Midwinter G.A.S attack?

[Mike Kennedy]

I have the chance to pick up a Nikkor 24mm 2.8 AF lens at a good price.My two other AF lenses cover 24mm but aren't as fast.
Are there benefits from a single focal length over a zoom?

 

[Ian Grant]

Yes vastly superior image quality, and that extra speed which can make big difference for low light situations, natural or artificial light indoors etc.

Ian

 

[Jeff Kubach]

Not too mention a little lighter.

Jeff

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Yes vastly superior image quality, and that extra speed which can make big difference for low light situations, natural or artificial light indoors etc.

Ian

Ian,

Are you familiar with the image quality of the Nikkor 80-200mm f/4 AIS zoom lens?

Tom

 

[Ian Grant]

Can't help there Tom, I've only really ever used the Vivitar S1 70-210 zooms, both I owned were superb. The one I still have has the advantage of being f2.8 at the 70mm end and was on a par in terms of build and image quality with the Nikkor 80-200 AI-s.

Ian

 

[benveniste]

Ian,

Are you familiar with the image quality of the Nikkor 80-200mm f/4 AIS zoom lens?

Tom

Back around 1983 or so, I decided to buy a Tokina 80-200mm f/2.8 instead of this lens. That lens performed well for me until early this century; I then upgraded to an 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-Nikkor. But when a perfect 80-200mm f/4 came on the market for just over $100, I couldn't resist.

It was a fine lens for its day. Unfortunately, its day was over 25 years ago. Today, its in the middle of the pack. At the long end, the lack of ED glass makes itself known in the form of Longitudinal CA. By today's standards, there's also a fair amount of coma at the longer lengths -- the charts I've seen show an almost linear loss of tangential MTF as you move out from the center of the frame.

Was it worth what I paid for it? Yes, although to be honest it didn't see much use until I destroyed a 70-300mm ED. You only asked about optical quality, but physically and ergonomically I really enjoy the handling of this len on my Nikon FA.