With great disappointment I report a serious flaw in the new 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 AF D IF lens. Two days after buying this lens, while I was filing away the warranty stub and instructions, one small pink slip caught my attention. It reads simply, in eight languages: "At a telephoto setting, slight vignetting may occur when shooting subjects with the macro switch set to MACRO (at a reproduction ratio of approx 1:2), particularly when using a filter." Right away I grabbed the F5 with the new lens and pointed it at a white wall. At the 105mm setting, there was clear vignetting visible in the viewfinder THROUGHOUT the focus settings, from infinity down to the closest-focus point. At infinity it is a gentle blur that extends about 1/4 of the way along a radial line to the centre of the viewfinder. At the closest macro-focus setting, the vignetting is restricted to dark patches in the corners of the field of view. As the zoom ring is turned down to 85mm, the vignetting disappears. Oh, I thought, it's probably the UV filter I have on the lens. So I removed the filter. The vignetting was reduced, but still quite noticable! I am going to return this lens and exchange it for something else in the wide-angle to normal range, probably the 35mm f/2. Any comments on the following lenses for people & event photography would be greatly appreciated: 28mm 2.8, 35mm 2, 50mm 1.4, keeping in mind that I already have a 20mm and 60mm 2.8. Close focusing distance (0.25 m) is of primary importance, as I like to include objects in the foreground. Oh, and if anyone in the Toronto area has the 105mm DC or 135mm DC lens, can I borrow it for an evening to see what it's like? DavidE.
