On Wed, 23 Dec 1998 12:34:58 -0500, "Mac Breck" wrote:
>Neuman-Ruether wrote in message
><36805927.21647683@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>...
>>On Mon, 21 Dec 1998 15:15:18 -0500, "Mac Breck"
>> wrote:

>>>Why not refer him to the 35-70 f/2.8 AF Nikkor?

>>>Neuman-Ruether wrote in message
>>><367b2afc.21227579@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>...
>>>>If you must get a zoom (non-zooms are sharper/faster/lighter/smaller/
>>>>often-cheaper/easier-to-use, so why bother with the zoom except for
>>>>point-'n'-shoot purposes, and then why bother with an SLR...? ;-),
>>>>the 35-105 is the best of the above, but better yet is the 24-120...
>>>>BTW, you may find my Nikkor evaluation list interesting (on my web
>>>>page, under "I babble"...).
>>
>>'Cuz he hadn't put it on his list, but the 24-120 seemed
>>to be in the price range and a better lens than any suggested?

>Various people have characterized the 24-120 as having more distortion at
>the frame edges than the 35-70 f/2.8 AF, and suitable only for snapshots
>(the 24-120 not the 35-70). Then B. Moose Peterson writes the 24-120 up
>glowingly in the latest Nikon System Handbook (I'm beginning to wonder if
>Moose is now a full fledged Nikon ad man.). Besides why would anybody want
>a 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6D AF Zoom-Nikkor? 24 f/3.5 isn't bad but 120 f/5.6???
>The 5.6 is too much of a light penalty. A 24-120 f/3.5 would be a different
>story (if it was well corrected). A 28-105 f/2.8 would be better. F/3.5 is
>the slowest wide open f/stop of any of my lenses.

>>'Cuz the 35-70 is hardly a zoom, at only 2X range, and a
>>functionally-similar 50mm f1.8 FL would be sharper/faster/
>>lighter/smaller/cheaper/easier-to-use than the 35-70?
>>Dunno.....(?) ;-)

>Actually, I've gone back to carrying just a 50 f/1.4 AIS or 55 f/2.8 Micro
>AIS when I want to travel really light. Otherwise it's a 35 f/1.4 AIS, 55
>f/2.8 Micro AIS, and a 85 f/1.4 AIS.

Whee! I see we seem to be in agreement (well, I couldn't get ALL the
syllables to rhyme, darn! ;-) on most of the above, though the 24-120
is quite sharp throughout at f11, a useful thing if you can always
use f11 (I can't, so I sold mine...;-). For a tripod user, or for the
bright-light-only or flash-at-all-times-the-ambient-light-be-hanged
shooter, it could be an excellent choice...