To measure and compare the resolving power of the Nikkor DX 70-300mm VR lens, we photographed the Enhanced Digital Camera Resolution Chart with it and a number of rival lenses using a Nikon D80. We tested each lens at a focal length near the lower end of each optical range and at an aperture of f8 for the maximum sharpness. The D80 was set to Large Fine JPEG mode and its Optimise Image parameter set to Normal.

The crops are taken from the original images, saved as High Quality JPEGs in Photoshop CS2 and presented here at 100%. Each number represents 100 lines per picture height (lpph), so a figure of 20 means a resolution of 2000 lpph.

The 70-300mm VR scored 2150 and 2000 lpph of horizontal and vertical resolution respectively in this studio test. While the vertical resolution in this studio test fell fractionally below the other lenses here, it's nothing to be concerned about. As seen in our real-life results, the 70-300mm VR is capable of matching the resolution of the best lenses when fitted to the D80, and the camera's 10 Megapixel sensor appears to be the limiting factor. Now let's take a look at the corner sharpness results.