In article
>I know that Nikon AF lens can be used on MF body. There are many new or
>used AF lens on the market. Their price are equal to or cheaper than
>their MF counterpart. I'd like to know whether they have the same "feeling"
>as the MF lens, I mean, the mechanical feeling in focus or other
>operation.
No! The camera manufacturers chose to offer a feature of limited
usefulness to some of us (AF) and at the same time to take away nice
built quality and feel. Most AF Nikkors have plastic barrel exteriors
(some are painted to look like metal...) that are actually quite
durable, but the feel of the focus and aperture-ring operation is
universally and noticeably inferior on the Nikkor AF lenses compared
with the MF Nikkors (assuming these are not well-worn - if they
are, the feel can be similar to that of new AF lenses...;-). The more
expensive AF Nikkors can feel almost as good as their MF counterparts,
but the difference is still noticeable. This, combined with the loss
of useable DOF scales and the high-quality look of AIS Nikkors, makes
me feel that gaining AF was a poor trade for the losses... (I always
buy the MF version of Nikkors, when possible - unfortunately, Nikon
is gradually dropping those gems from their lens line, and I think
that this will eventually hurt Nikon's image as a top lens maker,
good as most of their AF lenses are. Nikon seems to be forgetting
the power of the "quality" image...).
David Ruether
http://www.fcinet.com/ruether