Follow-up on Nikon PC-E build quality
See my Feb 4 blog entry on Nikon PC-E build quality.
Photographer Max P wrote to me after reading my full DAP report on Nikon’s PC-E lenses. I’m sorry to respond to Max that I’m unaware of any Nikon effort to rectify the disappointing build quality of the PC-E lenses. At US$2000 (roughly), plastic sloppy build is something I’ve decided not to invest in—I’ll keep my PC-E 45/2.8 and my years-old original PC 85/2.8, but that’s it—I’m simply not going to spend US$2K on a lens that out of the box is loosy-goosey.
I am a professional photographer in Stockholm - mostly occupied with architectural photography (still working on film for the most demanding tasks). I bought the D3X with the PC/E 24/45 mm late last year as I thought they could be helpful in my
work (as the light kit...).
Indeed they are but I do recognize the problem you describe in DAP. Both 24 and 45 suffers from this problem. 50-60% of the image area is sharp.Even stopped down 2-3 steps.
Better— but not good enough.
Do you know if there some kind of pressure on Nikon USA to rebuild these lenses? Nikon (Sweden) claims the lenses are within their tolerances (as they may be in a way - but the locking knobs in plastic material are awful) And the tighter you screw them the sooner they will collapse.
Thanks a lot for your informative and helpful article. (I know I am not the only one...)