In article <01bc085d$35f71fe0$6c2ab7c7@default>, alanjayd@ix.netcom.com says...

>Zoom lenses are always an optical comprimise. A prime
>lens is almost always superior an usually faster. I, personally,
>am of the opinion that any good outfit should have at least
>a prime "normal" lens, a fast 50mm (1.4 or 1.8) or a fast
>portrait lens 90mm or 105mm (1.8 - 2.8). Some people
>like a 35mm as their normal lens.

I agree with the above, though the 80-200mm f2.8 Nikkor
does come VERY close to the best primes...;-)

>Also IMHO a 24-120 may be a technilogical wonder but
>optically the better lenses have shorter zoom ranges.

I don't agree with the above...;-) (Well, I do agree with
the premise, but in this case, the 24-120 that I tried
[and will probably sell... {I'm not a "zoom person"}]
does outperform any other mid-range zoom that I have
seen [with the POSSIBLE exception of the best samples
of the 35-70 f2.8 and 35-105 f3.5-4.5] - and I have seen
a lot of them).
Hope This Helps