Wow! Thank you! I did not realize that there is a problem with a factor
greater than 3 compromising image quality and maximum aperature. I went
to B&N today to try to answer my own question and went through a dozen
or so-called "how-to's" without finding anything remotely close to the
short answer that you have given. Thank you very much!

Tony Graber

Roger N. Clark (change username to rnclark) wrote:
Tony Graber wrote:

Thanks, Bill. As always, you are a fountain of information and I
appreciate it that you share.

I do have a follow-up question, though, about lenses. You mentioned
that if you could only take two lenses, one of them would be a 70-200.
I am looking at a 28-200, as previously noted, as well as other 70-200
and 75-300 lenses. What is the advantage (or disadvantage) of going
with a 28-200 lense, as opposed to a 70-200 lense?

Hi
The 70-200 lens Bill uses is an f/2.8 L IS lens and very sharp.
In general, the larger the zoom range, the more compromises
that need to be made in the design. A factor of 3 is about
the maximum without compromising too much on image
quality and maximum aperture. That is why you see most
zooms limited to the approximately 3x range. The 28-200
is a 7x range. I have not looked up the specific quality
of that lens but I would be surprised if it came
close to the 70-200 L IS lens. The 70-200 is next
on my list to get.

Roger