Recently I purchased a F80 and a 28-105mm (f/3.5-4.5 D) Nikkor AF lens. I have been taking photographs for about 20 years now and all along I have been under the impression that on a 35mm SLR camera, 50mm lenses would give real-life perspective.

But with this 28-105mm lens, the real-life size reaches only at 70mm. To confirm it, I compared the area visible through the viewfinder with this lens and my 70-300mm Tamron lens. What I see at 70mm through this Tamron lens is achieved only at 85mm with Nikkor. And at the farthest end, that is at 105mm, the frame size I get with Nikkor is achieved at about 90mm with Tamron. (But I must admit that I could not check the 28-105mm Nikkor against a standard 50mm or 28mm lens of Nikkor or any other make.). But for this complaint, the lens is a marvel. I must also admit that I'm more than happy with the F80.

I sent a mail to Nikon Singapore (had to choose an office closest to my location. My camera and the lens were brought from Singapore. Nikon is available only in the gray market in India and hence there is no proof of purchase, no guarantee) asking for clarification. So far they haven't responded to my mail and hence I decided to post it here.

Has anyone observed this phenomenon with this 28-105mm lens? Is it an anomaly faced by me alone? Is the fault only with this particular lens that I bought? Or is it an inherent problem of this breed? How can I really test the focal lengths? I feel let down by Nikon. I think what I bought is something like a 20-90mm lens, although I'm not sure of the lowest end.

-- Ajay Kumar (ajaykal@eth.net), January 02, 2002