On 17 Oct 1998 01:31:03 GMT, "John R" wrote:

>The Nikon 80-200/2.8 ED does exhibit quite noticeable pincusion distortion
>when shooting at something with lines like a building. It is strongest at
>200mm. I see no distotion at 80mm. I would also say that it is not that far
>less (or equal) from the cheap zooms (at least the ones I have used).
>Still, this lens is a top rate optic and the distortion won't bother some of
>us - like us nature photogs.

You may be checking the distortion using the VF image of a non-"F"
(pro) series camera... If so, the viewfinder itself has considerable
pincushion distortion, which is added to the distortion of the lens.
The 80-200 f2.8 Nikkor shows the common tele-zoom Nikkor moderate
barrel distortion at the short end, and moderate pincushion distortion
at the long end...