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To compare sharpness at a mid-telephoto focal length of 135mm, we shot this scene with the Nikkor DX 18-200mm VR II and DX 55-200mm VR, using a Nikon D90 body at all apertures. The D90 was set to RAW to avoid in-camera JPEG corrections; all files were processed in Nikon's Capture NX 2.2.3 with lens corrections disabled and the default sharpness of 3. VR was disabled on each lens, and magnified assistance in Live View used to confirm the focusing.

The DX 55-200mm VR kicks-off these results at f5.0, with an aperture one third of a stop brighter than the DX 18-200mm VR II can manage at the same 135mm focal length. The result from the corner isn't perfect, but we can't put it into perspective until the DX 18-200mm VR II joins-in at f5.6.

At this point it becomes clear the DX 55-200mm VR is delivering a sharper result in the extreme corners than the DX 18-200mm VR II. Looking beyond the cropped area, this becomes even more apparent. So after a slightly disappointing start at shorter focal lengths, the DX 55-200mm VR is finally showing the benefit of working with a shorter range.

This advantage is also apparent in the centre crops, where fine details are better defined on the DX 55-200mm VR samples, particularly at f8. Now let's see how both lenses compare at their maximum focal lengths in our Nikkor DX 18-200mm VR II 200mm results.