On Thu, 26 Nov 1998 02:59:47 -0500, "Fred Whitlock" wrote:

>Heck David doesn't mind a little disagreement.

I gitz hop-pin' mad...! ;-)

>The series E lenses weren't
>made to the same tolerances as the the Nikkors so there was more variation
>from sample to sample and a greater tendency for wear.

They do show noticeable sample variation, from what
I've seen.

>The optical designs
>of the series E lenses were generally pretty good. Mechanically they were
>inferior to their pro brothers and sisters. If you got a bad 50 I would
>suspect it was a poor sample as opposed to being a characteristic of the
>lens in general. If I remeber right Nikon did incorporate the same optical
>design into an AIS Nikkor. It was a very short compact 50. I could be
>wrong but the little short 50 Nikkor sure looked like a series E.

There were two AIS (MF) versions (both multi-coated, unlike the
E), one metal-barreled, one plastic - both with the same dimensions
as the E. The AF 50mm f1.8 is also the same optically. All are
excellent (in good samples...;-).