Thank you all. I'm getting there. There is just a bewildering array of Nikon models. I sincerely appreciate your willingness to help.

Re: Nikon D5300 and Nikon Df. I thought that D lenses each has their own focusing motors and that "F" bodies have a focusing motor in the body, so none is in "F" lenses. If this is true, then what does an "F" body do with a D lens focus motor. Nikon says that D lenses can, in many cases, be used in an "F" body. I appreciate your help in educating me.

Xylene is another aromatic hydrocarbon solvent. However AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, it is a powerful solvent and could damage some plastics and cements used in lenses. Also, it evaporates slowly so it will not work as well as methanol or VMP Naptha (aka lighter fluid kind of). I've use Xylene to degrease firearm parts but NEVER lenses or delicate equipment. It too is an inhalation hazard.

As a beginner, I started with the Nikon FM and loved the look and feel. Always performed spot on and I wish the Df were closer in simplicity and weight, but I guess that's a long shot given all the digital stuff (and battery power) that has to take place in a DSLR. But I think the FM is what Nikon is aiming for with the Df.

I have had over 10 years experience on E-Bay without problems. However, their fee structure seems to have increased over the past few years and it can get costly. On the up side, the site reaches a very high number of buyers so I guess that's why they can charge like they do. Then you can get dinged a little further by PayPal. Just a cost of doing business. However, after doing a few listings, it seems a lot less difficult.

pointing a gun at a live subject is a NO!! NO!! NO!! That's how folks die from "unloaded" guns.

I have read both of the blogs referenced in this thread about DX vs. FX. One item that seems to be missing other than the reference to the weight of camera bodies is weight of lenses. Am I correct in assuming (in Nikon Systems) that DX lenses carry their own focusing motors in the lens and that FX lenses rely on a focusing motor in the camera body? Following this logic, FX lenses with the same aperture range and focal length should be lighter in an FX lens due to the absence of a focusing motor in the lens. Sorry if this is a dumb question. Life seemed simpler in my old 35mm world.

Mine came with my Leupold scope, but the maker is not specified. Just has a Leupold name on it.

Often, Leupold rifle scopes come with lens pens. These feature a soft brush on one end and a carbon cleaner on the other. I have used them more often on scopes than camera lenses without problems. However the carbon cleaner is shaped and intuitively seems to require the absence of any grit or particulate matter before use. If the brush can't move it then wet lens tissue might be better.

Do you and do most users have this lens on a D series body and not a FF body? Will it work on an FF body?

Have you or has anyone tested the filters by taking pictures with and without the UV filter installed?

Interesting at the Golan is the view to the Kibbitzum below. You can see why Israel would not give it up. The Golan is a perfect artillery placement to fire on the Jews in the valley. Lots of war relics dotting the area when I was there.

Where is the Kibbutz?

We went to Israel in 2011 and it is fascinating. I did not feel uncomfortable, especially seeing so many folks armed to the teeth. I'm a marksman so I don't mind seeing M-16 carrying soldiers boarding the bus or armed civilians accompanying school children visiting the headwaters of the Jordan. We did have to change busses and tour guides when crossing into Bethlehem. Places to included besides Jerusalem, if you can, include the sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights so you can appreciate why Israel will not cede that area to Lebanon, Masada and the Dead Sea. Our tour guide at the Golan was an ex Mossad so he lot's of interesting stories. A tour guide is essential. Please excuse some of my spelling errors.

This is an interesting post and it got me thinking. Now I admit I am and was a Nikon guy from 50 years ago = an honest to goodness curmudgeon. I thought they were good value and I did like to hold them. When I belatedly got into digital, I had to start somewhere and I always admired that Nikon did not abandon their old lenses. But I also admit that many of the things I buy, whether cameras, nice rifles, fun cars are more the result of some emotional impulse than pure logic. Yes. I analyze as best I can, but in the end there's a "like" factor that sways me and I think many others as well. I'm glad I can afford to indulge some of my likes, although the price of the Df gives me some pause. So long live the curmudgeons.