Quality

Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration and focus shift

I tested the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm for longitudinal color aberrations (loCA, a.k.a. “axial color” or “bokeh CA”) and focus shift. The former can show up as magenta coloration in the foreground and greenish hues in the background and are not easily corrected in post-processing. The new zoom lens shows a bit of blueish loCA in the foreground and a slightly brown coloration in the background at f2.8. Focus shift towards the foreground is clearly visible:

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II loCA at 200mm; 50% crops from 180MP image

Above from top to bottom: f2.8, f4.0, f5.6; left = foreground, right = background; click image for 100% crops

For comparison have a look at the same shots from the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S and the Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 both of which are better behaved with regard to loCA and focus shift.

In all of my test-shots with the the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II I could not detect any purple fringing around high-contrast edges or specular highlights in the focus plane nor any colored outlining around background subjects. Spill-over of bright background light is also well controlled:

Sharpness and contrast

Let’s have a look at the theoretical performance of the new Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II first and compare it to its predecessor and the Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VC VXD G2:

Above: MTF Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm f2.8 (left) and 200mm f2.8 (right)

Above: MTF Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 70mm f2.8 (left) and 200mm f2.8 (right)

Above: MTF Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 at 70mm f2.8 (left) and 180mm f2.8 (right)

These MTF charts show the computed lens-performance wide open without influence of diffraction at 10 line-pairs/mm (in red/yellow) and 30 lp/mm (in blue/gray). Higher values are better (more contrast) and the closer the dotted and solid lines are together the less astigmatism (= resolution depends on the orientation of the test-pattern) the lens has. The x-axis displays the “image height” which is the distance from the optical axis (=center of the sensor) in mm. I’ll show you the real-life performance at 4 mm (near center), 13 mm (APS-C/DX-corner), and 20 mm (FF/FX-corner).

Comparing both Z-Nikkors at the short end the new lens should have higher contrast overall and a better resolution of finer structures. But at 200mm the predecessor seems to have a slight advantage outside the DX image-circle. The Tamron looks astonishingly good on paper slotting in between both Z-Nikkors at the short end but suffering from strong astigmatism at the long end.

Let’s see how this theoretical performance translates into real life results in the sharpness test based on Siemens-stars shot on a 45MP Nikon Z8 set to 16 image pixel shift shooting. The 16 individual images for each shot were merged in NX Studio 1.9.1 into a 180MP RAW file and further processed in Lightroom 14.5/CRAW 17.5 to Adobe Color profile with the lens profile compensating CA, distortions and vignetting. Noise-reduction was set to 0, sharpening to 50/1/36/10, with no extra tone, color, or saturation adjustment. White-balance was adjusted to a neutral white and I did some exposure compensation to make the brightness of all crops match. So you will not see light fall-off in the corners. I also focused separately for the center, the DX-corner, and FX-corner which eliminates any effect field-curvature might have. If you want to know more about the advantages and perils of pixel shift shooting head over to page 2 of my Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di III G2 Nikon Z review.

First up is an overview of the wide-open performance at different focal lengths (presented as 50% crops). You can jump to the detailed results at different apertures and comparisons with other lenses by clicking on the crops of the respective focal length.

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II; 50% crops from 180MP image near center, DX-corner, FX-corner

Above: 70mm, f2.8

Above: 100mm, f2.8

Above: 140mm, f2.8

Above: 200mm, f2.8

Above: with Nikon TC-1.4x at 280mm, f4.0

Above: with Nikon TC-2.0x at 400mm, f5.6

Nikon’s Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II looks very sharp across the full-frame sensor at 70mm and 100mm. At 140mm the DX image-circle improves to excellent sharpness but the FX-corner becomes a bit softer. At 200mm the DX-corner also becomes a bit less well defined. Using the TC-1.4x to reach 280mm focal length reduces sharpness across the sensor visibly, especially in the FX-corner. Magnifying the image with the TC-2.0x to reach 400mm softens the results further – as was to be expected. Field curvature in general is not overly strong but for optimal results I had to focus separately for each crop.

Detailed results

The following crops for each focal length show the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II (with and without teleconverter) wide open compared to the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S and Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 at 70mm, 100mm, 140mm, 200mm, 280mm, and 400mm. Or you skip the details and fast-forward to the summary for this chapter.

Performance at 70mm:

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm compared; 50% crops from 180MP image near center, DX-corner, FX-corner

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 70mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 70mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

At 70mm all three lenses are very close and you have to pixel-peep at the 100% crops to see that the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S has a small advantage in the DX image-circle over the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II and the Tamron.

Performance at 100mm:

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 100mm compared; 50% crops from 180MP image near center, DX-corner, FX-corner

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 100mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 100mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 100mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-1.4x at 98mm, f4.0; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S + TC-1.4x at 98mm, f4.0; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Similar results at 100mm with the Tamron almost indistinguishable from the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S. Using the TC-1.4x softens results a bit and you need to pixel-peep at 100% to see the small differences between both Z-Nikkors.

Performance at 140mm:

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 140mm compared; 50% crops from 180MP image near center, DX-corner, FX-corner

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 140mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 140mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 140mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-1.4x at 140mm, f4.0; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S + TC-1.4x at 140mm, f4.0; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-2.0x at 140mm, f5.6; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S + TC-2.0x at 140mm, f5.6; click image for full resolution 100% crops

At 140mm (without teleconverter) the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II is sharper in the DX image-circle than its predecessor and the Tamron. But the TC-1.4x and TC-2.0x work better on the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S than on the new Z-Nikkor.

Performance at 200mm:

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm compared; 50% crops from 180MP image near center, DX-corner, FX-corner

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 200mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 180mm, f2.8; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-1.4x at 200mm, f4.0; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S + TC-1.4x at 200mm, f4.0; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-2.0x at 200mm, f5.6; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S + TC-2.0x at 200mm, f5.6; click image for full resolution 100% crops

At 200mm (without teleconverter) the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S has a slight advantage over the new Z-Nikkor especially at the DX-corner. And the Tamron (again) is pretty close at 180mm. With the TC-1.4x the new Z-Nikkor has the sharper FX-corner than its predecessor. But the TC-2.0x works better on the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S.

Performance at 280mm:

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + teleconverters at 280mm compared; 50% crops from 180MP image near center, DX-corner, FX-corner

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-1.4x at 280mm, f4.0; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S + TC-1.4x at 280mm, f4.0; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-2.0x at 280mm, f5.6; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-2.0x at 280mm, f5.6; click image for full resolution 100% crops

At 280mm both Z-Nikkors fare better on the TC-1.4x than on the T-2.0x with the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II producing the sharper center and its predecessor having the advantage at the DX- and FX-corner.

Performance at 400mm:

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-2.0x at 400mm compared; 50% crops from 180MP image near center, DX-corner, FX-corner

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-2.0x at 400mm, f5.6; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S + TC-2.0x at 400mm, f5.6; click image for full resolution 100% crops

Same at 400mm: The Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II produces the sharper center and its predecessor has the advantage at the DX- and FX-corner.

Summary:

All three lenses in this comparison perform on a very high level and are fit for 180MP pixel shift shooting – when used without teleconverters. Surprisingly the Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 was almost neck-and-neck with the professional Z-Nikkors regarding resolution. A remarkable feat! Comparing both Z-Nikkors needs pixel-peeping 180MP images at 100% to find the small differences in resolution with the new lens having the advantage at 140mm and its predecessor slightly leading at the other focal lengths.

When you have to use teleconverters the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S seems to be the better choice: It may lack a bit of central sharpness but overall performance is more satisfying than from its successor.

Performance at long distances

The Siemens-star test-targets are shot at a distance of 45x focal length (i.e. at around 9m for 200mm focal length). But performance of lenses also depends on the shooting distance. Therefore, I shot another series of a city around 1 km away on a Nikon Z8. The images were processed in Lightroom 14.5/CRAW 17.5 to Adobe Color profile with the the lens profile compensating CAs, distortions, and vignetting. Noise-reduction was set to 0, sharpening to 50/0.5/36/10, with no extra tone, color, or saturation adjustment. To make judging sharpness a bit easier I added 25% contrast as the atmosphere at that day was a bit hazy. All shots were made from a heavy tripod with image stabilization switched off at ISO 64. As usual I have selected the diagonal that provided the better corner results as the lens was slightly decentered.

The following images show the complete scene wide open shot with the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II plus 100% crops from near center, DX-corner, and FX-corner of the new lens compared to the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S and Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 shot only minutes apart. All crops in a row are from the same image so there is no compensation for field curvature. You can access the large 45MP originals, but the files are for personal evaluation only and cannot be used in another publication or website without permission.

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm compared

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 70mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 70mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 100mm compared

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 100mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 100mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 100mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 140mm compared

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 140mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 140mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 140mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm compared

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 200mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 180mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-1.4x at 280mm

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-1.4x at 280mm f4.0; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-2.0x at 400mm

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II + TC-2.0x at 400mm 5.6; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Summary:

In this long-distance test the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II produced slightly sharper results across the full frame than its predecessor and the Tamron. Shots with both teleconverters resulted in softer but still usable results. But keep in mind that atmospheric conditions were not ideal at that time.

Vignetting and distortions

To make it easier to see light fall-off in the corners of a full-frame sensor I’ve arranged a series of three shots each with the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm and 200mm focal length and different apertures. All images were developed from RAW to the same brightness in the center and are shown with vignetting correction from the lens profile Off (1st row) or Normal/100% (2nd row):

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm focal length with vignette correction Off (top) or Normal/100% (bottom)

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm focal length with vignette correction Off (top) or Normal/100% (bottom)

At 70mm vignetting wide open is pretty mild and lifted by +0.6 EV by the lens profile. At 200mm focal length vignetting is a very visible -2 EV when left uncorrected. With vignette control set to Normal/100% the extreme corners are lifted by +0.9 EV at f2.8 – which still leaves a visible vignette at 200mm.

Handling of lens profiles by Adobe’s RAW converter continues to be confusing. Set vignetting and distortion control in camera to On and the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II gets its lens profile applied but you can change the strength of the correction in post-processing with sliders between 0 and 200%: Very good! But if you switch vignetting control in camera to Off the slider to control the strength of vignetting in Lightroom or CRAW is disabled. While if you switch distortion control in camera to Off Lightroom/CRAW simply ignore this and the slider is still enabled and set to 100%. NX Studio always applies what was set in camera but you can switch vignetting and distortion control On or Off (unless you have a lens which does not allow auto distortion control to be switched Off). So it’s better to leave the lens profile in camera On which enables all options when processing the image in Lightroom/CRAW.

Distortions are a noticeably barrel type at 70mm and a weaker pin-cushion type at the long end (see below). The lens profile corrects them well in camera or postprocessing. See the following composite images showing the upper part of two images shot as RAW:

Distortions: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm, as is (top) / with lens-profile at 100% (bottom); click image for 4k version

Distortions: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm, as is (top) / with lens-profile at 100% (bottom); click image for 4k version

Rendering of point-light sources at night-shots

Night-shots pose a different challenge for lenses as the contrast is even higher than under bright sun and point-light sources can reveal some weaknesses such as coma, haloing and colour-aberrations that do not show up as prominently in other test-shots. The 100% crops below the main image show the effect of coma in the FX-corner of the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm focal length and different apertures:

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm, f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm; 100% crops from the FX-corner at f2.8 (left), f4.0 (middle), f5.6 (right)

The Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II is practically free of coma at 70mm.

Bokeh quality

This test is for the rendering of point-light sources in an out-of-focus background. The circle of confusion that is produced by the test is pretty indicative of Bokeh performance (in the background) and light fall-off. Ideally the out-of-focus image of the point-light is evenly lit and perfectly circular, with no “onion-rings”, and without coloration. Lenses normally produce an effect known as “cat’s eye” the further away from the optical axis the point-light is projected. This is due to optical vignetting in the lens barrel when light enters the lens from an angle.

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm, f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm f2.8; click image for 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm f4.0; click image for 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm f5.6; click image for 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm f8.0; click image for 100% crops

The Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II shows a normal amount of compression of the circle in the DX- and FX-corner wide open. There is some outlining albeit free of coloration from loCA. The inside of the Bokeh balls at f2.8 is smoothly textured with only very weak onion rings.

Let’s see how this analysis of out-of-focus point-light sources translates into Bokeh-performance shooting a book-shelf. Crops are from the foreground, middle-ground, and background resized to make them comparable across all my reviews. I used the longest focal length that I could to produce a comparable shot to my other reviews which was in the case of the new Z-Nikkor 165mm.

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 165mm f2.8; click image for 4k version, here for large original

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 165mm f2.8; click image for 100% crops, here for large original

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S at 165mm, f2.8 (shot on a Nikon Z7); click image for 100% crops, here for large original

Above: Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 VC G2 at 171mm (shot on a Sony A7R II), f2.8; click image for 100% crops, here for large original

Clearly the Tamron has the smoothest Bokeh in the transition zone and the background. Both Z-Nikkors are pretty similar with a very slight advantage for the new Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II.

Looking at the ruler (below, now at 100%) shows that the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II produces some double-contours in the middle-ground but is free of them in the foreground:

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 165mm f2.8, 100% crop from middle-ground

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 165mm f2.8, 100% crop from foreground

Close-up performance

The Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II achieves a maximum magnification of 1:3.2 at 70mm focal length with an area of sharp focus of 77 x 115mm. The following set of crops was shot at 1:3.6 from 0mm, 12mm, and 21mm off the center of the sensor respectively. I focused separately for each crop to avoid the influence of field curvature.

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 72mm, 1:3.6 magnification; 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 72mm f2.8

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 72mm f5.6

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 72mm f11

Wide open the lens produces a pretty sharp center (up to 5mm image height). But to get good sharpness towards the DX-corners you need to stop down to f11.

At 200mm focal length the lens achieves a maximum magnification of 1:3.8 with an area of sharp focus of 91 x 137mm. The following set of crops was shot at 1:3.8 from 0mm, 12mm, and 21mm off the center of the sensor respectively. I focused separately for each crop to avoid the influence of field curvature.

Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm, 1:3.8 magnification; 100% crops

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm f2.8

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm f5.6

Above: Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 200mm f11

Wide open the lens produces a pretty sharp center (up to 5mm image height). But to get good sharpness towards the DX-corners you need to stop down to f8 at least.

Flare, ghosting, and sun-stars

Catching a strong light-source shining directly into the lens is always a risky business: it could produce strange colorful ghost-images or reduce contrast considerably through flare and glare. The appearance of flare and ghosting depends on factors like the aperture and the angle of the light hitting the lens. So, to judge the proclivity of the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II for these artifacts I went through a series of well calculated shots against a strong light source to provoke glare and ghosting. The lens hood was mounted in all shots. Following are two examples with ghosts and glare. To see them more clearly you should open the +3 EV version of the images. The little red square inset in the upper left shows the respective area with an exposure compensation of +3 EV to make it easier to see which levels of black the lens renders at that point:

Above: Flare and ghosting. Strong light hitting the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm, f11; click image for 4k version or here for +3 EV exposure compensation

Above: Flare and ghosting. Strong light hitting the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm, f11; click image for 4k version or here for +3 EV exposure compensation

At the short end the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II produces only little ghosting artifacts or veiling glare. And the blacks outside these effects stay deep black. This looks clearly better than from its predecessor (here and here) although changing the light source to a strong LED may hamper comparability. The flare from the upper right corner in the second image only occurs at a very narrow angle when the light-source is just outside the corner. Zooming in does produce stronger effects – but this is true for every zoom lens I’ve tested so far. Taking into account the observations from the top of this page I think the new Z-Nikkor can confidently be used in challenging contra-light situations.

At 70mm focal length the lens produces weak sunstars up to f5.6 due to the well rounded aperture blades. But at f11 they look very nice:

Above: Sunstars from the Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S II at 70mm, f5.6, f8.0, f11; 100% crops

Next check out my sample images!

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