When nikon introduced d lenses they converted most of their autofocus lenses to the d type. What I would like to know is why didn't they do this with the 28-85 Af? Was there something inherently bad about the design/manufacture of this lens.

Furthermore, I still see it advertised now and again and assume that this just must be leftover old stock, although d lenses have been out for a few years now.

Whats the scoop? Somebody fill me in.

-- Omar Khan (thePond7@netscape.net), January 01, 1999

Answers

I think may be Nikon wants to cut down the numbers of similar zoom lens in this range. There are already 28-70f3.5-5.6D, 28-80f3.4-5.6D, 35-80f4.5-5.6D, 35-105f3.5-4.5D and the coming 25-105f3.5-4.5D. Another 28-85D will be redundant.

-- Eric Ung (ung@chevalier.net), January 01, 1999.

Well, the Nikkor 28-85 is/was a large lens, almost as big and heavy as the current 24-120. I had two versions of this lens: the manual-focus AI-S which was so-so, and the latest (and, apparently, current) AF-n which was significantly better despite no official word on why that might be so. The macro mode at 28mm limited either lens' usefulness. I don't think there was anything inherently bad about the lens design; I think that for its size, weight, and speed class the 28-85 AF has been replaced by the 24-120 AF-D.

There are still a few non-D AF lenses in the Nikon line, most notably the 50/1.8.

-- John Kuraoka (kuraoka@home.com), January 01, 1999.