raoul_.

<p>India is a big country. You will need a wide angle lens.</p>

I had the same problem. Quite disappointed with Nikon's response time, I decided to open the zoom and check it out myself. The problem turned out to be a single loose screw, both blocking the rotation of the zoom and making the front element loose. Thighten the screw and the lens will work again. I checked sharpness and illumination evenness as well, the lens is really ok again. Total time of the repair: +- 15 minutes.

Careful with lenses at f < 5.6; read my comment on thread http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008Qvn

 

A digital sensor has a different thickness than film, and you get very different results with optics that are excellent with film!

I had similar results with Nikon's 50mm 1.4 and Sigma's 24 mm 2.8. Sharpness obtained using any opening larger than 5.6 is imho not acceptable (yes, even using a tripod). f8-11 seems to be the sharpest option for both lenses. Reading the comments on current sensor structure , i.e. without microlenses etc, it seems obvious that even very good film lenses produce resuts far below expectations - compared to the results achieved on film under similar conditions.

 

Pity is that I bought the camera to continue using my 24, 50 and 180 mm prime lenses... I'm still on the learning curve regarding the capabilities of a digital SLR...

 

Results have been consistent wether using jpg fine or raw, converted using the program 'dcraw', followed by usm or selective usm.

 

I'm curious to check out a zoom designed and built for digital sensors, just to check out the hype...

 

I understand as well why Leica prefers to stay out of this game, they state that their lens design is not really suited for current sensors... at least they will go bankrupt in style.

 

At the end of the day I presume it's about learning the caracteristics of the new tools, then forgetting about them and just take good pics...