While the lens certainly feels solid in hands, I cannot praise Nikon's decision on reversing the focus and zoom rings. This has been my primary concern over the lens design ever since it was announced. The focus ring gets in the way when handling the lens and the zoom ring being in the front makes it rather painful to zoom in and out, since one has to move the hand to be closer to the end of the lens barrel. To be honest, I really don't understand why Nikon decided to make this ergonomic change, especially after many of us 70-200mm shooters have gotten used to having access to the zoom ring right where the left hand rests. The first generation Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR had a zoom ring in the center. The second-generation Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II had a zoom ring in the center. The Nikon 70-200mm f/4G VR has a zoom ring in the center. All of Canon's and Sony's 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses have the zoom rings in the center! Only third party lenses from Tamron and Sigma have had the zoom and focus rings reversed.