In article <33BCAE1E.B5740D1E@ra.msstate.edu>, sgr1@ra.msstate.edu says...

> I am strictly an amateur photographer with limited experience so I
>was wondering if someone could help with a question. I normally shoot
>with my Nikon F3HP. Today, I was given a Canon Rebel G to take some
>work pictures with. It was the first time I had used an auto 35mm SLR.
>I was impressed with the Rebel's autofocusing speed and layout. It also
>seemed to weigh about half (so it seemed) what my F3 does. What I was
>NOT impressed with was that when I set the 35-80mm lens to 35mm, it was
>not sharp all the way across the viewfinder. For example, if I focused
>on a subject in the center of the frame, and then turned so that the
>subject was now at the edge of the frame, it did not appear as sharp as
>when in the middle. This was not related to autofocusing, I did this
>with AF turned off. If I do the same thing with my 24/2.8 Nikkor on my
>F3, the subject is as sharp at the edge as in the middle. What gives?
>I understand that my 24/2.8 probably cost as much as the whole Canon
>camera and lens, and that I am comparing Nikon's higher end to Canon's
>lower end, so I am NOT knocking Canon products, I just want to know
>where the "problem" is. Is it the EOS's lens or viewfinder or both? I
>haven't got the prints back to see how they look at the edges. Any
>ideas?

You are comparing perhaps the best VF ever in a 35mm SLR, the Nikon F3
finder - in which you can easily see the whole frame with glasses (even
with the non-HP finder...), in which straight lines are rendered straight,
in which the whole of the film image area is shown, in which a sharp lens
image is rendered sharply over the whole field of view, in which one can
focus quickly and easily due to the good contrast and brightness of the
finder image, in which one can place a huge range of different screens to customize the VF for your needs, ETC... - with a low-average finder (small,
dark, very soft off center with short lenses, not accurate in focus off
center with long lenses, not easy to use even in the center for manual
focus, not accurate in framing, with considerable linear distortion, ETC... Welcome to the wonderful world of compact, light, AF bodies...! ;-)
(I have often wondered if camera manufacturers made their AF body VF's
so bad in order to make people think they need AF [so the manufacturers
can sell all those new AF lenses...] - it is not "ageing eyes" that is the problem with MF, but poor VF's, and incorrect compensation for the
increasing lack of ability to focus ones eyes as one gets older...
[see my article on 4-way glasses on my web page under "I babble..."].)
Hope This Helps
(David Ruether - http://www.fcinet.com/ruether )