David Peritt
>I will ask you another stupid question. Pardon my naivity. I am looking
>at a NY mail order catalogue. A $85:2 is $360 and the AF 85:1.8 has a
>better f stop and is AF. Why should it be less. Also, there is a 35mm:1.4
>which is $600. Is the proice so high due to the low f stop or os wide
>angle a pricier lens?

Some pricing is arbitrary (the 400mm f5.6 EDIF clearly is, having gone
from $700 [much more than the very similar 300mm f4.5 EDIF at the time]
to about $2000{!} in a few years). The plastic AF barrels are cheaper to
make (most makers jumped on the oportunity, with the introduction of AF,
to switch to cheaper manufacturing techniques), even with the extra
electronics and mechanics. With the 35mm f1.4, though there is little
more to the lens than in an f2 (except a floating element, and a couple
more elements - big deal!), the relative rarity of 35mm f1.4's, let
alone GOOD f1.4's, may be the justification for being able to get more
for it than strict cost plus markup percentages would indicate (look at
the $6K-grand big teles - no way is there anything at work here but
greed!). David