05-15-2013, 05:13 PM
These lenses were designed for film, not high resolution digital sensors. Center performance is one thing, pixel density another... It should not be too surprising that the performance is not on par with lenses that were designed for digital photography. Why should this have anything to do with Nikon's QC?
I'm also not so sure that there actually is a market for these lenses (at least on DX). The area of 20-28mm with an aperture of f/2.8 is covered by some popular and inexpensive zoom lenses (Tamron, Sigma..). I don't think that Nikon would sell a lot of these to DX shooters.
However, I agree that Nikon's 20-35mm primes are due for an update to modern FX standards. Maybe Nikon was surprised by Canon's implementation of image stabilization in these lenses and is now taking time to design something which is on par.
I'm also not so sure that there actually is a market for these lenses (at least on DX). The area of 20-28mm with an aperture of f/2.8 is covered by some popular and inexpensive zoom lenses (Tamron, Sigma..). I don't think that Nikon would sell a lot of these to DX shooters.
However, I agree that Nikon's 20-35mm primes are due for an update to modern FX standards. Maybe Nikon was surprised by Canon's implementation of image stabilization in these lenses and is now taking time to design something which is on par.