Nikon 70-200 VR On FX (Issues Rumor)

Shutterman

Shutterman

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I have been pondering obtaining a 70-200 VR to sit in my lens collection and further my bid to get better glass instead of upgrading bodies all the time.

And I was wondering if any owners of the 70-200 VR could post some non cropped images from FX cameras, I have been reading about some issues with distortion on with this lens on full frame cameras and the lens was originally designed for the DX cameras.

I have also been advised on another forum (Naughty me.....) that if I am considering a jump to FX at a later stage to get the sigma version as this is a perfect match for the FX sensor.

Instead of wasting over 1K on a lens that will not migrate over to full frame when and if i decide to take the plunge I would like to substantiate these comments regarding distortion around the outer areas of the image.

I fit is the case i think I will be looking at the third party manufacturers for a 70-200 ƒ2.8.

If you could post some image from a full frame nikon combo that would be very helpful.

Regards

Nigel
 
<< I have been reading about some issues with distortion on with this lens on full frame cameras and the lens was originally designed for the DX cameras.>>

First of all the lens was designed to be used on full frame cameras. I don't have one myself, but I think "Hacker" uses one with a D3.
There have been some issues, I understand, with vigneting when used wide open.
I'm sure one of the users will jump in soon with some first hand experience.
 
Cheers for the response Gareth

here is the a comment from one of the sites I have trawling through.



I would be extremely curious, and grateful, if you can spare a minute and shoot at infinity, at 200mm and at f8, and let us know what you find in the corners. You would literally be the first person I know of who gets acceptable performance.

Nikon UK twice took my lens in for adjustment when I thought I had a bad sample and they returned it saying it passed all their tests. It was only in dialogue with others on this forum that it emerged that everyone else's is the same - bar none.

It's not just pixel peeping either - the area affected is around 400-500 pixels wide in each corner. Easily visible in a print regrettably.

But as has been said above it depends on what you shoot. For portraits, wildlife, sports etc you probably wouldn't even notice or indeed care. For corner to corner sharpness it is really quite bad.

You may well be the chosen one! :-)

Just wanting to make sure I spend the money wisely.


Cheers

Nigel
 
My first weekend using my new D3 and 70-200. This was one of mine.

pendlestaff-thunderbolt.jpg
 
I have just spent a week using the Nikon 70-200 VR zoom, and I have found only one shot where vignetting was a slight but unimportant issue, out of the hundreds that I have taken.

As for sharpness, none of the shots were visually affected by a very slight fall off at the edges at a full f2.8, which you can just perceive if you have a detailed image crop at 100%. But, all lenses have this problem, and stopping down removes it.

The shots taken by the 70-200 have excellent contrast and bright, unmuddied colours. This f2.8 lens is essential in low light, and its VR can be relied on to produce a sharp unblurred result.

See http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=99941 for some 70-200 f2.8 VR shots, nos.1,2,3,5.

Cheers,

Edward
 
It's not really an issue IMO - vignetting is a long-term 'issue' with FF/FX going back to film and the lens remains stellar unless you're shooting at 200mm, and focussed at infinity.

2870082183_9e158be8b9_o.jpg


And I've added a vignette.
 
Thanks for the images and feed back so far.

Would be good to get some more and may be some examples of the sigma version on full frame.

Nigel
 
I noticed softness at the edges on my D3 a while ago on some shots of London. For anything other than landscapes though I don't think it's an issue and I've never noticed any problems with general use. If I have time tomorrow I'll see if I can dig up a shot and show you.
 
Nigel, first of I think you need to ask yourself what will be the main use of the lens. The reason I ask this is because I've had the VR for a while now and neer had a problem it even on the D3 and I have taken many thousands of shots. In saying that the majority of shots have either been wedding or equestrian images and I haven't even looked to see if they are 'sharp at the edges' as I don't need to as long as the subject is sharp which it is with this lens.

You will get a slight light fall off at the edges when shooting f/2.8-f/4 but this is easily corrected in LR and doesn't bother me in the slightest. I think there is a bit too much pixel peeping going on at times from certain parts of the photography community which leads to rumours such as these.

This is a shot taken yesterday and has nothing done to it apart from converting from RAW to JPEG and resizing, shot at 1/500th, f/5.6, ISO640, the second shot is a very heavy crop (604 pixels on the longest side) from the bottom left corner and it looks okay t me although I am sure some would find it unacceptable. :D

VR-test-1.jpg


VR-test-1_crop1.jpg


If I get time today I'll set the camera up on the tripod and try some shots at f/8 to see what the results are.
 
Shutterman said:
I have been reading about some issues with distortion on with this lens on full frame cameras and the lens was originally designed for the DX cameras.
Click to expand...
Distortion? I haven't seen that mentioned before. Can you point us at the source?

The main issue I've seen mentioned about this lens is the lack of sharpness towards the edges of the FX frame. It is undeniably not good in this respect. It is very very sharp in the centre, but sharpness falls away quite alarmingly outside the area covered by a DX sensor. The MTF charts, which Nikon to their eternal credit have published, show this quite clearly.

When this lens was introduced, Nikon did not make any FX DSLRs. Whilst the mount has to be physically compatible with FX, it seems prety clear to me that the lens was designed to deliver its performance on the DX sensor. (The comparison with Canon is interesting. Canon have made full-frame DSLRs for longer than Nikon. The equivalent Canon lens is a little less sharp in the centre, and a lot more sharp outside the crop-sensor area; it was designed for full-frame.)
 
Nigel,

I had the same fears but I am absolutely thrilled with the nikkor. I posted these in a similar thread, and many people have already commented, so apologies.


1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7 (Quite a big crop)
3110201796_7e31c6ba4f_o.jpg



I think the lens is flawless.

Gary.
 
Very nice shots there Gary - those should be a sticky next time someone (who has never used the lens) complains about it on FF..!
 
StewartR said:
When this lens was introduced, Nikon did not make any FX DSLRs. Whilst the mount has to be physically compatible with FX, it seems prety clear to me that the lens was designed to deliver its performance on the DX sensor.
Click to expand...

But film bodies are already out there and still available.
This is not a DX lens, don't forget it's a development of a long line of 70-200 / 80-200 f/2.8 lenses.
Also don't forget that different elements in the frame are at different distances from the sensor and it's quite normal for certain parts just to be out of focus.
I'm not saying it's 100% perfect in every aspect, but what lens is?
 
Most telephoto lenses vignette slightly wide open on full frame - I know my 500 f/4 does. But not enough to worry about. Although I'm a Canon user (:razz:) I've seen some cracking stuff from D3/D700 on the 70-200VR.

Vignetting is easy to correct in post processing and sometimes even adds to an image.

Paul
 
cyclone said:
But film bodies are already out there and still available.
Click to expand...

It is worth noting that digital sensors are more susceptible to vignetting problems than film due to a higher sensitivity to the angle of incident light. But still, the images I've seen suggest this is a very good lens.
 
EdinburghGary said:
To be fair, I held off 6 months waiting on the "nano coated version" :D
Click to expand...

I usually know about stuff thats coming a month or two before it does, in this case I've heard nothing about a replacement coming at all. That doesn't mean one isn't coming, but its not close I'd say.

I think Nikon has more important fish to fry.
 
Everyone...

Many thanks for taking the time to post images and replying to the thread...

As you say not much to worry about....

Stuart, I will dig out the site links and post back in here, but most of the sites and threads can be found by googling them.

Nigel
 
Shutterman said:
EStuart, I will dig out the site links and post back in here, but most of the sites and threads can be found by googling them.
Click to expand...
You're a better googler than me, then. I tried the obvious search terms (nikon 70-200 distortion) and I didn't find anything that suggested there was a significant problem.
 
grumpybadger said:
Don't see any mention of distortion in the DP Review review. Just vignetting and softness.
Click to expand...

When I get back from work I will go through my history and find the ones I came across, these mention distortion of the outer fringes of the image. Sorry if those ones did not mention distortion.

Nigel
 
Happy with mine. but again, so long as the subject is sharp. I know its been said for months now, but I was told on Monday by my dealer that there is definitely a new lens coming out in March with a price tag around £1400.
Still happy with mine though!!

Kev.
 
grumpybadger said:
It is worth noting that digital sensors are more susceptible to vignetting problems than film due to a higher sensitivity to the angle of incident light. But still, the images I've seen suggest this is a very good lens.
Click to expand...

I have to admit I wasn't aware of that problem. But the FF Nikon's do have vignette compensation, maybe you have just pointed out why they felt it necessary to add that feature.
 
I have purchased a Sigma 70-200 &#402;2.8 as a little present for myself along with a 2x converter that was free with the lens.

This is not related to the comments from here or the minor problems related with the lens on FF, from the images and samples I have been looking at it is a very minor issue and has been blown out of proportion in the articles and other threads I have been reading.

I have gone the cheaper route mainly because i am saving for another mammoth cash splurge later in the year.

So I will see what is what in the next couple of weeks with the new lens, I know it will not be in the VR's league for sharpness but I am sure it will be fine for my meagre talents.

Nigel
 
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