[film_camears_rule]

I've had this lens for a coupla weeks now, and early report is:* 1/ quite sharp and contrasty* 2/ expected barrel distortion wide* 3/ VRII quite useful...figure 3 stops* 4/ a bit slow at tele end (expected!) 5/ easy to use* 6/ focuses quickly, quietly and accurately 7/ holds zoom setting in vertical orientation.....exactly the kind of lens that it's supposed to be.* Except for special purpose applications, the only lens that replaces it is the 12-24 f/4.