Support Cameralabs by shopping at our partner stores or donating via Paypal
 

Follow me!
Camera Labs RSS Feed
Gordon Laing and Cameralabs on Google+
Camera Labs on Facebook
Camera Labs on Twitter

 
  Latest camera reviews

Olympus E-PM1
Nikon V1
Sony NEX-5N
Canon 100HS / 115HS
Canon 300HS / 220HS
Canon S100
GoPro HD Hero 2
Canon 510HS / 1100HS
Canon 310HS / 230HS
Canon SX150 IS
Olympus E-PL3
Canon SX40 HS
Sony NEX-C3
Panasonic GF3
Fujifilm HS20 EXR
Panasonic FZ150
Olympus E-P3
Panasonic FZ47 / FZ48
Nikon COOLPIX S9100
Sony Cyber-shot HX100V
Sony Cyber-shot HX9V
Panasonic FX77 / FX78
Canon SX230 HS
Canon EOS T3 / 1100D
Panasonic Lumix G3
Sony Cyber-shot TX10
Canon 500HS / 310HS
Nikon D5100
Sony Cyber-shot W510
Nikon COOLPIX L24
Canon PowerShot A1200
Panasonic FS18 / FH5
Canon PowerShot A800
Panasonic TZ18 / ZS8
Canon PowerShot A3300IS
Canon EOS 600D / T3i
Panasonic TZ20 / ZS10
Canon IXUS 1000/SD4500
Sony Alpha SLT-A33
Panasonic Lumix GH2
Nikon D7000
Canon PowerShot G12
Canon PowerShot S95
Panasonic Lumix LX5
Nikon D3100
Canon EOS 60D
Canon EOS 550D / T2i
Canon EOS 7D
Nikon D300s
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Nikon D90

All reviews ....
 
 
   
 
  Best Buys: our top models
   
  Best Canon lens
Best Nikkor lens
Best Sony lens
Best budget DSLR
Best mid-range DSLR
Best semi-pro DSLR
Best point and shoot
Best superzoom
Best camera accessories
   
 



   
 



Camera Labs Forum

Any questions, comments or a great tip to share? Join our Forum and let everyone know.
   
 
  DSLR Tips



 
Support me by shopping at Amazon!
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





Click here for the Nikkor kit lens group test
Nikkor DX kit lens group test wide-angle uniformity comparison

To measure and compare light fall-off at wide angle, we photographed a white target using a highly diffused custom filter with each lens at its shortest focal length and the aperture wide open. The images were then analysed with Imatest and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. Bigger percentages are better.

Zoomed-out to 18mm with their apertures wide open, the most noticeable light fall-off comes from the DX 18-70mm. Almost 10% less dark in the corners are the DX 18-55mm and DX 18-135mm lenses, although the best result here comes from the DX 18-200mm; impressive considering it also has the longest focal range.

Nikkor DX 18-55mm II f/3.5-5.6
Nikkor DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5
Nikkor DX 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6
Nikkor DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR
Nikkor 18-55mm uniformity at 18mm f3.5
Nikkor 18-70mm uniformity at 18mm f3.5
Nikkor 18-135mm uniformity at 18mm f3.5
Nikkor 18-200mm uniformity at 18mm f3.5
DX 18-55mm II at 18mm f3.5
Mean corner fall-off: 52.1%
DX 18-70mm at 18mm f3.5
Mean corner fall-off: 41.5%
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 kit lens group test telephoto uniformity comparison

To measure and compare light fall-off at telephoto, we photographed a white target using a highly diffused custom filter with each lens at its longest focal length and the aperture wide open. The images were then analysed with Imatest and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. Bigger percentages are better.

Zoomed-into their longest focal lengths and with their apertures wide open, the most obvious light fall-off once again comes from the DX 18-70mm, although the DX 18-135mm is right behind it; indeed the darkening in the corners of the 18-135mm is obvious even with the aperture closed to f8, see previous page.

Coming in way ahead of both these lenses are the DX 18-55mm and DX 18-200mm models which exhibit noticeably less darkening in the corners. Once again this is particularly impressive for the DX 18-200mm considering its large 11.1x focal range.

Nikkor DX 18-55mm II f/3.5-5.6
Nikkor DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5
Nikkor DX 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6
Nikkor DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR
Nikkor 18-55mm uniformity at 55mm f5.6
Nikkor 18-70mm uniformity at 70mm f4.5
Nikkor 18-135mm uniformity at 135mm f5.6
Nikkor 18-200mm uniformity at 200mm f5.6
DX 18-55mm II at 55mm f5.6
Mean corner fall-off: 73.7%
DX 18-70mm at 70mm f4.5
Mean corner fall-off: 55.4%
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 kit lens group test results

Outdoor / Resolution / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
If you found this review useful, please support us by shopping below!
All words, images, videos and layout, copyright 2005-2012 Gordon Laing. May not be used without permission.

/ How we test / Best Cameras / Advertising / Camera reviews / Supporting Camera Labs