On 2008-04-29 15:13:52 -0700, frederick said:

C J Campbell wrote:
On 2008-04-29 04:49:28 -0700, frederick said:

http://www.diglloyd.com/diglloyd/blo...7Nikon70_200VR

Seems the beloved (on Dx) and expensive 70-200VR is a casualty. Many
posts on DPReview about this - many in denial mode ("it's a PJ lens -
so what if the corners aren't sharp?" etc).

"The problem is so severe that stopping down to f/8 or f/11 (or even
f/16) is insufficient to overcome it; it appears that the 70-200VR
simply cannot “cover” the 36 X 24mm frame adequately."

Bjorn Rorslett has "downgraded" the lens on FX - but not far enough if
that performance is typical, as it seems it may be.

Nikon did warn that Dx had some advantages.

This has always been known, though. Digital shooters who have been
crying for 'full-frame' cameras had all forgotten about the problems of
film and the 35mm format. Or they had never known them in the first
place.

With DX you get the 'sweet spot' of every lens. Go to 35mm (FX) and all
the old issues that used to fill photography magazines come creeping
back like Freddy (he never goes away, does he): vignetting, corner
sharpness, edge distortion, etc.

In the old days pros tended to shoot with the idea of cropping off the
underperforming edges of the frame. All the old film guys who are now
whining about how their wide angles are not as wide on DX are
conveniently forgetting about this. When they were shooting film, most
of them were really using a DX or APSC format anyway.

And all the guys who never knew anything but digital are getting a rude
awakening. That image circle gets soft at the edges. Who'd a-thunk?

I have to admit that I feel a bit smug about this one. Fx was supposed
to be about image quality - wasn't it?
If I had a D3, then for what I use my camera for, a 70-200 would be the
lens I'd probably want to use most. I've seen enough samples now to
show that an "inferior" crop sensor camera, even with an "amateur"
lens, would whup a D3&70-200 at the long end.
It's also notable that while Canon doesn't have a match for the Nikkor
14-24, their 4 choices of 70-200 (IS/non IS, f2.8 and f4) are
apparently all excellent on FF, and 3 of them cost less than an
inferior 70-200VR.

Indeed. I think this is why a lot of people are expecting an update of
the 70-200 Nikkor to be announced along with the D90 in May or June
and, if not then, when the D3X is announced, probably in August. The
70-200mm VR is in need of an update -- sharper edge performance, VR II,
and some minor improvements.

Still, if you are using it on DX lenses, it is one of the sharpest
zooms Nikon makes.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor