On Thu, 23 Jul 1998 17:09:58 -0400, "David L. DuPuy" wrote:

>We want to buy a Nikon zoom in the 80-200mm class to use on a Nikon FM
>(manual focus). We've looked at the 80-200/ f4.5-5.6 D lens (autofocus),
>which sells for around $200 new. We're concerned mostly about optical
>quality (since this is Nikon's bottom of the line AF, I think; and since
>this is a zoom).
>
>We also found a used (probably at least 10 years old) 75-150mm / f3.5 E
>Series Nikon lens for sale.... it has the advantage of being more durable
>than an AF, but I really wonder about the optical quality of the E Series.

The E-series 75-150 is one of the very few zooms that is so close
to good prime performance that the difference generally isn't
important (most samples...). The 70-210 f4 (throughout...) E is
also a good lens, though a touch below the almost-uniquely good
75-150 in optical performance. The 75-150 is also reasonably fast,
constant-aperture, and fairly compact - and it is OK on a good 2X
converter(! - the only zoom I have seen that is, and as a side
benefit, what little linear distortion is present in the lens
alone goes away when used on the converter), making a useable
total 75-300mm range in a compact package. No contest! ;-)
BTW, you may be interested in my Nikkor evaluation list, on
my web page under "I babble"...