Nikon 28-80mm G Kit lens opinions Better than it's supposed to be?

I bought this lens with an N80 off Ebay.
Now, I have some nice lenses, and I know sharp from not sharp, ect,
ect. 80-800mm F2.8 ED, 80-400mm VR, 24-85mm F2.8-4, 50mm F1.4D AF,
28mm F2.8D AF.
Just for the hell of it, I decided to see how this lens would stack up
against one of my better lenses, the 50mm F1.4. The test camera was my
D100. I shot in hi-res jpeg, from a tri-pod, using matrix metering,
manual focus at infinity. The scene being taken was one with objects
as close as 3 feet and cityscape up to half a mile away.
The 28-80 was shot only at the 50mm fl just to make things equal in
that department. The aperture priority feature was used, and starting
wide open, stepped down one click at a time until minimum aperture was
acheived.
I really didn't think this cheap zoom had a chance against such a
sharp lens as the 50mm. After examining the photos, I could not
believe what I was seeing! Below F8 the 50mm was the clear winner. At
f8 the sharpness was nearly equal to the 50mm lens. Color was also
quite good. At f11 I could not tell any differnce, except for some
chromatic aberation from sun reflecting off shinny objects when
enlarged. The 50mm had some, but much less, but this is at highly
blown up areas of the photos.
Makes me wonder why I bought that (relatively) expensive 24-85 F2.8-4.
I'm now wondering how it will perform on film. I may shoot the 28-80
at 28mm and see how it stacks up against the 28mm.

Anyone else had this experience with cheap zooms? Maybe I just
happened to get a really good example of this cheapo lens?
I'm wondering if the cheap zooms are all bad, as so many suppose
without even testing them.

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 11:19:19 -0700, J J Jones JJ
wrote:

I bought this lens with an N80 off Ebay.
Now, I have some nice lenses, and I know sharp from not sharp, ect,
ect. 80-800mm F2.8 ED, 80-400mm VR, 24-85mm F2.8-4, 50mm F1.4D AF,
28mm F2.8D AF.

Opps. That's an 80-200mm ED. That would be one heavy sucker, wouldn't
it?

"J J Jones" JJ wrote in message
...
On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 11:19:19 -0700, J J Jones JJ
wrote:

I bought this lens with an N80 off Ebay.
Now, I have some nice lenses, and I know sharp from not sharp, ect,
ect. 80-800mm F2.8 ED, 80-400mm VR, 24-85mm F2.8-4, 50mm F1.4D AF,
28mm F2.8D AF.

Opps. That's an 80-200mm ED. That would be one heavy sucker, wouldn't
it?

I'd say your experiences are pretty common. A fixed lens will generally
beat a zoom, and virtually all lenses are "better" at around f8 or f11.
That said, today's zooms are pretty damn good and even most pros no longer
have to carry a gaggle of lenses around to get crisp shots.

J J Jones wrote:
I bought this lens with an N80 off Ebay.
Now, I have some nice lenses, and I know sharp from not sharp, ect,
ect. 80-800mm F2.8 ED, 80-400mm VR, 24-85mm F2.8-4, 50mm F1.4D AF,
28mm F2.8D AF.
Just for the hell of it, I decided to see how this lens would stack up
against one of my better lenses, the 50mm F1.4. The test camera was my
D100. I shot in hi-res jpeg, from a tri-pod, using matrix metering,
manual focus at infinity. The scene being taken was one with objects
as close as 3 feet and cityscape up to half a mile away.
The 28-80 was shot only at the 50mm fl just to make things equal in
that department. The aperture priority feature was used, and starting
wide open, stepped down one click at a time until minimum aperture was
acheived.
I really didn't think this cheap zoom had a chance against such a
sharp lens as the 50mm. After examining the photos, I could not
believe what I was seeing! Below F8 the 50mm was the clear winner. At
f8 the sharpness was nearly equal to the 50mm lens. Color was also
quite good. At f11 I could not tell any differnce, except for some
chromatic aberation from sun reflecting off shinny objects when
enlarged. The 50mm had some, but much less, but this is at highly
blown up areas of the photos.
Makes me wonder why I bought that (relatively) expensive 24-85 F2.8-4.
I'm now wondering how it will perform on film. I may shoot the 28-80
at 28mm and see how it stacks up against the 28mm.

Anyone else had this experience with cheap zooms? Maybe I just
happened to get a really good example of this cheapo lens?
I'm wondering if the cheap zooms are all bad, as so many suppose
without even testing them.

I think optics of all the new major lenses manufacturers are very good.
When I invest more in a lenses it's usually for speed, vibration
reduction, and to some extent quality of construction. Yes, that does
vary, but won't have an impact on a user who is able to take crare of
their equipment.

As mentioned, at f8, f11 almost any lenses will be really good. The
reason I like fast glass is twofold, control of DOF and dim lighting
conditions.

But let's face it almost all current lenses are just really really
good. They aren't a limitation on a photograhers ability to get a great
image.

On another note, I would love your 80-800mm f2.8 awesome lenses. I'm
waiting for the 18mm-400mm f1.4 zoom that weights about two pounds. I
know it's going to come out any day now.

Enjoy.

Don Harper
The Edge Photography Studio
Leesburg, Va.

I think optics of all the new major lenses manufacturers are very good.
When I invest more in a lenses it's usually for speed, vibration
reduction, and to some extent quality of construction. Yes, that does
vary, but won't have an impact on a user who is able to take crare of
their equipment.

As mentioned, at f8, f11 almost any lenses will be really good. The
reason I like fast glass is twofold, control of DOF and dim lighting
conditions.

But let's face it almost all current lenses are just really really
good. They aren't a limitation on a photograhers ability to get a great
image.

On another note, I would love your 80-800mm f2.8 awesome lenses. I'm
waiting for the 18mm-400mm f1.4 zoom that weights about two pounds. I
know it's going to come out any day now.

Enjoy.

Don Harper
The Edge Photography Studio
Leesburg, Va.

Well, the 80-800 was a typo. Would be an awesome lens, wouldn't it?
I'll settle for an 18-200mm VR. I am on the waiting list withmy local
dealer for one @ $699.00.
Ebay is selling them for up to $1000.00!