On Fri, 17 Apr 1998 16:50:59 -0800, madison@scripps.edu (Ed Madison) wrote:

>I posted a message earlier asking for advice regarding the Nikkor 24-120
>and 28-200 zooms. I received several extremely helpful responses (thanks
>a lot!!), and everyone seemed to favor the 24-120. Several responses,
>however, suggested that I consider other lens as well. Specifically, the
>Tamron 28-108/2.8 and the 28-85 AF Nikkor were mentioned as superior
>alternatives. These responses have prompted me to reconsider and refine
>my initial question to the following:
>
>What do you feel is the best "universal zoom" for occasions when only one
>lens can be used? I would like to cover focal lengths from at least 28-85
>unless there is a 28-70 or 35-70 zoom with substantially better optical
>performance than any 28-85, 28-105, or 24-120 zoom that is available.

Ah, what we all want is a 20-200 (or 300mm! ;-) f2 (and really good at
f2! ;-) zoom that is small, light, cheap, and really well-made...! ;-)
But, alas, this does not exist. My prefered alternative is a set of compact,
light, fast, reasonably-priced, well-made, sharp Nikkor primes... If one
MUST have a zoom (a poor trade-off of lens characteristics, I think...;-),
the best Nikkor alternatives (I discount the big, heavy, expensive Tamron
unless it is sharp wide-open, which would be the ONLY justification for
its other negatives...) would be the 24-120 (slow, and best used around
f11, but the one sample I tried was excellent throughout its focus and
zoom range at f11 and pretty good at f5.6), the 28-85 (no better than the
24-120, but with a shorter range), and the 35-70 (better at wide stops than
the alternative zooms, but with a uselessly short zoom range, and poorer
performance than a 35mm/85mm pair of primes, so why bother?).
Why is there a requirement, ever, for only one lens? It seems to me that
a set of primes consisting of the really first-rate 28mm f2.8 AIS, 50mm
f1.8 E/AIS/AI/AF, and 85mmf2 or f1.8 is not very large, heavy, expensive,
or awkward to use - and they are faster and the optics are better than any
of the zoom alternatives...
David Ruether
http://www.fcinet.com/ruether