D800 vs D4 vs Canon 5d Mark III---to switch or not to switch

Best starting point I know of for evaluating a large variety of legacy Nikkors used on digital sensors: http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html#rating
He doesn't show charts, but he definitely knows what he is talking about, and is a professional technical and fine art photographer.

I would be careful with any generalizations about old vs. new. Lenses really need to be evaluated individually by model and sometimes by serial number. Here's a good source to help decode models: http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/specs.html

One generalization it would be safe to make, is that nanocoating is a breakthrough in flare control.

Cropping (in the sense I think meant by biginvegas) is what happens when a smaller than full frame (36mmx24mm) SENSOR, like a DX (24mmx16mm) is used in a camera - it has nothing to do with lenses. AI Nikkors were designed to be used with 35mm film, and the frame size of that was about the same as a FX sensor. Maybe you are thinking of vignetting or portholing - problems when the image is darker in the corners. That's again a problem that needs to be evaluated with individual lenses.
 
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