mauney (11/01/82)
The advantages of the 43-86 Nikkor must be balanced against it's
very conservative specs. It has a zoom ratio of 2 to 1, and doesn't get very
wide. A 35-105 has a ratio of 3 to 1, and a 28-80 nearly so; both are wider
than 43, which is apparently a difficult design problem.
I agree with the advice: "go to a store and check them out."
There are a lot of wide-angle zooms around, and few have received
favorable reviews in Modern Photography. This doesn't mean that they are
no good, but you should be careful before you buy.
A seemingly minor point you may also want to consider:
Does the focusing ring turn the same way as the other lens(es) you own?
Jon Mauney
NC State U.mauney (11/05/82)
I agree that you shouldn't trade in your 50mm f/1.7
There are many times when you want the wide aperture,
especially when trying to focus in poor light. The 50 is also
smaller and lighter (probably) and thus is easier to carry
in many situations.
Never say never, and don't believe anyone who says anything
about ALL lenses. There are definitely still some two-touch zooms out there. One touch lenses are more
complicated, thus trickier to design and build.
Jon Mauney