Hi--

>I need your advise again :-)

Oh-oh! ;-)

>I got the slides back for the snow storm last Tuesday. Mostly taken with
>the new Nikkor 35-105/3.5-4.5 AFD. My observations about the lens are (I
>don't have a powerful loupe, but I used scanner instead :-) and comparisons
>are mainly made with my 24/2.8 prime):
>
>- Sharpness is OK at all apertures, for a zoom.
>
>- Quite severe light fall-off (about 1/2 stop) at large apertures such as
>5.6 (marked) (I took many photos at f/5.6 per your advise) at all focal
>lengths, especially at long FL. Completely disappear at around f/11.

Hmmm - this is unusual for Nikkors, but I have not tried this lens.
I would blame an improper shade or a too-thock filter rim, but small
stops would show a sharper, smaller corner cutoff...

>- At corners, and for out-of-focus object, some color separations (I forgot
>the word) occur at edges.

This would be unacceptable, if truly in the lens and not the scanning/viewing process (try any 6-10X loupe on the slide - even
a bad loupe centered on the edge would tell you if it is the lens.
BTW, scans tend to be quite unsharp compared with the original,
and the digital processing needed to restore the "feel" of the original
would get in the way of good evaluation. A chrome small fold-out 10X
magnifier costs about $5, and should reveal much more about the lens image.

>So, what do you think? Return it or keep it? The most annoying part is the
>light fall-off. Does this happen with the 24-120?

The 24-120 is surprisingly good (especially stopped down), but it is
a zoom (and therefore has image compromises...).

>Thanks in advance.
>
>Liang-Wu Cai

David Ruether