Nikon 105mm f/2 D DC AF Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-105mm-f-2-d-dcIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Photo Zone

The DC-Nikkor AF 105mm f/2 D is a very high quality, versatile tele lens. The resolution figures are excellent when using the Nikkor as a conventional lens. The Defocus Control (DC) feature gives you superior control over background and foreground blur … Vignetting, distortions and lateral CAs are very low and nothing to worry about in the field. The build quality of the lens is excellent whereas the AF (relying on the slotted drive screw) is a bit dated by now. The DC-Nikkor has one major drawback – its price tag. At around 1000 €/US$ it costs about as much as the Nikkor AF 85mm f/1.4 or the new Zeiss ZF 85mm f/1.4 – two other excellent but even faster “portrait” lenses. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S Review Round-Up

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If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Photo Zone

The Nikkor Ai-S 50mm f/1.8 performed basically identical to the current AF D model so it’s your choice whether you prefer AF and a plastic construction or smooth manual focusing in a solid package. At wide-open aperture it is a little soft at the image borders and the contrast level is a little on the low side. However, at medium aperture settings the resolution figures are exceptionally high. Distortions are negligible and vignetting as well as CAs are very well controlled. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 85mm f/1.8 D AF Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-85mm-f-18-dIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 85mm f/1.8 D was a very boring lens during the tests simply because it showed a exceptional performance in all tested categories. Besides the lab results the lens shows a beautiful bokeh (out-of-focus blur). If I had to name a weakness it may be flare in contra light but it is a minor issue in the otherwise very harmonic package. So if you ´re looking for a portrait lens or a similar application where you would like to isolate an object from its environment this is an ideal lens. Highly recommended! READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 24mm f/2.8 D AF Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-24mm-f-28-dIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 24mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 24mm f/2.8D didn’t really convince during the tests due to various shortcomings. The resolution figures were generally very decent but otherwise the lens left something to be desired for a fix-focal with relatively high barrel distortions, very high vignetting at f/2.8 and very pronounced CAs. Spherical aberrations (focus shifts when stopping down) on top don’t make things any better. So despite the relatively ambitious design (floating elements) the lens doesn’t seem to be overly attractive anymore. This doesn’t mean that the AF 24mm f/2.8D is a bad lens, it’s not, but fix-focals should perform better than good zoom lenses. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 300mm f/4D IF-ED AF-S Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-s-300mm-f-4d-if-ed1If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Nikon 300mm f/4.0D ED-IF AF-S Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED is one of the few near-flawless lenses tested so far. The resolution figures are generally excellent and distortions and vignetting are basically negligible. CAs are very well under control. Adding a Nikkor AF-S 1.4x only results in a moderate decrease in resolution (about one school mark). The mechanical quality of the Nikkor is exceptionally high and it was a joy to use this lens in the field. Highly recommended! READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon AF 20mm f/2.8 D Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-20mm-f-28-dIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 20mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 20mm f/2.8 D had a very good reputation during the film era but the D200 didn’t really like the lens. The resolution is fine for most of the APS-C image frame but the extreme corners never really reach impressive results even at medium aperture settings. Vignetting is fairly high at f/2.8 and CAs are pretty bad. All-in-all you may prefer to look elsewhere to cover this focal length on an APS-C DSLR. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D AF Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-50mm-f-18-dIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8 D is a low profile lens with less sex-appeal than the big glass but it is an interesting lens nonetheless. At wide-open aperture it is a little soft at the image borders and the contrast level is a little on the low side. However, at medium aperture settings the resolution figures are exceptionally high and surely a benchmark to beat. Distortions are negligible and vignetting is very well controlled. The build quality of the lens is very decent and the AF performance leaves nothing to be desired. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED DX Fisheye AF Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-105mm-f-28g-ed-dx-fisheyeIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye Nikkor Lens

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 10.5mm f/2.8G ED DX Fisheye is a very decent performer with a very high resolution for most of the image frame. The primary weaknesses are chromatic aberrations (color shadows at the borders) and purple fringing (color blooming). Lateral CAs can be reduced rather easily via imaging tools but this is more difficult with PF. If the Nikkor and the Tokina 10-17mm are a guidance these weaknesses seem to be rather typical for this lens class. The high degree of barrel distortion is naturally a feature to enjoy and not a bug. The build quality of the lens is very high and regarding its super-compact size and low weight it should easily find its niche in your photo bag. At around 650€/US$ the Nikkor isn’t exactly a cheap lens though. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 400mm f/2.8G ED VR AF-S Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-s-400mm-f-28g-ed-vr1If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this camera from Amazon: 400mm F/2.8G ED VR AF-S Lens

Photo Review

Nikon’s huge AF-S Nikkor 400mm f/2.8G ED VR lens is so big it comes in its own special suitcase. At almost $13,000 its price tag is beyond the reach of even the most serious enthusiasts. That said, this lens is beautifully constructed and elegantly designed and it has some fascinating features for a photographer to explore. When fitted to the Nikon D3, which has an inherently fast AF system, focusing was very fast and accurate and we found no instances of hunting in low-light conditions. Imatest testing showed the supplied lens to be an excellent performer, with top resolution achieved between F/3.5 and f/8.0 followed by a slow decline to a slightly lower level at f/20 and f/22. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 200mm f/4 D ED AF Micro Review Round-Up

micro-nikkor-af-200mm-f-4-d-edIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Photo Zone

The Micro-Nikkor AF 200mm f/4 D ED is an excellent lens with no real weaknesses. The resolution figures are very good to excellent. You may argue that the new AF-S 105mm f/2.8G VR is somewhat sharper but the AF 200mm f/4 offers a longer working distance of 26cm vs 14cm – a good argument in favor of the old lens when it comes to nervous critters in macro photography. The vignetting at f/4 is not field relevant and both the distortion and CA characteristic are outstanding. The bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is exceptionally smooth and buttery. Typical for such oldies the build quality is superb whereas the old-style AF (driven by the camera) is very slow but then macro photographers tend to prefer to focus manually anyway. At around 1400€/US$ the entry hurdle for this lens is a bit steep. READ FULL REVIEW

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