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Nikkor AF-S DX VR 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED Gordon Laing, August 2007

More results :
Outdoor / Resolution / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting

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Nikkor DX 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR shortest focal length uniformity comparison

Nikkor DX 55-200mm uniformity at 55mm f4
DX 55-200mm VR at 55mm f4
Mean corner fall-off: 66.1%

 

To measure and compare the Nikkor 55-200mm VR's vignetting and light fall-off we photographed a white target with a highly diffused custom filter using it and a number of rival lenses.

The lenses were tested at their widest focal lengths with the aperture wide open in Aperture Priority mode.

The images were analysed with Imatest and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. Bigger percentages are better.




The image above was taken with the Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR at 55mm f4. Here the light falls off in the corners to an average of 66.1% of the centre measurement, which results in much more noticeable darkening in the corners compared to the 70-300mm VR when it's zoomed out to 70mm - although to be fair the latter is corrected for a full-frame body. The scores for the DX 18-135mm and DX 18-200mm VR are also included here for completeness, but can't be fairly compared to the two telephoto zooms due to their much wider short focal lengths. The more relevant comparison is below when all four are zoomed-in.

Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR
Nikkor DX 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6
Nikkor DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR
Nikkor 70-300mm uniformity at 70mm f4.5
Nikkor DX 18-135mm uniformity at 18mm f3.5
Nikkor DX 18-200mm uniformity at 18mm f3.5
70-300mm at 70mm f4.5
Mean corner fall-off: 92.4%
  DX 18-135mm at 18mm f3.5
Mean corner fall-off: 50.2%
  DX 18-200mm at 18mm f3.5
Mean corner fall-off: 62.2%




Nikkor DX 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR longest focal length uniformity comparison

Nikkor DX 55-200mm uniformity at 200mm f5.6
DX 55-200mm VR at 200mm f5.6
Mean corner fall-off: 60.1%

 

To measure and compare the Nikkor 55-200mm VR's vignetting and light fall-off we photographed a white target with a highly diffused custom filter using it and a number of rival lenses.

The lenses were tested at their widest focal lengths with the aperture wide open in Aperture Priority mode.

The images were analysed with Imatest and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. Bigger percentages are better.




The image above was taken with the Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR at 200mm f5.6. Here the light falls off in the corners to an average of 60.1% of the centre measurement, which is roughly similar to the DX 18-135mm when it's zoomed-in, but not as good as the DX 18-200mm VR at 200mm. The 70-300mm VR once again delivers the best result here, although again it should do being designed for a full-frame body. That's enough for our studio tests, so let's check out some real-life results in our DX 55-200mm VR Gallery.

Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR
Nikkor DX 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6
Nikkor DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR
Nikkor 70-300mm uniformity at 300mm f5.6
Nikkor DX 18-135mm uniformity at 135mm f5.6
Nikkor DX 18-200mm uniformity at 200mm f5.6
70-300mm at 300mm f5.6
Mean corner fall-off: 84.2%
  DX 18-135mm at 135mm f5.6
Mean corner fall-off: 58.5%
  DX 18-200mm at 200mm f5.6
Mean corner fall-off: 73.4%

Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR lens results continued...

Outdoor / Resolution / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
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