I'll give examples with Nikon only, but the question is pretty general.
So, is this a fact or not?
Examples:
- Nikkor 50/1.8G AF-S, Nikkor 50/1.8 AF-D and Nikkor 50/1.8 AF
- 70-300 AF and 70-300 AF-S
- Nikkor 80-200 AF and Nikkor 80-200 AF-D
- etc.
So, may I rely on the fact, that these lens will have the same optical quality (will produce the same image quality), or there's no such thing and this is completely wrong?
NOTE: I know the differences between AF/AF-S/AF-D, I know what G is and what VR is, please ignore these.