In article
>I'm in the market for one of the Nikon 180mm lenses. It looks like Nikon
>makes (or has made) two. One is the 180mm/2.8 AIS (manual focus?) and the
>other is the 180mm/2.8 AFD. I would prefer autofocus, but it's not a big
>issue for me. I am posting to the group because the autofocus lens seems
>to be every bit as good as the manual lens, yet everywhere I have looked it
>is also a little bit cheaper. Has anyone had experience with both these
>lenses? Is one of them much better than the other? Or is it pretty much a
>toss-up?
Both are excellent. The AF is IF - nice for manual-focus, and the lens
is really excellent near minimum-focus, even on tubes (the AIS is less
able in this area...). The AF is a bit larger. The finish is good on
the AF, but the AIS is nicer (having an all-metal barrel [the AF is
half plastic, and has one of those icky plastic aperture rings
that Nikon puts on even expensive AF lenses...;-]).
The Nikkor 180mm AF is one of their
top optics - REALLY good!
Hope This Helps