That is not what I was saying however you do see this phenomena with this lens. I have the same results with some lenses for my H. eg. the HC150 exhibits, under some circumstances, CA in the form of magenta/green lines in areas of high contrast.
When I process these files with Flexcolor or Phocus the CA is totally absent, when I process them to DNG first I have CA. Now, sure they could have produced a flawless lens which probably would have cost me 4 times as much and hopefully be just as small (while many people already find them bulky). I only care for the result and if part of it can be achieved by software saving me a ton of money as well. That is fine by me, well not particularly fine but I can learn to live with it if I have to.
Nikon Capture also addresses issues like this. Not sure how effective it will be but maybe you could give it a try and see if it gets you better results
Sure, your 4x5 lenses probably are better. My Schneider Digitars are also better than my HC lenses, even cheaper (not by much). Their design probably makes it easier as well to be less prone to stuff like CA. My X-act is a lot less handy than my H which again is much bulkier and less handy than my Nikon.
There is no such thing as a free lunch and there are more ways that lead to better results. I do agree with you that I prefer my lenses don't do stuff like this to begin with
