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Nikkor DX kit lens group test: 18-55mm vs 18-70mm vs 18-135mm vs 18-200mm VR Gordon Laing, April 2007

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


Nikkor DX 18-55mm vs 18-70mm vs 18-135mm vs 18-200mm outdoor scene with Nikon D80

 


To compare real-life performance we shot the same scene with the Nikkor 18-55mm, 18-70mm, 18-135mm and 18-200mm lenses, all set to a focal length of 26mm and an aperture of f8. Each lens was mounted on a Nikon D80 set to 100 ISO and using its best quality JPEG settings. All images were taken within moments of each other.

The image left was taken with the Nikkor 18-55mm at 26mm f8, with a sensitivity of 100 ISO; the original Large Fine JPEG measured 4.47MB. The crops are taken from the upper left, centre and lower right portions of the originals and presented here for evaluation at 100%.


Nikkor DX 18-55mm II f/3.5-5.6
Using Nikon D80
Nikkor DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5
Using Nikon D80
Nikkor DX 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6
Using Nikon D80
Nikkor DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR
Using Nikon D80
Nikkor DX 18-55mm - crop 1   Nikkor DX 18-70mm crop 1   Nikkor DX 18-135mm - crop 1   Nikkor DX 18-200mm - crop 1
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
             
Nikkor DX 18-55mm - crop 2   Nikkor DX 18-70mm crop 2   Nikkor DX 18-135mm - crop 2   Nikkor DX 18-200mm - crop 2
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
             
Nikkor DX 18-55mm - crop 3   Nikkor DX 18-70mm crop 3   Nikkor DX 18-135mm - crop 3   Nikkor DX 18-200mm - crop 3
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO
1/200, f8, 100 ISO

Very slight tonal differences aside, there's not a great deal to tell the results from each lens apart. All show very similar levels of detail, whether in the mountain ridge, houses or wooded areas. Slight evidence of coloured fringing is visible on some areas of the DX 18-135mm and DX 18-200mm images, such as on the edge of the mountain ridge in the first crop and on the edge of one of the lower trees in the third row of crops, but it's really nothing to be concerned about. We're really pixel-peeping here, and it's fair to describe each lens as performing essentially the same under real life conditions when zoomed to a focal length of 26mm with an aperture of f8. As you'll see over the following pages though, some differences between the lenses do emerge under studio conditions.


Nikkor DX kit lens group test results continued...

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



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Nikon D80 with kit lenses

Nikon D80 with kit lenses
  Nikkor DX 18-70mm

Nikkor DX 18-70mm
  Nikkor DX 18-200mm

Nikkor DX 18-200mm
         
   

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