I have always been very suspicious, initially of zoom lenses in
general, and then long zooms. I don't know what the problem was with
that particular lens or shooting situation, but I have looked at
enough 100 percent resolution images from that particular model that
look sharp at any focal length as to consider buying it as a travel
lens when I have to fly. Its only faults appear to be a little
excessive barrel distortion at the widest and a little softness at
the very tips of the corners at some focal length. Softness above 120
does not seem to be a problem for for that lens if you judge by the
images or the comments on the Nikon forum at dpreview. And they are a
cantankerous bunch. Like you, I thought it was a sop to people used
to digicams with super zooms, but it appears to be a very nice lens.
Actually it is not large at all. It weighs one ounce more than the OM
200/4 and is 1.2 inches shorter than the 200/4. Oh, and faster at the
wide end. I find that pretty amazing.
I agree with Moose too that in the past speed in the lens was more
necessary in the past when you were limited by the speed of the film
you had in the camera or or the quality of the high ISO film which
you could buy. But the camera is part of the equation now. Who cares
whether the extra 1 to 2 F stops of exposure are obtained with the
lens or shooting at a higher ISO, at least in most cases?
I am using a 17-55/2.8 zoom and still getting used to its size and
weight. Faster lenses are big and heavy. That is not even 4X and is
only about a stop faster. But the range you mention is the one I
would have chosen myself except maybe a tad wider 17-120 and maybe
3.5 to 4.5 to keep it small.
Winsor
Long Beach, California, USA
On Feb 4, 2006, at 10:18 PM, Andrew Fildes wrote:
> The Nikon 18-200mm VR that started this is very good in the wide to
> moderate tele range, say 18-120mm. Then it's downhill. So, to me it
> would be more sensible to make a shorter 6X zoom and make it faster.
> I'm fairly sure that it would cover your needs for relationships in
> beautiful areas. :)
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