Short of seeing the lens, it's hard to know whether it's an Ai or an Ais...both are metal construction... It wasn't till the AF version came out that they went to plasticky construction...$50 is a great price for either...I've got a slew of older MF lenses that I use on a D300 & a D7100...Here's a link to a website that gives a lot of info on all Nikkor lenses. Note that the optical configuration hasn't changed from the Ai to the AF...All are 9 elements in 9 groups...What changed was the focus throw (longer on the older Ai & shorter on the newer ones) , then the build quality & the lens coatings...
quonnie wrote:
Thanks Scott. Do you know if it is AI? Whatever that means. Ken Rockwell gives it high marks but I would want the build quality of the all metal construction. I understand from Rockwell's column that the plastic model is inferior. Anyway it seems like a hell of a good price and I need a 24 or wider for real estate interior shots. I shoot a lot with my 28-300 and am very lens-poor due to blowing my camera savings on the D600 and the 28-300 lens.