Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF-S Zoom Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D ED-IF Autofocus Lens Worth The Price?

Is the Nikon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF-S Zoom Nikkor 28-70mm

f/2.8D ED-IF Autofocus lens worth the price?

Yes. The question is "what are YOU gonna do with it?"

What kind of situations do you recommend it for?

Situations that involve having the lens attached to a camera, some film in said camera, and subject to shoot at.

What is the price?

I am trying to get this question ansewred also but my main parameter is autofocus speed. According to http://www.photozone.de/bindex2.html

only the nikkors have fast autofocus. True or false?

I have no doubt that this lens has a fast AF. I already own the 80-200 version in AF-S. The price of a used one is around 1100 in Adorama and 950 on eBay. Still a lot of cash. A friend, who's a founding member of PDN claims that Sigma's version is just as good optically at 1/3 the price. He makes this claim based on the fact that most of the major glass manufacturers now rely on computer technology in research and production.