Sharp Enough for You?

DSC_003120070616, originally uploaded by Abiola_Lapite.

I've read a lot online about how "soft" the Nikkor 70-300mm AF-S VR supposedly is at 300mm, and at first I was perfectly ready to believe that what I was reading was the gospel truth. Zoom lenses are compromises, after all, so it only seemed reasonable that one with 17 elements should be less than stellar throughout the entirety of its range.

The funny thing, though, is that the "softness" claims don't really seem to be true. This photo was taken at an aperture of f/7.1 and focal length of 300mm, with a shutter speed of a mere 1/250s: apart from proving the efficacy of Nikon's in-lens "vibration reduction", the fact that one can see individual hair strands with the clarity of barbed wire when the lens is only 2/3 of a stop down from wide open says to me that there is absolutely nothing wrong with its sharpness even at this extreme. For a consumer lens which costs less than 1/3 the price of a 70-200mm VR, this lens performs admirably at every focal length and aperture in its range, which is why it's now my favorite even ahead of the 85mm f/1.8D.

By the way, this photo was actually taken a while ago; as the weather in the UK's turned to sh*t yet again, this weekend's been mostly spent indoors catching up on recent episodes of "Ainori" and investigating the mysteries of Sobolev spaces (yes, I know that mine is a life of enviable excitement)...

Comments

[Jack]

The quality looks fantastic! I've been looking for a new lens for my D40. Where did you get yours, Amazon?

[Abiola]

No, I got mine through Microglobe.

http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog/

Generally, Camera Price Buster is where to look for the lowest prices within the UK (assuming you are in the UK as well, that is).

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/

I find that I can usually beat Amazon's prices on here for everything except SD cards.