takes great photos but I can't seem to focus on anything far away when zoomed out. If I'm at like 100mm it will focus great on objects about 10 feet away or so but if I go to 35mm everything will be blurry. It's an older lens so I have to use the manual focus with the D5200 but there is no focal range that shows objects far away clearly. Why is this? Am I missing something on this lens is it because I'm not shooting on a full frame camera? Any tips or help would be great.

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the DX sensor is not the issue, I have a D3300 and I use old manual Nikon lenses all the time with no issue.

There could be a few things that are the problem. First off unless you know the history of the lens (you have always owned it) it could be damaged. The elements could be miss aligned or the mechanisms are not working properly. As such the 100mm setting may be working while the 35mm setting is on the issue end of the mechanism. The only way to know this would be to have it looked at by someone who knows/repairs these lenses.

If things are out of focus in the view finder (not the final image) you may need to adjust the view finder fine control. If you wear glasses or contacts some times you need to play with the fine adjust on the finder to make everything line up properly. You can try using live view and see if you can get it in focus.

If this is the lens in question it seems it contained some one off optics only ever used in it.

this optical design was only offered in this lens seen here. There have been many 35-105mm Nikon lenses, but this AF-D version is the only one with these internally-focused optics

Im not sure what effect that may have if any but it could be related to the problem you are seeing.

You can always try stepping down (if you are shooting the lens wide open) which can help with depth of field.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks Dave, I'm not too sure about the history of the lens, I am thinking the problem is the that something is miss aligned. It's an old lens and it was free so I may just mess with it myself. \$\endgroup\$
    – tfantina
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 14:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ As they say, nothing in life is really free... Be careful when taking it apart there are usually little springs, rollers, and levers in the lens and they often have to be aligned the right way to get the lens back together. Take note (and pictures) of how it all comes apart. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dave
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 14:22

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