In article <5bfv0r$3lo@hpwin055.uksr.hp.com>, dierick@cygnusx1.belgium.hp.com says...

>I am looking to buy a 20 mm lens for Nikon, but I am hesitating between
>an AIS or the AF-D version. I know optical they are the same, but I am
>not used to Nikon AF lenses. Do they focus like the older AIS lenses
>on manual gear (smoothness,etc), or do they have the plastic feeling one
>gets from manual focusing an EOS lens on a Canon ? I will use the lens
>in harsh conditions, so I don't want to make a mistake. The reason why
>I might consider the AF is that maybe later I would eventually get an
>autofocus body (when the Nikon F90x have dropped in price ;-) ).

The Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8 is fairly pleasant, as AF plastic lenses go,
but I have heard that they are a bit delicate - the AIS version is
both nicer, and maybe more durable. BTW, scale-focusing 20mm lenses
can be more accurate than either MF or AF, beyond a meter, or so...,
though the 20mm f2.8 Nikkor is very easy to manually focus.
Hope This Helps