Nikon 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IF Autofocus Nikkor Zoom Lens
by Nikon
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: NikonModel: 2143
Product features:
- Ultra-compact, lightweight G-type 7.1x zoom lens with 62mm filter attachment size
- Shortest closest focusing distance of any 28-200mm lens: 1.3 feet at 200mm
- Three aspherical lenses and three ED glass elements for higher optical performance
- Seven-blade rounded diaphragm achieves a natural blur for out-of-focus elements
- Nikon D-type design provides precise distance information for flash and ambient light exposure processes
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Nikon 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IF Autofocus Nikkor Zoom Lens
Customer Review: Watch for sample variations
Summary: 3 Stars
I have owned and used two copies of this lens. The first was remarkably sharp, at all focal lengths, just as other reviews had led me to expect. Unfortunately it was a used copy with a significant undisclosed flaw on the front element, so I returned it. The replacement, although cosmetically perfect and identical in every other regard, suffered from completely mediocre optical performance.
I have no way to tell which was the outlier in terms of performance, but certainly, one was very good, and one was not particularly good at all, so it seems that there is at least some significant sample variation among these lenses, and a prospective owner might be well-advised to thoroughly try a sample of this lens before purchasing it, in order to ensure that it performs well enough to meet his needs.
Miscellaneous notes:
- The "good" sample I had was capable of producing images that were very sharp at almost any focal length and aperture. While some lenses might have an edge under some conditions, the 12mp sensor of my D90 did not reveal any flaws that concerned me at all: I would have been happy to use it at any aperture at any focal length. It was therefore superior in image quality to any other telephoto zoom I have owned or used, including Nikon's 55-200mm VR and 70-300mm VR lenses. I'd give it four stars, not five, due to other disadvantages mentioned here in comparison with other available lenses.
- The "bad" sample I owned had significant visible aberrations at almost all apertures and focal lengths. It was fairly sharp at f/11 across most of its range, but still not perfect, and needed to be stopped down all the way to f/11 to give even that level of performance. At f/8, f/5.6 and wide open it was significanly soft over large portions of the image area, worse at each aperture through the maximum. I'd give it two stars, which might be a bit generous.
- This lens does not have VR. Unless you intend to use the lens on a tripod all the time (more on that later), or shoot only in good light, I would urge any buyer to consider a lens that does have this feature instead. VR really does work superbly to allow the use of moderate and even slow shutter speeds at long focal lengths, and I would no longer consider buying any telephoto lens without VR unless I had some very specific requirements or intended it only for tripod use. VR really does allow you to get photos you could not get any other way, and is probably more important for most uses than small differences in sharpness.
- Both my samples had a fair amount of wobble in the barrel, which is a double-extending design. This doesn't bother me except that wiggling the barrel while looking through the viewfinder at long focal lengths causes the image to move around significantly in the finder. This is a problem for tripod use, where it is desirable to have the camera, lens and tripod head act as one very solid block of mass in order to damp vibration. Physically de-coupling the camera and head from the front of the lens (and consequently, from the image plane) invites imprecision. At very high or low shutter speeds this will not be a problem, but in the range of 1/focal length - 1sec or so, excessive vibration is almost guaranteed by this design. I would consequently avoid this lens for critical tripod use.
- This lens has a plastic lens mount. I wouldn't worry about this at all. Like the newer 55-200mm VR, the plastic mount contributes to a very nice, low-friction feel as the lens is mounted and un-mounted, and it seems likely to virtually eliminate wear on the camera's own lens mount. The only potential problem is in using the lens with a very heavy camera, if you are in the habit of picking the camera up by the lens. I doubt this would be a problem for most of the smaller cameras, but if using the lens on something like a D3 one would want to be careful to avoid this.
- This is a high-contrast lens. It uses three ED-glass elements, which undoubtedly contribute to this and allow the lens to render colors more vibrantly than even some other very good lenses I have used (my 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/1.8 primes come to mind).
- This lens has very good close-up performance. At 200mm it is good enough to allow a Matchbox or Hot Wheels toy car to nearly fill the DX frame, sufficient to obviate the need for a dedicated macro lens for some users.
- Be careful not to confuse this lens with the "D" version. The "D" lens does not focus close and is not this lens' optical equal. I don't believe it uses any ED elements and it has much slower focus. It sells for considerably less, except when a buyer gets confused as to which lens he is buying and pays "G" money for a "D" lens. The "D" has an aperture ring, the "G" does not.
- Unfortunately, Nikon does not really offer a telephoto zoom that does everything I want, at any price. If you can live without VR and get a good sample, this is optically the best among those I've used, and the extended range at the wide end is very useful. I could recommend it quite highly, with the important caveat that, apparently, not all samples are up to snuff.
Other Lenses:
I've had the opportunity to own and use many different Nikon lenses and have posted my impressions of some of them here on Amazon. For those interested, here are short summaries. I have used all these lenses on Nikon DX-sized DSLRs, most recently my current D90. Refer to the full reviews for further detail.
Nikon 28mm f/2.8 AF-D: *** Competent, sharp lens is a good fit as a bargain DX "normal" prime. Slow f/2.8 max aperture poor. Very inexpensive in used market.
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM: *** Poor focusing consistency and below average large-aperture acuity combine for disappointing real-world performance. Fast max aperture, very capable if used with appropriate care.
Nikon 35mm f/1.8 AF-G: ****1/2 Terrific lens at a bargain price. Not without flaws, but excellent in all important respects. A pleasure to use.
Nikon 35mm f/2 AF-D: **** Sharp, especially at large apertures, moderate contrast. Classic "normal" lens for DX but consider new 35mm f/1.8 AF-S instead.
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-D: *** My sample was unacceptably poor at large apertures. Perhaps a below-average sample. Focal length not ideally suited to DX.
Nikon 85mm f/1.8 AF-D ****1/2 Very good short-to-moderate telephoto on DX. Acceptable at large apertures, very sharp stopped-down, moderate contrast. Potentially excellent for portrait use.
Nikon 16-85mm VR ***** Very sharp at all settings, excellent contrast, very useful zoom range including true wide-angle at 16mm. Excellent VR. Best-kept secret for DX users.
Nikon 55-200mm VR **** Very good lens, very good sharpness and contrast, no fatal flaws. Cheap feel and feature-challenged, but has effective VR. A bargain.
Nikon 70-300mm VR *** My sample had very poor performance above 200mm, good to very good elsewhere. Good contrast, generally very good focus performance. Good sports/action lens. Not good where critical sharpness is desired. Possibly a below-average sample.
Description of Nikon 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IF Autofocus Nikkor Zoom Lens
Md) Cl) Aa) Nik 28-200 F/3.5-5.6g AfAccessories
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