In article <4lpjms$rvp@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, distorted1@aol.com says...

>>>75-150/3.5 E has been almost universally praised.
>But waht about others? I heard the Tamron
>75-150/3.5 is also great<<

>The Tamron is a good lens but not a great one. Of all I've tried
>(inclusive of Nikon's E) the Pentax M series was the best by a good >bit.

Then it must have been VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY good!!!!! ;-)
The Nikkor 75-150mm E is a REMARKABLY SHARP lens, as I
learned again recently as I printed a negative shot with
one I sold (DARN!!!!!!) of the local bell tower. The old
negative (on Plus-X, in D-76) was SHARP, showing every
morter-crack-and-every-bit-of-stone-texture in the subject
in a glitteringly sharp way, all the way to the far corners
of the negative. I am used to sharp negatives, but this was
a stand-out! You may have hit the exceptional defective
Nikkor (I have tried several of the 75-150's over the years,
and saw no poor ones, though it can happen.....).
Hope This Helps